Detroit Wants Helping Hand from Washington
 President Bush, right, and Vice President Dick Cheney, second from right, meet with automotive executives in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006. Seated, from left are, Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally; Chrysler Group President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas W. LaSorda; and General Motors Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner. (AP Photo ) |
Washington DC February 23, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that domestic auto makers and the United Auto Workers have joined together to call for greater support from the White House.
The two groups, which normally oppose one another over labor issues, agree that the U.S. government should provide them with more assistance in competing in today's global economy.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, speaking last night in Michigan, said: "The unions aren't the problem. You've got a president of the United States who wouldn't even come here to discuss the problem."
President Bush had met with the chief executives of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., and the Chrysler Group at the White House in January to discuss industry challenges.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Gettelfinger went on to blame the Bush administration's positions on foreign exchange and trade for his group's troubles. "We believe in trade — we believe in fair trade," he said. "We don't believe in free trade where we come up on the short end of the stick".
"The working-class people are not represented in any of these trade discussions." Gettelfinger did not mention in his speech the more than 100,000 non UAW working-class Americans employed by foreign owned automakers in the USA.