Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Congress / Kotz / Politics The Downside of Bob Corker's UAW Attacks
Posted by Pete Kotz on Tue, Jan 13, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Tennessee Senator Bob Corker is in Detroit today to attend the North American International Auto Show. It's doubtful he'll get a gracious reception.
Corker got major camera time for his attacks on the UWA during the auto bailout debate. He pressed workers to take serious wage and benefit cuts--without asking the same of executives--and pushed the UAW to trade contributions to their retiree trust fund for stock, a time-honored method for screwing widows down the road.
While it made him a sweetheart with the anti-labor exec crowd--the guys who can bundle checks by the pound at campaign time--it's also made him a contender for Public Enemy No. 1 in the industrial Midwest, where they take a certain pride in regular people earning real money. Many believe he's attacking U.S. automakers for the sake of foreign competitors with plants in Tennessee.
Nowhere is that more true than in Detroit. So when The Detroit News asked residents what they thought of Corker's arrival today, the comments were less than welcoming. A sampling:
"He's one of those people who wants to kill the American middle-class to help foreign companies."
"I wanted to punch my television screen. You not only want to kill my job, an entire industry, but you want to do it for a few foreign companies. Man, you're selling this whole country down the river."
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He pressed workers to take serious wage and benefit cuts--without asking the same of executives
Executives are subject to wage and benefit reductions of 100%; they can be fired. Union employees cannot.
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Dear Mr. Corker
I been watching the media and keep hearing you say the UAW needs to take steps to be more competitive. The average line worker makes $26 per hour which is competitive with the transplants. Unless we wash our hands of the retires which would not be far to them I don't see how to close the gap with transplants that don't give their people retirement packages. Which by the way will come back to haunt the Government when these people get to old or sick to work and have no retirement. I don't see you leaders saying hey the country is in trouble lets all take a pay cut and turn down our bonuses to help our country. Why not do that the company you work for is also in trouble? I hope to here your response. Thank you, Marc
