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UAW President Yokich Comments on Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iaccoca's Attack on Vice President Gore

18 October 2000

UAW President Yokich Comments on Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iaccoca's Attack on Vice President Gore

    DETROIT, Oct. 18 The following are UAW President Yokich's
comments on former Chrysler CEO Lee Iaccoca's attack on Vice President Gore:

    "Lee Iaccoca couldn't be more wrong when he claims that Al Gore is not a
friend of the U.S. auto industry.
    "In the years since Mr. Iaccoca left the auto industry and Michigan, Vice
President Gore has worked closely with the Big Three automakers and the UAW on
such critically important initiatives as the Partnership for New Generation
Vehicles.
    "Those of us who are Involved in today's auto industry know that Al Gore
supports a balanced approach to improving fuel economy and reducing auto
emissions while keeping good-paying auto jobs in America.
    "The UAW has taken a long, hard look at the candidates' positions on
issues affecting the future of the auto industry, and we are convinced that Al
Gore is the clear choice for autoworkers -- and for all working families.
    "Finally, it's remarkable to hear Lee Iaccoca call George W. Bush a true
friend of the auto industry given that his father, as a presidential
candidate, opposed the Chrysler loan guarantee, and that Governor Bush picked
Dick Cheney as his running mate -- a man who twice voted against the Chrysler
loan guarantee.  The fact is, if George W. Bush's pick for vice, president
would have had his way in 1979, Chrysler Corporation would have died, taking
tens of thousands of good-paying American jobs with it.
    "Maybe Lee Iaccoca has forgotten that it was a Democratic President and a
Democratic Congress -- including then U.S. Rep. Al Gore -- who supported the
Chrysler loan guarantee.  But I can assure you that the UAW members at
Chrysler who sacrificed to keep their company alive have not forgotten who was
on their side and who voted to let Chrysler die."