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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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Butt out, Barack!
The President needs to stfu. This is a states rights issue. Why doesn't he do his job
Exactly, go back to washington and work on your beer or go play golf, but stick to what you know and that is not economics.
butt out? he owes them for their campaign contributions and votes. what do you expect, him to lead and govern, do his job, instead of paying back HIS lobbyists and donors?
Thats where der fuhrer Schneider wants to start,first with strong bargaining rights, whats next? Your guns?
bargaining rights, extortion, same difference, right? just semantics...
Here goes BO again with his socialist agenda!
We will never be able to compete in the world economy due to greed. If you believe the unions are for the people then good luck. Ask the workers in SC at the Boeing Plant what they think of the unions. If you are paid with taxpayers dollars then unions should be outlawed. If you believe that the government is that inept that they can not control wages for the betterment of the people then we need to remove those in government and replace them. Enough of this circus.
The ideology of rightwingnutballs is dead. That's why we said no to the face of fascism, Williard RoMoney. Karly rove didn't get the message yet. Neither did the Fixed noise that is GOPTV and their idiotic parrots as seen here supporting the Chinesation of their own wages. Their children won't thank them.
parrots huh? Squak RoMoney, squak Rove, Squk Fixed noise, squak GOPTV squak squak squak
just sit in the corner nd keep eating the crackers you've been fed there Polly
Maybe you'd better look up the definition of fascism because it fits more neatly into the idea of unions that anything Mitt Romney ever proposed.
From Wikipedia......
The term fascismo is derived from the Latin word fasces. The fasces, which consisted of a bundle of rods that were tied around an axe, was an ancient Roman symbol of the authority of the civic magistrate. They were carried by his lictors and could be used for corporal and capital punishment at his command.[17][18] The word fascismo also relates to political organizations in Italy known as fasci, groups similar to guilds or syndicates.
Hmmm sounds oddly similar to a UNION which if history serves were wildly popular tools for the Mafioso who came from where? Oh yeah..ITALY
classic. Sounds like michigan is on the right path based on your squeeling!
Unions were needed years ago at the turn of the last century to address some egregious and wrong business practices such as unsafe work environments, extremely low wages, collective bargaining, etc., from the Industrial age.
I am on both sides here - both have missed the mark.................!
The concept of the union is sort of a relic of a bygone era. If employers were smart, they would offer "profit-sharing" plans instead of a union shop. Where everyone in the company gets a pro rata share of the shared profits of the company, instead of relying on a union that will just charge the rank and file employee union dues that get funneled to various democrap political campaigns. An annual check would do nicely thank you rather than having union dues sucked out of your paycheck each pay period.
In essence, the union dues get washed down the drain in most cases. I knew of guys who needed union help and were denied that same help too. So, sometimes the union is no better than the private sector boss man in saying "no". Maybe the unions and the big fat union bosses are "greedy" huh!??
Plus, with unions you frequently have no choice with where your dues money goes. And, there is a lot of coercion w/unions on their rank and file employees.
Look at what big government has done to Detroit and Michigan. Long a bastion of "Democrat rule" the last 25 years, they have ran that state in the ground.........!! Now the mayor of Detroit wants Obozo to send money as a "quid pro quo" since they got all their "brothers and sistas" out to vote for him during the past election. LMFAO............! "we gots to get ours ummhmmm!" ;)
Obama will have the rest of the country looking like a bombed-out Detroit when he is done with his "plans" for Amerika.....
Yes Michigan voters.............keep running companies out of your state. Keep making it hard for them to turn a buck when you still have high school dropouts making $50 bucks per hour on the GM (government motors) assemly line literally doing nothing...........this is also why cars cost $30 -$40 GRAND TODAY! Or more............
If you rely on the local union and Obama to "save you" God help us.............and good luck to you 'cause they will leave you hanging and you will come up short every time. No need to sell your soul to a blood-sucking corporation either.............but there has got to be some middle ground here.
Unions exist because the employers still have not figured out a way to make the company successful, while making their profit margin, while still making the employees happy. That formula is best implemented with real PROFIT SHARING PLANS.............a real check every six months or even quarterly, that is tangible and real..........if employees got that, they'd be lest apt to "unionize"..............
Welcome to the real world auto industry states!! You gave Obama a second term and now you will work for less!! The Republicans fault?? Seriously!! This is what the auto CEO's wanted and you paid for with my and your bailout...Cheap labor and federal money to save THEIR JOBS..LOL...Now all you got is less money. Blame the Republicans?? Heck they were trying to save your jobs and creat jobs.. All you got from Obama was lip service and silly outrage from a President who gets to keep his job and pay! You are clearly a victim of your own short sightedness..... ask for another bailout.. Obama will be there, but the rest of this nation will not!! Heck 3 states in the northeast have Obama's support for 60 billion in Sandy aid.. This guy it out of his mind... I am broke and so is the rest of America!!
i sense another major Toyota recall spurred by a DOT "investigation" coming down anytime now...
Right out of college in 1978, I was a production supervisor (foreman) at the Detroit Diesel Allison transmission plant in Indianapolis. The UAW committeemen were impossible to work with and would defend the worst workers with great passion--regardless of their impact on the company, productivity, safety, quality, etc.
I left the company after four years to pursue other goals, but never forgot what I learned there. After seeing how restrictive work rules paralyzed operations I concluded that if the Japanese were kicking the hell out of us, we deserved it. Weak management negotiators paired with agressive unions are a destructive combination.
Now we have a president who wouldn't know a work rule from a foot stool preaching about things he knows nothing about. Priceless!
unions could care less about the company, productivity,or quality. not thier area to worry about, that's management's problem.
safety only if it is what they want and convenient. as a production supervisor, i had to implement a change because we were in violation of OSHA, it was very black and white. the union wanted to "bargain" it, even though their labor agreement required them to follow the law. the union president could care less about worker safety, was nothing more than ploy and tactics to be difficult, exert his power. the change was implemented anyway, didn't change, only thing that was accomplished was wasting time.
wow all you liberal nags with blinders on. Why isn't your knight in shining armor president looking to his right when he was in Michigan? Maybe he would then have to look at the multi-million dollar investment he gave to a battery company to build new factories only to sell them to the Chinese.
I guess his right to work is more for Chinese labor.
How many anti-union commentators here are from the southern section of this country?
Only 17% of Michigan workers are union members. Down from 26% in 1989.
what is he doing in Michigan? He's wearing out Air Force One!! Maybe visiting the new Battery plant he sold to China?? We have laws now to take care of what Union's use to .
B Hussein Obama your the biggest ass**** that has ever lived. Gotta keep that 200-300 million dollar campaign money flowing for democrats, so unions can continue to buy elections. Screw some workers' personnel right to not belong to a union if he wants a job. Karl Marx had no idea how popular his statement about organizing the workers would become with our ever so patriotic democrats. And I haven't even touched on the corruptness and dishonesty among unions.
Democrats support the unions for political gain only to get their votes and simply no other reason. Let's unionize the entire country workforce and see what happens. What will happen is more companies will move their business to other countries resulting in more unemployment. States without the right to work status do not have the same financial issues as states with right to work status. Teachers, fireman, police, state workers, federal workers, and auto workers unions are fine examples of negative financial effect unions have created. Why did GM need a bailout? High wages and outlandish benefits and pensions would have forced GM to close without the bailout. The postage stamp increase each year is an annual bailout of the post office. The increase is due again to wages, benefits, and pension payments. Unionized state and city employees enjoy all the same benefits and are bankrupting cities and states. California, Wisconsin, and Michigan are fine examples with many others to follow in the future. The middle class Obama and the Democrats refer to consistently is these union workers not the typical worker with a $12 an hour job and no benefits.
When the federal labor laws and codes are added to union operations it is easy to understand why American manufacturing can not compete with foreign countries with the low import taxes we apply to products from many countries. America is becoming a service and distribution operation for foreign product with continued reduction in manufacturing. Democrats, unions, and union workers should not cry about jobs moving overseas when they are the reason. Blaming the Republicans is pure propaganda.
Unions are nothing but a big business without taxes. Their only concern is to maintain membership numbers for member dues. As someone with first hand knowledge unions main function is to protect the lazy, incompetent, and unproductive worker. As part of a unionized workforce and later management I observed first hand. It takes an act of God to fire a federal, state, or city employee especially a minority and teachers are even more difficult.
I am a democrat but in my eyes the democrats not the republicans are the main reason for the financial issues in this country both at the state and federal level. Government laws and entitlements they support or pass are financially destructive. Unfortunately their policies apply to a selected few not the entire population who pay taxes.
Yes, and I am sick of subsidizing the wages of people who earn more than I do and have more benefits. Screw them! I will not work for them anymore. I will be poor, do the hobbies I love, and ask for government handouts --- that seems like the new American dream!
The people elected their representatives to run the state of Michigan. Obama is trying to turn the US into an Egypt where the President has absolute power to cancel laws! and the constitution! Obama has become an anarchist in Michigan - oh yes, Obama is the organizer for a domestic terrorist. He has always been an anarchist.
It's okay for politicans to take your money in form of taxes, but not okay for business to budget what they can or what they are willing to pay in wages?
Nice to meet you Snakebone, sorry about the late reply I just arrived in a town strange to me, and had to pick an engineer colleague of mine up at the airport, and then we had some diner at the restaurant in his hotel, I just got back to my hotel and thought I would check in on FR. I have been a union man for over 30 thirty years, can't say anything bad about it, it benefited me greatly, it gave me the income and security to start my own small business based on some patents I developed, my industry experience and the inovations I brought to it eventually led to the management position I now have. I make more now to do less than I ever did but nobody here will complain about that because now I am management and were a jacket and tie instead of work clothes. I never begrudge the people who work for me the wages and benefits they earn, they deserve every penny they are paid. I am one of the few if not the only manager that often takes their side when it is the right thing to do, other managers often just bitch and moan and blame everything on labor, I will make my bonus every quarter, many of them will not. Truth is the people who produce the product that brings the cash in the door are seldom at fault, they just work within the system provided to them, most of the problems I see start with bad decisions at the top, but most companies seldom want to hear that. I am fortunate to work for a CEO who wants to get to the truth when things don't go well and fix the problem, even when executive decisions are part of the problem, but that is why this company is kicking it's competition's asses, because they make a serious attempt to treat situations and people in the company with honesty, and fairness, and they pay them well for their efforts.
Repubs just keep digging that plot.. lol.
Dont they realize the next government can undo anything they put in? And if they annoy a large amount of the voting public, many of whom are in Unions, or simply see themselves as labor workers, that they wont be in office next term? Why do they insist on trying to force in stuff the majority wont accept?
Repubs biggest downfall, is this delusion that they have mass appeal and support. They have lost the popular vote how many years straight?
The situation in Michigan is hilarious.
A whopping 6% of Michgan voters want a Right to Work state. And yet the Republican/Tea Baggers could care less what the majority wants.
No big deal. The voters will remember and the Republicans will be kicked out on their asses. Then a Democratically controlled legislature will simply vote to change the law.
So have patience. In less than six years the Republican Party will become irrelevant. And that once great party will have the Tea Baggers to thank for their rapid demise.
Here he goes again. Pres.Obama must just love to campaign. I guess he really wants to be a Hollywood Star because he can't get enough of the spot light. Unions have become obsolete because we have 100's of Federal and State Laws to protect workers today. Why would anybody pay union due when they already pay Fed and State taxes to do the same job. It doesn't make sense.
GOPers would like to postpone any decision making right now, for the tax would be raised automatically on1/1/2013. GOPers are very smart; and no wonder they are so reluctant to pass bills, in which they are the laziest, almost, Congress, in our history.
Good luck, voters, looking forward the next round . . .
Hey BLACKULA!!! You and the spending vampire demoncrats need to be starved and cut off from drinking any more of the economic blood of our country!
American workers have freedom of choice and freedom of association. They should not have to be members of "the party" in order to have a job!
It is THEIR CHOICE whether or not to join a union. The US Constitution can no longer be turned into toilet paper by you and your ilk!
Then again, toilet paper would be helpful given how much sh!t you guys are full of!
BACK OFF BOY. YOU ARE GOING TO GET THE CIVIL WAR YOU ARE ASKING FOR IF YOU KEEP THIS UP AND THE NRA MEMBERS AREN'T ON YOUR SIDE OF THIS!
Boycott ALL union-made products from companies in non-RTW states!
FREE THE AMERCIAN WORKER FROM THE YOLK OF MANDATORY ASSOCIATION.
Demoncrats claim to be the party of "choice". PROVE IT WITH ACTIONS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THE US CONSTITUTION!
All you EX union workers from, Twinkies, Frieghtliner, Northwest Orient, Braniff, Buckingham, the damn list is too long, HOWS THAT WORKING FOR YOU? General motors is the LARGEST HEALTH PROVIDER in the WORLD because the have to pay full insurance for RETIRED WORKERS. Union demands (blackmail) is the reason cars cost $60,000.00 dollars now. I bought a loaded 442 in 1967 for $3,570.00. Now an equal car would cost easily that $60 thousand. The rest of us have been subsidizing unions for too long.
so true........the UAW protected drunks and stoners at the Ford Rouge plant in the early 70's...
Chrysler is forced to re-hire drunks and potheads fired from the 2010 incident. Go figure!
Obama is correct that right to work is about politics, and freedom. It is about not having to submit to union thugs in order to keep one's job. It is about not being forced to fund child murderers and communists with coerced dues. It is the perfect anti-Democrap.
Child murderers??? LOL!!!!!
You're a hoot.. Completely delusional,.. but highly entertaining...
Thanks...
K1200RS
It must be the season, we agree on something. Have a safe and joyous holiday.