WASHINGTON – Employees of General Motors and Delphi will have an extra two weeks to submit testimony to a national Congressional e-hearing on the crisis in the U.S. auto industry launched earlier this month by Democrats on the House Education and Workforce Committee.  Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), a senior Democrat on the committee, urged workers and retirees in the 5^th district to communicate directly with Congress about their economic security before the extended deadline of December 31, 2005.

“We have heard stories from American workers whose threatened standard of living is a direct result of misguided economic and trade policies from the White House and the current leadership in Congress,” said Kildee.  “Every single GM or Delphi employee who wants to participate in the e-hearing and tell Congress what these policies are doing to the lives of their families should have the opportunity to do so.  They deserve to be heard.”

The auto industry e-hearing opened on December 6, to give GM and Delphi employees and retirees an opportunity to communicate directly with Congress about their concerns on issues like jobs, wages, health insurance, and retirement security.  Since then, approximately 1,000 workers and retirees from over 26 states have submitted e-testimony, with dozens more participating in the e-hearing every day.  As a result of this massive response, Democrats on the House Education and Workforce Committee have extended the deadline for testimony to December 31, 2005.

The committee has been taking e-testimony from current and retired workers of Delphi and General Motors.  State and local elected officials, economists, and union leaders have also submitted e-testimony, as has Rick Wagoner, GM’s Chief Executive Officer.  Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, Saginaw Mayor Carol Cottrell, and Bob Roth, UAW Region 1C Director in Flint, among others, have also participated in the hearing.

Here are excerpts:

• “The combination of Delphi’s decision to file for bankruptcy and General Motors’ announcement of plant closings and layoffs has far-reaching implications for Michigan and many other states who proudly house our nation’s auto manufacturers. Delphi alone counts 15,000 Michigan employees in its base and GM’s recent announcement means that thousands of additional jobs – direct and indirect – are at risk. All told, our workers, retirees, hundreds of auto suppliers, and the automakers themselves could lose billions of dollars in wages, benefits, and profits in the next few years.” [Jennifer Granholm, Governor of Michigan].

·         “What can Congress do? Please begin to take more aggressive action to control skyrocketing health care costs that add so much to the cost of an American made car. Prescription costs are out of control and there is no end in sight. A key area of focus is in catastrophic illness and end of life care. These areas alone place a major burden on companies such as Delphi, which cover much of the medical insurance costs of its retirees.”  [Carol Cottrell, Mayor of Saginaw]

·        “We as Americans put a lot of stock in hope, hope that someday we can retire, someday we can relax and enjoy our last years with some security. GM and Delphi have stripped this hope from the people who have made it possible to drive from one end of this country to the other while our elected leaders have sat on the curb watching the parade of American jobs cross the borders.” [Bob Roth, UAW Director Region 1C, Flint]

Congressman Kildee and other sponsors of the e-hearing have been posting these statements on the committee website: http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/autocrisis.html.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE E-HEARING

Employees or retirees of Delphi Corp. or General Motors may send testimony of 500 words or less to autocrisis@mail.house.gov. Testimony may be posted online. Witnesses must include their name, address, phone number, and email address to have their statements included in the record.  The information is used for verification purposes; but only the name and hometown will be posted along with each individual’s testimony. Witnesses should discuss how the announced changes at GM and Delphi could affect their lives.