Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Remarks by UAW President Ron Gettelfinger at the UAW Skilled Trades Conference, Detroit, Mich., Feb. 6, 2007

Safety – it’s about our lives, our families, our co-workers and our communities – and it’s our obligation to ourselves and to each other.

Good morning everyone.

Thank you very much, Vice President Cal Rapson, for your kind introduction and all of you for the warm welcome and for the respect that you show to the position I am privileged to hold on your behalf and on behalf of our union.

It is a pleasure to be here with all of you, the ISTAC committee members, the DCX, Ford and GM ’07 National Negotiators, our staff and clerical, and my friends and colleagues on the International Executive Board.

I want to take this opportunity to once again publicly thank our International Executive Board members for the great job that they do every day working with our staff and local union leadership in securing equity and justice in the workplace for our members. The problems that they encounter at their level are very difficult and challenging, but they strive to do their very best to ensure that the membership across our union receives the representation they deserve.

And, I want to especially recognize and thank Vice President Rapson for the invitation to attend this conference. He, along with Assistant Director Ken Laubert, Gordy Andrews, John Morris, the ISTAC committee members and clerical have devoted a lot of time to ensuring that this conference is meaningful and productive for you.

As you know, Vice President Rapson’s assignment has changed dramatically since the Convention, with his bargaining responsibilities now being the General Motors and Delphi sections of our union. But, his commitment to Skilled Trades has not wavered through this transition.

For that we can all be grateful because the issues that impact our trades are on the front burner and Cal ensures that the entire Board is abreast of what is going on in the skilled trades arena.

Lastly, but certainly not least, I want to thank each one of you for the daily role that you play on the front lines of our union in representing our membership.

You and the leadership and membership across our union are a valuable and integral part of our team.

And, our team, all of us together, recognize that these are not the best of times but that by pulling together we can move our union forward.

So, thank you for being here these next three days to discuss and debate the various resolutions and to attend your Council meetings.

Your participation is critically important because your input will give everyone in this room broader insight into the problems we are facing in the skilled trades section of our union – across the various employers with whom we negotiate.

The discussions that take place here will help to develop, formulate and fine tune the resolutions that will be carried forward to our Special Convention on Collective Bargaining on March 27 and 28.

Now, let’s go back to safety – our obligation as a union that is privileged to represent our membership and the obligation and responsibility of the employer who draws their gain from the fruits of our labor. We cannot stress enough the importance of safety and the importance of working in a safe manner.

You know the statistics – skilled trades suffer a disproportionate share of workplace fatalities because of the hazards of your occupations.

And, yes, we recognize that through collective bargaining it is our duty to pressure employers to provide safety training and to provide the safest possible working conditions.

But, under the best of circumstances, some workers are so confident in their skill and ability that they are willing to run the risk of taking a shortcut – whether it’s on lockout, confined spaces, working at heights or numerous other areas.

Let’s hope not, but chances are, most of you have witnessed someone at your location who will take a risk because in their mind, at least, nothing will happen to them.

In the event you come upon a situation of this kind you should stop the worker and remind them that equipment can kill; ask them to think about what they are doing; and, if they continue, ask them to call their family – because it may be their last opportunity.

It’s just that important.

The impact that a fatality has starting with the family, the co-workers and the community cannot be over-stressed.

Don’t be afraid to stand up for safety and to stress safety every day.

It’s our obligation as leaders.

Now, on the legislative front – it is refreshing to see the change of leadership in the Congress of the United States.

House and Senate Democratic leaders have passed legislation increasing the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.

The legislation in the Senate differs from that in the House because it includes an $8.3 billion small business tax cut package in order to overcome a GOP filibuster.

The increase is stalled now because of that GOP filibuster threat as House and Senate Democratic leaders try to figure out how to resolve the differences in the bills passed by the two bodies.

We are hopeful this will be worked out soon because it has been 10 long years since the minimum wage has been increased.

At the same time, pay for executives has skyrocketed and members of Congress have routinely received raises.

Also, this week – in fact, today – we are expecting that the Employee Free Choice Act will be introduced in Congress with more than 220 sponsors in the House of Representatives.

This legislation will require employers to recognize a union when a majority of workers sign up to join.

It will also require binding arbitration for first contracts and stiffen the penalties for illegal firings and other retaliation against union supporters.

We are all too familiar with the scenario when it comes to organizing in the current climate; illegal firings, illegal discipline, the threats of facility closings and other pressures to keep workers from having a voice.

It happens to tens of thousands of workers every year and it must stop. Our Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn, our National Organizing Department Director Terry Thurman, our vice presidents and regional directors, and many of you can recount numerous situations that include all of this and more.

Both Elizabeth and Terry face difficult challenges and they are doing great jobs in the organizing arena. But they, as well as all of us, enlist your support on two fronts.

First and foremost we need your help, and the help of your local union, in our daily organizing efforts.

You know that organized labor is the only way working people have to seek any form of equity and justice in the workplace. And, you can help to spread the word in our organizing drives.

Second, and just as important, you can e-mail, phone or write your United States Senators and U.S. House of Representative member and let them know the importance of passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

We owe it to workers across this great Nation to level the playing field on their behalf.

And, also on our legislative agenda is health care. America’s health care crisis will never be resolved at the bargaining table. It’s a national problem that requires a national solution.

Our nation spends 16 percent of our Gross Domestic Product – or nearly $2 trillion dollars annually – on health care while other industrialized countries spend about 10 percent of their GDP.

Yet, while they have universal coverage, we leave nearly 47 million Americans with no health care and millions more who are underinsured.

We have the best doctors, nurses and health care professionals, but, because of our system, compared to two dozen other industrialized countries, the U.S. has the highest infant mortality rate and the lowest life expectancy for people who have reached age 60.

Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with devoting significant resources to the health and well-being of our population. But we ought to be sure we’re receiving real value for what we spend.

The most rational and effective solution is a single-payer, universal, comprehensive national health insurance program that covers every man, woman and child in America.

That, to state it simply, is the difference between the U.S. and the other industrialized countries.

That’s also the right direction for America – and for our union.

While we continue to push in that direction, we’re also going to listen to new ideas and new approaches to health care – and we’ve heard some pretty good ones.

For example, as a step toward more universal coverage one suggestion is lowering the eligibility age for Medicare down to age 55.

This would offer coverage to tens of millions of Americans – and it could also lower costs for many employers.

Full funding for children’s health care would be another step forward. It’s relatively inexpensive to provide coverage for children – but a great investment in the long run for the health and well-being of the next generation.

There’s also some discussion in Washington about creating a reinsurance pool to cover the high costs of catastrophic medical cases.

Once again, this is a proposal that could help individual workers retain health care coverage and help employers cope with high medical costs.

As we pursue a national solution to our health care problems, we must also confront a crisis in U.S. trade policy.

This is an international problem that requires an international solution.

We need trade agreements that protect workers’ rights and human rights and the environment.

Right now, we freely grant access to our markets – but we ask for almost nothing in return.

As a result, our nation’s trade deficit in goods and services will be nearly $800 billion for ’06.

This is preposterous and it has to stop.

We need fair trade agreements; not free trade agreements. And, we need a global economy that works for working people instead of an autocratic trade regime that is designed to meet the needs of global corporations.

In order to be fair, U.S. trade agreements must include human rights, workers’ rights, environmental protections, protections from import surges, intellectual property rights, safeguards to prevent currency manipulation and include enforcement mechanisms.

The way we got to this point is because of the “fast-track” authority which led to flawed agreements. It expires at the end of June this year.

The UAW, other unions and progressive groups are opposing any extension because it affords very limited debate and no opportunity for amendments.

Now, having just mentioned the environment, we need a new plan here at home. And the UAW has got one. It’s called the Marshall Plan for the U.S. auto industry.

A key feature is providing tax incentives for manufacturers who build hybrids and other advanced fuel-saving technology in the United States.

Right now, consumers can get a tax credit for buying a hybrid. But that hybrid can come from anywhere, and many hybrids are manufactured in Japan.

It just makes sense for U.S. taxpayers to subsidize U.S. production of U.S. vehicles made by U.S. workers.

That’s why we’re pushing for a manufacturers’ tax credit to help preserve U.S. jobs.

Another priority issue for our union is reform of the corporate bankruptcy laws.

Companies like Delphi and Dana are using the bankruptcy process to evade their obligations under their collective bargaining agreements.

They are callous and have no regard for workers, families and communities.

They reward themselves with huge salaries, pensions and bonuses while they are destroying jobs here and investing outside of the U.S.

It’s obscene and immoral and they are, in part, responsible for the destruction of our industrial base.

With Cal and Bob King’s leadership we will work through Delphi and Dana because at some point these hired guns have to deal with our union.

But the bottom line is that they do not care. They do not have a conscience.

And, the only way for us to stop them dead in their tracks in the future is for each of us to urge our Senators and Representatives to support corporate bankruptcy reform legislation.

Switching to the collective bargaining area, as we begin this four year cycle, we recognize that over the years a great deal has changed in the UAW. Our workplaces have changed. Our employers and our industries have changed.

The economy we work in has changed – from a regional and national economy to a global economy.

You know the facts: due to outsourcing, privatization, globalization, loss of market share, and other factors, we’re losing thousands of good UAW jobs.

Even with all this change, we in the UAW still experience a sense of continuity because the core values of our union have not changed since it was founded more than 70 years ago.

And, we will not walk away from the principle that skilled trades workers are critical to the strength of our union.

There was a time, in fact, when nearly all of our skilled trades workers would be found in factories.

Today, we have skilled trades members who work for local and state government, for schools, for hospitals, and in other areas maintaining and operating critical facilities and equipment.

The way we work and the places where we work may be changing, but the core values of UAW skilled trades workers are enduring values.

As we said in the opening remarks we stand for safety – for ourselves and our co-workers. But, we also stand for quality – a relentless commitment to provide the best possible product or service.

We stand for diversity because anyone with the skill and the dedication to earn a UAW journeyman’s card deserves the opportunity to work full-time in his or her chosen trade.

And, as we move forward we face some difficult, complex and tough challenges and we need your experience and dedication to find solutions to these issues as we defend our trades.

We all know that this should be a time of growth and opportunity for skilled trades workers.

Due to new technology and new work processes, the Department of Labor says the U.S. will need one million new skilled trades workers by 2012.

That does not automatically mean one million new high-paying jobs for American workers unless we fight for them.

There are some employers who will work with us to take advantage of new opportunities to expand our skilled trades workforce.

But too many employers take the opposite approach.

They will work overtime to sub-contract work instead of taking advantage of the skill and experience of our trades to enhance safety, quality and productivity.

We’re going to continue the struggle to limit and prevent these short-sighted practices.

We’re going to fight to protect the core skills of our trades, and we’re going to do all we can to prevent the use of outside contractors.

We can safely assume that many employers will fight us every step of the way.

They can safely assume that we will fight back.

Our union, organized labor and, yes, our entire country has been devastated by our nation’s failure to develop rational and responsible policies on health care, trade and industry.

The impact of these failures is all too familiar to our skilled trades members.

The high cost of health care, the lure of low-cost labor overseas and the failure of our energy policies create powerful incentives for employers to outsource and contract out jobs that can and should be done by UAW skilled trades workers.

We’ve negotiated language to limit these practices. But every chance they get, some employers push up against – and sometimes beyond – the limits we’ve negotiated.

That’s why we need new and stronger language to protect the work our members currently perform.

We need enhanced advance notice and union input into any decisions about subcontracting or outsourcing.

We’re going to push as hard as we can to resolve these issues across the bargaining table.

We’re going to remain active in our workplaces, on the organizing front, in our communities and in the political arena.

We’re going to pursue our goals the way we always have: through collective bargaining, as members of the greatest trade union in the world.

With your help and support, we will get the job done.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Solidarity. Solidarity. Solidarity.