Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ron Gettelfinger for his leadership at the United Auto Workers, UAW, and to congratulate him on his retirement after a lifelong dedication to the auto industry. He is a former chassis line repairman at a Ford factory in Indiana and a former director of UAW Region 3 which represents Indiana and Kentucky. A member of the UAW Local 862 since 1964, Mr. Gettelfinger was the right man to lead the UAW during the worst economic downturn in recent years for the automobile industry and our country. He is proof that optimism and dedication during tough times can yield positive results. Ron Gettelfinger was first elected president of the UAW at the 33rd Constitutional Convention in 2002 and re-elected to a second term in 2006. During the economic downturn of 2006 and 2007, he had to make tough and sometimes unpopular decisions to ultimately save America's Big Three auto companies. He reached agreements to provide buyouts and other retirement incentives for tens of thousands of workers, forfeited holiday pay and bonuses, and applied overtime pay only to work weeks exceeding 40 hours as opposed to work days exceeding 8 hours. In a continued effort to save the auto industry and foreseeing the effect of globalization on manufacturing wages, Mr. Gettelfinger agreed to job layoffs and contract concessions that would make it easier for the Big Three to secure the help they needed.…”