WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the clock ticks down in Detroit to a potential at least partial strike against the Big Three automakers, one local Congressman says to union members, “I got your back.”
That’s 17th District Congressman Eric Sorensen, saying he’s also sticking up for United Auto Workers members in his own district.
“I rise today in solidarity with the more than 10,000 United Auto Workers in my district as they negotiate a fair contract with the nation’s auto industry employers,” said Sorensen (D-East Moline).
Sorensen, speaking on the House Floor Thursday, says it was workers just like them who built the country, and who also helped paved a way for a good middle-class life.
Problem is, Sorensen believes, all that work is now paying the way for corporate greed.
“The current negotiations have implications – not just for workers, but for the future of the auto industry, and our economic competitiveness,” said Sorensen. “While companies record record profits, and the CEO’s take home tens of millions of dollars in compensation, the salary of the average auto worker has declined by 40 percent over the past 20 years.”
GM has upped its proposal to union workers, while Ford claims UAW’s demands could mean bankruptcy.
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