The future of tens of thousands of America's workers and General Motors is being decided in Washington, D.C., right now. As a result, the future of our jobs, your jobs, and working conditions of those in other countries are stake.
GM has proposed closing 16 manufacturing facilities in the United States, while dramatically increasing the number of vehicles it will be importing from Mexico, Korea, Japan and China for sale in this country. This is not acceptable.
If GM is going to receive government assistance to facilitate its restructuring, President Obama must insist that GM change its restructuring plan to minimize the loss of these American jobs. We must insist on workplace fairness by holding steady and not continuing to cut. We must demand that in the next months, the Obama Administration revisit global trade agreements and we must insist that, at least, fair labor standards be added to them. Under current plans, not only will American jobs be lost, but wages of non-American (often non-union) workers, given the unfair labor standards built into global trade agreements such as NAFTA, will continue to fall. Poverty will rise and the global wage gap will increase.
President Obama's auto task force is currently negotiating GM's restructuring plan with the UAW, GM management, bondholders, dealers, part suppliers and other stakeholders. The result of these negotiations will have a major impact on wages, benefits and jobs for active and retired UAW members and millions of America's workers connected directly and indirectly with the auto industry.
Workers around the world need to join forces. Auto workers need your help. Can you contact President Obama today and ask him to help save American jobs and help set the international wage and job security standard in ways that can be dramatically helpful to all workers and retirees?
Call the White House at (202) 456-1414 or send a message to them online today.
Click here to tell us about your call or e-mail.
Thank you for your time,
Marc Laitin
AFL-CIO Online Mobilization Coordinator
David Wolach
UAW & AFT/NEA Member, Professor, The Evergreen State College
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