Pryor: Arkansans have much at stake in debate over Big Three help
Posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2008
BENTON COUNTY — Arkansas may not seem like an auto state, and it isn’t. But many Arkansas jobs are tied to the auto industry, and Arkansans, including their two U. S. senators, should look carefully at proposals to help it, said U. S. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark.
“ The concern I have is, I do not want this recession to result in the end of the domestic automobile manufacturer. I just don’t think America should go without a strong automobile manufacturing presence here. One problem is, if you look at the numbers in Arkansas, … we’re not really an auto state; certainly, there are many states ahead of us in terms of jobs and impact. But if you look at the auto presence in Arkansas and how many jobs you’re talking about, there are about 15, 000 jobs in Arkansas, when you talk about all the auto dealers, the people who make parts. We have a lot of steel manufacturers in the state. You’re talking about 15, 000 jobs that would either be lost or would be jeopardized, one way or the other. So we have to take this very, very seriously, ” Pryor said.
The Big Three automakers are General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, a unit of Daimler-Chrysler.
The prospect of bailing out the Big Three is a controversial one in Washington, D. C., and in his home state, Pryor said. “ There are a lot of people who feel the automakers — the reason they’re struggling right now is largely because of decisions that they’ve made over the years. But others think, look, they have a lot of legacy costs, and they’re really on unfair footing when you compare them to Japanese … and European automakers because of health care and other ways that their work-force package is structured, ” he said.
The recent appearance of some industry executives in Washington, D. C., didn’t help their cause with lawmakers or others, Pryor said. “ Honestly, it has not gone very well for the auto industry. There’s been a lot of push back, on the Senate side and on the House side, on what the auto industry wants us to do. So senators and congressmen, as well as the automakers, are scrambling right now to try to find something that can get them through this very difficult time. ” he said. “ It’s possible we (members of Congress ) could come back in the next few weeks — it’s possible at least — and maybe do something. But there’s no package, or there’s no bill to vote on yet. ”
And while it’s not yet clear to him exactly what should be done, it is clear that if the industry gets government aid, automakers’ problems should be addressed, not just postponed, Pryor said.
“ At the moment, I don’t know exactly what we do with the automakers, ” he said. “ I think one of the concerns people have in Washington is, if we do a fix for the auto companies, are we really fixing it long term ? I mean, don’t they still have all the same problems with the big legacy costs ? With the big health-care costs ? With the UAW contracts ? … And how are they going to compete against Toyota, etc. after we’ve run through this money over the next year or so ? I think … senators and congressmen are asking very hard questions of automakers in terms of, what are they going to do to get their house together if we give them this money ?”
He’s well aware that American auto companies aren’t alone in struggling in the current economic environment, Pryor said. “ It’s not just the automakers who are struggling. They’re probably getting the most ink right now, but you see the unemployment numbers rise. You know (about ) people’s homes. People are struggling to make their mortgage payments. In a lot of different ways, the people of this country are struggling: Health care costs are going up; wages are stagnant or they’re going down. We could go on and on about different things that people are struggling with, ” he said.
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