I can't remember a president standing up for striking workers like the Pres. elect did

[bigtree]

He really put a new dynamic in that conflict and gave the 200 workers demanding severance and vacation pay a lot of leverage with that one simple act of expressing support.

“The workers who are asking for the benefits and payments that they have earned, I think they’re absolutely right and understand that what’s happening to them is reflective of what’s happening across this economy,” Obama said.

That's a world of difference and, I think, a good measure of the 'change' that's on the way for American workers.

[ZombieHorde]

1. K&R

[Bolo Boffin]

2. It's total "pinch me, I'm dreaming" land for me

What a fantastic thing for him to have done. I can't believe it even while I'm looking at the tape roll. A president standing up for a bunch of workers acting up and demanding their rights?

Things like this are good for my soul.

[pscot]

3. I had that same thought

I was impressed.

[LiberalFighter]

4. Bill Clinton did

[bigtree]

5. spill it

. . . details

(the executive order on replacement workers?)

[LiberalFighter]

8. A couple

Clinton Moves to End Strike
UC Labor Union Calls Off Strike

I also seem to recall him being on the line with strikers in '92.

[bigtree]

20. Outstanding work by President Clinton

Thanks for the examples.

I do think that he was a bit more inclined to associate himself with the demands of the employers, even though clearly he worked to resolve the impasses in the examples you posted by encouraging both sides to work together.

I like the second example where he refused to speak at the campus where the workers were seeking a contract.

I'll stand by the assertion though, that I've never seen such an unequivocal statement of support for striking workers and their demands as Mr. Obama made. He may well backpedal and give voice to the employer's demands, but he clearly stood on the side of the striking worker, highlighting their demands for severance and vacation pay and equating their struggle with workers' around the nation. I would expect to see the same commitment to workers from Pres. Obama as he works on his national health insurance proposals.

[LiberalFighter]

32. He also appointed a UAW attorney as the NLRB's counsel.

[Captain Hilts]

36. I remember that!

[LiberalFighter]

39. I met the guy when he helped negotiate in Indiana.

[doc03]

17. Yea right Clinton came to my home town in 1992 and

promised to put safeguards in NAFTA and promised to enforce trade laws on steel imports. Then he pushed NAFTA through costing use 100s of thousands of jobs. Then in the late 90s when the Asian and East European economies were slow he let them dump steel and their unemployment in the USA. Around 40 steel companies were driven out of business and we lost 10s of thousands of steel jobs. I don't want to hear anything about how Bill Clinton did one f----g thing for labor. That is the one case were GWB actually helped us a little, he authorized an unfair trade case and put tariffs on illegal steel.

[Le Taz Hot]

28. Don't you just LOVE the corporate wing

of the Democratic party? :puke: Trouble is, the VAST majority of Democrats are these sell outs and the largest ones are Pelosi & Reid.

[Romulox]

22. Was that before or after he sold us out with NAFTA, MFN/China? nt

[unblock]

6. reagan did

no, wait. he fired those air traffic controllers, simultaneously putting at risk both the jobs of workers AND the lives of traveling executives across the nation.

[lonestarnot]

10. The big union buster.

[unblock]

31. and to think he was once president of a union (the screen actor's guild)

[pacalo]

7. K&R.

[lonestarnot]

9. Hachachacha! I love him!

[geckosfeet]

11. Raygun did.

Oh. Sorry.

You said FOR the workers.

[Art_from_Ark]

12. Well, it's certainly a stark contrast to what bu$h did

when he signed an executive order in the early days prohibiting Northwest workers from striking

[Incitatus]

13. George Bush did

NOT

[Hawkowl]

14. Outstanding!

Not in my lifetime has a President come out publicly on the side of workers as strongly as Obama.

[Sebastian Doyle]

15. Maybe he should send the memo to Jellyfish Pelosi?

She wants to give the UAW a "haircut" for a fucked up situation at the auto mfgs that was created by the useless pig CEOs and had nothing to do with the workers.

Good for President Obama and the others in Illinois who are supporting the strikers! :kick:

[Ichingcarpenter]

16. That was a revolutionary statement that tells you how Progressive he is

I don't think that has sunk in yet to the news media so far.

[doc03]

18. I'm 60 years old and remember Presidents back to

Ike and that is the first time I ever heard a President actually have the guts to stand up for labor.

[madrchsod]

19. john kennedy and big steel

http://www.networker.www3.50megs.com/jfk14.html

[EFerrari]

52. He also issued an Exec order protecting Federal workers' right to unionize. n/t

[Romulox]

21. Still waiting for him to stand up for the UAW....

<crickets>

[flpab]

23. unions

My husband was out on strike with USA space alliance for 147 days. NASA is in the midst of a lawsuit still for trying to break the unions. We emailed Obama and his office called out house unlike our Democratic Senator who said he was for Unions but also for corporate America and could do NOTHING to get both sides back to the table. That is when my husband started supporting Obama. He said he would walk the picket line with us. Ric Kellar from Fl is on the news now lying about how much the union guys get paid. He did nothing to help the 500 people out on strike.

[bigtree]

25. Mr. Obama is no stranger to picket lines

. . . as workers in Chicago will attest to.

[Captain Hilts]

38. This girl marched in some picket lines...

And was a strong supporter of Walter Reuther and the UAW, the ILGWU, etc.

[Doremus]

47. Where is the girl? I see a woman. n/t

[bigtree]

24. He stood with the UAW striking Chrysler in 2007

Obama Statement on UAW Strike CHICAGO, IL—U.S. Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the United Auto Workers Strike. “I stand with the workers who are striking Chrysler. The union’s demands--job security, the health benefits they were promised--are basic guarantees that all workers should expect and that UAW members deserve. Chrysler has a responsibility to work with the UAW so that union members can go back to work.”


Back to work: Chrysler strike ends after 6 hours
Job security part of deal; UAW-run retiree health fund OK'd
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071011/AUTO01/710110390/1361/UPDATE

[Romulox]

26. Great. How about Detroit in 2008???

<crickets>

[bigtree]

27. What more would you have him do?

I don't think that he's done a thing wrong here. Congress is going to provide some kind of relief for the companies. It's clear that President Obama will approve that relief and his administration will remain open to other measures and will work on the initiatives they've proposed to help workers.

If you've got some proposal for what he can do to help, spit it out.

[Romulox]

33. Voice support for autoworkers, for one.

"If you've got some proposal for what he can do to help, spit it out."

He could voice unequivocal support for autoworkers, the same way he has for the window-factory workers on strike.

It would be a start.

[bigtree]

35. I think he has

. . . but he doesn't own the companies or has the ability to control what Congress does with our money.

President-elect Barack Obama is asking a Congressional lame-duck session to approve $25 billion to $50 billion in rescue aid for Detroit's auto industry . He also wants to appoint a czar or board to oversee the auto industry's rescue and reconstruction.

Plenty of reports out there about the pressure he's exerted on the present administration to approve the rescue before he's sworn in.


Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: United Auto Workers Conference
Dubuque, IA | November 13, 2007

We meet at a difficult time for organized labor. A while back, I went to a Maytag plant in Galesburg, Illinois that was moving to Mexico. And I met workers who were having to compete with their own children for jobs that pay seven bucks an hour. A few months ago, I traveled to Newton, where Maytag was shutting its doors after 114 years. One worker who'd been there more than a decade said, "I just thought I would retire from here and never have another job. I'm scared."

I'm scared.

It makes us outraged to hear these stories. And we've been hearing them for a long time. It was stories like these that led me more than two decades ago to walk away from a career on Wall Street and become a community organizer in Chicago, so I could help folks who'd lost jobs and lost hope when the nearby steel plants closed down. I didn't know a soul in Chicago, but I knew I didn't like the idea of working people being laid off and not having anybody fighting for them. I knew I wanted to do my part to make sure they had a decent future.

So when I go to places like Galesburg or Newton, it reminds me why I entered public service. And it reminds me why I'm a Democrat. Because if the Democratic Party means anything, then it has to mean we value labor. If the Democratic Party stands for anything, then it has to stand up for your rights, and your future. If the Democratic Party has a vision for America - then it has to be an America that's working for working Americans.

But we all know that for a long time now, we've had a President who doesn't see it that way. We have lived through six years of the most anti-labor administration in generations. They don't believe in unions. They don't believe in organizing. They've packed the labor relations board with their corporate buddies. Well, we've got news for them - it's not the Department of Management, it's the Department of Labor, and we're going to take it back.

But despite six years of them doing everything they could to tear labor down - as I look out on this crowd and as I travel across this country, the one thing I know for certain is that the UAW is still fighting. The UAW is still mobilizing. The UAW is still organizing.

I'm tired of playing defense. I know the UAW is tired of playing defense. We're ready to play some offense. We're ready to play offense for a secure retirement. We're ready to play offense to enforce labor laws.

We're ready to play offense for universal health care. I'm tired of seeing unions go to the bargaining table and fight for the benefits they negotiated a long time ago, instead of fighting for better wages to support their families. I reformed health care in Illinois. And I did it by reaching out to Democrats and Republicans. We took on the insurance industry, and we won. And that's what I'll do as President. I've got a plan that cuts costs for the typical family by up to $2,500 a year - more than any other plan that's been offered in this race. And I make this solemn pledge to you - I'll sign my universal health care plan into law by the end of my first term.

We're ready to play offense for American workers. When I'm President, we're not going to wait twenty years or ten years to raise the minimum wage - we'll raise it to keep pace with inflation every year so that American workers aren't falling behind. And we'll take tax breaks away from companies that ship our jobs overseas and put them in the pockets of working Americans who deserve it.

We're not going to stop globalization in its tracks, but we shouldn't be standing idly by while American jobs are shipped overseas. It's time to put Main Street ahead of Wall Street when it comes to trade. The only trade agreements I believe in are ones that put workers first - because trade deals aren't good for the American people if they aren't good for working people. That's why I opposed CAFTA. That's why I oppose the South Korea Free Trade Agreement. That's why I voted to block Mexican trucks from entering this country. And that's why we need to amend NAFTA.

We're ready to take the offense for organized labor. It's time we had a President who didn't choke saying the word "union." We need to strengthen our unions by letting them do what they do best - organize our workers. If a majority of workers want a union, they should get a union. It's that simple. We need to stand up to the business lobby that's been getting their friends in Congress and in the White House to block card check. That's why I was one of the leaders fighting to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. That's why I'm fighting for it in the Senate. And that's why we'll make it the law of the land when I'm President.

There are few more important unions in this country than the UAW. You created the auto industry. You secured good-paying jobs for generations of workers. And you built the American middle class - the backbone of our economy. So I know someone once said what's good for GM is good for America. But it's time we also recognized that what's good for the UAW is good for America.

We need to help you compete with workers around the world by helping the auto industry compete with car companies all over the world. Yes, that means raising our fuel standards so we can make the fuel-efficient cars that are the future of your industry. But it also means giving you the help you need to retool your plants so we can build these cars right here in America. And if we can do that, we'll create thousands and thousands of jobs in the process.

But if we're serious about helping you compete abroad, we need to stand up for you here at home. That's why I called Mike Sheridan with Local 95 in Wisconsin the day they decided to strike GM, and gave him my support. And I made the same call to Dan Kirk with Local 72 when Chrysler workers went on strike. And Larry Sharpe and his members in Local 6 from my home state of Illinois can't be here today because they're striking International Truck and Engine, but Larry knows he has my support. Because when you hit the picket lines - whether it's with GM or Chrysler or anybody else - you aren't just fighting for your own rights, you're fighting for the rights of every American worker.

http://www.barackobama.com/2007/11/13/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_32.php

[Romulox]

40. No. I'm talking about NOW. 2008. Comments directed at the immediate crisis...

Those comments were from 11-2007.

[bigtree]

41. he's made plenty of comments in support of the workers

That's what all of the support for the rescue is all about.

I think you want him to insert himself into the negotiations in a public way that I don't think is beneficial right now. It's clear that he's negotiating with the Bush White House to do something with this Congress and not wait until he's sworn in.

I'd expect him to be more assertive as president, but not now, with Bush and the lame duck Congress making the call on whether to give over.

Do I really have to post all of his comments in favor of the rescue? He's made several. I don't really understand what more he can say and do right now in public to satisfy you.

[Romulox]

43. No offense, but I would LOVE to see a few Obama quotes on the subject, for December, 2008.

I haven't seen much. :shrug:

[bigtree]

44. .

Obama: I think we do need American cars. We started the auto industry; we revolutionised the auto industry again and again.

It was built on the middle class; it was the core of our manufacturing base for decades. The notion that we cannot compete in an industry that we created is unacceptable.

Not only that but you have got an entire mid-west: Ohio, Michigan, big chunks of Indiana, parts of my home state of Illinois, the entire fabric of those states’ economies are built around the auto industries.

So we cannot just say we are going to wash our hands off the auto industry. I know we can compete, we have got great workers there, the auto industry is going to have to restructure.

I have been saying for a long time that you have got to be competitive and the government can help. But the government is not going to help if you continue with a strategy that is entirely relying on building the gas guzzlers; those are the cars of the future.

We will provide you with the resources you need to retool. We will help you with some of your legacy cost in terms of healthcare and pension cost for your workers.

But in exchange, that money has to be reinvested in creating the high efficiency cars of the future.

I know that is something that we can do and my hope is that if I am elected then I am immediately meeting with the heads of the big three automakers as well as the United Auto Workers and then sit down and craft a strategy that puts us on the path for an auto industry that can compete with anybody in the world.
http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/economy/barack-obama-to-help-re-jig-auto-industry-if-elected/19/15/364467


President-elect Barack Obama told reporters on Friday, during his first press conference since winning the presidential race, that he was very concerned about the financial outlook for the auto industry as well. Obama said that he had "made it a high priority for my transition team to work on additional policy options to help the auto industry adjust, weather the financial crisis and succeed in producing fuel-efficient cars here in the United States. I have asked my team to explore what we can do under current law and whether additional legislation will be needed for this purpose."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/08/politics/politico/thecrypt/main4585951.shtml


Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama pledged today to meet with the leaders of Detroit’s automakers and the UAW to help chart a course for the industry.

In an interview with Brian Williams of NBC, Obama said that help for the industry would have to be tied to building more efficient vehicles.

“And my hope is, is that if I'm elected that I'm immediately meeting with heads of the Big Three automakers as well with … the United Auto Workers,” Obama said. “And to sit down and craft a strategy that puts us on, on a path for an auto industry that can compete with anybody in the world.”

Obama has said he backs doubling a $25-billion loan program approved by Congress last month to retool plants, which automakers and parts suppliers are increasingly looking to for help in surviving a massive cash crunch.
http://www.freep.com/article/20081030/BUSINESS01/81030091


President-elect Barack Obama accused auto executives of a persistent "head-in-the sand approach" to long-festering problems. In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Obama said Congress was doing "the exact right thing" in drafting legislation that "holds the auto industry's feet to the fire" at the same time it tries to prevent its demise.

"The last thing I want to see happen is for the auto industry to disappear, but I'm also concerned that we don't put $10 billion or $20 billion or $30 billion or whatever billion dollars into an industry, and then, six months to a year later, they come back hat in hand and say, `Give me more,'" Obama said.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gbjFY-o07QeryRxtFR3oC1w_v1PwD94U5NAO0


“The auto industry is the backbone of American manufacturing,” he said. “It is a huge employer across many states. Millions of people directly or indirectly are reliant on that industry. And so I don't think it's an option to simply allow it to collapse.”

“What we have to do is to provide them with assistance, but that assistance is conditioned on them making significant adjustments,” he said. “They're going to have to restructure, and all their stakeholders are going to have to restructure, labor, management, shareholders, creditors.”

“Everybody is going to recognize that they have -- they do not have a sustainable business model right now. And if they expect taxpayers to help in that adjustment process, then they can't keep on putting off the kinds of changes that they, frankly, should have made 20 or 30 years ago.”

He emphasized the importance of keeping “the automakers' feet to the fire in making the changes that are necessary” –- ”Demand accountability, demand serious changes, but do so in a way that it allows them to keep the factory doors open.”
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/12/obama-warns-eco.html


At a news conference on his latest cabinet appointment, Mr. Obama said the new plans were an indication that the Detroit companies were responsive to earlier concerns raised by lawmakers.

“I’m glad that they recognize the expectations of Congress, certainly my expectations, that we should maintain a viable auto industry,” Mr. Obama said. “But that we should also make sure that any government assistance that’s provided is designed for and is based on realistic assessments of what the auto market is going to be and a realistic plan for how we’re going to make these companies viable over the long term.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/business/04auto.html?bl=&ei=5087&en=c26f4b2fc5be93c5&ex=1228626000&pagewanted=print


President-elect Barack Obama is considering naming a point person to lead efforts to help the distressed auto industry return to health, an Obama aide said on Thursday.

An Obama transition official said the president-elect was looking into "identifying someone in charge of the auto issue who would have the authority to bring about reforms that would lead to an economically viable auto industry."

Obama said at a news conference last week that he considered federal help for the industry a high priority for his transition and called the auto companies "the backbone of American manufacturing and a critical part of our attempt to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

He urged the Bush administration to accelerate disbursement of $25 billion in advanced technology loans approved by Congress in September.

Obama, a Democrat who had solid labor-union support during his presidential campaign, also pressed Republican President George W. Bush in a private meeting on Monday to back a federal bailout for the auto industry.
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE4A66VT20081113

[Romulox]

45. Thanks, but all of those (save the pre-election one) are muted and equivocal...

There is an implicit call for cuts to labor costs in several of those quotes.

[bigtree]

46. The UAW has offered some concessions

I think that it's unfair and unwise, as I expressed above, to expect Pres. elect Obama to come down hard with specifics. Right now, the negotiators are our Democrats in Congress and the White House. That process won't bear some heavy-handed approach from the incoming president.

I expect there will be a stronger response from the White House when the new president is sworn in and he's said exactly that.


UAW Pledges Support Under March Progress Deadline

WASHINGTON -- UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says a short-term bailout endorsed by the White House would keep American automakers going through March. Gettelfinger says that should give them enough time to put together a game plan.

"When we were in congress testifying, the request was for 34-billion, but we'll take this emergency bridge loan," says Gettelfinger. "This should get us through March and by then we should have restructuring plans in place."

He also says the union has made concessions to help the industry before, and they don't have any issues with the guidelines that have been set forth in the first drafts of the legislation.

"We're not opposed to a trustee or some kind of committee for oversight. It's really going to be necessary and we're not opposed to it," says Gettelfinger.

http://wkzonews.blogspot.com/2008/12/uaw-pledges-support-under-march.html

[Romulox]

48. Obama threw ALL of his weight behind the TARP. There was no "he's not President yet"

when Wall Street had its hand out.

No. I'm sorry, but my interpretation is that Obama is purposefully distancing himself from Detroit and its problems, just as he has going back to early 2008.

[bigtree]

49. He's thrown just as much 'weight' behind this rescue of the auto companies

But, he doesn't even have a vote in this, at least not early enough for THIS Congress to act.

It's just not true that he's 'distanced' himself. You've shown no evidence of that at all.

[Romulox]

No, he clearly has not. I can't prove a negative. And I don't know if he is twisting arms in secret

But he has not come out as a vocal advocate of working people in Detroit during all of this mess. He's said he'd maybe support a bailout if it contained the right concessions (notice he didn't say from workers, but he didn't say "not from workers" either...)

That's small consolation when your entire community is collapsing around you. :shrug:

[bigtree]

60. You've made several assertions with absolutely no evidence

There's absolutely NO indication that he won't sign whatever legislation emerges and there's no evidence that he's demanding some untoward concessions from workers.

I don't think you can accurately portray his efforts here by pointing to what he's been willing to say publicly. I do think that it's fair to take the statements and actions he's made surrounding this effort by Congress and Bush and conclude that he absolutely DOES have the interests of the workers at heart as he presses his case to both.

It's fine to speculate, but there's NOTHING out there to back up your criticisms of his efforts, except some understandable anxiety.

[Romulox]

57. dupe

[spoony]

51. Uh, which negotiators...

The ones who stripped Detroit's only powerful voice of his committee position in the House? Or the ones who blocked a vote on a deal? Oh, wait, those are the same people. Pelosi and Reid.

[bigtree]

56. doesn't change the fact that they are the negotiators right now

. . . and that Obama can only do so much.

Who involved in this is publicly calling for him to do more?

[spoony]

50. His...caution (to be diplomatic)...is disconcerting to me.

[Romulox]

58. Some speech he gave in Iowa in 2007 is supposed to cover the matter...

:wtf:

[bigtree]

61. he's said much more than that, and you should know this if you've been following the issue

. . . and, your unsupported charges that he's somehow aloof from all of this or working against the worker's interests don't count for much without evidence, outside of your own anxiety.

[Bluenorthwest]

29. I loved what he said

and the way he said it. More of that please!

[bdamomma]

30. Well I hope Pres Elect Obama stands up for the Governor also.

they took him into custody read here.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4615898

[leftofthedial]

34. that is remarkable. I don't believe even Clinton would have done that.

Certainly no repuke.

Cheers for Obama. :thumbsup:

[Captain Hilts]

37. You believe wrong. Clinton did. You need to read some history about '92. nt

[leftofthedial]

42. what are the details of that?

I know he was not helpful to the union cause as governor of Arkansas while Wal*Mart systematically opposed unionization. He was pretty much in Wal*Mart's pocket on that. I also recall that he was accused of conspiring with Carey (?) to keep the Teamsters Democratic (and the campaign contributions coming in). I know he was endorsed by some unions, but what union would endorse bush?

[Captain Hilts]

54. See response #4 for starters. nt

[leftofthedial]

55. thanks for the links downthread from #4. kudos to him for those actions!

But given his role in NAFTA, his siding with Wal*Mart as they suppressed unionization and his pro-corporate positions later in his terms, I find it impossible to consider him, on balance, a friend of unions. He was WAY better than a republican likely would have been, but still not aggressively pro-labor.

[Romulox]

59. Then he signed NAFTA. Then he signed MFN/China. nt

[OhioChick]

53. I hope he stands up for those of us in the tech sector. n/t