Now this is the kind of answer I was looking for.
Thank you, St. Urho.
Agreed. Standing your ground all the way to the unemployment line is counterproductive, to say the least. It’s one thing to go down with the ship. It’s another thing entirely to help spring some more leaks so it sinks faster.
True enough. On the other hand, the UAW has agreed to serious concessions in each of the past three contracts, (at three years per contract, that means they have been making concessions for ten years). In addition, in last year’s contracts, the UAW agreed to take over the administration of retiree health benefits, taking a big load off the car companies, and they have already announced their willingness to make mid-contract concessions in the current situation.
It may not be enough. It may be too little too late. However, no one compelled the car companies to negotiate self-wounding contracts. Management was always able to use the union contracts as a base from which to feather their own nests.
Anybody know if the Big Three’s management, creditors and shareholders are offering to make concessions in order to save them?
Nobody compelled them to negotiate bad contracts? Really? Ah, but strikes aren’t coercion. I mean, after all, companies don’t really need to make money to pay their workers, right? What better way is there to make some more off of a dying company than to stick the knife in a little deeper?
Strikes are no more coercion than the threat of firing. According to the article, the point of the strike was that the UAW was willing to agree to take over the retiree benefits system (helping the company), but that the company, then in the midst of riding high on SUV sales, was unwilling to commit to investing in plants in the U.S.
It also notes that it was the first strike in 37 years.
The strike only lasted a few days and the union give-backs were included in the settlement.
The management of GM is not going to renew leases on four of the seven corporate jets that it leases. Instead, the executives and their spouses are going to fly first class on commercial flights.
See, everyone is sharing the pain.
Unions have been getting a bad press for many years. It is not an accident. Newspapers have eliminated unions and have spend a lot of time slamming them. If thats all you get, you believe it. The 20s that I meet are all anti union. They do not know why. They just join the anti union chorus .
Unions were formed due to the excesses of corporations. They fought against unsafe working conditions,the mistreatment of workers and very low wages. A person has no power when dealing with a company. Every single worker is replaceable. But they all are not at once.
Unions fought for guaranteed vacation times,time and a half,health benefits and all the other things that make work bearable.
One company I worked for designed and built test equipment. We designed to American standards. We included safety devices like light gates,screens etc. We knew from experience when they got them home they would strip them all off. Workers were replaceable and safety equipment was an annoyance to them. We are going back there slowly and surely.