June 15, 2010

Remarks of Sen. Tom Harkin to the 35th UAW Constitutional Convention

(Editor's note: Remarks delivered via satelite) 

Thank you, Dennis Williams, for that kind introduction.  You’ve been a terrific Chicago regional director.  I understand that good things may be happening for you later this week – and I wish you the best. 

With the Senate in session, today, I couldn’t make it out to Detroit.  But I appreciate this opportunity to send greetings to all my good friends at the UAW.

A special hello to one of America’s great labor leaders, my friend Ron Gettlefinger. 

And I also want to salute Alan Reuther, who is retiring after so many years as the UAW’s quarterback on Capitol Hill.

Ron and Alan have been a powerhouse team here in the Nation’s Capital. 

We have a saying in Congress, when decisions are being made: “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” 

I assure you that – thanks to Ron and Alan – the UAW has always been “at the table.”  And that’s a good thing for all working people in this country.  

You know, what I have always respected about the UAW – going back to its beginnings in the 1930s – is that it is a two-fisted, never-give-up, fighting union. 

Walter Reuther survived brutal beatings and two assassination attempts, and he never gave up organizing the auto industry. 

He and the UAW prevailed.

And it has been the same thing with the UAW and the auto industry over the last couple years.  Some folks were willing to shut down GM and Chrysler, and break the backbone of American manufacturing.  But you folks refused to give up. 

With a helping hand from friends in Washington, you fought back.  And, today, sales at the Big Three are up sharply.  The auto and auto-parts industries are bouncing back – along with aerospace, gaming, and farm and construction equipment.  

Once again, the UAW has prevailed.

And let me tell you, I get a lot of inspiration from you folks.  Right now, there are a lot of naysayers here in DC who are counting out the Employee Free Choice Act. 

I’ve got a simple message for those people:  We are going to keep fighting for EFCA – for as long as it takes.  And we are going to prevail. 

The harsh reality is that Republican administrations going back to Reagan have gutted the right to organize in America.  Employers hire anti-union consultants – white-collar goons.  And they strangle fledgling unions in the cradle.

I’ve got a question:  Why should working people have to crawl across broken glass and go through a kind of boot-camp hell in order to join a perfectly legal organization?

The answer is: They shouldn’t.  And that’s why we need EFCA.

We always knew that we’d have to have to make compromises to get the 60 votes we need in order to pass this bill in the Senate.  But I want you to know that I am not giving up.  I am fighting to pass EFCA – and I’m counting on the UAW to keep fighting along with me!

And while we’re at it, we’ve got to take a much tougher stand on trade.  Let’s quit talking about free trade, and let’s start demanding fair trade. 

I hope that all Americans can agree that we’re against exploiting workers and trashing the environment in other countries.  We’re against child labor and bans on labor unions. 
If we can protect patents and intellectual property from bad actors in other countries, then we can darn sure protect workers rights.  So again:  No more free trade without fair trade.

When Senator Ted Kennedy died last summer, I succeeded him as chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.  And the good news is that we have not skipped a beat.  Our Committee is and will continue to be a powerhouse of progressive legislation... making life better for working families.

Thanks to the UAW’s great support and hard work, comprehensive health reform is no longer a dream or an aspiration.  Health reform is the law of the land!

At the same time, we passed a higher education reform bill that cuts $61 billion in wasteful subsidies to banks, and channels most of that money to needy students in the form of more generous Pell Grants.  Robin Hood would be proud.  I mean, how often do you get to take $61 billion away from big banks, and put it in the hands of young people who need a helping hand in order to afford college!

Early last year – with zero Republican support – we passed the economic Recovery Act.  And it is working.  The economy has gone from shrinking at a six percent annual rate to growing at nearly a three percent annual rate.  Once again, Americans have the income and the confidence to go out and buy those great products that you folks are making.

Now, before I close, I want to mention some of the other great things that the Democratic Congress has accomplished over the last year. 

We passed the Lilly Ledbetter law, to protect women against wage discrimination.  That was the very first law that President Obama signed into law.

We’ve gotten Craig Becker on National Labor Relations Board – and that’s just for starters.  For the first time in years, we have an NLRB that actually supports workers’ rights.  With a Democratic majority, the Board is going to more aggressive in upholding worker rights.

We passed a law to crack down on rip-offs and abuses by credit card companies.

We passed sweeping regulations of the tobacco industry. 

We extended unemployment benefits, in the teeth of Republican opposition.

In the weeks ahead, we are going to pass a tough new law cracking down on Goldman Sachs and all the other bad actors on Wall Street. 

We’re going to provide help for struggling pension plans so that workers don’t lose their retirement security because of the stock market crash. 

And in my Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, we are going to pass a food safety reform bill with tough new requirements and inspections.  No more kids getting sick from eating peanut-butter sandwiches!

All these things are the changes that Barack Obama and Democrats ran on in 2008. 

We are keeping our promises.

We are leading.

We are proving not only that American is governable, but that our great country still has the capacity to act with boldness and vision.

And all of this has been possible because of the UAW’s hard work, your generosity, your commitment to progressive change.

So friends, the wind is at our backs.

We have seized the initiative.

And we’re not letting go!

This November, make sure that you, your families and neighbors get out to vote.  And make sure your vote counts!

Thank you so much!  And have a great convention.