Mitt Romney Says He’ll Take on Union Bosses During Hometown Speech
EmailGRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Back in his home state for the first time since November and facing a mounting challenge in the state by GOP rival Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney boasted of his Michigan roots Wednesday evening, pointing out old schoolmates before vowing to do what he says President Obama did not: Stand up to union bosses.
“I’ve taken on union bosses before, and I’m happy to take them on again, because I happen to believe that you can protect the interests of American taxpayers, and you can protect a great industry like automobiles without having to give in to the UAW, and I sure won’t,” said Romney.
Romney’s pledge to confront the union bosses came in a response to remarks made Tuesday by United Auto Workers President Bob King, who said that Romney was “the last person who should be talking about the recovery of the U.S. auto industry.”
King continued, “[W]hen we were at our darkest hour, Mitt Romney turned his back on the industry, their workers and the people of Michigan and in other places where Americans depend on the auto industry.”
But tonight Romney pushed back against both King and Obama, whom, he quipped, “finally came around” to his idea of a managed bankruptcy for the auto companies.
“It has been a campaign by the president to foster the interests of organized labor. One example, of course, [is] here in Michigan. The president finally came around to my own view that Detroit needed to go through managed bankruptcy, the auto companies needed to go through managed bankruptcy to shed their excess costs,” said Romney, who spoke at an office furniture warehouse. “And it took him six months to get there, but he got to the same place that I had suggested. But he gave the companies to the UAW when he was finished with the process. That, again, is something which I think is consistent with the fact that he got a lot of money from organized labor and felt that he should give them a favor.”
The rally – dubbed a “welcome home rally” by the campaign – and an economic roundtable hosted by Romney, were the first campaign stops by the candidate since Santorum has seen a surge in the polls, mounting a credible threat to Romney in his home state.
Much of Romney’s speech highlighted his history in the state, a dialogue the campaign has been pushing all week, releasing an ad entitled, “Growing Up,” that featured Romney driving around Michigan talking about his childhood memories.
“I’m just delighted to be back in Michigan to see some old friends. Gosh, I got lots of old friends here. There’s an old high school- We lived across the hall from each other,” said Romney. “I see another, and a gal from high- There are a lot of high-schoolers here. I’m just- This really does bring back memories.”
“I visited every county in Michigan, I think more than once, on my dad’s campaign and my mom’s campaign,” said Romney, whose father, George Romney, served as governor of Michigan in the 1960s. “I’ve gone to the country fairs, so I didn’t always see the best of each county but I saw — but I saw every county in this extraordinarily beautiful state. I love Michigan. I love the country.”
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When Union thugs and the President try to misrepresent what you have said and done you need to defend yourself! It is good to see that Mitt will not let them get away with their attacks!!
Posted by: Common _ Sense | February 15, 2012, 9:57 pm 9:57 pm
Did Ford’s workers enjoy any of the $400 million stimulus money given to UAW employees as bonus money? I think your GM brothers took it all. Anyway, regardless, my next car will be a Ford. I appreciate folks who do the right thing. Union payback with my tax dollar… some things just remind me of Chicago.
Posted by: choppy seas | February 15, 2012, 10:17 pm 10:17 pm
Nice try Romney. Without the government loan, your idea of a “managed bankruptcy” would have instead been a chaotic restructuring and total liquidation (which translates to total dismantling of the companies and firing EVERYONE). Oh yeah, I think you did this with your company BAIN CAPITAL. You’re a real tool for trying to take credit for something you rallied against.
Posted by: Sweet Pea | February 15, 2012, 10:33 pm 10:33 pm
SWEET PEA, what do you think the government made GM do, they fired hundred thousands of workers, closed the Pontiac line, which in turn now bankrupt the town of Pontiac, MI., now GM is telling its UNION workers that the unfunded pension plans(30 million) can not be payed and they will switch to 401k’s. Bain made almost all companies profitable and sold them to investors, you could not sell GM to anyone exept the GOVERNMENT.
Posted by: Lizzie | February 16, 2012, 12:14 am 12:14 am
I’m amazed at this renewed conservative aggression towards unions. Of course Republicans have always been against unions, after all, they really support management…
But to see how they have turned working people against unions and have tried to make the idea of a union as some kind of evil in the eyes of the dwindling middle class is a neat trick. Usually the defense is something like “we used to need unions, but now they are too powerful & we need to get rid of them.”
Riiiight, because now, corporations would never exploit their workers and if a laborer has a problem, then they need to approach a corporation as an individual. Because of course the company will listen to them if they have safety concerns or want a raise. You can always trust a corporation to do the right thing for their workers. … Oh you betcha.
If the union workers have insurance & healthcare & you don’t, then maybe you need a union too, because doing by yourself isn’t working.
Without labor, capital is just paper in a vault. they need labor to work for them. It is a two way street. Why have labor conditions gotten worse as the unions are decimated? Because the workers need leverage just like the corporations have, otherwise, they’ll just replace you at will.
Unions didn’t cost jobs as much as the quest for cheap labor as imported jobs overseas. But still some people think now we should just place our lives into our masters hands.
Mitt has shown how much he can identify with the common man. And now he’s gonna take on the unions. Is that a big surprise? He’s doing all for you!
Riiiight.
Posted by: Max | February 16, 2012, 12:51 am 12:51 am
Mitt called for a stop to the bailout of the auto companies. He’s done in Michigan and may be done Period. No MItt. Santorum is a loser. Newt is a pathological liar. It looks like a second term for Obama, unless Jeb Bush or his ilk comes out of hiding.
Posted by: hopesprings52 | February 16, 2012, 1:42 am 1:42 am
Romney taking on the union in a Union State? If anyone sees signs of intelligence in the Mittster, please let me know.
Posted by: fandango | February 16, 2012, 2:51 am 2:51 am
Is this supposed to be framed as one of those David vs. Goliath stories with Romney being David because I’m thinking about how much Mitt makes an hour and comparing it to how much union bosses make and Romney looks more like Goliath than he looks like David.
Posted by: whatever | February 16, 2012, 4:38 am 4:38 am
Mtitt is doing what Mitt does best, which is not telling the truth!
Posted by: Jim | February 16, 2012, 5:58 am 5:58 am
Union Bosses?? Union Thugs?? Where does this bologna come from? These are right wing propaganda terms disseminated to the masses over right wing radio talk shows on a daily basis. The terms conger up a false impression that there is some kind of movie character scar face busting down business doors and beating protection money out of the little shop owner. It’s a lie and a ruse. I have been on BOTH sides of bargaining agreements and on both sides of the negotiating table. The union negotiator bargains for the best contract he/she can get for their MEMBERS and the corporate attorneys bargain the best contract they can get for their employers. It’s that simple. Corporate CEO’s want this false narrative put out there just like they argued since the early 1900’s. Union representatives are ELECTED whereas business “bosses” are not. Business proclaims they would rather have a one on one relationship with their employees. Yup, one employee on that employees salary against a professional human resource staff that in most large business and corporate companies include a bank of retained labor attorneys. Union’s are the only counter an employee has to the crushing weight of a corporate human resource managers. Corporate profits and CEO profits have skyrocketed since the beginning of the Reagan years and the assimilation of the Limbaugh Lemmings through daily ditto speak and the wages and benefits of the middle class has flat lined and in recent years been driven down. The American middle class are the consumers. This country cannot survive without consumers.
Posted by: dan | February 16, 2012, 6:46 am 6:46 am
Typical Mitt Romney BS. The Unions are the only voice the middle class working men/women have left that fights for them. It’s certainly not big business or the government, bought and paid for by big business.
Just another example of Mitts distain for the middle class.
Posted by: tmferretti | February 16, 2012, 9:12 am 9:12 am
“I’ve gone to the country fairs, so I didn’t always see the best of each county but I saw — but I saw every county in this extraordinarily beautiful state.”
What on earth does he mean here?!?!? That the county fairs do not showcase the best a county has to offer? I find this statement very curious.
FYI, calling it a ‘welcome home rally’ is laughable, considering that when he lived here, he lived in one of the most affluent cities in the nation. And it’s nowhere near Grand Rapids, it’s outside Detroit. And the REASON it was and is one of the most affluent cities in the nation is because it is home to a whole boatload of GM, Chrysler, and Ford big wigs. Auto execs, like his Dad was…..
Posted by: A Cynic | February 16, 2012, 10:30 am 10:30 am
SWEET PEA, what do you think the government made GM do, they fired hundred thousands of workers, closed the Pontiac line, which in turn now bankrupt the town of Pontiac, MI. Posted by: Lizzie | February 16, 2012, 12:14 am.
Wow. You once again prove conclusively that you have absolutely, positively NO IDEA what you are talking about. I am shocked you are able to survive in the world with the level of sheer, unmitigated ignorance you display here every single day. The city of Pontiac has been depressed for decades, and it’s fate has had nothing to do with the car line of the same name. GM ended the Pontiac line because it wasn’t selling well and they needed to consolidate their operations. The federal government did not force GM to fire hundreds of thousands of workers. That never happened. You NEVER make a point without lying, Lizzie. Why is that?
Posted by: A Cynic | February 16, 2012, 10:36 am 10:36 am
Romney needs to take a class in economics and labor, if it wasnt for the labor unions the American people would be slaves to there industries and bosses. Unions didnt break this country, they fought and continue to fight for this great nation! Creating safe work enviroments for workers and NEGOTIATING fair wages and benefits. Unions are the blue collar working class of this nation that make the TRUE difference…not the political rejects we the people elect in good faith asking them to work for us! Stop blaming the unions and start questioning your political idiots!
Posted by: John | February 16, 2012, 1:10 pm 1:10 pm
Can you guys follow up on this comment of Romney’s that he made during this speach -sounded weird to me.
“Gosh, I got lots of old friends here. There’s an old high school- We lived across the hall from each other,” said Romney. ”
How do you live “across the hall” from someone at high school -does he mean at boarding school?
Posted by: Pablo | February 16, 2012, 4:57 pm 4:57 pm