Labor, Business, Elected Officials Call on D.C. to Keep It Made in America

Teach-In Showcases Stories from 11-State Bus Tour on the Future of 7.2 million Auto-Related Jobs in America

Contacts: Connie Mabin, USW, 724-601-5282, cmabin@usw.org
              Gary Hubbard, USW, 202-256-8125, ghubbard@usw.org

Washington, D.C. – From May 11 to May 14, thousands of workers whose paychecks are tied to the U.S. auto industry joined bus tours through 11 states to showcase the ripple effect of economic devastation and lost jobs in industries ranging from steel and paper to shops on Main Street and public education.  For highlights from the 11-state bus tour, visit www.madeinamericatour.org. 

On Tuesday, May 19, from 9:00 AM-1:15 PM in Room HVC 215 of the Capitol Visitors Center, national economists, labor and business leaders, Members of Congress, local elected officials and everyday workers will bring those stories to Washington and present principles for how taxpayer assistance to the auto industry should only support American jobs and communities.  A morning roundtable, moderated by MSNBC’s Ed Schultz and joined by featured speakers including Leo Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers, Wilbur Ross, Chairman & CEO of WL Ross & Company, and Dr. Susan Helper, Case Western Reserve University, Professor of Economics will examine The Auto Supply Chain, Community Impacts and What Congress Can Do.  

U.S. auto manufacturing impacts millions more workers than those on assembly lines. Millions of workers depend on auto manufacturing companies as customers – in 19 U.S. states auto supply manufacturing is either the top or among the top five industrial employers – and millions more depend on auto workers as customers in their stores and restaurants.  Local governments depend on income tax and property tax from middle class families to pay for education, health and safety services. To learn more about how the auto manufacturing industry impacts local communities visit www.americanmanufacturing.org. 

Recognizing the consequences that U.S. auto manufacturing has on communities across America, the Alliance for American Manufacturing, United Steelworkers and Mayors and Municipalities Coalition are presenting Congress and the Administration with principles for revitalizing the auto and auto parts manufacturing sectors, and driving economic activity beyond the assembly line floor:

• Stimulate domestic demand for automobiles, such as an incentive program like cash-for-clunkers with a strong domestic content requirement and restoring credit for consumers and businesses.
• Only risk American tax dollars to support domestic jobs, investment, and innovation, and reject off-shoring as a path to profitability for GM and Chrysler.
• Restore cooperative innovation and research and development efforts. A National Automotive Research and Development Program, for example, could provide incentives for companies to create programs that lead to better, safer, and more fuel-efficient vehicles – built domestically.
• Change health care policy to eliminate structural problems for the domestic auto industry. The Big Three’s foreign competitors benefit from either national health care plans or through offering substandard benefits.
• Ensure trade policy promotes U.S. interests. The U.S. imports $41.5 billion in cars and light trucks from Japan and $7.5 billion for Korea, while we export only $534 million and $373 million respectively. We must address non-tariff barriers to trade in these markets, end currency misalignment and aggressively enforce our trade laws to eliminate unfair trade practices.

Additional panel guests and speakers include: auto supply workers, auto dealers and workers from the bus tour as well as Tom Conway, United Steelworkers international vice-president; Scott Paul, Alliance for American Manufacturing executive director; Mayor Virg Bernero (Lansing, MI); City Manager Peter Auger (Auburn Hills, MI); Mayor Kevin Wixom (Hinkley, MI); Mayor Carty Finkbeiner (Toledo, OH); Mayor Marlene Anielski (Walkton Hills, OH); Major Charles Brunner (Bay City, MI); Mayor Katherine Procop (Twinsburg, OH).

Leo W. Gerard, USW international president said, Traveling around the country last week, we heard from laid-off people in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who desperately want to go back to work making auto parts. They are angry that their tax dollars might be used to export jobs.  In Granite City, Illinois, a fourth-generation restaurant owner agonized over the thought that he may not be able to hand down his diner to his baby girl because local plant closings have hurt his business. All over the country workers on and off the assembly line are counting on our leaders to recognize that there’s much more at stake than profits. Saving the auto industry is about 7.2 million people, their families and their communities. Our teach-in aims to bring this message to Washington – that this is America’s fight, and a strong domestic auto industry matters to all of us.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in the U.S. and Canada employed in the industries of metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service sector. For more information: www.usw.org/.

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Draft Agenda – for Planning Purposes Only – Printable Copy

KEEP IT MADE IN AMERICA TEACH-IN

 May 19, 2009    
 Washington, D.C.
 Sponsored by
 Alliance for American Manufacturing
 United Steelworkers
 Mayors and Municipalities Automotive Coalition
 Major Auto Parts Suppliers

8:30 – 9:00
Registration

9:00 – 9:15
Welcome from Leo Gerard, USW International President and Scott Paul, Alliance for American Manufacturing Executive Director

9:15 – 9:25
Video: It’s Our Fight Too

9:25 – 9:40
What’s at Stake
Lisa Jordan, Toby Kreidler, Chad Apaliski (USW)

9:40 – 10:40 am 
Roundtable Discussion
Ed Schultz – MSNBC – Discussion Leader
Leo Gerard, USW International President
Wilbur Ross, Chairman & CEO , WL Ross & Co.,
Virg Bernero, Mayor, City of Lansing
Senator Sherrod Brown*
Dr. Susan Helper
Doug May

10:30 – 10:50
The Supply Chain that’s 7.2 Million Jobs Long
Scott Paul – AAM – Discussion Leader
Local plant manager
Local auto dealer 
Video: Real Impact:  Auto Supply Workers

10:50 – 11:30
Community Impacts (Mayor Virg Bernero)
Video:  Real Impact

11:30 – 12:00
Power point: The Choice We Face and What We Can Do
Lisa Jordan, Toby Kreidler, Chad Apaliski (USW)
Video: America the Possible

12:00 – 1:00
Government’s Response
Leo W. Gerard – USW – Discussion Leader
Invited Elected Leaders

Media availability to follow