Senator Mitch McConnell: Unions Must Comply With Bailout Reforms.
McConnell: Unions must comply with bailout reforms
In his Dec. 28 opinion piece, union boss Bruce Raynor takes the view that automakers are entitled to taxpayer dollars without having to commit to reforming their business practices. I disagree.
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I am proud to represent a state with thousands of jobs provided by Ford, General Motors and Toyota. I want automakers not only to survive, but to thrive. As they grow, so does Kentucky.
Domestic automakers face perilous times, however. Their long-term viability is possible only if they make tough choices necessary for their survival. When the U.S. Senate recently considered legislation to give taxpayer dollars to the companies, the proposal provided immediate taxpayer funds in exchange for only promises of future reforms. Many Americans, including myself, were skeptical that these reforms would in fact materialize. I therefore supported a set of improvements offered by Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker (whose state also has a GM plant) to require management, investors and the unions to agree to reform their ways before receiving federal funds. The companies and the investors agreed. The United Auto Workers union refused.
Companies that spend $71 per labor hour cannot compete with companies that spend $49 per hour. Reform is necessary if they are to survive without additional taxpayer funds. Despite this, the UAW refused to agree to such terms. Asked to pick any date in 2009 by which they would make reforms, the UAW balked. They refused to be held to any deadlines. No deadlines -- that was the UAW's position. With our suspicions confirmed that the UAW was not serious about reforms, I joined Democratic and Republican colleagues in rejecting the proposal.
Since then, the President has proposed federal loans to the domestic automakers using funds from the economic rescue package. I disagreed with this approach for the same reason I disagreed with the legislation -- it relies only on promises of future reform. All Kentucky taxpayers have the right to demand that the money taken from their paychecks is spent wisely, however, and I will continue to fight for effective oversight and wise allocation of taxpayer dollars.
MITCH McCONNELL
U.S. Senator
Washington 20005
Mitch McConnell, a Louisville Republican, is the Senate minority leader. -- Editor.
Editor's comment:
Senator: Please "hold their feet to the fire", and keep their "paws" off taxpayer money. We have NEVER been a SOCIALIST country and we should NOT begin to be one now!
In his Dec. 28 opinion piece, union boss Bruce Raynor takes the view that automakers are entitled to taxpayer dollars without having to commit to reforming their business practices. I disagree.
Advertisement
I am proud to represent a state with thousands of jobs provided by Ford, General Motors and Toyota. I want automakers not only to survive, but to thrive. As they grow, so does Kentucky.
Domestic automakers face perilous times, however. Their long-term viability is possible only if they make tough choices necessary for their survival. When the U.S. Senate recently considered legislation to give taxpayer dollars to the companies, the proposal provided immediate taxpayer funds in exchange for only promises of future reforms. Many Americans, including myself, were skeptical that these reforms would in fact materialize. I therefore supported a set of improvements offered by Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker (whose state also has a GM plant) to require management, investors and the unions to agree to reform their ways before receiving federal funds. The companies and the investors agreed. The United Auto Workers union refused.
Companies that spend $71 per labor hour cannot compete with companies that spend $49 per hour. Reform is necessary if they are to survive without additional taxpayer funds. Despite this, the UAW refused to agree to such terms. Asked to pick any date in 2009 by which they would make reforms, the UAW balked. They refused to be held to any deadlines. No deadlines -- that was the UAW's position. With our suspicions confirmed that the UAW was not serious about reforms, I joined Democratic and Republican colleagues in rejecting the proposal.
Since then, the President has proposed federal loans to the domestic automakers using funds from the economic rescue package. I disagreed with this approach for the same reason I disagreed with the legislation -- it relies only on promises of future reform. All Kentucky taxpayers have the right to demand that the money taken from their paychecks is spent wisely, however, and I will continue to fight for effective oversight and wise allocation of taxpayer dollars.
MITCH McCONNELL
U.S. Senator
Washington 20005
Mitch McConnell, a Louisville Republican, is the Senate minority leader. -- Editor.
Editor's comment:
Senator: Please "hold their feet to the fire", and keep their "paws" off taxpayer money. We have NEVER been a SOCIALIST country and we should NOT begin to be one now!
Labels: Economic news, Political economics
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 9:18 PM
4 Comments:
Osi,
Why was Senator McConnell leading the pack to bail out banks and Wall Street without any restrictions but against bailout of auto industry? I know you are a McConnell flag waver but even you must see him for what he has become, a partisan hack that doesn't care about anything but party and power.
With that said I do enjoy your blog even though we disagree on many issues. Keep on keeping on.
I hear you, and you've got me on that one.
I do NOT have any explanation for that vote, but I made the Senator understand I was disappointed with that vote and I criticized him for it.
At this point, we MUST agree that while he was WRONG on the bank vote, he is RIGHT on the auto vote.
Thanks for your comment on my blog. I am going to check out yours now.
Come back, will ya?
$700 billion to Wall Street without condition, and another $5 or so trillion from congress and the fed (and the Fed has NOT explained where all that currency went). Yet Main Street in the form of the Big Three asks for a $30 billion loan and McConnell uses the request as a tool for union busting, taking a big stick to Main Street, all the while making real sure the Golden Parachute set has a soft landing. And let's do the math - that $30 billion is less than 1/2 of one percent of what Wall Street received as a bailout. With friends like McConnell, who needs enemies?
Oh, and Elaine Chao, his wife and Labor Secretary for the last eight years --heckuva job there, Elaine - presiding over the greatest loss of jobs since the Great Depression.
Yes, you are right, BILL. That "$700 billion to Wall Street without condition" was the wrong idea, but it is the right idea for the BIG THREE to require conditions.
I don't think any of all this should have happened!
I am ALARMED: Since when did we become a SOCIALIST state/country?!
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