Union President Says Romney Not a Leader: Letter to the Editor

Dear Mr. Romney:

Your welcoming letter to President Obama felt a little sketchy to me.  I remember, as I am certain my fellow Ohioans remember, you supporting actions, or in many cases inaction, which would have cost Ohioans their jobs, their homes and their rights.

You, Mr. Romney, made it clear that you don't understand how average Ohioans live and support their families.  That is why you did not support the auto industry bail out and in fact said "Let Detroit go bankrupt." 

Unlike you, President Obama understands that the auto industry is the backbone of livable-wage jobs for Ohio's middle class and without those jobs they could not feed their families or pay their mortgages.  That is why President Obama bet on the America worker and as a result, 120,000 Ohioans now work in an auto-industry job, while another 848,000 Ohio jobs thrive because of the auto industry's influence.  Mr. Romney, what do you say to those nearly 1,000,000 people now working because of the auto industry, do you tell them you do not support their jobs?

Mr. Romney, you also said government needs to get out of the way and allow the foreclosure process to "run its course and hit the bottom." Clearly you do not understand what hitting bottom means. Bottom means families, children and elderly people homeless. Ohioans without anywhere to go, people thrown into turmoil without a way out. Does that sound responsible and reasonable to you? President Obama didn't think that was responsible or reasonable, that is why he enacted legislation to keep families in their homes. If you were president would you encourage banks to throw hardworking Americans into the streets?

Mr. Romney, you also supported Governor John Kasich's quest to pass Senate Bill 5 - which was unsafe, unfair and would have hurt us all. Being a man of extreme privilege, there is no way you can understand what is means to struggle financially or be worried about harsh working conditions that could threaten your life. Supporting laws that strip union rights from hardworking healthcare professionals, fire fighters and police officers shows just how out-of-touch you are with Ohio's middle class. President Obama supports workers and worker rights, it's unfortunate that you want the person saving your life or protecting you to be over worked and underpaid.

You are right about one point Mr. Romney - we do need proper leadership. America needs a strong leader that will wake up each day concerned about struggling middle-class families and those that aspire to be in the middle class. President Obama is that leader - you, Mr. Romney, are not.

Washington is already full of politicians and special interest groups that rig the system against average people. We certainly don't need one occupying the White House.

Sincerely,

Becky Williams
President
SEIU District 1199

Becky Williams is President of the Service Employees International Union, District 1199 which represents 35,000 healthcare and social service workers in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.