Gettelfinger and the CEOs of the nation\'s major auto companies met on Capitol Hill with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to discuss ways to revive the auto industry, which lost 39,000 jobs in August.
"There is an urgent need for federal assistance — not just for our members, but for millions of workers and retirees and for thousands of companies who depend on the auto industry for jobs, retirement benefits and revenue," said Gettelfinger. "It is essential that the federal government act to prevent further damage to a critical industry which supports billions of dollars worth of economic activity in cities and towns all across the country."
He called for the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve to take steps to provide liquidity to auto manufacturers so they can get through the difficulties caused by an across-the-board decline in auto sales.
The sales drop, Gettelfinger says, is driven by consumer reaction to tough economic times and a lack of affordable credit for big purchases. As if to underscore Gettelfinger\'s analysis, Ford announced that it lost $129 million last quarter and will cut about 2,260 more nonunion white-collar employees in North America.
Congress also should act immediately, said Gettelfinger, to provide an additional $25 billion in loans so that auto companies can meet their health care obligations to more than 780,000 retirees and dependents.
"Strategic assistance to a critical manufacturing industry makes sense for U.S. taxpayers," he said. "The alternative is lost jobs, business failures and a shortfall in pension and health care obligations — all of which will cost far more in the future than the assistance we are requesting now."
James Park writes for the AFL-CIO news blog, where this article originally appeared.
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Gettelfinger and the CEOs of the nation\’s major auto companies met on Capitol Hill with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to discuss ways to revive the auto industry, which lost 39,000 jobs in August.
"There is an urgent need for federal assistance — not just for our members, but for millions of workers and retirees and for thousands of companies who depend on the auto industry for jobs, retirement benefits and revenue," said Gettelfinger. "It is essential that the federal government act to prevent further damage to a critical industry which supports billions of dollars worth of economic activity in cities and towns all across the country."
He called for the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve to take steps to provide liquidity to auto manufacturers so they can get through the difficulties caused by an across-the-board decline in auto sales.
The sales drop, Gettelfinger says, is driven by consumer reaction to tough economic times and a lack of affordable credit for big purchases. As if to underscore Gettelfinger\’s analysis, Ford announced that it lost $129 million last quarter and will cut about 2,260 more nonunion white-collar employees in North America.
Congress also should act immediately, said Gettelfinger, to provide an additional $25 billion in loans so that auto companies can meet their health care obligations to more than 780,000 retirees and dependents.
"Strategic assistance to a critical manufacturing industry makes sense for U.S. taxpayers," he said. "The alternative is lost jobs, business failures and a shortfall in pension and health care obligations — all of which will cost far more in the future than the assistance we are requesting now."
James Park writes for the AFL-CIO news blog, where this article originally appeared.