The president of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America–UAW has written to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta expressing concern over the Army’s proposal to end tank modernization, and calling for maintained Abrams tank funding.
In the Oct. 4 letter from Solidarity House in Detroit, Mich., Bob King wrote on behalf of the more than one million active and retired UAW members about the end of modernizing the tank, a plan that “places in jeopardy our armor industrial base and would result in the loss of thousands of good paying manufacturing jobs across the United States.”
On April 4, King sent letters to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Appropriations defense subcommittees and House Armed Services Committee in support of keeping the General Dynamics [GD] Abrams tank production line open (Defense Daily, April 9).
Also, in April and May more than 100 members of the House sent separate letters to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Secretary John McHugh strongly supporting continued tank production and limited tank production (Defense Daily, April 25, May 9).
King’s October letter said the Army’s proposal to end tank production puts at risk “over 800 large and small critical suppliers around the United States,” something he also told House members in April.
Ending tank production “severely limits” the ability of the manufacturing sector to react to unforeseen military circumstances, the letter said, “undermining our critical ability to provide additional vehicles when the need arises.”
Furthermore, the plan makes no sense for taxpayers as it would cost $1.6 billion to mothball the line, and another $1 billion to restart the line later on, King wrote, without citing the source of the figures.
King said he strongly urged reconsideration of the policy and maintaining the tank funding.