GOP: Unions foiling auto turnaround

WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- Labor unions are stifling U.S. auto and aircraft manufacturing, Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said in the party's weekly Saturday address.

In an unusual direct rebuttal to President Barack Obama's address in which he said the government's $22 billion loans to Chrysler, Ford and General Motors were a success, Alexander said Democrats' endorsement of unions was undermining the aircraft and auto workforce.

He cited a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board last month that prevented Boeing from building airplanes at a non-union plant in South Carolina.

"Boeing is America's largest exporter, but we want them to export airplanes, not jobs," the senator said.

There are 22 states in the country that allow workers to opt out of union enrollment, called "right-to-work" states.

As for the automotive industry, Alexander spoke of the history of the Japanese automaker Nissan, which opened a non-union plant in Tennessee almost 50 years ago.

"Detroit ignored upstarts like Nissan who in the 1960s began selling funny little cars to American consumers," he said. "We all know what happened to employment in the Big Three companies."