Gettelfinger: Privileged to work on membership’s behalf

Gettelfinger said there were many anti-union lawmakers who were ready to take down the domestic auto industry in order to destroy the UAW.

As right-wing, anti-union lawmakers and pundits ratcheted up their smear attacks on the UAW in the dark days of late 2007 and 2008, two things were clear, President Ron Gettelfinger said on the opening day of the union’s 35th Constitutional Convention in Detroit.

They wanted to destroy the UAW, even if it meant dragging the entire domestic auto industry down and losing hundreds of thousands of decent-paying jobs. It was also clear that UAW active and retired members would never let that happen.

“They did not realize the strong resolve of the women and men of the UAW and that through our solidarity, we had the energy, capacity and the vision to see things through,” he told the 1,200 delegates who packed Cobo Hall for his final speech as president on June 14.

“Most of these conservatives chose to represent the overseas, foreign nameplate operations and turned their backs on America’s domestic auto industry and her workers,” he said.

UAW active and retired members from all corners of our union did what they always do when faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge: They stepped up.

“You rallied, sent e-mails to Congress, wrote letters to the editors, made phone calls, attended teach-ins, and you took the battle for Main Street into our communities,” Gettelfinger said. “Because of your strength, your commitment, your willingness to stand up and your solidarity, we faced these challenges and chartered a course that led our union down a path to survival. Leaner? Yes. But stronger, wiser, and more determined as well.”

Gettelfinger said it is important to remember that our union was born in hard times 75 years ago, and those pioneers – and millions of women and men who followed them – sacrificed to build and grow our union.

“Their steadfast resolve not only made it possible for future generations to fare better than their own, but it essentially created the middle class in America,” he said. “Our membership and leadership face the future together in solidarity because of those who built our union and those who followed and built upon that foundation.”

That our members and nonmembers still face hard times is disappointing, he said.

But the foundation in place has allowed the UAW to win huge victories for workers at Freightliner, NTN Bower and many other workplaces.

“The point is your union – our union – the UAW is completely engaged in representing our active and retired members,” he said. “We have stayed true to our core values.”

One of our core values is being active in politics.

President Obama inherited eight years of failed policies that drove our nation into red ink and our economy off a cliff, Gettelfinger said. But Obama was willing to work with the UAW and domestic automakers to take the necessary action to keep the industry from collapsing.

“Just over a year later the domestic auto industry is profitable and is making in-roads in market share,” Gettelfinger said. So much so that a recent poll shows Americans prefer domestics 38 percent to 33 percent over foreign brands, he added.

Gettelfinger also thanked our brothers and sisters in the labor movement, as well as the current IEB leadership team, local union leaders and retirees.

“May God bless our retirees. The sacrifice that retirees have made gives us the courage, the will and the determination to continue to face the struggles of our day,” he said. “You are engaged, in gear and always ready to go.”

Vince Piscopo