UAW Pres Warns of Big 3 Chapter 7 Liquidation

CNBC ^ | November 15, 2008

[pleikumud]

United Auto Workers President Ron Gettlefinger said it is critical the Big 3 receive a financial aid package from Congress to avoid one or more of Detroit's auto makers from sliding into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

[pleikumud]

The federal government should not bail out GM. GM has failed to produce vehicles that people want to buy, at a cost of production which yields a profit. Enough said. The competitive, free market will take care of the problem.

If the federal government keeps printing trillions of dollars to bail out every failed enterprise, we are going to see the value of the dollar drop. A loaf of bread will be $10, or $15. It seems we could end up with both a depression and rampant inflation. That may sound impossible, but it seems it could happen. If so, it would be far worse than the consequences of a GM bankruptcy, or an American Express bankruptcy.

The economy could be turned around by ending the federal income tax, replacing it with a national sales tax, and making huge cuts in government spending. The government is sucking capital away from private enterprise, which creates real jobs.

[pointsal]

Screw’em all.... Why in the Hell should I pay one red cent to bail out the Big Three or the leeches in the UAW?

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

The way out is to go through bankruptcy and void those absurd retirement agreements.

[Brilliant]

Chrysler should go belly up. They’ve always been the runt, and this is the second time we’ve been asked to bail them out.

[muawiyah]

Actually, we are suffering from some serious deflation. It puts companies into bankruptcy much faster than does inflation.

I was kind of looking forward to being able to hold my cash position for several more months and then buy 10 times the number of shares in my favorite companies than I had before.

Deflation does that. Makes my money worth more and more and more.

[gotribe]

Hey Gettlefinger, how about giving back some of your big fat salary.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

Too bad the greedy UAW Pres didn't think about this when his union was threatening shut-downs and walkouts in order to extort money from the company. Now he wants the taxpayer to give his union the money they couldn't earn by building a competitive product.

If they are such a brotherhood, maybe the union members should all chip in individually to a common fund and help each other out that way.

[Reverend Wright]

Isn’t Ron Gettlefinger the union guy that has said no concessions on our $72/hour jobs, even as he admits all the employers are facing Ch7?

UAW leadership is competing with Big 3 management for who is most stupid/delusional. At this point I think Gettlefinger wins...

[realcleanguy]

You know, they could take a cut in pay, and stay in operation.

[Jacquerie]

The “Big Three” are now Tiny Tykes. The combined market cap of GM and Ford is under $7 billion. A pittance. There’s more than that under Warren Buffet’s sofa cushions.

Capitalists wisely steer clear of UAW dominated corporations.

[Dallas59]

Why would you keep a company around that produces products that no one wants to buy? Jobs? Well...the employees of GM,Ford and others will just have to find another...just like me when my company scaled back.

[Vaquero]

let them declare bankrupcy.

move south and if the parasitic union workers want to follow they can and work in right to work states.

[Truth29]

"Too bad the greedy UAW Pres didn't think about this when his union was threatening shut-downs and walkouts in order to extort money from the company. Now he wants the taxpayer to give his union the money they couldn't earn by building a competitive product.

If they are such a brotherhood, maybe the union members should all chip in individually to a common fund and help each other out that way.

I think you are on to something here. This would be a bailout of the UAW as much as the auto companies, and a big payoff to the union member block vote for the Democrats.

[Dallas59]

$103,000 a year operating a forklift...Good lord.

[JasonC]

"The economy could be turned around by ending the federal income tax"

Pigs can fly, if shot out of a cannon at sufficient velocity.

Wake up, and face what just happened in the most recent election. Endlessly repeating the same economic ideology isn't going to do squat. You don't need to like this for it to be true.

[AmericanVictory]

How about a one/third pay cut UAW?

And a one/third reduction of retirement packages?

[ScreamingFist]

Welcome to the real world Mr. Gettlefinger. In the real world, numbnuts that stand on a factory floor turning a screw in a robot made vehicle are worth the exact same amount as a McDonald worker putting a pickle slice on a Big Mac.

$7.50 an hour.

[Qwackertoo]

Let them all eat dirt.

[KittenClaws]

I would really like to know why the Big 3 Automakers think I care if they fail?

Love for my fellow man who will be without job or pension?

Sorry, been there - done that myself. I don’t remember the Big 3 - or its employees worrying about me...

[javachip]

More ridiculous scare tactics to force some kind of bailout. If one of the automakers goes into bankruptcy, it will be Chapter 11.

Restructure the debt, pension plans, labor contracts, etc. and these are viable operations. The proper place for that restructuring is bankruptcy court.

When writing congress critters be sure to add this line - I will not purchase a vehicle made by any company that is bailed out by the US taxpayer.