PoliticsPoliticsMary Barrarichard blumenthal

Democratic Senator Wants To Hold CEOs Accountable For Fatal Mistake

Dem Senator Wants To Hold CEOs Accountable For Fatal Mistake
Reuters
|
Open Image Modal
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 18: Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol calling for gun reform legislation and marking the 9 month anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school September 18, 2013 in Washington, DC. With the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard earlier this week, gun reform activists are renewing their call for national reformation of existing gun laws. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - Former General Motors Co chief executives should be called to testify to the U.S. Congress about the company's slow response to defective ignition switches in cars that have been linked to at least 13 deaths, a Democratic senator said on Tuesday.

Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, an outspoken member of the Senate Commerce Committee that is investigating GM, said there are "a whole set of questions on why there were so many delays in taking action to remedy this situation" that are still unanswered by the Detroit automaker.

"Of course we have to go back to the prior CEOs" who headed GM before this year's recall of 2.6 million automobiles, he said. The recalled vehicles have ignition switches that can unexpectedly slip out of the "run" position, shutting off engines, disabling air bags, power steering and power brakes.

In a telephone interview with Reuters, Blumenthal stressed that it will be up to Senator Claire McCaskill, chairwoman of a commerce subcommittee, to schedule the next hearings and decide who will testify.

Asked about Blumenthal's interest in getting testimony of former chief executives, GM spokesman James Cain repeated an earlier statement that the company's senior leadership team was not aware of the recall decision until Jan. 31 of this year. He added that an internal investigation into the handling of the ignition switch problem is under way.

"When the facts are in, we will be transparent and hold ourselves accountable," Cain said.

Blumenthal added that "very definitely I want to hear" from former GM CEO Daniel Akerson, who held the post from 2010 until early this year when current CEO Mary Barra took over. During that time, GM was conducting internal investigations into the defective part.

Separately, GM announced on Tuesday that it is restructuring its engineering operations in a move meant to improve quality and safety of its vehicles, and that its global vehicle engineering chief, John Calabrese, is retiring.

Barra testified to the Senate panel on April 2, and to a House of Representatives subcommittee on April 1. She said she would be willing to return to Capitol Hill for more testimony.

Barra frustrated many members of Congress by testifying that she could not answer their questions because she is so new in the job, after decades of holding other positions within GM.

GM engineers first noticed problems more than a decade ago with ignition switches in Chevrolet Cobalts, Saturn Ions and other GM models but did not notify consumers until this year. (Reporting By Richard Cowan; Editing by Karey Van Hall, Peter Henderson and Mohammad Zargham)

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

States With The Weakest Unions
10. Arizona(01 of10)
Open Image Modal
> Pct. of workers in unions: 5.2% (tied for 9th lowest)> Union workers: 125,557 (25th lowest)> 10-yr. change in union membership: 8.7% (7th largest increase)> Total employment: 2,433,824 (21st highest)Just over 5% of the state’s workers were members of labor unions in 2012, down from 5.6% in 2002 and from 6% in 2011. Arizona is one of a handful of states where private sector union membership expanded between 2002 and 2012, growing by more than 16%. However, the state’s conservative leadership has increasingly become hostile toward these groups. In 2012, Governor Jan Brewer announced her support for legislation to weaken labor unions. Among the proposals were laws prohibiting public labor unions from collective bargaining, ending automatic payroll deductions for union dues and stripping civil-service protections for state employees, making it easier to fire them. The legislation was not passed.(Photo: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and President Barack Obama) Read more at 24/7 Wall St. (credit:AP )
9. Utah(02 of10)
Open Image Modal
> Pct. of workers in unions: 5.2% (tied for 9th lowest)> Union workers: 60,829 (13th lowest)> 10-yr. change in union membership: 3.2% (17th largest increase)> Total employment: 1,181,074 (19th lowest)Utah added over 232,000 jobs between 2002 and 2012, growing employment statewide by a nation-high 24.5%. But over that period the state added less than 2,000 union members. Among the reasons was a large decline in the percentage of public workers who were part of unions — from 21.3% to 15.8%. By comparison, 35.9% of public sector employees are part of a union nationwide. But despite limited and falling union membership among state employees, a bill was introduced earlier this year that would ban collective bargaining on issues not related to wages or benefits by state and local government workers. Opponents argue the bill is not needed, because Utah allows individuals the right to work in union-heavy occupations without either joining the union or paying dues.(Photo: Utah Governor Gary R. Herbert)Read more at 24/7 Wall St. (credit:AP)
8. Idaho(03 of10)
Open Image Modal
> Pct. of workers in unions: 4.8% (tied for 7th lowest)> Union workers: 29,216 (4th lowest)> 10-yr. change in union membership: -25.2% (9th largest decrease)> Total employment: 613,845 (11th lowest)Although the number of jobs in Idaho increased by more than 11% between 2002 and 2012, union membership declined by a quarter in the same time period. The decline was dispersed relatively evenly across the public and private sectors, with membership falling 21.5% and 28.1%, respectively. In January 2012, a federal judge ruled that a pair of anti-union laws passed by the conservative Idaho legislature violated federal law. As passed, these laws prohibited “job targeting programs” that used union dues to help contractors win bids and also banned “project labor agreements” that allowed contractors to sign agreements with union workers while concurrently bidding on public projects.(Photo: Idaho Governor C. L. Otter)Read more at 24/7 Wall St. (credit:AP)
7. Tennessee(04 of10)
Open Image Modal
> Pct. of workers in unions: 4.8% (tied for 7th lowest)> Union workers: 124,331 (24th lowest)> 10-yr. change in union membership: -43.8% (the largest decrease)> Total employment: 2,590,205 (18th highest)Union membership in Tennessee fell by more than 43% from 2002 to 2012, the largest decline in the nation. In that time, the percentage of workers who were part of a union fell from 9.1% to just 4.8%. Among public sector workers, the decline was even more pronounced — from 22.6% to 14.7%. The state is a right-to-work state. Advocates contend such laws attract jobs, while critics believe they make recruiting union members difficult and ultimately leads to decreased wages.(Photo: Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam)Read more at 24/7 Wall St. (credit:AP)
6. Georgia(05 of10)
Open Image Modal
> Pct. of workers in unions: 4.4% (tied for 5th lowest)> Union workers: 170,726 (20th highest)> 10-yr. change in union membership: -21.7% (14th largest decrease)> Total employment: 3,912,100 (8th highest)Between 2002 and 2012, Georgia added over 300,000 workers, one of the largest employment increases in the nation during that time. However, because the number of union workers declined by over 47,000, union participation fell from an already-low 6% to just 4.4%. Between 2002 and 2012, public union participation fell from 18.6% to just 10.5% — lower than all but four other states. Although more than 130,000 new public sector jobs were created over those 10 years, union membership fell by nearly 30% among public employees. Last year, only 3.1% of private sector employees were affiliated with a union — among the lowest percentages of all states in the U.S.(Photo: Georgia Governor Nathan Deal)Read more at 24/7 Wall St. (credit:AP)
5. Virginia(06 of10)
Open Image Modal
> Pct. of workers in unions: 4.4% (tied for 5th lowest)> Union workers: 159,512 (24th highest)> 10-yr. change in union membership: -18.8% (15th largest decrease)> Total employment: 3,594,507 (12th highest)Virginia has one of the lowest unionization rates in the country in both the private and public sectors. A mere 3% of private sector workers in the state were unionized in 2012. Just over 10% of public sector employees were covered by a union in 2012, a lower percentage than all but two states and down from 15.6% in 2002. Labor unions did eke out a small victory in January, when the Virginia Senate narrowly rejected a proposal to add right-to-work provisions to the state constitution. The state’s right-to-work law is still in effect by statute.(Photo: Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell)Read more at 24/7 Wall St. (credit:AP)
4. Mississippi(07 of10)
Open Image Modal
> Pct. of workers in unions: 4.3%> Union workers: 47,875 (8th lowest)> 10-yr. change in union membership: -32.2% (3rd largest decrease)> Total employment: 1,115,953 (17th lowest)Total union membership in Mississippi was just over 4% last year, with total membership declining nearly a third in the past 10 years. Private union membership was cut in half between 2002 and 2012, falling from 6% to 3%. This was one of the largest decreases of all states. However, membership in public sector unions actually rose nearly 12%, significantly more than any of the bottom 10 states on this list. The economic situation in Mississippi is especially grim. The state’s median household income of $36,919 was the lowest in the U.S., as was the poverty rate of 22.6%.(Photo: Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant)Read more at 24/7 Wall St. (credit:AP)
3. South Carolina(08 of10)
Open Image Modal
> Pct. of workers in unions: 3.3%> Union workers: 58,413 (12th lowest)> 10-yr. change in union membership: -29.3% (7th largest decrease)> Total employment: 1,773,172 (24th highest)Just one in 30 workers in South Carolina belongs to a union, one of the lowest rates in the country. A paltry 1.3% of private sector workers in the state belong to a union, the lowest percentage in the entire country. Over the past 10 years, private sector union membership declined by 61.7%, more than any other state except for Arkansas. The state’s governor, Nikki Haley, has taken a vocal anti-union stance since taking office in 2011. In an interview with Fox News back in 2012, Haley said: “There’s a reason that South Carolina’s the new ‘it’ state. It’s because we are a union buster.”(Photo: South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley)Read more at 24/7 Wall St. (credit:AP)
2. Arkansas(09 of10)
Open Image Modal
> Pct. of workers in unions: 3.2%> Union workers: 36,667 (6th lowest)> 10-yr. change in union membership: -42.1% (2nd largest decrease)> Total employment: 1,155,140 (18th lowest)Arkansas has the second smallest percentage of unionized workers, due primarily to the decline in private sector membership. Between 2002 and 2012, private sector union membership dropped by almost 62%. As of 2012, a mere 1.4% of private sector workers were covered by labor unions, lower than any other state except for South Carolina. Union manufacturing jobs in the state decreased by nearly 75% over the past 10 years, while total manufacturing employment decreased by just 20.6%. Arkansas is one of just a handful of states where right-to-work laws are embedded in the state’s constitution.(Arkansas Governor: Mike Beebe)Read more at 24/7 Wall St. (credit:AP)
1. North Carolina(10 of10)
Open Image Modal
> Pct. of workers in unions: 2.9%> Union workers: 111,482 (21st lowest)> 10-yr. change in union membership: -1.3% (31st largest decrease)> Total employment: 3,804,593 (9th highest)With just 2.9% of employees in a labor union in 2012, North Carolina is the least-unionized state in the entire country. Only 1.8% of private sector workers were members of a labor union as of 2012, lower than any state except for South Carolina and Arkansas. In addition, only 8.8% of public employees in the state belong to a union, the lowest rate in the country. While the number of public sector jobs grew 20% between 2002 and 2012, the percentage of public workers unionized declined from 10.5% in 2002. Although many right-to-work proponents claim that deunionization helps spur job creation, North Carolina’s lack of union representation has not led to low unemployment — the unemployment rate in the state as of December 2012 was 9.2%, the fifth highest rate in the country.(Photo: North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory)Read more at 24/7 Wall St. (credit:AP)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip