Here are the UAW’s top legislative priorities:

Rick Reinhard

Fast Track
Early this year the Senate may take up the fast track bill. In addition, there may have to be a House-Senate conference to reconcile different bills. Tell Congress to oppose the fast track legislation because it fails to include meaningful protections for workers’ rights and the environment, and because it would grease the skids for an expansion of NAFTA to South and Central America.

Helping Unemployed Workers
Congress should immediately pass legislation to provide assistance to the hundreds of thousands of laid-off workers including extended and expanded unemployment insurance benefits and continued health insurance coverage.

Tax and Budget Priorities
Urge Congress to support legislation to freeze or reverse the Bush tax cuts. These funds should be used to help pay for immediate assistance to laid-off workers, to strengthen Social Security and provide a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, and for other vital domestic programs.

Retirement Security
The Bush administration is pushing proposals to privatize Social Security which will force deep cuts of 20-40 percent in Social Security benefits, as well as increases in the retirement age to 70 or higher. Tell Congress, “No way.”

Workers' Rights
The UAW wants to require the Bush administration to issue a new ergonomics standard. We also demand an immediate boost in the minimum wage without any poison pills that would cut workers’ overtime pay.

CAFE
The Senate is expected to take up an energy bill, which may include provisions dealing with the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. The UAW strongly opposes extreme CAFE proposals, like the Feinstein-Snowe bill (S. 804).

Civil and Human Rights
The UAW and our allies strongly support the bi-partisan election reform bill (S. 565) to require the states to implement reforms on voting equipment and procedures.

For Late-Breaking News:

UAW Website: DC Link
UAW hotline: 1-800-482-3334