[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 96 (Thursday, June 24, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1190-E1191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING RON GETTELFINGER FOR HIS LEADERSHIP OF THE UAW

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 23, 2010

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ron Gettelfinger 
today upon his retirement from the United Auto Workers or UAW. Ron 
devoted his long and distinguished career to helping his colleagues and 
the American people achieve the American dream; and as he leaves the 
working world, it is my great pleasure to honor his professional 
efforts and accomplishments.
  Growing up with 11 brothers and sisters in Frenchtown, Indiana, Ron 
got some early lessons in negotiating with others. After graduating 
high school in 1962, he moved to Louisville, Kentucky and in 1964 was 
hired as a chassis line repairman at the Louisville Assembly Plant of 
Ford Motor Company.
  In one of his earliest jobs Ron so impressed those around him that 
the workers in the plant elected him to represent them as 
committeeperson, bargaining chairperson and president. Ron excelled in 
these positions and also functioned as a delegate to the National Ford 
Council and Sub-Council # 2.
  After twenty years of work in the auto industry, Ron was elected 
president of local union 862. In 1987, he became a member of the Ford-
UAW bargaining committee. When he was asked by Car and Driver magazine 
about what prompted this move into the union arena, he simply responded 
``I just thought I should apply my education to helping the workers.''
  Ron moved on to other union positions, including director of United 
Auto Workers Region 3, which represents United Auto Workers' members in 
Indiana and Kentucky. After six years in this role, he was elected UAW 
vice president in 1998.
  As Vice President, Ron was director of the UAW Aerospace Department 
and the UAW Ford Department, where he led negotiations in 1999 that 
focused on ``Bargaining for Families.'' In 2002, he was elected 
president of the UAW and was re-elected in 2006. On March 19, 2009, Ron 
announced his intent to retire at the end of his term.
  During his tenure at the helm of the UAW, Ron has been an outspoken 
advocate for national single-payer health care in the United States. 
Under his leadership, the UAW has lobbied for fair trade agreements 
that include provisions for workers' rights and environmental 
provisions. With the help of these efforts, Congress enacted 
legislation to reform health, expand the children health insurance 
program (S-CHIP), the economic stimulus package, auto restructuring, 
the Lilly Ledbetter equal pay legislation, as well as a minimum wage 
increase.
  During his presidency the UAW successfully lobbied for the enactment 
of compromise CAFE legislation in 2007, which included the Section 136 
program to provide funds to encourage investment in domestic production 
of advanced technology vehicles and their key components. With Ron's 
help Congress was also able to facilitate agreement on a national 
standard for regulating greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy for 
light, medium and

[[Page E1191]]

heavy duty vehicles. All of these accomplishments have come in the face 
of trying times for organized labor. In the words of U.S. Labor 
Secretary Hilda Solis, American workers are endangered by ``the 
corporate global chase for the lowest wage which creates a race to the 
bottom that no workers, in any country, can win.''
  With Ron as their advocate, UAW members have endured and succeeded in 
these difficult times. He will be remembered for his leadership role in 
putting the UAW at the forefront of the struggle for civil rights, 
better schools and pensions, tougher workplace health and safety 
standards, and stronger workers compensation benefits. His impact 
stretches beyond the auto industry and will be felt for years to come.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in wishing Ron 
Gettelfinger the best in his retirement. I am certain he will enjoy his 
newfound free time with his wife Judy, and their two children and four 
grandchildren. I can think of no one more deserving of having a long, 
happy and healthy post-career life. He will be sorely missed at the 
UAW, but if his successors follow the examples he set for so many 
years, American workers will continue to be well represented.

                          ____________________