Special Report: Crunch time at America's richest union

Reuters ^ | 9-22-11 | Deepa Seetharaman and Kevin Krolicki

[Lockbox]

Bob King, the president of the United Auto Workers, has a problem: the labor union that credits itself with creating the American middle class has glimpsed the end of the line.

Two years after the wrenching restructuring of the U.S. auto industry and the bankruptcies that remade General Motors and Chrysler, the UAW is facing its own financial reckoning. America's richest union has been living beyond its means and running down its savings, an analysis of its financial records shows.

[Lockbox]

Article states that the UAW needs to organize the plants of VW, Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai in order to reverse a steady slide in the union's membership and influence.

[re_tail20]

If they couldn’t do it before, they’re not going to do it now.

[Right Wing Assault]

Obama will require that they be the sole union allowed to build “green” crap.

Or, he’ll start a national lottery, and put them in charge.

Or, he’ll allow them to build casinos.

Or, he’ll require everyone to buy a GM vehicle and dare the SC to stop him.

Or, he’ll require that all hitmen be UAW. Oh, they already are?

Or, he’ll require all illegal aliens to join.

etc.

Essentially, obama will come up with some scam to keep them rolling.

[Lockbox]

If they couldn’t do it before, they’re not going to do it now.

I see a big push by Obama to help the UAW. This will be interesting!

[Moonman62]

Article states that the UAW needs to organize the plants of VW, Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai in order to reverse a steady slide in the union's membership and influence.

Every one of those companies could probably shut down and relocate any of their facilities that unionize.

[McGavin999]

I hope to God the southerners are smart enough to send these guys packing. I’d hate to see the south end up looking like Detroit.

[Oatka]

From a Socialist (evidently Trotskyite), so put your filters on MAX, but an interesting read nevertheless (i.e. trouble in paradise): Opposition to UAW-GM deal grows

[sportutegrl]

That will mean spending big on a campaign to attract non-union workers in plants owned by foreign automakers in the south.

Those are Right To Work states. Maybe Obama plans to make RTW illegal?

[Gen.Blather]

If foreign car manufacturers are organized as they are in other countries they will be very difficult to unionize. Picture an arrow. The shaft of the arrow is, say, Hyundai’s production line. The shaft has lines pointing into it that supply subcomponents. Only the employees on the shaft, the actual production line, work for Hyundai. The support lines feeding the shaft are each independent companies that build subassemblies. There might be 20-50 other companies supplying seats, instrument panels and tires. The tires are actually stocked and put on the car by the supplier, say, Firestone. This is an extremely efficient business model. If a cheaper supplier comes along, say, Michelin, it moves into the feeder line that the old supplier had. Michelin might bring all new employees with them.

Nothing that this model demands is allowed by current union work rules. The UAW has prevented Detroit’s big three from going to this more efficient model in the United States because it necessarily does away with most union jobs. But Ford has built plants in other countries on this model and they are much more efficient than the plants here; which is part of Detroit’s inability to sell American made products overseas.

The UAW must use Mafia tactics and they only have about 14 months to do it. All the foreigners need do is run out the Obama clock and they’re home free.

[Linda Frances]

My cousins works at Kelloggs. She is union, with high school education. She stands, watching sugar sprayed on cereal. If it stops or is not working right, she calls a mechanic to fix it. Over 10 years ago she was making over $35. an hour. Overtime she receives double & on Holidays its triple. She has a really nice car, a pickup, a ski boat and big an expensive home. She's single so she is loaded.
I mention all of goodies only to make the point she is paid so much. Why are these people complaining? Ever wonder why food price...are so high? This is why.

[bert]

i think it was General Sheridan, maybe Sherman, who said “ the only good business agent is a dead business agent”

[combat_boots]

“Over 10 years ago”

I am a real putz then.

[Lockbox]

Thanks, interesting when looking at all the unemployed people in the USA. The union members live in another world. They do not even seem to appreciate that they still have a high paying job which they would have lost if GM / Chrysler or both failed. I loved the line about only getting $10,000 to sign back up for their current job! Talk about living in another world! My advise, they should all practice saying ‘would you like an apple pie with the Big Mac meal?’.

[Lockbox]

My cousins works at Kelloggs

If the company can pay those wages great, but the workers need to understand how lucky they are to be working at high paying positions in todays job market.

[Atlas Sneezed]

She stands, watching sugar sprayed on cereal... making over $35. an hour... Ever wonder why food price...are so high?

---

“Food?”

[1010RD]

From the link: At the Capitol Coney restaurant on the corner of Bristol and Van Slyke we met Murney and Judy Bell. Murney was a millwright at GM’s now closed Pontiac Motors for 20 years. He is also a retired ironworker. Judy, his wife, is a state worker. They described conditions in the Flint area.

Referring to the smashing of the 1981 air traffic controllers’ strike, Murney said, “It all began with Reagan when he fired the controllers. The unions let those workers down. If they jumped in with a national strike that would have stopped it there—the unions were very strong then. If there was a non-union job being put up, ironworkers would come in and tear it down. Now they would throw you in jail for life. As for the unions, they are totally business-oriented.

“Today,” he said, grasping his two hands together tightly, “This is the unions and management.”

These people are living an illusion. The Union simply transferred payments from one generation (today's) to another (yesterday's). Today those transfers have caught up. There isn't any comparative advantage to being in a union.

Union labor isn't more skilled. It is simply more expensive. The age of guilds is over.

[Oatka]

Thanks, interesting when looking at all the unemployed people in the USA.

Yeah, despite the sometimes turgid prose, that site has info I don't see in the other/conservative media. They rain death on both the Pubbies and the Dems, so it gets interesting a lot of times.