I can't believe it! Or maybe I can believe it. Greed rears its ugly head and the face of greed is the United Auto Workers union, at the talks to salvage the future of the American auto industry.
The UAW brass refused to accede to wage and benefits cuts in 2009, and would only consider them in 2011 when their current contract runs out. In effect, they walked out of this meeting literally sealing the fate of hundreds of thousands of workers, who will be laid off permanently if the companies go bankrupt.
The buzz all across America is that the union is so arrogant and greedy that they would rather risk having the majority of their members lose their jobs permanently than agree to wage and benefit cuts. They think they're so powerful they can dictate to the government what the terms will be and it will be their terms or nothing. The Republicans walked out and I applaud them. Screw the union for their greed and arrogance!
Personally, I think the companies should go bankrupt if only for one reason...to be able to renegotiate their contracts between labor to a reasonable figure. The union has been the tail wagging the dog in the auto industry for far too long, and it's time somebody says "enough" and moved on. According to the Arizona Star "GM says its total hourly labor costs are now $69, including wages, pensions and health care for active workers, plus the pension and health care costs of more than 432,000 retirees and spouses. Toyota says its total costs are around $48." Is it any wonder the US automakers aren't competitive anymore?
Maybe it's not that we're not making attractive vehicles, but that the cost of putting them together, albeit shabbily in so many cases, has cost us the lead in the car business? While we were the envy of the car buying world in the 50's and 60's, now we're a laughing stock at best.
So, go ahead UAW. Fight for every last dime of that $29.78 the average automaker makes per hour, plus benefits such as healthcare, retirement, guaranteed layoff pay and everything else. And when all shuts down, and everyone is sitting jobless, as their homes foreclose, their new employee cost cars are repossessed, and they look for food at Detroit's soup kitchens, wondering how the hell this could happen to one of the biggest unions in the nation, just look at each other and your leadership and say..."we did it to ourselves...we arrogant, greedy bastards. We wanted everyone else to concede and give, but we wouldn't concede a dime. And now it's payback time and it's too late."
Of course, you won't think that way. It will all be someone elses fault. The car companies, the government, the taxpayers, the public for buying foreign cars, the oil companies, or anyone else but your leadership and you.
Enjoy the ride, for it's likely to be a short one. And build some decent cars as they might be the last ones you ever build with an American marque. I'm keeping my 2007 because I'm sure it will be a classic the way things are going now......
Update: From Friday's news conference by Ron Gettelfinger, Head of the UAW on the possibility of White House intervention into the current stall in negotiations: "I'm not even sure what this means, how much they're talking about, any terms or conditions that are associated with it," Gettelfinger said.
He said he doesn't think the union will be forced to negotiate wage cuts or other terms with the White House for the industry to get federal aid.
Once again, reinforcing the greed and arrogance. Standing on the corner with a tin cup, the begging man throws back the coins and only wants to hear the crisp dollars sliding into the goblet!
2 comments:
You make the assumption that the Unions CAUSED this failure of the Auto industry. They did not, so why would you have them pay for it. Management has not agreed to a pay cut, why would the unions. The CEO's make MILLIONS each year, even in the face of a years and years of declining profits. The is also an assumption that the crisis in the Auto industry is via the economic collapse. It is merely an attempt by the makers to cash in on the feeding frenzy at the expense of the taxpayer.
American taxpayer here. I don't understand what the UAW is thinking here. It's all or nothing, Im sure they are going to get nothing. Don't they see that?
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