[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 101 (Thursday, July 1, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1276]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING RON GETTELFINGER FOR HIS LEADERSHIP OF THE UAW

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                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 1, 2010

  Mr. CAPUANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Ron Gettelfinger 
and his masterful 8-year tenure as president of the United Auto 
Workers. Confronted with the leanest membership in the Union's history 
and the bankruptcy of two of Detroit's three automakers, the UAW 
required an effective leader who could balance the interests of members 
and the needs of their employers.
  In Ron Gettelfinger, the UAW certainly had a wise and steadfast 
leader who could come to terms with this troubling dynamic and act 
accordingly.
  He understood that saving the imperiled union would require a little 
sacrifice, and also he convinced his union to give up some of the jobs 
and benefits it had accumulated over the years for a better future. Mr. 
Gettelfinger thus played a crucial role in saving one of the United 
States' biggest industries during one of the nation's darkest economic 
hours.
  Today he continues to be an outspoken defender of fair labor laws and 
better workers' rights, and I hope that he is as successful in his 
future endeavors as he was these past few years.

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