State of the Union August 3, 2010

August 3, 2010 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Reminder: Today is primary election day with many offices up for grabs. Please make an effort to vote.

UAW President Bob King gave what is being called by some a “watershed” speech at the annual Center for Automotive Research Conference. We will run the speech in its entirety here the next three days:

In the past year, we have emerged from the most dramatic and historic crisis that has ever faced the industry and our union. We are deeply grateful to the Obama administration and to the American people for saving the American auto industry. Enabling our companies to survive and turn around has saved hundreds of thousands of good jobs that would have been gone forever. Everyone made enormous sacrifices to emerge from this crisis. UAW members took wage cuts of $7,000 to $30,000 a year. Benefits were also reduced significantly. Restructuring resulted in the loss of nearly 200,000 jobs.

The crisis of 2008-2009 dramatized the necessity of fundamental change in the UAW. Although triggered by the financial meltdown, the crisis in the auto industry also had its roots in behaviors and cultures – both within the companies and within the union – that were outmoded and unsuited for the 21st century. We had already begun to change and to revise our practices, but the crisis proved that we had not moved quickly or dramatically enough.

The UAW of the 21st century must be fundamentally and radically different from the UAW of the 20th century.

This is a new world, and we must reinvent our union with bold new strategies.
Our union began 75 years ago as a movement for social justice for all working people. In the mid-20th century, the UAW played a critical role in building the middle class in this nation. It would be a betrayal of the bold and pioneering heritage of our union if we did not engage in bold and dramatic change to address the challenges of rebuilding a global middle class for the 21st century.

The 20th-century UAW grew in an era of national rather than global economics, where employers did not face the intense pressure of global competition. The 21st-century UAW recognizes that flexibility, innovation, lean manufacturing and continuous cost improvement are paramount in the global marketplace.

The 20th-century UAW was dealing with a market dominated by the Big 3. The 21st-century UAW is dealing with at least the Big 7 and probably more.

The 20th-century UAW joined with the companies in a mindset that it was the company’s job to worry about profits, and the union’s job to worry about getting the workers their fair share. The 21st-century UAW embraces as our own the mission of producing the highest quality, best value products for our customers.

The 20th-century UAW was not primarily focused on the needs of the consumers, and we failed to champion forcefully or effectively enough the goals of preserving our environment for future generations through green manufacturing. The 21st-century UAW makes as a priority the interests of consumer safety, energy efficiency, and environmental protection.

The 20th-century UAW fell into a pattern with our employers where we saw each other as adversaries rather than partners. Mistrust became embedded in our relations, and as a result we signed onto ever more lengthy and complicated contracts with work rules and narrow job classifications that hindered flexibility, hindered the full use of the talents of our members and promoted a litigious and time-consuming grievance culture. The 21st-century UAW has welcomed the openness, collaboration, and creative problem solving partnerships that we have forged with Chrysler, GM, and Ford. Out of the ashes of the cataclysm of 2008 and 2009, a new, more visionary and stronger 21st-century UAW is being born. The 21st-century UAW no longer views these managements as our adversaries or enemies, but as partners in innovation and quality. Our new relationships with these employers are built upon a foundation of respect, shared goals, and a common mission.

The 20th-century UAW tried to find ways to achieve job security, such as job banks, that in the end did not achieve the result we were seeking. The 21st-century UAW knows that the only true path to job security is by producing the best quality product, the safest product and the longest lasting product, at the best price.
The 20th-century UAW reacted with hostility and resistance to the historic changes brought about by the globalization of the economy. The 21st-century UAW is adopting a constructive and positive approach to global trade and global development, and we are committed to being citizens of the world and achieving trade that spreads prosperity and lessens poverty.