Tough new fuel-economy standards now pending in Congress could lead to the dismantling of what remains of the US domestic car industry, the president of the United Auto Workers union warned Thursday.
"We're being told that we must choose between protecting our environment versus protecting our jobs," said UAW president Ron Gettelfinger as he thrust himself into the center of a contentious debate over fuel economy.
Gettelfinger claimed that the current bill would force General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Company and Chrysler LLC to shift production of compact cars overseas.
"The US companies will no longer have an incentive to balance their full-size car production here with US production of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles," he told the Economic Club of Detroit.
"The inevitable result is that small-car production will be shifted overseas and tens of thousands of workers will lose their jobs."
In addition, the bill would also force manufacturers to curb the production of large trucks and sport utility vehicles in order to meet tougher corporate average fuel economy standards.
Gettelfinger said his union has always been a strong advocate for workplace safety and environmental progress but believes there are better ways to curb gasoline consumption.
"There's a much better bill before Congress -- a bill that would require a sharp increase in fuel economy standards in a responsible manner that would help our industry and preserve American jobs," he said.
The bill favored by the union and US automakers would increase fuel economy standards by 28 percent to 40 percent by 2022 -- essentially offering bigger cuts over a longer period of time.
"That gives automakers sufficient time to re-tool their plants to shift towards more fuel efficient vehicles," Gettelfinger said.
The bill approved by the Senate in June would increase standards by about 35 percent across the board by 2018, making some gasoline-guzzlers obsolete.