Monday, February 18, 2008

Remarks by UAW President Ron Gettelfinger at Crain's "Newsmaker of the Year" event, Feb. 14, 2008

Thank you very much Keith Crain for the kind introduction, and thanks to all of you for the warm welcome and for the respect you show to the office I am privileged to hold in our union. It is a pleasure to be with all of you.

On behalf of our International Executive Board, our staff and clerical, and the active and retired members of the UAW, you have our sincere thanks for honoring our union as 2007 "Newsmaker of the Year." It is a privilege to accept this award on behalf of the men and women of the UAW.

I am especially pleased that our Secretary-Treasurer, Elizabeth Bunn; our Vice Presidents -- General Holiefield, Bob King and Cal Rapson; our regional directors -- Region 1 director Joe Peters and Region 1A director Rory Gamble; and some members of our staff and local unions are in attendance to join in the acceptance of this award.

UAW members are a slice of society. We care about our country, our state and the communities where we live and work. We're no different than anyone else. We are little league coaches, mentors and charity and community volunteers.

Of course, collective bargaining is the core of what we do as a union, and we are proud of our Big Three vice-presidents and our 2007 national negotiators at Chrysler, Ford and GM. We all know that the auto bargaining is critical to our state and to our country. That?s why our 2007 bargaining theme was: "Fighting for America's Future: Good jobs. Strong communities." However, the membership of our union stretches across all sectors of the U.S. economy: manufacturing, service, higher education, health care and other areas. Our bargaining theme served us in these sectors as well.

Workers in these various industries face a wide range of economic conditions. But you can sum up the bargaining environment just about everywhere these days in a single word: challenging.

Our members never shy away from a tough situation. During 2007, in manufacturing and in service industries, in the public sector as well as the private sector, UAW members confronted difficult circumstances -- just as we did in the auto industry.

And just as we did in auto, we approached bargaining with an open mind, a willingness to listen and a determination to stay true to our principles: the principles of democracy, fairness and equity.

Time and again, our members came away with innovative agreements that protect jobs and protect our active and retired members. Repeatedly, we helped employers find ways to be productive and competitive in these uncertain economic times.

For example, members of our union negotiated a landmark agreement which helped bring the Dana Corporation out of bankruptcy. In doing so, our union worked closely with Centerbridge Industrial Partners to secure $500 million in new financing for the re-organized company.

We stressed that fair treatment of workers during union organizing campaigns must be a part of the agreement. Since then, more than 2,000 workers at 11 Dana facilities have become part of our union.

We also bargained new agreements at Freightliner and International Truck and Engine, despite very difficult conditions in the heavy truck industry. And we bargained new contracts at the Detroit casinos, helping build an industry which is key to Detroit?s new economy.

When casinos first came to Detroit in 1999, the UAW became the first union -- anywhere in the United States -- to represent casino dealers.

Our successful partnership with the Detroit casinos has inspired other workers across the country. Over the past 11 months, workers at major casino properties in Connecticut, Indiana and New Jersey have voted to become part of the UAW, often by overwhelming majorities.

In the midst of Michigan?s budget crisis, our union negotiated a new agreement for more than 15,000 UAW members who work for the state of Michigan.

Working with our American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees partners we also jointly negotiated a first contract for more than 40,000 Michigan child care workers, who became part of our unions in 2006. That contract offers new hope and opportunity for workers who provide this critical service for Michigan families.

There is no doubt that the active and retired members of our union made news in many ways in 2007 and that is why our members, in all sectors of our union, appreciate the recognition Crain?s awarded our institution today.

In regards to auto, this can be a defining moment in time in the history of the auto industry. But it will only be defining if the industry honors the "spirit and intent" of the agreements to invest in the United States. It is then that our communities, state and country will reap the benefits of these negotiations. The savings to the Big Three that have been identified in the 2007 auto agreements are real. And, as a result, the so-called "competitive gap" between the domestic companies and foreign nameplate operations has all but been eliminated.

And, it is incumbent on the Big Three; from the Board of Directors and top executives through middle management, to the line supervisors, to recognize their moral obligation to the active and retired workers who made out-of-pocket sacrifices in these negotiations. This moral obligation should cause the Board and all of management to honor the intent of the sacrifices of their workforce and retirees to grow the companies in the U.S, and to resist the temptation to further personally enrich themselves through these savings.

There is also an obligation on the part of the media. The writers, analysts, pundits and self-proclaimed experts who have consistently blamed the auto workers for the ills of the industry, must closely monitor and report on the competitive gap that exists on the management side of the table in regards to all compensation they receive as compared to their overseas competition.

Most importantly, the 2007 auto agreements secure lifetime health care for current and future UAW retirees, including every seniority worker who was on the active rolls on Sept. 14, 2007.

We accomplished this through the creation of VEBAs, or Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations, at each company.

The independent VEBA trust will be funded by tens of billions of dollars in cash, stock and other securities contributed by our employers. It is the largest transfer of assets from capital to labor in the history of the United States.

Because the trusts are pre-funded, Chrysler, Ford and GM can remove projected retiree health care costs from their books, which has already improved their financial positions.

We bargained hard for sufficient funding, and the independent trusts will receive up-front contributions and have already begun earning interest. So we are confident the VEBAs will provide high-quality health care benefits for our retirees for the next 80 years. These agreements also deliver economic gains for our active and retired members.

Additionally, we negotiated product and investment guarantees, over the next four years and beyond, which are critically important to our members and to the communities where we work and live.

The agreements required an innovative approach. But compromise should never be confused with capitulation. No one should think that our union will not do everything in our power to defend the legitimate interests of our membership.

We will not sign one-sided agreements that require our members to sacrifice, while allowing employers to enjoy record profits and executives to be paid obscenely, extravagant salaries and bonuses.

To this point, we fought for over two years against the obscene bonuses sought by executives at Delphi in bankruptcy court. They wanted to reduce pay and benefits for our members while enriching themselves with outrageous schemes for executive compensation after they agreed to "equivalence of sacrifice" in our contract.

As you are aware, we won a court victory recently when the Delphi bankruptcy judge reduced the pool of funds available for the executive ?cash emergence bonus? by more than $70 million. In reality, this victory simply reduced the amount of "slop in the trough of corporate greed." But it was an important victory, not only for it's effect on the Delphi case itself, but also because it may help to create at least something of a "check and balance" on requests for executive compensation in future cases.

In regards to bargaining, our firm, but flexible, approach served our membership well over the years. And in the long run, we believe, the willingness of our union to stand up and fight for good jobs, benefits and good wages has benefited our members, our families and our communities.

Right now, however, much of what we have fought for as a union, and as a labor movement, is at risk.

That's because the American social contract has become dangerously perverted. America's working families can no longer expect that if you work hard and play by the rules, you can have a decent life and pass along an even better life to your children and grandchildren.

With fewer workers able to enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining, Americans are doing more work than ever for their employers while receiving less in return.

Productivity in the manufacturing sector rose by 4.2% per year, that?s 4.2% per year, between 2000 and 2006. But during that same period, median income for the typical American family dropped by over $1,000 per household.

In fact, average Americans are seeing a decline in the value of their homes; a decline in the value of their savings; and a decline in real wages; all at the same time. That is the first time all three have simultaneously occurred since 1974.

Meanwhile, the rich are getting richer, with an ever-increasing share of wealth concentrated in a smaller and smaller percentage of the population. And it is the wealthiest Americans, those who need it the least, who benefit the most from America?s unfair tax policies.

In 2006, 60% of the value of the Bush Administration's tax cuts went to people earning over $100,000 a year even though this group represents less than 14% of the U.S. population.

Forty-seven million Americans have no health insurance; millions more are underinsured. Those who are still covered pay more for insurance every year, even as the quality of coverage declines.

And for millions of American workers, especially those who work without a union contract, a secure, defined benefit pension plan has become a thing of the past.

So here's the reality of the situation for working people: You work harder. You get paid less. Your health care coverage is fading away. Your retirement income is no longer secure.

That's exactly the problem. Economic anxiety for working people has become the new American norm.

The traditional way for workers to improve their wages, health care and their pension is to form a union.

But in most of America's workplaces, that tradition has been broken. Not because workers don't want unions. Public opinion data shows just the opposite: 60 million workers would join unions, if they had the chance to do so.

But they don't have the chance because many employers fiercely resist when workers try to organize and labor laws have been subverted to support employers.

Union representation now stands at just 7.5% of the private sector. In the rest of the economy, employers have nearly unlimited power to set wages. So it's pretty clear what's going to happen: Wages will stand still or start to fall. And that's exactly what is happening to America's workers.

Look no further than the recent debate in Congress. It was agreed by many economists that the very best stimulus package was one that puts money in the pockets of middle-class families.

Unfortunately it's predicted that up to 50% of the rebates will be used to pay down credit card debt or saved for even more trying times.

From our point of view, the surest route to good jobs, good wages, strong consumer spending power and sustainable economic growth is reform of our nation?s labor laws. To restore the American dream, we believe, workers must have the right to join together and bargain for a better standard of living.

Regardless of your point of view, however, it's painfully, obvious that we can no longer ignore the economic factors that are chipping away at the American dream. Unless we have a fundamental change in direction, America is in danger of becoming an economy with a tiny elite of wealth, a great mass of working poor, and the middle-class all but squeezed out of existence.

That's not the America we grew up in. That's not the America we have worked for, saved for and sacrificed for. That's not the America we want to leave to future generations. We want an America that is based on the same values and vision that Crain?s honored today when they honored the members of our union.

A vision based on respect and dignity for working people, democracy in the workplace and shared prosperity.

We can have an America where every man, woman and child has access to quality health care, regardless of income or occupation, if we want it.

Why can't we have an America where every worker can earn a decent wage, work in a safe manner and return home in the same condition as when they left for work?

Shouldn't we strive for an America where retirees can live in dignity? We can have an America that is open to fair trade, but secure against products that are unsafe for workers, consumers or the environment.

Our America can lead the world in job-creating industries which protect our environment and enhance our quality of life, if that is what we choose as a nation.

Perhaps to some this is far-reaching, but it is not farfetched. These goals are achievable.

In the auto industry and in other industries we have confronted problems that many people believed were impossible to solve. We found ways to create new and innovative solutions.

In doing so, we built on the contracts we had previously negotiated with our employers and adapted them to present-day circumstances.

In the same way, it is time for labor, management, consumers and other stakeholders to come together and renew America?s social contract.

Our economy is not a tropical storm with wind gusts blowing in every direction. It is created by conscious decisions, and it is those decisions that impact so many lives both here and in other countries.

The men and women of the UAW believe we can choose a more positive future for all Americans.

Thank you once again for your invitation to be here today and for the recognition bestowed on the members of our union.