UAW’s 2012 priorities for building our strength

Annual CAP Conference begins Feb. 26

The second session of the 112th Congress begins Jan. 17.

It’s anticipated that much of the election year debate will continue to focus on federal deficit reduction and, specifically, whether the very wealthiest 1 percent and multinational corporations are going to be required to pay their fair share.

Under the Budget Control Act passed by Congress last August, nearly $2.2 trillion in deficit reduction scheduled to take place by Oct. 1, 2020, is all in the form of cuts to federal spending. These cuts will slash funding for a wide range of federal programs, including those that protect worker and public safety, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Aviation Authority.

They will dramatically reduce federal funding to elementary and secondary education, job training, the National Parks and programs to address violence against women. They will also affect Medicare by cutting the amount that can be paid to Medicare providers.

In the new Congress, the UAW and most of the labor movement and the progressive community will continue to insist that the very wealthy and corporations pay their share toward deficit reduction. We believe it is unfair and unethical that the federal deficit should be reduced by cutting programs for the middle class, while those who have reaped the profits of huge productivity gains over the last decades are permitted to hoard their money.

We ask that UAW members join us in advocating for:

• The end of the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy.

• A modest surtax on income over $1 million a year.

• A “transaction tax” in the form of a tiny fee on financial transactions.

• Closing corporate tax loopholes that allow companies like General Electric to make $14 billion in profits and pay no U.S. taxes.

These issues will be highlighted at the 2012 UAW National Community Action Program (CAP) Conference in Washington, to be held Feb. 26-March 1.

The UAW’s International Executive Board officers and members, elected officials, national figures, economists and political activists will present the latest on the challenges we face in this upcoming election year. The conference will focus on the core skills necessary to build a strong program for 2012.

In addition, UAW members will take our message to Capitol Hill when we spend an entire day urging Congress to demand a fair share of sacrifice from millionaires and corporations.

Source: UAW Legislative, Governmental and International Affairs Department