Being neither a Republican or Democrat I find it amusing when I find hypocrisy in either party. Of course, there is plenty.
But the instant case is the pressure the Obama administration and Congress is putting on the car companies and the unions to restructure. This has apparently resulted in what promises to be huge concessions by the U.A.W. to meet the conditions for a bridge loan.
Can you imagine the hue and cry that would be going up today if it was George W who was demanding these concessions from the unions?
I feel badly for the unions who gave enthusiastic and financial support to the Democrats to put them in office only to have them work behind the scenes to basically break the union. Not a good return on your political donation dollars.
Instead of demanding these huge concessions from American car unions, why isn't the government demanding a fair and living wage and benefits from the foreign car makers now in this country?
In the meantime, our government has handed the banks and insurance companies gifts of many more billions of dollars with no strings attached, little or no pressure to perform and with no demand, as they have with the car companies, for some kind of definitive plan for the money.
The payment on these huge "investments" will have to be paid by our children and grandchildren.
If you're not ready for a third party now, one that actually listens to the electorate, you must love what is going on.
And, by the way, where are our two long-serving Democrat U.S. Senators in all this? They have been and are absent and impotent in supporting and defending our car companies and the unions that make them work.
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4 comments:
The UAW's "reward" will be card check legislation, Jim.
You know, eliminating the secret vote that America is based upon.
So if you don't want a union, you will have a target painted on your back.
People at the foreign car companies make as much as UAW workers. "Fair and living wage?" Are you kidding? Here are the differences:
1. "Legacy costs" The UAW made all its host companies demographically as dubious as Social Security when they got 30 and out. That meant that with people living into their 70s routinely, that the car companies would someday get to a situation where they were supporting 7-10 former employees for every currently productive worker. Why did they agree? Because the government backs the UAWs absolute right to strike-- and the execs knew it wouldn't matter until they were gone or dead. Since they didn't have much choice, they laid back and enjoyed it.
2. Minority contracting. For years, the Big 3 have paid billions and billions more for parts than they should have out of misplaced guilt. Now the social goal they will pour billions into is "green technology."
3. As you alluded, they built cars no one wanted to satisfy government fuelt economy demands (same problem as above.)
4. Toyota's work agreement is 24 pages, the UAW's is 4000. That's 4000 pages of things that prevent workers from being productive. Mainly that means people can't be flexible in their job so more people have to be hired than needed.
Again, it's not individual wages, which are comparable. Talk to a BMW worker in South Carolina. The above have slowly killed the Big 3 by degrees and it was predictable. In GM's case in particular, lots of execs saw this coming and treate the company as a get it while it's still there cookie jar, making thing even worse.
So well said 10:24.
If it wasn't for unions we would all be makeing minimum wage. It created the middle class and now with the huge decline in membership the middle class is disapearing along with it. Do you really think cars are gonna get cheaper? the new "green" car is 40,000. Who buys these cars? Well it used to be the middle class. what comes around goes around. If nobody is working and making a decent wage who can afford to buy all these things. The whole world is messed up now because of us. It started with the gas. When the big 3 were making all these gas guzzlers gas was very cheap. I would put more blame on the government as a whole for this. I dislike both political parties and don't care for any politician in any form. If you want to blame someone you can blame the whole country for buying things they could not afford!! You know who you are.
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