2007 UAW
Special Convention on Collective Bargaining Day 01
by Region 8 Webmaster John Davis
The 2007 UAW Special Convention on
Collective Bargaining opened at 10:00AM eastern time with the
presentation of the colors, the national anthem and opening prayer.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger opened the conference and welcomed
the delegates. All delegates were seated and the proceedings began.
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland addressed the conference. “I
want to thank the UAW for your support in last year’s elections,”
Governor Strickland. “Ohio faces the same issues that Michigan
and any other automotive state faces. I have the benefit of a
working class background so I understand these issues. My father
was a member of the Steelworkers and spent 46 years in the mill.
Today, that mill is closed and they are building a super Wal-Mart
over the property. This is the story of what has happened to so
many working class families in this country. It is time for the
government to step up and make a difference in the lives of our
working class.
I have stood on picket lines and I believe in workers right to
organize and bargaining collectively. The time has also come for
an affordable single payer health care system that guarantees
all citizens the right to health care. Workers should have the
right to a good paying job that allows them to see to the needs
of their family. The days of CEO’s reaping the benefits
and the workers taking the cuts have got to come to an end.
America is at a crossroads and it is time to elect a government
that stands for working families, that stands for the right to
organize and stands for the future of our children.”
Next UAW President Ron Gettelfinger gave his opening address to
the conference.
“In this union teamwork in the leadership and solidarity
in the ranks is not just a slogan written on a banner hanging
on the wall. It is the foundation on which this union is based.
This week we come together to discuss the issues we face as a
union and as working people. These issues will form the platform
for our negotiations this year. We know that each workplace has
different issues. Today we sit here together auto assemblers,
office workers, state employees, independent parts suppliers and
the broad segment of workers that makes up this membership. However,
with our differences we have common issues and we stand shoulder
to shoulder in solidarity on these issues. Regardless of the differences
we may have between us, it is our common goal of advancing our
membership, advancing working families and advancing the American
people. That is why the theme for this convention is “forging
our future.”
We will stand in defense of working Americans at the bargaining
table, on the shop floor and on the picket line if necessary.
This union does not want to strike, but when employers act as
if collective bargaining is a one way street we WILL do what we
have to do.
We know all too well that it doesn’t matter what we win
at the bargaining table, when companies can close factories, outsource
work out of the country and hide behind the phony bankruptcies.
We have to work harder at organizing because we know our strength
comes in numbers. There are issues that we face that cant be resolved
at the bargaining table and that is why this union is a politically
active union.” (click here for the full text of his speech)
The delegates then began debating the resolutions submitted for
approval during the convention. The Resolutions Committee members
took turns reading the resolutions while each resolution was debated
on the floor. Issues that were discussed included:
-Bargaining in Bankruptcy
The recent rash of bankruptcy filings by companies intent on escaping
their obligations to their employees and their communities has
resulted in bankruptcy strategies being an important tool in bargaining.
Areas the UAW seek are seats on creditors committees, contesting
motions to cancel collective bargaining agreements, coordinating
negotiations across worksites and other unions, insisting on equality
of sacrifice across all stakeholders including top management
and to ensure that workers stand to benefit from a reorganized
companies success.
- Contract Workers
- Limit the use of temporary and contingent workers.
- Union representation for all new hires.
- Negotiating clear and fair agreements that provide opportunities
for the advancement of all positions.
- Protecting the Right to Organize
- Securing good jobs for the future.
Later in the afternoon Professor Harley Shaiken of the University
of California at Berkley addressed the convention. Professor Shaiken
is the Director for the Center of South American Studies at Berkley
and has written a number of books on the impact our trade deals
have with other countries.
“I am proud to be with you here today,” Professor
Shaiken stated, “and I hope you understand the importance
of your convention here over the next several days. UAW contracts
reach a much broader segment of society than just your members.
In the Local Union Hall of Local 600 at Ford, there are a number
of photographs on the wall. These photographs tell the story of
the River Rough facility, including the battle of the overpass
where Walter Reuther and other organizers were beaten by passing
out UAW literature to the workers has they crossed the overpass
from the parking lot to the plant. One of the last photographs
on the wall is that of an older unassuming man in a cap crossing
the bridge to work. This man was the first person at Ford to draw
a pension.
That bridge that carried this gentleman and countless other UAW
members to the plant was much more than a way across the street.
This was a bridge built by the UAW to carry the America’s
workers to the middle class. The UAW contracts won higher wages,
benefits and pensions for their members and all of the working
class in general. Walter Reuther once said that the “high
velocity purchasing power put the steam in the boiler that was
the economy.” (click here for the entire context of Professor
Shaiken’s speech)
Following additional debate over resolutions, the convention was
adjourned at 5:00PM for the day.
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