BUSTED: Rahm Emanuel Said "F#$K The UAW" During Auto Bailout Negotiations

[IndianaGreen]

BUSTED: Rahm Emanuel Said "F#$K The UAW" During Auto Bailout Negotiations

Joe Weisenthal | Sep. 2, 2010, 12:12 PM

This won't endear the Obama administration to his liberal critics.

According to a new book out from Steven Rattner, Rahm Emanuel once said "F&^K the UAW" during the auto bailout negotiations, probably in reference to some demand they made during the heady days that was getting in the way of a smooth operation. The detail was noted by The Huffington Post (via Jalopnik).

And apparently Obama once said: "Why can't they make a Corolla?" referring to American automakers.

So basically The White House hates unions and thinks Japan's cars are better. Got it.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/rahm-emanuel-fk-the-uaw-2010-9#comment-4c7fe84f7f8b9a653b9a0100#ixzz0yQ2BqODF

[DJ13]

1. Is there anyone on our side in the WH?

Or are they too corrupted by their powerful friends?

[grantcart]

12. So Obama single handedly saves GM and Chrysler and that counts for nothing

but some comment that might or might not have been said carries more weight.


Priceless.


Fortunately the members of the UAW know exactly who their real friends are.

[IndianaGreen]

16. We are seeing now the price that was paid on the backs of the workers

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=151x7683

Indianapolis workers denounce GM-UAW threats

By Andre Damon
18 August 2010

Following an explosive union meeting Sunday in Indianapolis—in which workers shouted down officials from the United Auto Workers union and drove them from the meeting—all the forces of the establishment have united to intimidate the workers at the General Motors stamping plant into taking wage and benefit cuts.

GM announced Tuesday that it plans to stop production at the Indianapolis stamping plant in June 2011, in a move that auto workers condemned as a naked effort to blackmail them into accepting concessions.

“The plan is to have all the dies out by June; they’re moving up the closing date. It’s just another one of the ways they’re trying to scare us,” said Mark, a skilled tradesman with 18 years at the plant.

On Sunday, workers at UAW Local 23 rejected a UAW-proposed contract, which calls for a 50 percent reduction in workers’ wages and benefits as part of the plant’s sale to JD Norman, a former Wall Street speculator.

Buyer of GM Indianapolis plant demands 50 percent wage cut

Who is JD Norman?

By Jerry White
24 August 2010

Workers at General Motors’ Indianapolis stamping plant continue to resist demands by the United Auto Workers and GM that they accept a 50 percent wage cut in order to secure a new buyer for the 80-year-old plant. GM previously scheduled the closure of the 2.1 million square foot facility by 2011 as part of its bankruptcy restructuring.

On August 15 Indianapolis workers threw UAW International officials out of their local union meeting and forced the cancellation of a vote on a new contract, which the UAW negotiated behind their backs with potential buyer Justin Dennis Norman. The deal would have scrapped the current UAW-GM contract, which contains a successor clause guaranteeing workers their current wages, job protections and transfer rights in the event GM sells the plant.

In a press conference last week, Norman reacted angrily to the rebuff by the workers and demanded a revote. He repeated the claims first circulated by UAW Region 3 Director Maurice Davison that only a small number of workers opposed the wage-cutting deal and insisted, “You can’t let a very loud minority take this facility down.”

Posing as a savior of the workers, he said, “I’m not going to apologize to keep a plant open and jobs going.” The factory would shut down and all the jobs would be lost, he said, unless there were “fundamental changes in the way the plant is operated.”

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=151x7698

[amborin]

25. Obama saved the Corporation but not the workers; GM uses bailout $$$ to build plants in Mexico

and non-union plants in Michigan and demands 50% pay cut from UAW workers in Indiana

Obama might have saved the corporation, but not the workers

[Mimosa]

53. ^ That's what bothered me. ^ n/t

[billyoc]

47. The wait staff.

[CakeGrrl]

2. "Probably". "Apparently". So...speculation. Unrec. n/t

[JoePhilly]

55. But it might have been in reference to "some demand" ...

at least that is what "some people" "suggest" "might" have happened.

[ProSense]

3. "And apparently Obama once said: 'Why can't they make a Corolla?' referring to American automakers."

Is this a grand plan: spending every moment playing gotcha with second- and third-hand statements?

What's the point?

"So basically The White House hates unions and thinks Japan's cars are better. Got it."

Yeah, that's reality.

Good grief.

[CakeGrrl]

4. That could've been taken directly from a post on DU. n/t

[dave29]

5. I would be surprised if Rahm doesn't say this sort of thing routinely, about anyone he's pissed at.

That includes Republicans. The guy swears, and plays hardball. Get over it.

[SeattleGirl]

7. Gotta agree with you there, dave29!

Lordy, you'd think some people never heard someone cuss (if indeed he actually said that), or play hardball.

:eyes:

[Hekate]

48. Can you imagine what the guy says about Republicans? The air must be blue.

[Cali_Democrat]

6. So there's no actual proof he said it?

Where's the video? Where's the audio? Where are the corroborating witnesses?

It's only brought up when some dude is writing a book?

Also, Obama asking about the corolla (if he did) somehow means Obama hates the UAW and loves Japanese cars?

:crazy:

[IndianaGreen]

9. Here is the evidence: shop workers are getting the shaft by UAW national

UAW halts vote on giveback deal at Indy GM plant

INDIANAPOLIS – The United Auto Workers union has decided not to go ahead with a vote on a new wage-cutting contract for a General Motors Co. stamping plant in Indianapolis that is facing sale.

UAW Local 23 bargaining chairman Gregory Clark says members won't vote on the proposed contract, which would cut base wages from $29 per hour to $15.50.

Originally, the 650 workers were scheduled to vote Monday on the deal.

JD Norman Industries of Addison, Ill., had asked for pay cuts as a condition for buying the plant. Barring a sale, GM has said it will close the plant next year.

Local 23 members voted against bargaining with Norman earlier this summer. The Indianapolis Star says UAW international officials conducted talks with Norman despite the vote.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100815/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gm_plant_indianapolis

[Teaser]

8. Japan's cars are better

.

[moparlunatic]

67. +1

I wouldn't own anything but a Toyota. I bet most here don't own American junk either.

[awoke_in_2003]

74. American is all I buy...

and I have been quite happy. I won't slam people who buy imports, that is there prerogative, they are just not for me.

[golfguru]

75. I have owned the following AMERICAN cars:

1964 Corvair Monza
1967 Chevy Impala
1971 Chevy Nova
1977 Chevy Malibu
1984 Ford Tbird
1990 Ford Probe
2001 Olds Alero
2005 Saturn Ion
2007 Pontiac G5

With 2 drivers in family, we have averaged 70 to 80 thousand miles on each car.
Our total repair expense so far? Under $2000 in 46 years. All cars bought new.

That American cars are junk is a myth to me. But I do have one advantage, which
is the mechanics can't rip me off. I worked in the Auto industry and have a
degree in Mechanical Engineering. I always diagnose any problem before taking
it in for repairs.

Here is just one example of how repair shops try to rip you off.
I was driving my Chevy Nova on a Chicago Expressway when the engine suddenly
started to make loud banging sounds. I pulled out at the next exit and drove
into the first Chevy dealer in Cicero. Two mechanics spent good 20 to 30 minutes
trying to diagnose the problem. Their verdict? I had busted rod bearings. And
that the repair would be complete engine overhaul...several thousand dollars.
I said thanks but no thanks and drove out in spite of their warning that if
I tried to drive home, the engine would demolish itself and I would need a new
engine. AT home I studied my Auto manuals and my diagnosis based on symptoms was
problem in the lifters or rocker arms. Next morning I drove into another dealer
in Downers Grove and told the service writer to check my lifters and rocker arms.
1 hour later my car repair was done, the problem? Bent rocker arm. The car had
75 thousand miles on it. The total cost of repair? around $120 (1978 dollars).

I have had a few more of such attempted rip offs, all of which I was able to avoid.

[krawhitham]

10. Emanuel says F#$KEM about everyone and everything

No matter the issue and on both sides of the issue he will say "F#$K the fill in the blank"

It is the way he is wired, I know people like that you can not take it personal

as for the Corolla crack I agree, what can we not make small compact cars that get good gas mileage VS giant gas guzzlers

[mod mom]

57. Rahm " a force to be reckoned with who disparaged unions -- once quipping "Fuck the UAW"

The inside source, Rattner" didn't speak of one incident but said he "disparaged unions" which seems to fit perfectly with his MO

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9061509

[Uzybone]

11. the desperation to smear this admin is getting worse

[11 Bravo]

15. And that's on Democratic Fucking Underground! Can you imagine ...

what things are like on REPUBLICAN websites?

[jaxx]

18. It's really bad, isn't it?

It's like the talking points get listed one by one on DU...and the games begin.

[msanthrope]

20. Some of us cannot handle the responsibility of governance---

we like victimhood too much.

[firedupdem]

21. +1 n/t

[Whisp]

13. and I should care why about Rahm's potty mouth?

and OMG, stop the PRESSSSSES!

he once said, probably in reference to... something.....!!!!!!!!!!!!

fuck Obama! omg! we are doomed he's such a lizardman! reptilian bloodsucker of life in all known universes . RUN, fuck us all, RUN FOR GAWDS Sakes, run before his Charm and Charisma CHOKE you too a vile and PAINFUL writhing DEATH!!!!

[Aramchek]

14. bitter, bitter everywhere

[Hekate]

27. And not a drop to drink

[SnakeEyes]

17. I'm starting to feel so used

It's as if they used us just to gain power then once there they don't think they have a use for us anymore.

[msanthrope]

22. Oh please---Rahm says 'fuck' and you feel 'used'? WELCOME TO DU

[Denzil_DC]

19. I first read this OP as parody

"Rahm Emanuel once said ... And apparently Obama once said: ... So basically The White House ... Got it."

Busted? That's one heckuva stretch, champ, so you will bust something if you keep at it. Unrec.

[Pirate Smile]

23. The Obama Administration saved the UAW when they bailed out GM & Chrysler.

Focus on what they did and not the stupid, extra crap.

[Hekate]

24. I think the UAW knows that pretty well, that and who their real friends are. As for Corollas...

...if DUers don't know by now that GM and Chrysler lost business to the Japanese car companies because of quality and mileage issues, it's worse here than I thought. I buy cars and keep them 20+ years -- I don't have the money to screw around getting a new style every year.

Hekate

[amborin]

28. LOL! read the fine print! using bailout $$$ for plants in Mexico is not "saving" the UAW

[Hekate]

49. Why do you use two posts...

edited to add ellipses

[amborin]

30. GM demands 50% pay cut from Indiana UAW workers & non-union plant in Michigan

you call that "saving" the UAW?

[Hekate]

50. ... to reply to one post?

[Hekate]

26. So Rahm has a gutter-mouth and cusses a lot. This, you call news?

:shrug:

He "once said" this or that; Obama "once said" this or that in the heat of negotiations. If the average DUer had to pass the Sunday School Teacher Vocabulary Test to make posts here, the place would be empty.

Hekate

[JoePhilly]

56. Bingo.

I told my father to "f**k off" one time.

Have said "f**k that" regarding something or some one who was frustrating me ...

The horror.

At times DU seems packed with folks who's skin is thinner than cheap tissue paper.

[saltpoint]

29. I think Japan's cars are better, too.

They have been for a long time.

[amborin]

32. wow, just wow! what a union-bashing statement to make

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. Oh give it a rest.

Nobody's buying what you're selling.

[amborin]

34. clearly union-bashing & union-busting advocates are not upset to see the UAW bashed

[saltpoint]

36. Other cars are well-made machines.

This well apart from who makes them.

This as an assessment of the worth of the machine itself, its durability, its rate of repair, its functionality, its appeal, and its resale value.

[saltpoint]

35. O horseshit. The cars are better, that's all.

Consumer Reports agrees in this recent survey:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11621992/

[amborin]

37. they why mention this? it's irrelevant to the discussion; unless you prefer non-union made cars?

[saltpoint]

38. No, it isn't irrevelant.

If it were irrelevant, you wouldn't be pitching a fit over it.

[amborin]

39. clearly; it's a way of expressing preference for non-union corporations

[saltpoint]

40. No, it isn't.

Japanese cars are better.

I'd rather drive a Honda than a Plymouth.

I'm aware of the union presence in the U.S. automobile industry, amborin. Very possibly a lot more than you imagine.

Very possibly.

I do notice that you are defending U.S. cars by virtue of the men and women who make them and not in and of themselves.

[Raine1967]

31. Ya know, you should start a site called GREENOMATIC UNDERGROUND. EOM

[saltpoint]

41. Rahm uses coarse language. I'm guessing one or two

other politicians in U.S. history have used coarse language, too.

Just a wild guess, of course.

I wonder if someone like Pat Robertson uses language like that? Not on camera, I mean, but you know -- around the house and garage.

Can you hear him coming in to the garage and saying to no one in particular, "Now where is that fucking rake? I thought I hung it on the nail over here?"

I think it would be kind of refreshing.

As for union support, I think the stats are clear: Union members backed Obama in 2008 and back him still.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

42. Sounds like some projection going on.

"Fuck the UAW" is what the anti-Obama people said when the UAW endorsed Obama's health care reform.

[Hawkowl]

43. GM DID MAKE THE COROLLA

They called it the Prism and made it in California. Rahm needs a good old fashioned horse whipping.

[JVS]

44. Obama is the one who asked why GM couldn't make a Corolla. They did as the Chevy Nova.

But otherwise, you're absolutely right. The problem has never been what the workers are able to build. American workers can build a Corolla just fine.

The problems have been caused by idiotic management, who have decided to focus on upscale brands (entry level brands like Geo and Plymouth have been eliminated) in an environment of declining real wages.

[Hawkowl]

45. I'd forgotten about the Nova

Doh! My mother even had one. But you are correct. I was walking through a new car lot the other day and was absolutely flabbergasted on the sticker price for pickup trucks. Heavy duty type pickup trucks for $48K!!! Good effin god! That's more than most people make in a year! You can just see the auto industry circling the drain again because they aren't offering enough cars that the average person can actually buy.

The problem IS the management of American companies. Almost all are looking for the quickest payoff in the next quarter. Who needs longterm when you make tens of millions of dollars every year if you succeed--or not? To me this is one of the strongest reasons for a very high marginal tax rate.

[johnaries]

77. 2 words - Planned Obsolescence. nt

[Rincewind]

46. If true,

it means they agree with a lot of posters on DU.

[thelordofhell]

51. So Rahm said something "sometime" during tense negotiations and Obama "apparently" said something

Steven Rattner.......the Kitty Kelly of the new millenium.

[Mimosa]

52. The un-rec crowd worked hard on this

"And apparently Obama once said: "Why can't they make a Corolla?" referring to American automakers."

Or a Legacy. Or a Forester. ;)

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[howaboutme]

58. Did he say the same about Goldman Sachs

during the big trillion dollar Wall Street giveaway of 2008-9 after they raped us 2003-2008? :rofl:

More likely Rahm was appointed/annointed to protect their investment and screw average working stiffs.

[vaberella]

59. Ths is BS, considering the WH was really the only ones who cared about the auto industry.

Even fools on DU said don't bail them out. So I'm not going to entertain this any longer.

[IndianaGreen]

60. Posts 16 & 25 will tell you that the corporations were bailed out, but the workers got the shaft

and then there is this:

Indianapolis GM workers pressured to vote on wage cut

By Andre Damon
3 September 2010

In an effort to circumvent the overwhelming vote by Indianapolis GM stamping plant workers against his demand for a 50 percent wage cut, JD Norman, the prospective buyer of the plant, is stepping up pressure on workers to sign a petition calling for a revote.

Norman called a meeting of auto workers Sunday to discuss the details of his proposal, which would cut the pay of production workers from $29 an hour to $15.50. About 50 workers, together with their families, came to the meeting, out of 660 workers currently employed at the plant.

Norman’s presentation followed a union meeting last month where workers drove UAW international representatives from their local union meeting, after the UAW violated an earlier vote, passed 384-22, barring any negotiations with the corporate raider. The UAW has presented Norman as the savior of workers who would keep open the plant, which GM has scheduled to close next year as part of its bankruptcy restructuring.

Workers have been under pressure from Norman, GM, and UAW officials to sign a petition to vote on the contract. UAW officials made clear that any future vote would be by secret ballot, repeating the lie that a “silent majority” of auto workers supports the wage-cutting plan but is intimidated by a “vocal minority.”

Workers said that several people were walking around the plant with the petition forms, including a former committeeman and the local’s sourcing representative, Glenn Sheeks, the “resident scab,” as one worker referred to him.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/sep2010/inds-s03.shtml

Struggle by Indianapolis GM workers raises crucial issues

By Jerry White

27 August 2010

A year after the United Auto Workers union collaborated with the Obama administration in the restructuring of the auto industry and the assault on auto workers’ wages and living standards, determined workers at the General Motors Indianapolis stamping plant have rebelled against the UAW and taken a stand to defend the right to a job and a decent wage.

On August 15, hundreds of workers shouted down UAW International officials and threw them out of their local union meeting for negotiating a cut in wages from $29 an hour to $15.50. The UAW International had secretly negotiated the deal with JD Norman, a 34-year-old ex-stockbroker, who said he would buy the plant and keep it open only if wages were cut in half. Last May, UAW Local 23 workers overwhelmingly voted to reject any negotiations with Norman, a decision that the UAW ignored.

Among workers there is a deep sense that the UAW International is running roughshod over their democratic rights and is motivated by the corrupt self-interest of the union bureaucracy. It has not escaped them that the UAW now owns a substantial piece of GM.

Even now, the UAW is conspiring with the media, state and local politicians, GM and JD Norman to organize another vote, claiming that only a “vocal minority” opposed the deal. A petition to this effect is circulating in the plant. Management is also reportedly hiring dozens of temporary workers—who already work for the lower wage—in hopes of browbeating them to vote for the deal.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/aug2010/auto-a27.shtml

[phleshdef]

62. No, those posts describe things that were going on before there was even an impending collapse...

...before there were any bailouts, during when the collapse was starting, during the time the auto industry needed bailed out and its still going on now. None of that is connected to the auto industry bailout itself.

The undeniable fact is that had the administration not acted to come up with a way to save GM and Chrysler, the unemployment rate would be way higher than it is now, all those workers would have lost jobs and some would have lost their pensions and their healthcare. And there would have been a butterfly effect across the entire economy as a result of their collapse. I don't care how many stories you dig up that highlight hardships in the world of union auto-workers, there is NOTHING and I mean NOTHING that can negate the great good the administration did when it saved the industry, nothing.

[IndianaGreen]

63. Saved the corporations, not the workers!

Saved the banks, not the regular folks being stiffed by the banks!

[phleshdef]

64. I think you are better than cliche, tired, empty talking points if you would allow yourself to be.

He saved the fucking workers. There is no arguing with that. They still have jobs. They still have pensions. They still have healthcare. Had the administration not acted as it had, none of those things would be true. You know I'm right.

Union workers wrangling with the corporations on wage cuts in the middle of a recession has nothing to do with the auto bailout. Corporations still shipping jobs overseas has nothing to do with the auto bailouts, nothing. You are trying to conflate things with the auto bailout that have nothing to do with it and thats just dishonest.

[IndianaGreen]

65. Pension cuts expected for some Delphi union retirees

This is just but one of similar stories across this country. A lot of people have fallen through the cracks!

Pension cuts expected for some Delphi union retirees

By Rick Barrett of the Journal Sentinel

Feb. 21, 2010 |(17) Comments

Several hundred Delphi Corp. union retirees could have their retirement benefits slashed soon, joining thousands of retired salaried workers whose pensions also are being reduced as the federal government takes over the company's depleted retirement funds.

The retired union workers, some of whom worked at Delphi plants in Oak Creek that closed in November 2008, could have their retirement income cut in half in the next few months, union officials say.

"It was hard enough to find another job at age 55. Now I stand to lose about $100,000" in total retirement income, said Jeff Cieciwa, an Oak Creek plant employee for 24 years represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

His situation is similar to the previously reported plight of about 20,000 former salaried workers - shop-floor supervisors, engineers and the like - whose pensions also are being cut as the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. assumes control of Delphi's retirement funds.

Delphi no longer pays for Cieciwa's medical insurance or life insurance, two benefits he counted on for his retirement. Soon, he expects to get a letter from the pension agency estimating how much less he will receive in retirement benefits.

He is almost certain to lose his pension supplement - a bonus that some companies pay to workers who agree to retire early. The agency doesn't pay supplements of underfunded pensions, so Cieciwa could end up losing $1,200 a month in early retirement income.

http://www.jsonline.com/business/84926402.html

[phleshdef]

66. Yea but its mostly a result of the fallout from a company having to file bankruptcy.

That doesn't change the fact that had the government not bailed these companies out, none of these workers would stand to get ANYTHING at all most likely. Yea, there are some ugly situations because money is still low. When the economy comes near collapse and massive employers come near collapse, things like this shouldn't be unexpected, even if the companies themselves are kept from ultimately collapsing. You may fight the cancer, you may send it into remission, but you can't undo all the damage its all ready done to the organs it attacked.

The picture of what happened here with the auto industry, taken as a whole and not just a few negative stories you can dig up, reflect better on this administration more than almost anything else it has done.

[Ignis]

61. Quelle surprise!

Nah, not really.

[Name removed]

68. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Butch350]

69. Japans cars and Camera lens are excellent!!

Sorry. That a fact - jack!

[dionysus]

70. how many times you going to post this?

[SpartanDem]

71. Some you have really have no clue

there would be no US auto industry if weren't for Obama and notion the money has just gone to Mexico is pure BS


2010 Detroit Auto Show: Ford Invests $450M in Michigan for Hybrids & PHEVs

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/01/2010-detroit-auto-show-ford-investment-450-millions-michigan-batteries-hybrids.php


Chrysler spares Sterling Heights plant from closure, adds 900 jobs


http://detnews.com/article/20100731/AUTO01/7310372/Chrysler-spares-Sterling-Heights-plant-from-closure--adds-900-jobs

Ford invests $135 million for electric vehicle development at two Michigan sites

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/05/25/ford-invests-135-million-for-electric-vehicle-development-at-tw/

[truthwillprevail]

72. Really now?

Some you have really have no clue
Posted by SpartanDem


there would be no US auto industry if weren't for Obama and notion the money has just gone to Mexico is pure BS







GM has announced investments of $3.67 billion in Mexico since November 2007, including a new assembly plant in San Luis Potosí. The company has closed five U.S.-based assembly plants and put three more on standby since June 2005, according to Tom Wilkinson, a GM spokesman.


Moves to Mexico may speed up as Chrysler and GM pay back government bailout money and the political scrutiny they face eases, says Michael Robinet, vice-president of global forecasting for CSM Worldwide in Northville, Mich. The reason isn't hard to fathom. GM workers in Mexico earn wages and benefits of 340 pesos a day ($26.40) on average, or less than $4 an hour, says Tereso Medina, head of the union for GM's 5,000 workers in Saltillo, a city about 180 miles (300 kilometers) south of the Texas border, where one in four Mexican autos is produced.


http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_27/b4185010570308.htm

[totodeinhere]

73. It reminds me of DU where the F world is used all the time.

So what?

[johnaries]

76. As someone with 6 Sigma Black Belt training, the American Auto

Industry was the prime example of "fucked-up" Corporate thinking. Actually, it was an American who taught the Japanese how to "build a Corolla". But those "common-sense" ideas were too "radical" for established American procedures.

And it has nothing to do with liking or hating unions. it's just common sense. Only someone who is truly ignorant or has a hidden agenda would couch it in such terms.