ALEXANDRIA, VA - Dennis E. Whitfield, Deputy Secretary of Labor in the Reagan Administration and now Executive Vice President of the American Conservative Union, issued the following statement today following the Senate's rejection of the auto bailout bill last night:

"Once again just when I think I've seen everything there is to see in policy something happens to remind me, never be surprised.  The big labor union bosses have decided to play chicken with their membership's livelihoods by refusing to make the necessary concessions in return for a taxpayer funded bailout of Detroit's automakers.  At a time when all Americans are struggling, the big labor bosses want to protect themselves, through their own percentage of union dues, with a wage and benefits structure that is way beyond that of the average American.  What can they possibly be thinking of except their own greedy self interest."

Yesterday, prior to the vote, the ACU issued a release calling for the bill's rejection.  

The release noted studies show the Detroit Big Three's labor agreements have played an ongoing multi-year role in the economic troubles of the automakers.   When wages and benefits are added together, the Detroit Big Three's actual hourly labor costs are upwards of 65% higher than those of their foreign owned competitors, according to the numbers in a recent Wall Street Journal report.

In that release, Mr. Whitfield issued the following statement: "It appears these companies bought peace from the cannibals just to eat them last.  Now that they have chewed through the fat and are about to hit bone the Detroit Three are taking advantage of the economic crisis to cry out in pain and ask the American people to bandage the wounds they created."

The release followed a letter ACU had sent to the Hill on the same issue.  The letter from ACU Government Relations Director Larry Hart said in part, ""It is time to draw a line in the sand.  It is time to stop throwing good money after bad.  It is time to stop writing blank checks from the taxpayer to failing companies."

The ACU will continue to press this issue on the Hill.

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The American Conservative Union (ACU) is the nation's largest and oldest grassroots conservative organization.  ACU is the nationally recognized authority on rating the conservative votes in Congress through its annual congressional ratings cited by CQ, National Journal and major national publications.  The American Conservative Union's Foundation (ACUF) is the host of the CPAC meeting, taking place again next year from Feb. 26-28, 2009 in Washington, DC.  On the web at:  http://www.conservative.org/