On the recordOctober 5, 2011
It is with great satisfaction that I report to the House today on the agreement reached between the Ford Motor Company and the United Auto Workers and its positive impact on the Nation and in western New York. Under the agreement, Ford will increase its workforce at its plant in Hamburg, New York. Not only will they offer to rehire 120 workers who were laid off earlier this year, they will create 400 new jobs and create a $136 million investment in the facility. This is a substantial and generational commitment. How did this happen? It was the recognition that western New York has a highly skilled and dependable workforce, with a long history of labor and management working together in cooperation. It is also the result of labor and management working diligently to get a deal done. Their goal was business growth and job creation, and they accomplished it without the brinksmanship and manufactured crises that have become far too common in Washington this year. Perhaps Congress can learn from Ford and the UAW that when two sides sit down at the table and bargain in good faith toward a common good, the end can be more satisfying, resulting in new business investment and job growth. ____________________
