Retired Auto Workers Have Their Say Pt.6

Washington, DC, June 27, 2009 --(PR.com)-- "People are losing sight that it is unions that have actually established the standards that many Americans take for granted," Frank Hammer tells TRNN Senior Editor Paul Jay. Hammer is a retired UAW GM worker.

"I think the anti-union drive has been external and on the outside, but it's also been internal. And there's been some conversation here today that union leaderships, especially in the UAW, can't identify themselves more with the owners of the businesses that they [are] representing," Hammer says, "rather than identifying with the rank-and-file on the shop floor, or better yet, identifying themselves with the communities from where we come."

Hammer said that the UAW of the 1930s would be "at the forefront" of the protests against foreclosures in Detroit "because what we do for the community, the community will do back for us." At the protests that day, many autoworkers noted the absence of UAW leadership.

He says that the bond between the worker and the community has been "lost here" in the Detroit autoworker protests. "The soul of the union isn't just about contracts - it's about looking out for the whole entire working class in the workplaces and in the community. That's been lost."

To view the complete series, please copy the link into your browser:
http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=74&jumival=401

For Press Inquiries, please contact:
Sharmini Peries
Senior Editorial Board Member
Email: sharmini@therealnews.com

###