Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to join with John Dingell, a true champion of the automobile industry of this country for over 50 years, as we join together to honor Ron Gettelfinger. As we know, he recently retired as president of the United Auto Workers. Through a period of unprecedented difficulty, and I emphasize that, for this industry of ours, Ron Gettelfinger worked tirelessly on behalf of auto workers and helped the industry and the union emerge reinvigorated and more competitive. So it is my privilege to join others to pay tribute to you, Ron, today. A proud auto worker, Ron Gettelfinger joined the UAW in 1964 as a chassis line repairman at Ford's Louisville assembly plant. The workers at the plant elected him to represent him as committee person, bargaining chair, and in 1984 as president of Local 862. His leadership and vigorous commitment to auto workers soon elevated him to the Ford- UAW bargaining committee; to the head of UAW Region 3 representing Indiana and Kentucky; and to UAW vice president. And in 2002, Ron Gettelfinger was elected president of the union and reelected in 2006. His tenure as UAW president saw exceptional challenges--to understate it--that critics said neither the union nor the automakers could overcome. This indeed was a period of painful job loss for tens of thousands of families.…”