Approximately 250 unionized autoworkers attended the “Stand Up For American Products and American Workers” rally in Warren, the largest suburb of Detroit. The crowd of mostly Chrysler workers also included Warren’s Mayor Fouts, who hosted the event, as well as state representatives and local civic and business leaders. “Out of a job yet? Keep buying foreign products,” reads the bumper sticker that has been appearing all over the Detroit-metro area recently.
Its creator, Brian Pannebecker, says that it’s meant to express frustration with Americans who do not purchase American-made products. “This is about jobs,” says Pannebecker, “It’s a warning to all Americans, that whether or not you work for one of the Big Three auto companies, jobs are disappearing across America by the hundreds of thousands every month.
“We are losing our manufacturing base and with it, our way of life. There are hundreds of automotive suppliers and dealers, as well as thousands of small businesses across the country that rely on the Big Three.
“All of America’s workers benefit from our auto industry in one way or another. During World War II, President Roosevelt called Detroit the ‘Arsenal of Democracy,’ as the automotive industry converted many of their plants to produce tanks and planes. So whether it’s the wages you earn and the benefits you receive or just the basic freedoms you enjoy, the American domestic auto industry raises your standard of living.”
Blasting Washington for ignoring unfair trade practices, rally co-organizer and auto industry employee Chris Vitale said, “The auto industry’s safety standards, whether foreign or domestic, were all pioneered from the American auto industry. Suffice to say, when Detroit invents or builds something, then it’s good for the world.”
Commenting on current trade practices, Vitale continued, “We’ve already sacrificed our textile industries because we’re afraid that other countries will retaliate against our exports. Can we get these politicians to update our trade policies? They seem to do whatever they want to our exports.”
