USW Rejects Romney's Attack on Unions

For Immediate Release:  May 9, 2012

Contact:   Gary Hubbard, 202-256-8125, ghubbard@usw.org
    Wayne Ranick, 412-562-2444; wranick@usw.org

USW Rejects Romney’s Attack on Unions and President Obama
As guardians of the middle class, we will expose Republican distortions and lies

Pittsburgh (May 9) – Leo W. Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers (USW), today was critical of Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney’s dishonest attack on President Obama and American labor unions in remarks he made at the Lansing Community College.

Gerard said, “President Obama has listened to us as American workers and laid out a vision of the America we need. One that creates jobs and prosperity for all Americans and not the 1% who have looted the economy as presumed Republican candidate Romney did when he led his private equity firm known as Bain Capital.

“Romney’s latest attack on American unions and President Obama in his address at the  community college in Michigan is what we’ve come to expect from the ‘Etch-A-Sketch’ candidate who can’t help himself in trying to pretend the demise of the Oldsmobile was the fault of the current administration and labor unions.”

When Obama announced his Task Force on Middle-Class Working Families, he declared: “I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem; to me, and to my administration, labor unions are a big part of the solution. We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests. Because we know that you cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement.”

Gerard declared, “Romney’s record as the corporate boss at Bain Capital will show he and Wall Street raiders like him destroyed good American family jobs and converted their hard-earned pensions and health care benefits into millions for himself and his shareholders, hiding loot in tax-free, offshore secret bank accounts.

“We as guardians of the middle class will expose Romney’s lies and reveal him as a politician who seeks to deny workers’ rights in the states, and advocates schemes that exploit workers in low-wage states like South Carolina.” Affirming Obama took action to stop the economic bleeding in America caused by Wall Street, Gerard said the facts show 25 straight months of private-sector job growth with businesses creating 4.1 million jobs.

“As a union representing American workers in the manufacturing, energy and service sectors, we stand up and are ready to go to work to re-elect President Obama.”

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