As President-elect Barack Obama introduces his new economic team and lawmakers in Congress debate whether to help the American auto industry, NewsHour Economics Correspondent Paul Solman traveled to Detroit to hear from the men and women on the assembly line floor.
Autoworker unions say the car companies should not be punished for building what Americans wanted: large, relatively inefficient trucks and SUVs. They also warn of severe damage to the U.S. economy if the government does not take action.
This video can be combined with NewsHour analysis of the car makers’ dilemma, provided in the resources section.
Quotes
“We’ve got great products coming out in ’09 and 2010. You may as well consider GM to be a start-up company and we need a bridge loan to meet the contractual obligations until we get our product to market.” – Brian Fredline, president of the local union
“Unfortunately, the perception about quality lags considerably. And, by the way, it lags in both directions. If your quality is going down, it will take time for the general public to actually recognize that that has happened, but it takes also time when it’s going up.” – Randy Thayer, GM Lansing plant manager
“We’re saying that we’re going to leave that national security interest in the hands of foreign automotive manufacturers, we just can’t do it in America, we just can’t invest in a domestic auto manufacturer because they don’t have the tools or the talent? I don’t believe that.” – Brian Fredline, president of the local union
“I’m not sure GM has done anything wrong. They responded to the marketplace. When the marketplace had confidence that gas prices were going to be low, we sold Suburbans, we sold Tahoes, we sold crossovers, we sold trucks, and America wants to buy them.” – Brian Fredline, president of the local union
Warm Up Questions
1. Name a few car companies. How many of those are American companies?
2. What is the difference between a car that is made in America and one that is made by a company that is owned and run by Americans? Do you think it is important that cars are made in America or that car companies are owned by Americans? Why or why not?
Discussion Questions
1. Did this video change your mind about whether the government should help the auto industry? Why or why not?
2. What does it say about the American car industry that many of the vehicles being manufactured by those companies were SUVs?
3. Do you agree with Brian Fredline that GM did nothing wrong by focusing on trucks and SUVs when oil prices were low? Why or why not?
4. Do you think GM, Ford and Chrysler will exist in five years? If so, how will they be different than they are today?
Additional Resources