[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 51 (Wednesday, May 3, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       AN AMERICAN WORKER'S STORY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DALE E. KILDEE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 3, 2006

  Mr. KILDEE. Mr. Speaker, my constituent Steve Grandstaff is shop 
Chairman of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 651, which represents 
hourly workers at Delphi East in my hometown of Flint, Michigan.
  For the Record I would like to read an excerpt of the electronic 
testimony that Steve wrote for the Education and the Workforce 
Committee e-hearing on the impact of the Delphi bankruptcy filing:

       I am the Shop Chairperson of UAW Local 651 in Flint, 
     servicing Delphi Flint East and representing 2800 hard 
     working people. Early on in this whole saga I had a 
     realization what the whole issue boils down to.
       I refer to it as the promise; the promise was part of the 
     deal. The deal was that you came to work and did your job for 
     30 years and at the end of that time you could have the 
     opportunity to go on your way with a somewhat comfortable 
     pension to see you through your later years.
       The workers end of the promise was that they worked the off 
     shifts for the first decade of employment. This meant working 
     the hot days in the summer and the cold ones in the winter. 
     That in itself meant that you were at work when your family 
     and your friends were working normal hours and enjoying life.
       The promise meant that you worked in the grimy, dangerous 
     conditions. You did boring monotonous jobs. You suffered the 
     labeling by society because you worked in a factory.
       You would work the extra hours so that you could get the 
     nice things that life offered. The things that seemed to come 
     easier to other people but in your case you had to do a 
     little extra to get them. . . .
       Over the years many of us had the opportunity to make a 
     decision, should I stay or should I move on to something 
     else. Many, many people stayed on because of the promise.
       They made decisions not to go to a new career because they 
     were many years into the equation of which the promise 
     weighed oh so heavily.
       The promise was always out there.
       The company always reminded anyone that would listen about 
     how they were funding our pensions and used that as a 
     bargaining chip when our wages or benefits were on the table.
       It was always figured in as a benefit cost even though now 
     some wonder if the company ever really intended to fulfill 
     the promise.
       Now here we are near the end of our careers, not as young 
     as we used to be, many of us broken. When so many of us are 
     so close to being able to cash in on the promise the company 
     is attempting to take it away from us. . . .

  Mr. Speaker, this Congress has failed to protect American workers 
while focusing on protecting the privileged few.
  It is time for these workers' stories to be heard and I am pleased to 
have this opportunity to share one of these stories.

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