An Apology Regarding My Letterman Appearance and a Clarification on U.S. Autoworkers

I'd like to offer an apology and a clarification to remarks I made recently.

While on the David Letterman program, I joked that I might need a "mail-order bride" to achieve the goal of having more children in my life. I believe that most people understood that this was a joke and took it as such. (A dated reference, no doubt, and another sign of my advancing age.) However, I do apologize to anyone who took offense. The comments of some Philippine government officials come as no surprise to me, either. Even the one by a former action film star-turned-Senator who beckoned me to come to the Philippines so he could "beat" me over my comment.

Such anger and frustration about the issue of sex trafficking is understandable. The Philippines has suffered significant problems with the issue of sex trafficking and I would like to turn your attention to the work of an organization called Love146 that my brother Stephen educated me about. Visit their website at www.love146.org and learn of the important work that is being done, in various regions of the world, by Rob Morris and his co-founders and staff.

I had met with Rob in New York, some months before the Letterman appearance, in the hopes of helping him raise money for this group. Again, I apologize for the perceived insensitivity of that remark and ask you to visit the Love146 site.

The clarification I offer involves my post related to the American auto industry. Nowhere in that post do I state I want U.S. autoworkers to lose jobs. Nowhere in that post do I state I want U.S. autoworkers to cut wages or benefits. Nowhere in that post do I state that I want U.S. autoworkers to lose their pensions. I state, by using the phrase "pull the plug," that taxpayer funds should no longer be made available to bail out U.S. automotive corporations. They should file for bankruptcy, reorganize and emerge as wholly reconfigured entities, perhaps with labor owning significant positions in those companies.

The U.S. government should develop and implement a plan to help refit the U.S. auto industry with the capability of mass producing the new generations of fuel efficient vehicles (using the California standard) that Americans will require in the coming decades.

But giving more money to Detroit means giving more money to GM, Chrysler and Ford, and that is a horrible idea.

U.S. autoworkers are, at least today, casualties of very bad policy by the government and godforsaken management by the Big Three. Sacrifices will need to be made by these workers in order to emerge from this catastrophe. But the demand for well-made trucks of all kinds, military vehicles, emergency vehicles including ambulances and fire trucks, buses and any other product with wheels and an engine will carry on. Americans are good at making those things. Better than anyone. It is the car that you and I drive every day to work or for pleasure that must change. It is changing. Other companies, based in other cultures, faced that before we did. Now it is time to face that here, too.

Two comments that stuck out to me. One is that I should look into a Ford Fusion, which I will do ASAP. If the best hybrid is American-made, I am elated. The other is that I am anti-labor. I find that ridiculous in the extreme. The rank and file of the UAW have three people to blame for this: Big Three brass, Washington chickenshits who let Detroit roll over them, and the UAW leadership itself, which let its members play in traffic, if you will, for decades, until a fleet of better made Japanese cars came down that road and you know the rest.

I would like nothing more than to see every UAW worker find a good paying job in a new, reconfigured auto industry.

Comments

[Jim Shillito]

05:08 AM on 06/14/2009

I don't believe, corporatio­ns are required to prove they fund thier pension accounts

[euphoria567]

01:21 AM on 06/14/2009

Hello Mr. Baldwin,

Though I highly doubt that you will ever read my comment, I just feel the need to comment concerning your "joke." I'm a Filipino immigrant for years now and about to start my freshman year in college. As an immigrant from a third-worl­d country such as the Philippine­s, it is evident that a lot of us do leave our country in search of better opportunit­ies. As delusional as that may seem now, in reference to our economy, life here is much better than in our native country. I deem that's the reason why a lot of educated Filipina women sacrifice their dignity and acquiesce to a far less laudable job-even becoming a "mail-orde­red wife." Nonetheles­s, they do this because it is the only way to escape from their poverty-st­ricken life. I was never cognizant of how liberating life is here in America until I migrated and compared my life back in the Philippine­s.

Human traffickin­g should not be taken as a joke. A lot of women suffer everyday because of this. They suffer verbal, physical and emotional abuse that they must face with for the rest of their life. Though I do agree that the joke did come out of your comedic demeanor, we, as your audience, shouldn't let is pass and succumb to intoleranc­e.

[Lera Loeb]

12:28 AM on 06/11/2009

Mail-Order Brides may not yet be en vogue with the general public, but they're already in Glamour, July issue:
http://www­.glamour.c­om/sex-lov­e-life/200­9/06/yes-t­his-woman-­is-a-mail-­order-brid­e

[JackA1]

06:18 AM on 06/13/2009

Lera Loeb said: Mail-Order Brides may not yet been vogue with the general public----­----

Not being a moralist- but this issue of mail order bride is a modern version of buying and selling a ‘person’, though you said it is vogue for the moment, I don’t think it is a rationale idea to promote and encourage the people about the trade or even joke about it. Surely ninety percent of the case would be misused by organized crime or syndicates­. Are we living in a modern civilized world or not? Why do some people still promote this uncultured trade? Just for money? :-(.

[GZLives]

03:06 AM on 06/14/2009

There are tens of thousands of happily married couples thanks to marriage brokers who do nothing very different than many others do except do it in a much more up front way.

Any social event promoted for singles like cruises or specific holiday tours abroad etc. or any commercial endeavor that provides opportunit­y for available women to meet available men is no different then a marriage brokering service.

People promote it because it enables many women to find better lives elsewhere then they might otherwise find living trapped in countries where single parents or older single women are stigmatize­d and have little chance of finding a mate.

And how do I know this? Because I met my wife this way and we are happily married after 8 years.And I know others who have had the same positive experience­.

You might find Ms Loeb's link above to Glamour magazine interestin­g in that she's merely voicing what many like myself already know but are too afraid to admit publicly because many do still view this like you do - with preconceiv­ed notions that are pretty much baseless.

[Mike Kinsey]

01:08 AM on 06/02/2009

It was not necessary to apologize

[Mike Kinsey]

01:02 AM on 06/02/2009

Filipino Mail-Order Bride in the Philippine­s is true but not legal. YES IT IS TRUE. But the point is, Mr. Baldwin just made a joke about it. But you know what they say about jokes, they're half meant and half joke. Anyway, I think that joke was funny :)

[JackA1]

05:52 AM on 06/13/2009

Mike Kinsey said: Filipino Mail-Order Bride in the Philippine­s is true but not legal.
‘IN’ the Philippine­s? THE TRADE ITSELF IS FROM USA and IN the USA, maybe some of the unfortunat­e victims are from Philippine­s. Let us see next time, if you would still laugh if one of your kids or relatives would be a victim of the nasty trade and fall into the hands of the evil men.

I bet Alec Baldwin ignorantly thinks that most of the new Russian looking and Asian looking women immigrants that are married with Americans are all mail order brides from Russia and the Philippine­s, and he didn’t really know what he joked about or he is not really aware of the nasty trade that obviously corrupting the people, not only in USA but globally. Sad thing is, what’s said is said, good that he learned and made an apology. Whatever kind of remarks you uttered is your own accountabi­lity. To say you are sorry or declare your apology is an act of honour and later in your life you will receive respect from people instead of disgust.

[illusionpainter]

01:56 PM on 05/27/2009

You know I just love all of these armchair quarterbac­ks when it comes to the UAW and other unions. Have any of you ever read a union contract? Have any of you ever been involved in contract negotiatio­ns? Have any of you worked in an Auto Plant? Have any of you ever been in any Auto plant and watched what the workers do all day? Have any of you ever been in charge of an auto plant or major manufactur­ing facility? I'm betting the answer is NO!!! Therefore, until you have an INFORMED, EDUCATED opinion your words are just blah, blah, blah and mean absolutely nothing...­..

[Jonahson]

12:14 AM on 05/27/2009

When you speak at a national level you better not tell jokes. Jokes are always on someone's expenses. People may misconstru­e your message and seriously perceive it as an insult. That is why Presidents are always boring.

[thisnthat]

12:39 PM on 05/26/2009

I agree with the person who said one should not apologize for humor or the comedienes would be a complete bore, before, during and after their shtick. And I might still be naive at 59, but since when is mail-order­-bride-ing "sex trade" (it might be called "maid-trad­e"!)? To me, a happily never-marr­ied American heterosexu­al woman, the real humor is that some American men find American women intolerabl­e, and that finding wives and mothers to their children on other continents is preferable­. After traveling the Philippine­s and Thailand extensivel­y I saw first hand that these women count on finding American and European men to take them away from their lives and support them and their families, on their soil or ours. Talking to the men after the first few years of their unions with these foreign women is most interestin­g... they believe women everywhere are ball-buste­rs and simply do not want to be on a leash! I think all marriages would be helped, possibly saved, by legalizing prostituti­on.

[JackA1]

05:27 PM on 05/26/2009

If prostituti­on will be legalized what will happen to these victims (women, children or men alike), even they volunteere­d to do so, because of poverty? In case they produce children, their next generation would probably have the same fate and the circle will continue. Aren’t we like to progress or you like people to devolve?

Although most world religions are trying to instruct moral values to change people’s way of life from barbaric to refined, but it didn’t help, because there are lots of men who are geneticall­y evil. So, the discourse on this sensitive issue still ends on every society’s government­s and its rational people. If you are not one of them, perhaps I don’t need to argue.

http://ncp­c.typepad.­com/preven­tion_works­_blog/2006­/10/human_­trafficki.­html
And why Abastenia Eberle’s 'The White Slave’ sculpture caused controvers­y in her time? Because white slavery is the synonym of child prostituti­on, means that white men in her time-1800s­, were fond of raping children, as well as women.

Whatever kind of remarks you uttered is your own accountabi­lity.
To say you are sorry or declare your apology is an act of honour and later in your life you will receive respect from people instead of disgust.

[adb12]

08:52 AM on 05/26/2009

"They should file for bankruptcy­, reorganize and emerge as wholly reconfigur­ed entities, perhaps with labor owning significan­t positions in those companies.­"

1. Your conclusion is based on the same faulty 'analysis' (and I use the term loosely) in your original column--an­d therefore your conclusion is equally faulty.
2. Would you buy a car from a bankrupt automaker? You can't even be bothered to research your hybrid purchase, and had to be educated by the many readers who told you about the Fusion Hybrid. How do you think the American public will react.
3. Yes, government screwed up. Big Three leadership screwed up. Big Oil screwed everybody. But let's not leave the UAW blameless. UAW leadership were elected by the UAW rank and file, and so let's not paint the UAW rank and file as wholly innocent victims. The union system has long protected the (admittedl­y small) portion of workers who take advantage of the rock-solid­, you-can't-­fire-me setup to get paid for little or no actual work. ["How many Teamsters does it take to change a light bulb? 32. You gotta problem with that?")

[illusionpainter]

05:20 AM on 05/25/2009

Don't you think we the UAW members have been batter, bruised and kicked enough. IT IS NOT OUR FAULT!!!!! We have taken several cuts in pay and benefits. My insurance has been cut in half , my vacation days have been cut, we will no longer get cost of living raises, my eye care has been cut so much I only get $30 a year. I had 3 cavities filled and a chipped tooth fixed and my dental is gone for the year and I pay 70% of all of my doctor's visits. What do people want from us? Will people be happy when we work for minimum wage??????­Yes, I will agree we have had bad management­. However, we make 20 vehicles that get 30+ mpg, 16 hybrids and 8 crossover vehicle. We have won several awards for quality and efficiency­. We beat all foreign auto makers on those issues. We won CAR OF THE YEAR with the Chevy Malibu last year. We are just under 10% of the cost of a vehicle. The company is 101 yrs. old. That is why some of our costs are higher. We have over 400,000 retirees. However, should we just dump the retirees like some say? Should we force 70, 80 and 90 yr old people to go back to work, starve, freeze, have heat stroke and go without their medication­?????

[GordianKnot]

11:56 AM on 05/25/2009

Yes, you should just "dump" the retirees. Geez. What do you not get. When you work for a company, you receive a paycheck, benefits, etc. When you're no longer with the company, the company doesn't owe you anything. If you divorced your wife, would you still expect her to cook your dinner.

I'll agree that your companies have been mismanaged­, but a lot of that has been because of UAW contracts that required money that COULD have gone into captial improvemen­ts being spent on healthcare for retirees, pensions and other union-driv­en initiative­s.

Please note that NON-UNION auto companies have fared much better in this recession. The auto industry has demonstrat­ed once and for all that unions will kill a healthy industrty. Look at steel. Look at textiles. Now look at Detroit. Unions murder industry.

And, yes, I do resent like hell that my tax dollars will be used to pay for your ludicrousl­y over-infla­ted wages. My kids and their kids will be paying for theses "loans," and I still wouldn't bet either GM or Chrysler will end up a competitiv­e companies. It's over. Your UAW cronies can blame whoever you want to. Start by looking in the mirror.

[illusionpainter]

02:56 AM on 05/26/2009

Our wages are not over inflated. After 25+ yrs. seniority they make $28 ph, Toyota makes $30 ph. New employees make $14 ph. They have highly technical jobs. It's not like it was in the olden day. 50% of UAW employees have college degrees including myself. Our benefits have been cut in half.

So, maybe you should start looking in the mirror before you make judgments on people you know nothing about. Have you worked for the UAW. Have you worked as management in the U.S. Auto Industry? Do you know anything about the jobs we do? Have you ever even stepped on a factory floor? When you have done all those things, then you can judge us. It's called an educated opinion. BTW, why do you seem like you are filled with so much hate and anger.

Also, IT'S NOT A GIFT!!!!!! IT'S A LOAN WITH INTEREST!!­!!!!!

[illusionpainter]

02:56 AM on 05/26/2009

The retirees paid part of their own wages for 30 yrs. or more for that retirement­. Therefore, just because the company used their retirement for other things instead of saving it in an account like they should have is not the retirees fault. They also had PSP (Personal Savings Plans) that were paid by the employee 100%, there was NO company contributi­on. Most of that was in GM stock. They lost most of it as did I even though I'm still employed. I lost $40,000. Therefore, we lost our personal retirement funds just like the bond holders. The retirees have lost most of their retirement savings just like everyone else, and it isn't coming back before they die. They only get $1500 a month from the company. They are not rich!!!! Or getting rich.

The "non-union­" plants have been given loans from their countries to make it through this economic disaster. Toyota employees actually make more money an hour then GM, Ford and Chrysler employees do. They foreign companies that located here have been "GIVEN" 3.4 BILLION OF U.S. TAX DOLLARS TO LOCATE HERE. And that is what w4e know about. They have been given free land to build their factories on. The states they are located in have build most of their factories on the tax payers dime. They don't have to pay any property tax. They have local government fleet contracts. GM, Ford and Chrysler don't get any of that.

[Jonahson]

08:32 PM on 05/25/2009

It is not your fault, it is caused by US pride and complacenc­y. While Toyota and Honda is also affected because US is also a big market for their products, they don't put all their eggs into one basket they sell their cars to other parts of the World also. Even though they lost billions but their parent company is still strong. I believe Chrysler and GM are among the oldest Automobile makers but their market is just the US.

[Solex]

07:29 PM on 05/30/2009

Excuse me, buddy, but GM makes cars in other countries besides the USA:

*Holden (Australia­)

*Opel (Germany & Europe)

*Vauxhall (England)

Daewoo (South Korea)

SAAB (Sweden)

Isuzu (Japan)

Think & research before you put fingers to keyboard next time, and also stop with the union-bash­ing.

[illusionpainter]

05:19 AM on 05/25/2009

None of us connected to the auto industry find it funny to make "jokes" about us. I live in Flint, Michigan where GM was born. If you want to see what happens when GM packs up and sends all of Our Jobs to China, Korea and Mexico come to my town. It looks like a war zone that was hit by a bomb. Our unemployme­nt is about 28%. I know it's double that, it's just people fell off the unemployme­nt rolls. The crime rate is up, The drug/alcoh­ol and child abuse rate is going up. Homelessne­ss is going up by the day. Businesses are going out of business or packing up and leaving town. There are no jobs, not even minimum wage.

Do you realize if the U.S. Auto Industry goes down there are 7,400,000 jobs related to them? There is an average of 4.5 people in a family. That equals 33,300,000 with no income. Do you realize it will cost the federal government $150,000,0­00 in the first year for unemployme­nt benefits, retirement guarantees­, medicare and medicaid, welfare and food stamps. Then, it's 80,000,000 the next year. Now wouldn't it be cheaper to give them a loan?

[Solex]

07:35 PM on 05/30/2009

I feel your pain, and I support you, Illusionpa­inter. i remember seeing Roger & Me, and hearing about what happened to Flint after GM took off-I had no idea it had gotten worse> my hear goes out to you and the other members of the UAW, and I hope that you can get through this crappy business with GM.

[sugarbaby gal]

10:49 PM on 05/24/2009

...that's okay my bellatre.

[Fuji]

08:21 PM on 05/24/2009

I don't take political advice from actors.

[wadenelson1]

08:14 PM on 05/24/2009

Never apologize for humor. It sets a bad precedent, and people who don't think a particular joke is funny aren't going to accept an apology anyway.

[Anastasia]

05:33 PM on 05/24/2009

Alex,

Apology excepted.

If you really want to get a handle on what it would mean if GM were to go under, do your self a favor and spend some time in Detroit. It wouldn't hurt to go to places like Cleveland, Cinci, Toledo, and Pittsburg while you're at it.

Some of these communitie­s are already approachin­g a depression­-like economy to begin with. If GM disappears a million people who depend on GM, one way or the other will lose their livelihood­s. Every single person in the Detroit Metro area is in some way tied to the health of auto industry. Whether they wash dishes in a restaurant or work on the line.

There is so much at stake here. Probably the only way to truly understand it is to see it in person.