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.”
Detroit’s Future Is America’s Future
Fouts continued, "The UAW is getting a bum rap. I am fearful that if Congress fails to help the auto industry, that the middle class will disappear."
Referring to Alabama Senator Shelby's recent disparaging remarks about Michigan's auto industry, Fouts added "I challenge Sen. Shelby to come to Warren and get an education about the auto industry. I will pay for your plane fare and lodging to come and see American worker productivity first hand. As the Big Three goes, so goes the U.S. economy. I support fair trade. However, a big change is needed in U.S. policy. We must practice economic patriotism. The bottom line is, buy American and save American jobs."
"Is it justice to have our jobs shipped overseas by the millions?" asked UAW local president Harvey Hawkins. "How dare you say that my child has to grovel and beg to eat? Don't be misled America, all our jobs would be affected if the Big Three were to fall. We can't start over because there are no jobs left to start over with. Will our children have a future? Where's our American Dream gone?"
One of the attendees, Ms. Smith, commented on foreign imports, "We never had melamine poisoning over here before we began importing stuff from China—you never heard of that before. And it's in the baby formula!
“Those workers over there might get $5 a day. It's just sickening that these companies would rather import things made in China for no wages or little wages that are causing Americans to get sick … They aren't even inspecting what's coming over.
Mayor Fouts concluded the rally by saying that he had asked all his employees to buy American cars and announced that he had recently purchased a 2009 Dodge Charger himself.