Resolution 0n the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant/Hydro Dam and 2,000 Union Jobs
Where as Ford Motor Company has stated its intent to close the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant, sell the hydro dam to a foreign corporation, and displace two-thousand workers in the near future without consultation from the workers, the community, or local and state governments;
Where as this plant, its operations, and the hydro dam have received continued support from every level of government including tax-payer funding, tax-breaks and tax abatements under promises to maintain manufacturing operations and with assurances workers would have job security in St. Paul, Minnesota;
Therefore be it resolved public ownership should be used to save this plant, hydro dam, and two-thousand jobs.
Resolution 0n the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant/Hydro Dam and 2,000 Union Jobs
Where as Ford Motor Company has stated its intent to close the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant, sell the hydro dam to a foreign corporation, and displace two-thousand workers in the near future without consultation with the workers, the community, or local and state governments;
Where as this plant, its operations, and the hydro dam have received continued support from every level of government including tax-payer funding, tax-breaks and tax abatements under promises to maintain manufacturing operations and with assurances workers would have job security in St. Paul, Minnesota;
Where as this Plant forms an important an integral component of Minnesota’s industrial base;
Where as the closing of this Plant will cause very significant economic harm to the local community and the state including placing a strain on already overburdened social services which have already been drastically cut back;
Where as all conciliatory efforts, as demanded, in favor of the management of Ford Motor Company have been granted by all levels of government under the promise Ford would maintain operations in St. Paul;
Where as a similar threatened plant closing of the New Flyer Plant in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada during the 1970’sresulted in all levels of government intervening on behalf of the members of the United Automobile Workers union resulting in the public takeover of the operation with continuing successful operation at present;
Where as “the free market” has not resulted in a solution to save the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant, the hydro dam which powers the plant along with two-thousand union jobs;
Be it resolved that the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party instruct its State Legislative Caucus to bring forward the previous resolution in the form of legislation supported by the United Auto Workers Union and its members of Local 789 to save the plant and dam intact until a solution is found to continue operations and production;
Be it further resolved that the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party instructs all of its federal, state, and local Twin Cities elected officials to convene a special conference to explore public ownership as the remedy to saving the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant, the hydro dam, and two thousand union jobs;
Be it further resolved that the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party support public ownership and democratic control of the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant with production taking place in the best interests of the workers and the people of the State of Minnesota;
Be it further resolved that public ownership is the only viable means of saving the St. Paul Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant as all other means have been tried and exhausted;
Be it further resolved that funding is not an issue since any country which can squander billions of dollars on the occupation of Iraq can find the resources for saving this Plant, dam, and jobs;
Be it further resolved that the very significant burden of health care costs for employees be resolved through the State of Minnesota enacting legislation implementing single-payer, universal health care.
Suggestions for how to use this resolution:
* Take it to your precinct caucus meeting
* Get your union or community organization to support this resolution
* Write a letter to your state legislators supporting this resolution
* Copy and distribute this resolution widely
* Use this resolution as a petition, ask your friends to sign it
* Write a letter to the editor
* Blog this issue
* Post the resolution on web sites
* Discuss this resolution on list serves
Alan L. Maki
Member, Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party State Central Committee
A rank and file group from Ford UAW Local 879 distributed the following leaflet in the Plant last Thursday and Friday:
Why we should
VOTE NO!
on the new contract
Ford cries broke, but they have the highest paid executives. While we are being asked to tighten our belts because of their mistakes, they're still getting fat off our labor. While Ford was taking record losses last year, the top seven executives brought in well over $63 million in compensation. Before Ford makes any cuts to rank-and-file living standards or keeps full-time workers at TPT wages, they should first drastically cut executive pay and open their books for everyone to see.
Ford cries broke, but invests billions in new plants all over the world. Ford publicly announced in 2006 a 6-year project to invest $9.2 billion in Mexico and invested billions more to expand production in Romania, Thailand Brazil, etc. All these investments overseas came from profits made by our labor – but now they say we have to take historic concessions to save the company and save our jobs.
New hires will make $14 an hour with reduced benefits.
This contract condemns our children and grandchildren to have a worse life than we do, even if they never work in auto. What happens in auto sets the standard elsewhere. The rest of Corporate America will use these concessions to demand that their workers take pay cuts, while they laugh all the way to the bank.
Still no healthcare for Temporary Part-Timers
While the contract will keep the Ranger plant open until September 30, 2009, most of us will have to continue as temporary part-timers – with no health benefits and at lower wages, even though we do full-time work.
Retirees will lose guaranteed medical coverage and pay more for it. The VEBA retiree medical fund was given only 57% of what it needs and is NOT protected against bankruptcy. More than half is in Ford stock or notes, or promises to pay over the next 15 years. The VEBA's directors can decide to increase charges and reduce benefits.
Many more jobs will be lost.
Every promise of job security includes the language "based on market-related conditions," and Ford can still eliminate shifts and "temporarily" idle plants whenever it wants. Chrysler announced 12,000 job cuts a week after signing the contract. The contract says that TPTers and full-timers with seniority will get preferential hiring at jobs at other Ford plants – but where are we going to work if they're cutting thousands more jobs?
WE DON'T HAVE TO ACCEPT THIS!
The UAW has a tradition of fighting heroically to make gains for its members (see pg 12 of local 879's "Autoworker," Oct/Nov 2007 < http://www.uaw879.org/documents/auto8-9-07.pdf >). Why has the UAW not done a thing to stand up to Ford and protect the gains made in the past? Why is the union making these historic concessions without even putting up a fight?
By voting no, we can send a message to Ford and the UAW leadership that we won't accept these concessions and that we reject this race-to-the-bottom! We can send a clear message that we want a fighting union that cares more about its members' bottom line than the Ford's.
In the face of the industry-wide crisis, the only way we can hold back wave after wave of attacks is to mount an all-out drive to unionize the un-organized, lower paid autoworkers, both in the U.S. and internationally.
However, our current leadership has shown no willingness to do this. In fact, their refusal to stand up for their own members jobs, wages, and benefits makes the union an un-attractive option to disgruntled workers at Toyota, Honda, or other non-union companies. Why pay union dues, struggle, sacrifice, and risk your job to form a union, if the leaders are going to turn around negotiate wage cuts and layoffs for you? We need to build a rank and file opposition movement to take our union back and rebuild the fighting traditions which birthed the United Auto Workers.
VOTE NO to layoffs!
VOTE NO to VEBA and attacks on our retirement benefits!
VOTE NO to two and three tiered wage schemes!
VOTE for full-time pay and benefits for all full-time workers! VOTE for full healthcare benefits for everyone! VOTE for workers needs before corporate greed!
Leaflet produced by the 879 Votes No Campaign
If you agree, help spread the word and get in touch!
Check out United Auto Workers Local 879 website:
http://www.uaw879.org/
"The Auto Worker" UAW Local 879 Newsletter:
http://www.uaw879.org/autoworker.htm
http://www.workdayminnesota.org/index.php?news_6_2886