Dear Friends,

Today is a day to look back and honor those who fought for working families, and to thank the men and women who keep this country going, day-in and day-out. I was happy to join with my friends this morning in the Detroit Labor Day Parade to honor the American worker and to pledge that I will never stop fighting for Michigan working families.

I’ll continue fighting to create good-paying jobs right here in America, instead of protecting tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas. And, I’ll continue to be a wise steward of taxpayer dollars in Washington, fighting government waste and bloated contracts that could be better spent on Michigan families.

I appreciate all of the support you have shown over the years, and I wish you a safe and happy Labor Day today.

With every good wish,

John Dingell

PS – Below is an editorial I wrote about the American worker that appeared in today’s Monroe Evening News.

Democrats stand with the American worker

By John Dingell

Monroe Evening News

Monday, September 6

Americans will get back to work, but not with the same failed policies that shuttered their businesses and put them on the unemployment line in the first place.

Persistent joblessness is the toll of a “great recession” caused by those who advocate a “hands off ”approach to Wall Street, the health insurance monopolies and corporations shipping jobs over seas.

When the house of cards built of risky financial transac tions and scant oversight finally came crashing down in 2008, it wiped out the sav ings of ordinary people, froze the access to financ ing that allowed businesses to make ends meet and plunged America into economic devastation.

By working to enact policies that put government back on the side of working families, I am fighting to ensure workers and businesses can make it in America once again.

With new ideas and the same dogged refusal to back down, Michigan, the auto companies and their dedicated work force are helping our economy rebound.

Increased sales allowed Ford and General Motors to earn historic profits last quarter. Chrysler, along with General Motors, is adding workers to join the 55,000 new hires made since June, 2009.

A strengthened auto industry also means real money in work ers’ pockets, starting with the first profit-sharing checks born of solid gains in years.

U.S. auto companies are coming back strong here in the 15th Con gressional District. GM’s Brown stown Township factory will em ploy 120 workers building battery power packs for the Chevrolet Volt, an electric vehicle that could create 40,000 jobs, and Ford’s Rawsonville plant is part of a $450 million investment in Michigan manufacturing that could create 1,000 new jobs by 2012.

Recovery Act funds, tax breaks and incentives to get Americans spending are creating opportuni ties for Michigan small business es and laying the foundation for a 21st century energy future.

Already we are seeing these incentives beginning to pay off, as Michigan led the nation in job gains in July, adding 27,800 jobs to our economy. This is not just a single incident, as over the past four months Michigan has added jobs in three, bringing our unem ployment down from 14.2 percent in July of last year to 13.1 percent now. The greatest growth in jobs has been in the manufacturing and business sectors.

Ventower Industries, a wind turbine manufacturer, has taken advantage of federal grants and loans to expand production, open ing a Monroe facility that will produce 300 turbine towers a year and create nearly 180 jobs.

Sunrise Windows, a Temper ance producer of energy-efficient windows and doors, has seen business thrive due to the dedica tion to quality that made it the top choice of homeowners taking ad vantage of federal tax incentives for home improvements. Sunrise employs more than 240 Michigan ders and has added more than 30 jobs this year.

I also am working with my col leagues to change course from the policies of the recent past that sapped American competi tiveness. After years of neglect, I helped lead the effort to strength en manufacturing by passing the U.S. Manufacturing Enhance ment Act, which reduces tariffs on production materials and cuts manufacturers’ operating costs.

I also fought to pass the Nation al Manufacturing Strategy Act of 2010, which would require the president to update a manufactur ing strategy every four years, and the End the Trade Deficit Act, which would establish a commis sion to overhaul U.S. trade policy and eliminate the trade deficit.

For too long, Americans have suffered at the hands of trade policies that preserved tax loop holes forcorporations off-shoring jobs and opened domestic markets to imports without permitting American businesses to compete abroad. The trade imbalance, which leaves America importing more than it exports and spend ing more than it saves, holds our country hostage to a vicious cycle of debt and financial instability.

Companies understand that as long as there is an equal playing field, American workers are the key to success.

Some in the Senate have made a mission of sabotaging solutions with unproductive obstruction ism, whether they are trying to kill aid to states, extension of un employment benefits or a small business lending fund to prop up America’s job creators. But par tisan posturing will not solve our most difficult problems, which is why I am fighting to overcome these challenges
to pass good, bipartisan legislation to help put Michiganders back to work.

Moreover, I call on my col leagues in the U.S. Senate to pass pending small-business lending legislation, which we modeled around a program that is produc ing positive results in our state.

This bill was approved by the House and desperately is needed by small businesses.

By investing in job creation and fostering a favorable climate for innovation, Democrats are mak ing sure our economy rebounds as dynamic and resilient as the entrepreneurs and workers who are the true engines of its growth.