Amid veiled warnings of further concessions to General Motors and Ford, many United Auto Workers members at the union’s 34th convention in Las Vegas say national elections will have a far greater effect on them than anything they lose at the bargaining table, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.
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UAW president Ron Gettelfinger reportedly told about 1,300 delegates in Las Vegas on Monday that it’s time for a different relationship with the domestic automakers because they are facing difficult times.
“Like it or not, these challenges aren’t the kind that can be ridden out,” he said. “They demand new and farsighted solutions – and we must be an integral part of developing these solutions.”
But AP said he also railed against the Bush administration for what he called failed trade policies and anti-union stances that have hurt the UAW and the American motor industry.
John Clark, president of a ‘local’ or union branch at a small Delphi plant in Adrian, Michigan, that’s slated for closure or sale, told The Associated Press that the union needs to do a better job of campaigning for candidates who aren’t anti-union.
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By GlobalData“It really comes down to the ballot box. That’s where we’ve got to take it,” Clark said. “You can’t bargain trade.”
Gettelfinger reportedly said President Bush’s trade policies, including support of a free-trade proposal with Thailand, give countries that allow child labour, 12-hour work days and jailing of union organisers an unfair advantage over the United States.
But Ann Marie Hauser, spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, blamed the motor industry’s woes on Democratic Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm, according to the report.
“No amount of finger pointing by Democrat front groups will create a single job or distract voters from the fact that Governor Granholm’s economic policies have failed Michigan,” she told AP. “While more than 5.3m jobs have been created nationwide since September 2003, Michigan continues to move backward and lose jobs as Democrats play attack politics.”
According to AP, Gettelfinger said the UAW’s deal last year to make health care concessions to GM and Ford was the most painful decision he has made as president. But he told members that the agreement was necessary to address the companies’ huge retiree health care liabilities and to preserve future benefits.
In an hour-long speech, Gettelfinger reportedly said lack of action on a single-payer national health care plan by the Bush administration has hurt the domestic motor industry. Ford has said it spent about $US3.5bn to cover 550,000 hourly and salaried workers, retirees and dependents last year; GM spent $5.4bn in 2005 for its 1.1m employees, retirees and dependents.
The Associated Press noted that Gettelfinger, who is likely to be elected to a second term on Wednesday, has come under fire from some workers who say he hasn’t done enough to keep plants open that GM and Ford have slated to close.
The news agency said it was likely there would be resolutions proposed on Tuesday to harden the union’s stance against plant closures, including one to ban overtime at plants that take on work from closed factories.
Gettelfinger said that while the UAW would continue to defend workers at plants targeted for closure, many workers would be able to retire or get buyout packages that will help them move to new jobs, The Associated Press added.
