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REDFORD, MICH. – President Barack Obama traveled Monday to Michigan to tout a new investment in domestic auto jobs, while using the opportunity to assail the state's Republican lawmakers for pursuing "right to work" legislation.
With three weeks to go to avoid the fiscal cliff, President Barack Obama will travel to a Detroit auto plan and attempt to sell his plan to raise taxes on the top two percent of Americans.
Obama renewed his offensive to pressure Republicans into extending middle class tax cuts, calling on Congress to pass legislation making the Bush-era tax rates for those making below $250,000 permanent.
But this trip to the Detroit-area came with some extra baggage in the form of a state-wide union battle over a right-to-work law that Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder (R) has pledged to sign. The president addressed the union controversy towards the middle of his remarks:
"We should do everything we can to encourage companies like Daimler to keep investing in American workers," Obama said, "what we shouldn’t be doing is trying to take away your rights to bargain for better wages and working conditions."
Related: Lawmakers implore Michigan gov. to halt or delay 'right to work' law
The audience responded enthusiastically as the president continued: "These so-called right-to-work laws, they don't have to do with economics. They have everything to do with politics. What they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money."
While Snyder did not join the president for his event at the Daimler-owned Detroit Diesel Corporation, the governor did greet Obama on the tarmac along with some of the Democratic members of Michigan’s congressional delegation.
Snyder had a meeting with many members of the Michigan delegation earlier today to discuss the legislation, which would make mandatory payment of union dues or fees as a condition of employment illegal. On the flight to Michigan, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney noted that the president’s opposition to right-to-work laws was “well known” and the optics of this were brought even more into focus by the president being accompanied on his tour of the engine plant by the UAW NW Local 163 Detroit Diesel Engine Unit Shop Chairperson Mark Gibson, and multiple people in the crowd sporting UAW stickers. Currently, 23 states and Guam have some type of right-to-work legislation on the books.
Saul Loeb / AFP - Getty Images
President Barack Obama speaks on the economy and fiscal cliff negotiations after touring the Daimler Detroit Diesel Plant in Redford, Michigan, December 10, 2012.
But while the president was on the tour of the Redford engine plant, the clock continued to tick towards the end of the year and the so-called fiscal cliff. Obama again insisted that tax rates on the wealthiest Americans should be allowed to go up,
"What you need is a package that keeps taxes where they are for middle-class families," he said. "We make some tough spending cuts on things that we don't need, and then we ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a slightly higher tax rate. And that's a principle I won't compromise on."
He didn’t mention his meeting over the weekend with House Speaker John Boehner, choosing instead to focus the blame on Congress if taxes go up for everyone at the end of the year.
"If Congress doesn't act soon -- meaning in the next few weeks -- starting on Jan. 1, everybody's going to see their income taxes go up. It's true,” the president said. The audience loudly booed and the president responded, “You all don't like that.”
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In general Businesses cannot survive long term with union involvement.
Really.
HMM kind of like that short term business that Henry Ford introduced to society.
Obama's comments to the unions of Michigan are exactly the
problem with this country's leadership.
For a president to say "the new law is a right to work for less
money" undercuts free enterprise and is tantamount to allowing corporate hijacking
or blackmail. The unions in Michigan
have priced themselves out of work! The
president bailed our GM with our money and is now encouraging the inflation of
American made goods and making the trade imbalance greater.
Great Barry! We have no choice but to buy insurance from the private sector...now you don't want people to have the choice of being in a union or not?
Jeeze, Barry, how DO the 88% of the people in the country that don't work for a union get by??
yo American girl
so in your world all businesses are owned by Republicans and the the workers are protected by the Democratic leaning unions. Must be nice that everything is black an white. Right to work means just that a right to work without mandated union membership.
They have everything to do with politics. What they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money."
No, what they are doing is giving the worker a right to sit on his but and do nothing if he wishes to do so and still receive a paycheck and benefits. I'm not saying all workers, but some. The first part is right though, it has everything to do with politics.
It's the right to work. period. I should ALWAYS have the choice whether to join or not join a union. Joining puts MY livelihood in the hands of everyone else. If the job is offered and I am willing to work for what the job pays, who are the Unions to tell me I can't work? Besides how much less would it be compared to the extortion I have to pay these crooks when I join the union?
Only 17% of workers in Michigan are union members. Many receive no benefits by being a union member but pay dues to fuel the life styles of union leaders and have no say in how their dues are spent or donated.
I think that might be called an Agency Shop and they are paying an Agency Fee. When the Mafia does that it's called a Protection Racket.
The turd has never had a job. He pays people who work for him with other peoples money. And buys union votes by the "car" load with taxpayer and stock holder money.
Still a community organizer.
Hey Mr. President how about giving a speech in front of people instead of sheeple?
If a union shop closes the workers that were union members get 0 support from the union and many receive bills for union dues.
It is about the freedom to choose not to force anybody one way or the other. That is one of the great strengths of our country. I suspect Obama doesn't understand that or wants to stifle our freedom. Can I have my vote back?
To the vile anti-workers posting here: Do you know the history of unions in the U.S.? No, you don't. The CEOs nowadays bring home 300% or more than the average worker. The fire in Bangladesh last week shows what often happens to non-union workers. It killed hundreds in new York 100 years ago in similar circumstances prior to unionization which protects the workplace health and safety of workers. Weekends and vacation time came about because of unions. Germany today has a strong economy because they have a strong corporate/union set-up. Intelligent Americans know this country, the United States, had a very strong economy back when unions were strong. The RTW agenda comes straight out of the old confederacy because it really is a new way to have slavery while families, men, women, and children exist in poverty. How pro-family of Scrooge Snyper to lameduck this right before Christmas!! My FloriDUh home has exploding levels of armed robberies and gun violence. the results of RTW dispair. My Detroit suburb, a middle class suburb in Wayne county is safe. Not for long if Scroogy pRick snyper signs that law tomorrow. Goole the facts: Unions created the middle class!!
the fire in Bangladesh shows what happens in a 3rd world country with no laws or enforcement. we crossed that bridge 100 years ago.
unions cause a strong economy? how so? the union heydays were post WWII, when we were the only game in town. we only had a strong economy because we were the only country in the world with intact manufacturing and logistics to get product to market. and the unions sucked it for all it was worth, we as a country got fat and dumb. then along came the japs, then the chinese to economiclly hand us our butts. now we have to send jobs overseas just to be able to compete globally. cant manufacture cheap stuff in this country and pay top dollar wages, the economics just dont work. THATS what the unions have done for the middle class. unions have destroyed the middle class.
Ed & Rachel,
Please do not anger Der Fuhrer herr Schneider, I fear he will sick his SS troops on us. We will just bow our heads and steer clear, as he is now going for the power grab; the same as his idol Der Furher Hitler!
No his idol is Karl Marx.
Will someone please explain why Chrysler was forced to rehire those UAW members who were caught on tape tokin' and drinkin' during their lunch. Why should they get their jobs back? This is an example of the Unions protecting BAD EMPLOYEES and not supporting GOOD EMPLOYEES!! Would you buy a Jeep that these idiots built? Used to be don't buy a car made on Friday or Monday. Now it's don't buy a car made after lunch!
Chrysler isn't even an American company any more. It's a division of Fiat. How stable do they think their jobs are? Just about as stable as the GM union members.
GM announced that it shutting down several of its hybrid models assembled in this country because it's importing it new "Spark" model from South Korea. And if that wasn't bad enough, GM announced that its building its new manufacturing plants in China.
With Wells Fargo's annoncement that its begun shipping its American jobs to India, with the Obamacare tax hitting employers after January, with all the news stories about plants closing, stores closing and small and medium companies closing their doors, its going to be a banner 2013 for the employment picture.
Guess we know who is in bed with the unions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Google. Pick up a book and READ it. Like Howard Zinn's the True History of the United States. ALEC is behind Scroogy Sick snyper's anti-worker agenda. RTW, another way to exploit workers and the new name of SLAVERY!!!
you have a choice who to work for and under what conditions. or to work for yourself. how is that slavery? please let me know what book defines the ability to make your own decisions, would love to read it, as long as it is non-fiction...
Right to work simply allows a person to join or to refrain from joining a union. If there's a CBA in place non-uion employees are still bound by that agreement and that includes wages. What right to work does entitle one to is the personal decision to join and pay dues or not to join and put those dues dollars into their pocket instead on the pocket of some unseen union official. Im always amazed at who quickly those Union Reps disappear once the ink has dried on the CBA. Keep in mind, there are absolutely no laws compelling compans give in to union demands. People are never going to get what companies are williing or able to give. Keep in mind that union employees are paid per their contract without regard to individual performance , that means that mediocrity becomes the accepted standard. If unions really wanted to have an impact they should be holding members to defined performance and production standards, but they run from such suggestions, afterall they only want to be seen as the good guys, not the enforcers.
I speak from over 25 years of Human Resources Management experience in the non-governmental sector and an additional 23 years in the governmental sector and I've sat at the table. Unions don't give you anything and you don't recieve anything more that the company is prepared to provide, it's really that simple.
Why are American tax payers footing the bill for our President to tour the country giving speeches to his supporters? Maybe he should go to Washington D.C. and do some work instead of inciting division.
Ed and Rachel,
Please do not anger Der Fuhrer herr Schneider, I fear he will sick his SS troops on us. We will just bow our heads and steer clear. Schneider is going for the power grab the same as his idol Der furher Hitler!
For the past two years Obama's been claiming his tax reform will fix the economy. Its the same song he sang in his first campaign that got him elected as President.
Bush added $5.1 trillion to the national debt in 8 years. Obama added an additional $6 trillion in less than 4 years.
31.9 million people were receiving food stamps when Obama took office. 47.1 million people are receiving food stamps now. That's an increase of 15.2 million or an average of 73,077 people getting added to the food stamp rolls each week Obama has been president.
Reality check: With the democrats in control of both houses of congress in 2009 and 2010, Obama never even proposed his tax reform to congress, but he did push for and get the Bush tax cuts to the rich extended in 2010 with his democratic congress.
Reality check: 11 of the 19 richest congress members are democrats. Over half of the congress members are millionaires and the other half are working their butts off to become millionaires.
Trying to sell the idea that millionaire democratic congress members and Obama who is worth $11.6 million are working for the middle class is asinine. Are you aware that Obama's wealth grew by $1.6 million this year?
You Obama supporters have a choice; return to reality on your own or let reality punch you in the face. It's your choice because you will be returning to reality sooner rather than later. Its only a matter of time.
Maybe our president who says he is getting tax cuts he does not need or asked for should just write a check to the IRS to pay down the national debt. The IRS does have something set up to to do this.
He is part of the hated elite living the life of the elite on American tax payers.
Tracy
He did get on National TV and tell this nation that he wanted to pay higher taxes, should be paying higher taxes. He's the so called leader of this country and certainly had/has not only the power and ability to pay those higher taxes, he's has the money in the bank to pay them, so why isn't he paying them?
Do the words Political Whore come to mind?
It's the right to work without paying union dues and having the union tell you how to work, who to vote for and when to go on strike.
Maybe you didn't know but the Unions are still as corrupted as they were in the days the mafia ran them. That's because they still do.
This bill hasn't done away with the unions. It has done away with the extortion the unions have perpetrated on people who don't wish to join a union by not allowing a union to extort monthly union dues from them each month so the union chiefs can live as lavishly as the ceos they so vehemently despise. I was in the UMWA in the late 70's and went through 2 long drawn out national strikes. Not one word from the union to find out if I was starving to death or not. The only time I ever heard from the union was when they were trying to save the job of a known drunk who worked drunk all the time and another time when they tried to save the job of a union member who would not work more than 2 or 3 days a week.
Man the whining gets so shrill when a Republican dares to pull the same B.S. the Dems pull. That's the problem with naked partisanship-- it comes around eventually. It's actually entertaining to watch the screeching that the sweet deal they have might be coming to an end and they have to live in the real world with the rest of us.
Your all fools, It's nothing more than you scratch my back and I will scratch yours along with the Marxist idea that the end justifys the means. If you haven't realized yet the socialists, progressives(communists) and leftists have taken over the democratic party your blind or one of them, either way your useless.
Is Obams STILL out campaigning?