(The Open Letter, from MidWest Autoworkers to Southern Autoworkers: )
Dear Brothers and Sisters:
The crisis in the auto industry is being used to pit us against each other – union vs. non-union, north against the south. We rank and file autoworkers would like to speak directly to you as fellow autoworkers. Some of us work at assembly plants, some in the parts industry, while others are retired.
First, we want to say that we are not enemies. Like you, we are everyday, hard-working people who are trying to provide a decent life for our families and hoping for a better life for our children. As working people we have more in common with each other than we do with those that run corporate America.
Some corporations and politicians have developed a great strategy: create a culture where workers are resentful of each other but admire CEOs who make 440 times the average wage. And don’t question the worth of our leaders in Congress, whose salaries start at $172,000 with an annual cost-of-living increase plus excellent health care and pension benefits. (They just gave themselves a raise.)
The media glorifies wealthy people and encourages us to desire the “lifestyles of the rich and famous.” The contradiction is that this same corporate media paints a picture of autoworkers as lazy and greedy. Unfortunately, too many working people buy into the propaganda, which is designed to make one group of workers blame another.
Working people did not create the financial mess we’re in. The real villains are the corporate CEOs and the big shots in banking that made the decisions that destroyed our economy. Yet they are still raking in tens of millions of dollars in bonuses for the little work they do. Talk about being lazy and greedy!
Let’s clear up a popular lie used by those who seek to turn us against each other. We do not make $72 + an hour in wages and benefits. That is the total labor cost per active worker, when the cost of pensions and health care for retirees is added to their wages and benefits. The truth is that a long-time production worker makes $28 an hour and benefits. New hires only make about $14.50 an hour, with far fewer benefits.
In reality, labor costs are only 8-10% of the vehicle cost.
Some Senators, who are against the bridge loan to the automakers, say that the industry has to cut their “legacy costs.“ “Legacy costs” means the pensions and health care for the over 1.5 million retirees and surviving spouses at GM, Ford and Chrysler. It would be criminal to cut out the benefits contractually promised to people who have worked for these carmakers.
Because the U.S. plants of Toyota and other foreign automakers are newer, there are few retirees. Legacy costs at companies like Toyota, Honda, Mercedes, Nissan and Hyundai will continue to grow as more of you get older and look to retire. We’re sure you would agree that if they promised you something, you would expect them to honor their promise after you held up your end of the bargain. The same holds true for us.
One of the reasons we have pensions, decent wages and health care is because we belong to a union. In the 1950s and ‘60s we set the bar in wages and benefits to which other workers aspired. And as our wages and benefits increased, it helped to raise wages and benefits for others. Many workers are envious of our wages and benefits, which we receive because we are organized for our mutual support. Because you are some of the highest paid workers in your communities, you have probably experienced some of that same, misplaced resentment.
Over the last several contracts union autoworkers have taken enormous concessions in the name of competition. Those concessions haven’t brought us job security, but have only fueled the demand for more concessions. As the wages and benefits of workers at the Detroit automakers decrease, there will be pressure on you to take cuts.
This is what we call the race to the bottom -- it’s a race in which we are all losers.
Already, Toyota, which lost $1.7 billion in 2008, is planning wage cuts according to reports in the media and is cutting back production at many of its U.S. facilities. Workers in Smyrna, Tennessee are taking days off without pay to keep Nissan going. As the economy continues to unravel, there’ll be even more pressure to cut labor costs.
Even though we have problems with some of the decisions and direction of our union leadership, we still believe that democratic unions are the best way workers can protect themselves. We would welcome you in our union—when we stand together we amplify our voices. Statistics continue to show that, overall, unionized workers make 25% more in wages and benefits than non-unionized workers. That’s the power of unity.
Given the economic crisis, what can we do?
We believe we can work together with you to demand that health care and pensions not be based on jobs, but guaranteed to all workers as they are in other industrialized societies. We need a universal, single-payer health care system and the HR676 health care bill can help us get there. We can tell Congress and the Obama administration that the auto industry—including the workers at Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, BMW, Kia, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz,--is at the center of the American economy, employing more than three million jobs and indirectly effecting millions more.
The industry needs to be revitalized with a plan that can produce not only fuel efficient cars but can manufacture light rail and high-speed trains, buses and the wind, water and solar technology needed to meet the needs of the 21st century.
Frankly we don’t think the same old management will be capable of putting together or implementing such a creative proposal; but we feel confident that workers, production and skilled trades, along with a bevy of engineers, consumers and environmental experts have a lot of valuable experience and knowledge and need to find our voices so we can build a future.
We want to put an end to anti-labor laws, to make sure that as autoworkers, we don’t lose our democratic rights when we punch in. We demand the repeal of unfair trade laws like NAFTA. We want a world in which workers are valued because we produce, transport or service products that are needed. We don’t want to be in competition with other workers—we all have the right to a decent job and a life where the next generation has an opportunity.
We ask those of you who are interested in having a dialogue with us to write us at
info@autoworkercaravan.org.
Your Union Sisters And Brothers
