King, 63, endorsed by UAW’s board, beat Gary Walkowicz, a bargaining committee member from Local 600 in Dearborn, Mich, by a roll-call vote of 2,115.095-74.549. Walkowicz freely admitted he could not win, but he ran to dramatize rank-and-file opposition to past givebacks in bargaining with the three Detroit automakers.
Those givebacks helped GM and Chrysler reorganize through bankruptcy and also produced wages for new hires of $14 hourly, with few benefits, and far less than veteran workers receive. Now that federal loan guarantees helped make GM and Chrysler profitable again -- as is Ford, which never took federal funds -- both line workers and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka say its time to return those givebacks.
Trumka’s stand came in his June 14 speech to the convention’s first session. The workers’ stands came in resolutions submitted by various locals -- most of which were ruled out of order. Leaders said they’re better suited to next year’s auto bargaining conference.
“The three major U.S. companies are making profits again. We salute their success. And we demand that they do right by the workers who have done right by them. Because just as there has been shared sacrifice in periods of pain, there must be shared prosperity in periods of gain,” Trumka declared.
“This isn\'t just your fight. This is a fight for every working American who has worked longer, worked harder, worked smarter and earned their fair share of the wealth they created. And it is a fight that we will win.
“Thanks to the courage and vision of the UAW, the commitment of President (Barack) Obama, and support of our friends in Congress, we are rescuing the American auto industry,” Trumka added. He cited not just the turnarounds at GM and Chrysler, but the reopening -- with UAW workers and new owners -- of two factories. Tesla now owns the old NUMMI plant in Fremont, Calif., and Fisker Automotive is reopening a closed GM plant in Wilmington, Del.
King may agree about trying to reverse the givebacks. He has already filed a grievance with Ford about its restoration of benefits for salaried employees, as opposed to UAW line workers. And Ford, Gettelfinger and other UAW leaders got a shock last year when one auto contract modification lost big among the locals involved.
Mark Gruenberg writes for Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
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King, 63, endorsed by UAW’s board, beat Gary Walkowicz, a bargaining committee member from Local 600 in Dearborn, Mich, by a roll-call vote of 2,115.095-74.549. Walkowicz freely admitted he could not win, but he ran to dramatize rank-and-file opposition to past givebacks in bargaining with the three Detroit automakers.
Those givebacks helped GM and Chrysler reorganize through bankruptcy and also produced wages for new hires of $14 hourly, with few benefits, and far less than veteran workers receive. Now that federal loan guarantees helped make GM and Chrysler profitable again — as is Ford, which never took federal funds — both line workers and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka say its time to return those givebacks.
Trumka’s stand came in his June 14 speech to the convention’s first session. The workers’ stands came in resolutions submitted by various locals — most of which were ruled out of order. Leaders said they’re better suited to next year’s auto bargaining conference.
“The three major U.S. companies are making profits again. We salute their success. And we demand that they do right by the workers who have done right by them. Because just as there has been shared sacrifice in periods of pain, there must be shared prosperity in periods of gain,” Trumka declared.
“This isn\’t just your fight. This is a fight for every working American who has worked longer, worked harder, worked smarter and earned their fair share of the wealth they created. And it is a fight that we will win.
“Thanks to the courage and vision of the UAW, the commitment of President (Barack) Obama, and support of our friends in Congress, we are rescuing the American auto industry,” Trumka added. He cited not just the turnarounds at GM and Chrysler, but the reopening — with UAW workers and new owners — of two factories. Tesla now owns the old NUMMI plant in Fremont, Calif., and Fisker Automotive is reopening a closed GM plant in Wilmington, Del.
King may agree about trying to reverse the givebacks. He has already filed a grievance with Ford about its restoration of benefits for salaried employees, as opposed to UAW line workers. And Ford, Gettelfinger and other UAW leaders got a shock last year when one auto contract modification lost big among the locals involved.
Mark Gruenberg writes for Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.