Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm:
‘Elect leaders who will level playing field’
In her remarks to 1,500 delegates on the final day of the UAW Special Convention on Collective Bargaining, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm posed a telling question.
“Some say organized labor is not competitive in a global economy, that you all just don’t get it. Will those of you who don’t know anyone who has been touched by someone who has lost a job please raise your hand?”
Not one hand went up.
“That’s what I thought,” the Democratic governor said.
Granholm, in her second term as governor, reminded delegates that Michigan was once a state that workers flocked to for jobs.
Before she was elected governor, Granholm said, Michigan had lost 189,000 manufacturing jobs. Since 2000 it has lost a total of 261,000 manufacturing jobs.
“We’ve cut business taxes to encourage investment here, resulting in 30 percent less revenue,” she said. “Despite that, Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the nation.”
Slashing business taxes alone doesn’t encourage investment by job providers, she said. “This ‘cuts-only philosophy’ is a race to the bottom,” she said, echoing similar words on a UAW banner in Cobo Hall.
“Our struggle to keep jobs in Michigan mirrors the struggle of all manufacturing states nationwide,” the governor said.
The real question is what are we going to do as a nation in the face of this? Granholm’s answer: “We must elect leaders who will level the playing field up, not down, and negotiate trade agreements that don’t give away the store.”
Granholm stressed that UAW members are on the front lines and encouraged them to push the current administration toward developing a manufacturing agenda.
“There’s no doubt your clout as a union has been heard throughout Washington,” she said, “but we need a new president.”
Indeed, the governor’s priorities in the 2008 election are clear.
“My issues will be universal health care, fair trade and investing in our workers,” Granholm said.
FROM THE FLOOR
Mike Green
UAW Local 652
vice chair
Lansing, Mich.
What’s new: At 5 years old, General Motors’ Lansing Grand River plant is about to launch its new Cadillac CTS.
His issues: “My biggest concern is our health care. We have to take care of our brothers and sisters. The companies tell us to clean our houses up, but they need to clean up theirs. They have taken the money they made here out of domestic sales and used it to invest and create jobs around the world.”
Patrice Broxton
UAW Local 2344
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Who they are: Formerly ITT Automotive and a nonunion shop, workers at this Independents, Parts and Suppliers facility voted for the UAW in a card-check recognition in 1995. Lear Corp. bought the company two years later.
Some history: Broxton was an organizer during the campaign and member of the local’s first bargaining committee. “The best thing about getting a union was being able to have a voice in our workplace. It was a proud moment.”
Her issue: “The Employee Free Choice Act. Workers should be able to make a decision on whether to join a union. Why is this administration so against unions?”
