Mitt Romney's campaign on Thursday released a new Web video critical of Vice President Biden's assertion that most non-union autoworkers "did fine" in the aftermath of the auto bailout.
Some non-union autoworkers employed by parts manufacturer Delphi are suing over lost benefits resulting from the auto bailout and subsequent restructuring of General Motors. In the ad, former Delphi employees say the administration picked "winners and losers in the automotive bailout" and appeared to have "disdain" for non-union workers.
A voiceover says, "As GM and Chrysler went through bankruptcy, employees of major auto supplier Delphi saw their pensions slashed. Vice President Joe Biden said ‘most did fine.’ They don’t agree.”
The ad then transitions to former employees discussing the bailout.
"Well, I thought about this one job I had in my long career and I worked alongside an hourly appointed person and we managed the local joint training fund for the brake operations. And I got to be very good friends with this person. And we worked side by side for years. That person has their healthcare and that person has their pension," says Mary Miller, a former Delphi employee, in the ad.
Alan Schide, another former worker, also slams the administration.
"I don’t think the current administration looked upon us as favorable. I think they truly did pick winners and losers in the automotive bailout," Schide says.
Biden made the comment during an interview Wednesday, but notably acknowledged in his full remarks that not everyone benefited from the bailout.
"Some of them got hurt," Biden said. "The vast majority, because of the federal pension board they have out there to make up differences when companies go under like this, most did fine."
The ad is the latest volley in an increasingly hard-fought battle over the president's auto bailout. Earlier Thursday in Ohio, Biden criticized Romney for saying earlier this month he deserved some credit for the success of the initiative.
"He said, quote, 'I'll take a lot of credit for the fact that the industry has come back,' " Biden said in Martins Ferry, Ohio. " 'And by the way, I'll take a lot of credit for a man having land on the moon, because all the while in school, I rooted for it.' "
Romney later said that the administration's bailout included the equivalent of a managed bankruptcy, a strategy he had long advocated for. Obama supporters have noted that Romney did not support many of the federally-backed loans that underpinned the bailout, and argued the automakers would not have survived without them.
