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May 16, 2013 - Members of UAW Local 2320 in New York, nearly half of whom are lawyers, voted to strike Wednesday, after their employer, Legal Services NYC, pushed for cuts to benefits in a recent contract negotiation. To read this article, please click here.

 

DETROIT – We commend President Obama for his leadership and support for the U.S. auto industry. His actions helped prevent a second Great Depression, saving more than a million American jobs in the process. Domestic automakers have pledged investment in U.S. plants through 2015 that will mean more than 40,000 direct manufacturing jobs in the United States.

The renewed American automotive industry is now America’s No. 1 export sector. The Obama administration, American workers and retirees, and the U.S. automotive industry made tough choices and sacrifices to make this turnaround possible. The automobile sector supports over 3 million good-paying jobs in assembly plants, auto parts manufacturing, repair shops, dealerships and other supporting businesses nationwide. In 2012, U.S. automotive exports totaled $133 billion, an increase of more than $17 billion (14 percent) over 2011. Domestic manufacturing has long been the foundation of a strong middle class, and the automobile industry is the one of the most critical for U.S. manufacturing.

Under the president’s leadership, we are implementing higher fuel efficiency standards from 2017-2025, effectively doubling vehicle fuel efficiency, drastically reducing carbon emissions and creating several hundred thousand jobs. About 50,000 of these jobs will be in auto parts manufacturing and vehicle assembly alone.

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From all reports we’ve seen, President Obama is going to propose a budget plan this week that is unprecedented for a Democratic president. It will propose a cut to Social Security benefits for seniors, veterans and people with disabilities.

It appears the proposed cut will take the form of “chained” CPI—a discredited way of calculating annual cost-of-living increases that does not keep up with actual costs, eating into benefits.

But there’s more. The president’s budget proposal also would require middle-class seniors—people who make $47,000 a year and more—to pay higher Medicare premiums.

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The Richard ‘Dik’ Days Scholarship Fund will offer two scholarships in 2013. A $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a recent high school graduate or current undergraduate, enrolled full-time at a college or university in the fall of 2012. The student scholarship is available to Connecticut residents only.