Tuesday, November 6, 2012

No, Chrysler Workers Do Not Have Election Day Off Because Of Obama

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/11/06/1149611/chrysler-workers-day-off-obama/

Chrysler workers are off today in order to cast their Election Day ballots, which prompted Politico to claim "the car company that attacked Mitt Romney for falsely claiming it was moving operations overseas is going a step further, ostensibly for President Obama."

Chrysler's CEO did publicly rebuke Mitt Romney after Romney ran ads claiming that the company was moving American jobs to China. However, as Reuters' auto industry reporter Deepa Seetharaman noted, the Big Three auto companies — General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford — have given their workers Election Day off since 1999:

@edshow @uaw, Election Day has been holiday at all three U.S. automakers due a provision in '99 UAW contract. That was extended to salaried.

— Deepa Seetharaman (@dseetharaman) November 6, 2012

"It's not a holiday; it's a day to show you're a good American citizen," said the president of the United Auto Workers at the time the day off was implemented.

Chrysler workers feared for their jobs after Romney ran misleading ads suggesting that their jobs would be sent offshore. In a letter to the Detroit News, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne wrote, "Jeep assembly lines will remain in operation in the United States and will constitute the backbone of the brand. It is inaccurate to suggest anything different."


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