CNN Newsroom: Interview with Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI)
Interview
"So good morning, guys. I have been talking to Shawn Fain from the day that he was sworn in as president. The fact of the matter is I gave one of the keynotes at the bargaining convention which opened the day after he became president.
And I have been talking to these auto workers for months, and I know what's on their mind. He has been very clear, I've heard him from day one, as you know, I've been telling people I thought there was a very strong chance of a strike. And he was very clear after he got elected that he would target all three companies, which I think nobody took seriously until this past week.
And he is very clear what needs to be done, what the workers want. They gave up COLA in 2008 and 2009. In real wages, of what they were making, in 2008 and 2009, they are 10 percent behind what that meant then. They need an increase in their pay. People are working on the assembly line, doing the same job, and they're being paid at very different tiers. They want job security.
And we're at a crossroads. You talked about it earlier, a minute ago, when you talked about the transition from the internal combustion engine to electric vehicles. There are a lot of issues here.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Sorry.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
OK, so I don't know what friend decided to share this, but I'm not going to deny that I'm Debbie and sometimes when I get intense my language gets incensed.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
And I've had regular ongoing conversations with the White House. Gene Sperling was assigned to this. I talked to him regularly. I talked to the labor secretary last night, or the acting labor secretary, for some time. So I am somebody who believes very strongly that the president should not intervene in this negotiation or in this strike. I think that they need to determine and work with, work on policies for help in this transition, where they might be helpful. And I think those conversations will continue, and I think that this has to be solved at the bargaining table.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Look, I'm not going to -- I think we all got to be supporting the worker right now.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I think the UAW would like to see him go further.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I think he needs to make it clear he is fighting for the union worker. I know he is because I've talked to him. But the union workers need to know that he is. It's not enough for me to say that. I am in union halls almost every weekend. Anybody who knows me, knows that, because I want to stay in touch with what they're really thinking. And I tell them, I know he cares. I've had these one-on-ones with Joe Biden. I have known him for 40 years. But the workers need to know, and I think he is trying to do that now.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
He came to Detroit last year for the car show.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I think he tried to do that yesterday. I think the media is trying to -- you know what I really don't want is people putting more kerosene on an already very flammable situation. I think everybody needs to talk to each other, listen to each other, figure out how they're contributing to help get this strike solved, taking care of the worker and keeping a competitive auto industry in this country, not building those EVs in China, and have good paying union jobs. That's my goal. And I'm going to be very careful not to add kerosene to any fire that's out there, but get people to talk to each other, know each other has each other's back and come out of this whole for everybody involved. But the worker needs a win.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Thank you.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT"
Source