Here are the UAW’s top legislative priorities:

Rick Reinhard

Congress Split on Worker Issues
During the first session of the 107th Congress, key votes tallied by the UAW revealed sharp political differences between the two major political parties.

On issues such as the repeal of the ergonomics standard, tax cuts for the rich, patients’ bill of rights, campaign finance reform and fast track, nearly all Democrats sided with the UAW--and almost all Republicans didn’t.

Dems Do Better
The UAW looked at 14 key Senate votes and 13 key House votes. Twenty-six Democratic senators cast all--or all but one--of their votes with the UAW, while 32 Republican senators voted wrong on all or all but one of the key votes.

However, you couldn’t always predict votes based on party ties. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., sided with the UAW on eight votes while Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga., only voted with the UAW on six issues.

In the House, 119 Democrats voted with the UAW on all or all but one key vote while 91 Republicans voted against the UAW on all or all but one key vote.

The CAFE Exception
On only one key issue did the Republican House members do better than Democrats: mandated fuel economy standards. The UAW opposed legislation we thought was extreme and unfair.

Throughout the session, Republican leaders pursued a conservative, partisan agenda.

Repeal of the ergonomics standard was the only time Congress has repealed a public health and safety standard.

The negative impact of the Bush tax plan became clearer as the year progressed: Little aid went to laid-off workers, while rich taxpayers and corporations got huge tax breaks. Meanwhile, opportunities to add prescription drugs as a Medicare benefit or beef up Social Security were missed.

Check the Votes
If you want to see how your representative and senators voted on key issues last year, visit the UAW web site: www.uaw.org/cap/02/rollcall/vote01.cfm

For Late-Breaking News:

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