In the latest stimulus proposal the Democrats want to award $4,500 check for each car to unionized automakers.
Not only they want to take this credit portion away from the non-unionized EV innovators (Tesla, Lucid, Rivian, ...), but they call this credit "Domestic Content" instead of "Payback to UAW".
In the latest stimulus proposal the Democrats
want to award [have proposed an additional] $4,500 [or less, depending on income level,]
check [tax credit to qualified buyers]
for each car [of qualified electric vehicles which have a suggested retail price below an established maximum by vehicle type]
to unionized automakers [to individual purchasers, if final assembly is domestic and at plants with a qualified employee collective bargaining agreement].
Not only they want to take this credit portion away from the non-unionized EV innovators (Tesla, Lucid, Rivian, ...), [The tax credit goes to individuals that purchase
qualifying vehicles as outlined above.] but they call this credit "
Domestic Content" [Domestic Assembly] [
There is a separate $500 tax credit for "Domestic Content" which requires a minimum of 50% domestic components to be used in final assembly, including battery cells which are required to be solely manufactured in the United States.]
instead of "Payback to UAW" [in support of U.S. component manufacturing and in support of U.S. policy, under law (29 U.S. Code § 151) since 1935, for it
"to be the policy of the United States" to
encourage "the practice and procedure of collective bargaining".]
Democrats have consistently supported and promoted the right, and the value, of collective bargaining by labor before it was established as official U.S. policy in 1935; so, it's not a surprise that they continue to do so. Current U.S. law under
29 U.S. Code § 151 concludes with the paragraph...
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States to eliminate the causes of certain substantial obstructions to the free flow of commerce and to mitigate and eliminate these obstructions when they have occurred by encouraging the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection.Both the U.S. economy and labor benefited for generations from widespread participation in labor unions as the middle class saw enormous expansion. The competition for labor saw increases in wages for nonunion workers as well. The resulting larger population base of people with increased disposable income aided in the stability and growth of the overall economy. Protection and promotion of collective bargaining has remained official U.S. government policy and law for decades.
Since the 1980s, however, unions and collective bargaining have been under continued assault at the state level, led by conservative ideologues. During this time, states which have passed laws aimed at undermining unions have simultaneously provided enormous tax breaks to manufacturers to locate facilities there. State and local subsidies to foreign-owned auto assembly plants have totaled billions of dollars. For example, the VW plant in Chattanooga Tennessee was built on a 1,350-acre industrial park given to VW at no cost as part of an incentive package of well over $500 million. VW
announced in July of this year that the Chattanooga plant will become its North American hub for electric vehicle assembly.
Tesla hasn't been left out of the state tax initiatives for building facilities either. Nevada quickly pushed thru the largest tax abatement package in state history,
worth $1.3 billion, to locate their battery manufacturing plant near Reno.
And should anyone think that lobbying and political contributions are limited to unions and do not include enormous money and effort by nonunion auto makers to bolster their profits thru lower wages and tax incentives, I assure you that is not the case and that their efforts are rewarded.
