[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 148 (Monday, September 16, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S5489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       United Auto Workers Strike

  Mr. BROWN. Today I hope my colleagues will join me in standing in 
solidarity with thousands of UAW workers in Ohio and around the 
country. Workers are going without their paychecks today because they 
are demanding General Motors respect the work they do which has made 
this company so successful.
  All workers have the right to stand up for fair pay and benefits, for 
better working conditions, and for a voice in their company. Let's be 
clear. The autoworkers, shall we say, are the engine behind GM's 
success. GM wouldn't be making a dime of profit without the workers who 
actually make their cars and trucks. Autoworkers stood up and made 
sacrifices to help GM when times were tough.
  The Presiding Officer was a Member of the House then, and I was a 
Member of the Senate. We saw what happened during the rescue of the 
auto industry and how much those workers gave up to save this industry. 
We remember the depths of the recession. We remember when President 
Obama took office as 800,000 were losing their jobs the first month and 
700,000 the second month until, with the auto rescue, House Democrats, 
with President Obama, turned this economy around. We have seen, 
literally, economic growth each quarter over the last 10 years. This 
was, in large part, because so many workers, like the UAW workers, were 
willing to give up something at the bargaining table.
  In some cases, clearly, some people in this town wanted to abandon 
that company. Now that times are better, all the workers are asking for 
is their fair share. So far, GM has not treated these workers as the 
critical partners they are in our auto industry.
  Look at what GM has done in my State. Look at what they did in 
Lordstown, OH. The company shut down its most productive plant in North 
America, by GM's own measurements. The Lordstown plant near Youngstown, 
OH, as recently as 2\1/2\ years ago--back during the Obama 
administration--had 4,500 workers working there. Even though President 
Trump said: Don't sell your homes; these jobs are coming back, they 
have been laid off--hundreds of workers, 4,500 over the last couple 
years. At the same time, GM announced they were going to build the 
Chevy Blazer in Mexico.
  GM could retool that Lordstown plant, and they could build the Blazer 
in Ohio. They could put some of their electric vehicles in the 
Lordstown plant in Ohio. We know they have plenty of money to work 
with. They earned higher than expected profits in the first quarter of 
this year. President Trump's tax cuts for the rich gave huge amounts of 
tax breaks to General Motors. Much of the money went to General Motors' 
executives. All these workers are asking for is to share in those 
profits, have a voice in their company.
  GM made the decision to close Lordstown and other plants around the 
country with no input from the workers who earned those profits for 
that company. Now workers are standing up and fighting for increased 
investments in their local communities.
  I spoke this week with Gary Jones, the international president of the 
United Auto Workers, about Lordstown and bringing these jobs back. That 
is what they are trying to win at the bargaining table.
  We know strikes are always a last resort for workers. My wife grew up 
in Ashtabula, OH. Her dad carried a union card, Utility Workers of 
America. He did maintenance for that plant for more than 30 years. 
Twice when she was growing up they went on strike. She knows, as 
workers know, they never get back what they lose in a strike. So when 
they strike, it is when their backs are against the wall. The wife of 
one GM worker posted online this week: ``I can only pray this strike is 
short.''
  These workers want to do their jobs. They want to work. They don't 
want to be on the picket line. They want to reach a solution that 
honors their work.
  GM needs to agree to a contract that honors the dignity of work and 
recognizes autoworkers, the communities, and the families who are 
affected by this and who helped drive the success of the auto industry 
in Ohio and across the country.