On the recordJune 23, 2010
I thank you, Mr. Dingell, and it is an honor to be here during this hour to talk about a man who has shaped our Nation's economy and manufacturing; and it is an honor to follow Congressman Sandy Levin, also from Michigan, who has been a fighter for jobs. Ron Gettelfinger, from my experience I can best describe him in a couple of stories. We are here to congratulate him on his retirement and his legacy with the United Auto Workers. Chairman Dingell and a bipartisan delegation from the House of Representatives visited the auto show, the North American International Auto Show, at the beginning of this year. We met with the top leadership of Ford, GM and Chrysler. Ron Gettelfinger was right there. It was apparent, as these companies have worked through a very challenging time, they had a true partnership in their workers; the best workers in the world, and their leader, Ron Gettelfinger, was there as each of the management leaders of Ford, GM and Chrysler talked about their new technology. They talked about their innovations, and they talked about retraining of their workers. They talked about more efficient and cost-efficient manufacturing processes. Ron Gettelfinger was there as a true partner with each of those companies as they talked about their exciting new products made in the United States of America by American workers that Ron Gettelfinger represented. The best products in the world, the best automobiles in the world, that is Ron Gettelfinger.
