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Love Canal was not a one-time aberration. The 1997 National Research Council’s estimate that the cost of cleaning up the thousands of known contaminated U.S. sites at that time could take 75 years and cost $1 trillion. In 2002 the EPA cited General Motors and Ford as two of the top 100 corporate air polluters. A March 12, 2000 information sheet released by Stanford University stated that GM’s Delphi facility in Indiana released 603,900 pounds of toxic chemicals into the environment in 1994 alone. The sheet also said that GM discharged more than 1,100 tons of volatile organic compounds in...

If there ever was any doubt about who is primarily responsible for the decline of the Big Three automakers, it disappeared when the Italian automaker Fiat demanded major union concessions to ride to Chrysler's rescue. Big Labor is big indeed in Italy, where pensions alone gobble up 14 percent of GDP and massive strikes are common. Coming to America from this environment, Fiat executives recognized the UAW for what it is: a parasite that sucks the vitality out of the American automaking genius of which Chrysler once was a major contributor. So the UAW had to make significant concessions to...

Go to the link to read this interesting article. Here is something not being reported in the MSM: In a statement published on The Wall Street Journal Web site, the recalcitrant bondholders said they sought an accommodation with the government. "Under long recognized legal and business principles, junior creditors are ordinarily not entitled to anything until senior secured creditors like our investors are repaid in full. Nevertheless, to facilitate Chrysler's rehabilitation, we offered to take a 40 percent haircut even though some groups lower down in the legal priority chain in Chrysler debt were being given recoveries of up to...

Plight of Carmakers Could Upset All Pension Plans By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH Decisions that the government will make soon on the future of General Motors and Chrysler could accelerate the decline of traditional pension plans, which have sheltered generations of workers from an impoverished old age. Pension experts predict that a government takeover of the two giant plans would spur other auto companies and all types of manufacturers to abandon such benefits for competitive reasons. For hundreds of thousands of retired auto workers, a federal pension takeover would mean sharply reduced benefits. For the federal agency that insures pensions, it...

he Obama administration will make about $500 million available to Chrysler LLC through the end of this month as it seeks to reach an alliance with Fiat, and up to $5 billion through May to help General Motors Corp restructure outside of bankruptcy, an independent oversight report on the Treasury Department's corporate rescue fund said on Tuesday. Separately, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union urged its members to lobby the White House by phone or email to ensure that workers and retirees are treated fairly in negotiations at both companies on new concessions, which are considered vital for the automakers'...

The Obama administration will make about $500 million available to Chrysler through the end of this month as it seeks to reach an alliance with Fiat, and up to $5 billion through May to help General Motors restructure outside of bankruptcy, an independent oversight report on the Treasury Department's corporate rescue fund said on Tuesday. RELATED LINKS Obama Proposes $100bn Loan to IMF Gov Feels Pressure To Up Green Spending Behind the Wheel with Phil LeBeau Separately, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union urged its members to lobby the White House by phone or email to ensure that workers and...

The Obama administration task force is likely to recommend more aid for struggling U.S. automakers, a senior senator said on Wednesday. Carl Levin of Michigan said on Capitol Hill that "it is clear" more help is on the way and any assistance for General Motors [GM 2.99 -0.21 (-6.56%) ] and Chrysler LLC would be tied to new conditions on restructuring. The Wall Street Journal, citing interviews with task force members, reported late on Wednesday that the panel was preparing a recommendation for more help with new strings attached. The task force has a March 31 deadline to determine whether...

The first letter is one sent out by the President of GM, the second is a response. Dear Employee, Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis.....................As an employee, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and...

This is segment of transcript of Bob Schieffer's interview with Rahm Emanuel yesterday AM. Is this not a setup for business failure and nationalization or just plain nationalization? - - - - - SCHIEFFER: Back now with the White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. Mr. Emanuel, General Motors is now losing $100 millions a day. They have already spent, we are told, two-thirds of what they have already received from the government. And we're hearing they want some more. They're now asking for another $16 billion. Is the president going to do that? Because the question I have is,...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - General Motors Corp. will offer the government the choice of giving it billions more in bailout money or seeing it file for bankruptcy when it presents a restructuring plan next week, according to a report published Saturday. The online edition of The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, said the competing choices present a dilemma for the Obama administration, which may fear seeing the industrial icon carmaker fall into bankruptcy and cut more jobs if it's refused more aid. The government has already committed $13.4 billion to GM as part of a federally-funded bailout. The automaker...

Here is what a UAW contract looks like. It weighs 22 pounds. It no wonder the big three can not compete in the global market. Honda and Toyota don't have to deal with that kind of crap. It would take a team of lawyers just to understand this document

... How is it that successful executives become so unsuccessful as soon as they move to Detroit? Also, how can we explain that whenever GM, Ford and Chrysler leave our shores, they compete well in foreign markets as varied as Europe, South America and China? What makes them viable competitors as soon as they cross the border? One can point to state franchise laws, or to the federal government's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations. But the most striking difference appears to be that the Detroit Three are unionized, and the foreign transplants are, overwhelmingly, not. (The exceptions are the...

Buy a new car, get a stake in General Motors. That's the latest deal from Richard Chevrolet on Route 10 in Cheshire. The dealership launched a stock-ownership plan two weeks ago — 50 shares in GM — to reel in reluctant buyers just before the holidays. General Manager Jason Vianese said the dealership decided to try the program, which gives the buyer 50 shares after they purchase a new car, after learning about a similar offer from a dealer in the Midwest. Vianese said the company bought 500 shares and has sold about half of them in a week. "It...

Apparently the President has heard the voices of his own party, earlier this week Republicans from both houses of Congress sent Bush letters about his plan to bail out the "weak three" Detroit auto-makers. The letters urged him not to make a deal without a reorganization of the Auto Companies, their obligations to their suppliers and the Union Contract. A deal to this effect was almost completed by Senator Corker, but the UAW bowed out at the last minute because they didn't want to commit to a date. At the time the rumor was that the UAW was certain that...

After an expensive and emotional 15-year organizing battle, workers at the world’s largest hog-killing plant, the Smithfield Packing slaughterhouse in Tar Heel, N.C., have voted to unionize. The United Food and Commercial Workers, which had lost unionization elections at the 5,000-worker plant in 1994 and 1997, announced late Thursday that it had finally won. The victory was significant in a region known for hostility toward organized labor. The vote was one of the biggest private-sector union successes in years, and officials from the United Food and Commercial Workers said it was the largest in that union’s history. The union won...

I am very worried. I live in Ohio. The anger toward the Republicans is almost palpable. I work for GM. Management guys I have worked with during GOP campaigns are switching parties. Please read the article I have linked. I can not post it because of copy write laws. It will be hard enough to get through the next four years. Let's not destroy our chances in 2012. I hope you find the article interesting.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Emergency aid for the nation's imperiled auto industry was thrown into jeopardy Wednesday, opposed by Republicans who were revolting against a hard-fought deal between Democrats and the Bush White House to speed $14 billion to ailing carmakers. Democrats detailed the compromise measure and laid the groundwork for quick votes on it, holding out hope the bailout could be enacted by week's end. But a growing number of GOP senators declared they would not go along. The White House, though not formally endorsing an agreement with congressional Democrats, dispatched administration officials to Capitol Hill to make a case...

Stand Up on the Auto Bailout, GOP!December 10, 2008 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT Yes, yes, we're going to get to the auto bailout. This really steams me, by the way. Well, you know, I'm getting so sick and tired... Here we had the auto execs, the white-collar guys, they gotta get fired. Pelosi and everybody else were saying they don't know how to run their business. Obama was seen saying the same thing. We're going to get a car czar in there. We're gonna somebody who knows how to run the auto business 'cause these guys don't. If they want their money,...

With a bailout of automakers moving from likelihood to inevitability, Congress and President-elect Barack Obama are talking tough on the conditions to be attached to the money, no doubt trying to avoid the angry reaction that nearly scuttled the finance industry assistance package. Congressional critics, like Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, senior Republican on the banking committee, say that any Detroit bailout would be ineffective unless the automakers can quickly cut costs and produce more compelling, fuel-efficient cars. What the politicians have not highlighted is that a relatively simple change of regulations — perhaps just a temporary exemption —...

The White House and Democratic congressional leaders said they had reached a deal in principle on a 15-billion-dollar rescue for the ailing automotive industry that could be ready for a vote Wednesday but many lawmakers remained skeptical of the bailout. Even as details of the plan were still being hammered out, Democratic party leaders worked to rally support for a possible vote on the package in the House of Representatives. Senator Carl Levin from Michigan, the base for the auto industry, said he understands that an "agreement has been reached," and that it was only a matter of time before...

WASHINGTON -- Congress and the White House inched toward a financial rescue of the Big Three auto makers, negotiating legislation that would give the U.S. government a substantial ownership stake in the industry and a central role in its restructuring. Under terms of the draft legislation, which continued to evolve Monday evening, the government would receive warrants for stock equivalent to at least 20% of the loans any company receives. The company also would have to agree to limits on executive compensation and dividend payments, much like those contained in the government's $700 billion rescue of the financial industry.

General Motors Corp on Monday unveiled an unusually frank advertisement acknowledging it had "disappointed" and sometimes even "betrayed" American consumers as it lobbies to clinch the federal aid it needs to stay afloat into next month.

Let’s just say I’m a business behind the times. I’ve repeatedly ignored requests to make my product cost consumers less money to use and operate. I’ve created products in foreign countries that foreign countries can make better here in America – and sell cheaper. I’ve thrown cash around my business, and burned it, like I had a direct supply to the Federal Reserve. I’ve propped up union bullshit like “job banks” and “retirement” benefits such as Viagra prescriptions and full health coverage to retirees to the point of impending bankruptcy.

Richard Wagoner Jr., Chairman and CEO of General Motors (L) arrives in a prototype electric vehicle for a Senate hearing with Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) (R) in Washington, DC. Chastened bosses of the Big Three US automakers beseeched Congress for a 34 billion dollar bailout Thursday, steering into a raging debate about the wisdom of rescuing the crippled firms. Richard Wagoner (R), chairman and CEO of General Motors, and an aide arrive to testify before the Senate Banking Committee hearing on the financial assistance package for the big Detroit automakers on Capitol Hill, December 4, 2008 Auto executives, from left,...

NEW YORK (AP) - General Motors' November U.S. sales plunged 41 percent, while Ford's dropped 31 percent, dashing hopes that the industrywide drop in vehicle demand might be easing as Detroit's automakers prepare to state their second case for a federal bailout. Their overseas rivals posted abismal (???) results as well. Toyota's November sales tumbled 34 percent, and Honda's fell 32 percent. A dreary economy, swooning consumer confidence and tight credit markets have combined to keep consumers out of vehicle showrooms this year. On Monday, the National Bureau of Economic Research said the U.S. entered a recession in December 2007,...

The residents of this town are learning to enjoy Korean barbecue, and are wary of bailing out American automakers. 'The foreign cars took the lead, and they deserve it,' says one. This attractive old mill town along the Chattahoochee River, with its brick downtown and streets of cozy, unpretentious homes, could be the backdrop for a patriotic American car commercial -- lacking only the plaintive croak of a Bob Seger or John Mellencamp. But America's Big Three automakers, which are teetering at a financial abyss, shouldn't expect much sympathy here. Kia Motors, the South Korean automaker, is building a plant...

Ford retirees worry about future BY ANDREA HOLECEK holecek@nwitimes.com | Friday, November 28, 2008 | No comments posted. Local Ford Motor Co. retirees say they are worried about the fate of U.S. auto makers and how the industry's problems could affect their comfortable retirements. "I'm very much concerned," said Charles Cupp, 50, of Morocco, who retired in 2007. "It's very concerning for every one of the retirees I've talked to. It seems like the first place they always cut is on retirees." Cupp, who worked as an hourly employee at the Chicago Ford Assembly Plant for 30 years, and other...

With the collapse of mediation talks between the major Hollywood studios and the Screen Actors Guild, the warring parties wasted little time launching campaigns aimed at discrediting each other while courting the sympathies of actors who will cast ballots in a strike referendum next month. In a letter sent to the union's 120,000 members Wednesday, SAG President Alan Rosenberg blasted the studios for seeking to impose "one-size-fits-all demands" on the union and accused management of using the depressed economy as an excuse to dismiss the needs of actors, especially when it comes to securing their future in the burgeoning world...

We got dozens of emails yesterday to Nealz Nuze saying that I must see this video about a Ford plant. Okay you are probably thinking "big deal, Boortz." But if you watch the video it explains how Ford has created a new, innovative manufacturing plant that streamlines production and makes operations much more efficient. They can make 5 different types of vehicles at this plant. It does this by allowing Ford suppliers to be integrated into the assembly line process. So the suppliers making the seats, the dashboards, the fuel systems ... they have assembly lines right inside the Ford...

10 Cars That Damaged GM's Reputation (With Video) GM's current precarious situation didn't come about overnight. There are arguments to be made that various government regulations led to the disaster and that management can't escape much of the blame, and there are plenty who contend it was a series of disastrous union labor contracts that have put the company at risk. But there's one thing everyone agrees on: Over the past few decades GM put some truly terrible products out on the market. Unreliable, uninteresting and flat ugly, these were cars that simply destroyed GM's reputation.... 1. 1971-1977 Chevrolet Vega...

Screen Actors Guild to seek to authorize strike By MarketWatch Last update: 5:53 a.m. EST Nov. 23, 2008 TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) - The Screen Actors Guild, representing some 120,000 actors in movies, TV, the Internet, commercials, new media and more, said on Saturday that it would ask its members to authorize a strike after a federal mediator failed to bring the union and management to terms. The guild said that it had been optimistic that a mediator's intervention would move the talks along but that after two days of mediated talks, management "continues to insist on terms we cannot responsibly...

<p>DETROIT---- General Motors Corp.'s board of directors does not consider bankruptcy protection a viable option to solve the company's financial troubles, but it has discussed Chapter 11 because it has a legal duty to do so, a spokesman said Saturday.</p>

The New Plan? Cripple Honda! Save Detroit with Card Check! Eliminating the secret ballot and making it easier to organize U.S. Honda and Toyota workers (and imposing contract terms via binding arbitration) would "level the playing field," says Dem. Congressman Tim Ryan. ... Then when Honda and Toyota responded by importing more cars from abroad, we could have import quotas! Eventually the whole automotive sector could be planned by Congress in conjunction with existing business and labor interest groups. Red State has seen the future and it is corporatist. ...12:21 P.M.

Memo to CEOs: Ask for a bailout, and your company will be reduced to a caricature. Recent congressional hearings on the plight of GM, Ford, and Chrysler have illuminated a few important issues—like how the Detroit executives travel when on business. Populist politicians and gotcha journalists delighted at the prospect of rich CEOs riding corporate jets to ask for taxpayer money. There was a little talk about jobs and cars and the foundering economy, too. But you might have missed that part, or gotten confused by a welter of misperceptions that emerged from the spectacle of supplicant CEOs trying last-ditch...

Who killed the U.S. auto industry? To hear the media tell it, arrogant corporate chiefs failed to foresee the demand for small, fuel-efficient cars and made gas-guzzling road-hog SUVs no one wanted, while the clever, far-sighted Japanese, Germans and Koreans prepared and built for the future. I dissent. What killed Detroit was Washington, the government of the United States, politicians, journalists and muckrakers who have long harbored a deep animus against the manufacturing class that ran the smokestack industries that won World War II. As far back as the 1950s, an intellectual elite that produces mostly methane had its knives...

NPR's Morning Edition featured a very interesting interview with Chairman Barney Frank this morning. In it he asserted that the $25 billion that the Big 3 is now seeking is definitely not enough to keep the companies going, and it will be followed by tens of billions more if the companies come up with a 'plan' that seems promising. Although if you listen to the interview, he gets awfully agitated at the NPR host for trying to hone in on this point: Steve Inskeep: I want to ask you about something mentioned in that report from an economist from the...

UAW’s ‘No Concessions’ Policy Killing Big Three, Expert Says Friday, November 21, 2008 By Tiffany Gabbay United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger (CNSNews.com) – The Big Three automakers are forced to pay 85 percent of union benefits to members of the United Auto Workers union who aren’t working – even if their plants have been closed. Industry analysts say union labor agreements that obligate the Big Three to pay millions of dollars to workers who are no longer working are a major reason why the automakers are in trouble – a problem that no short-term bailout can fix. During hearings...

Who killed the U.S. auto industry? To hear the media tell it, arrogant corporate chiefs failed to foresee the demand for small, fuel-efficient cars and made gas-guzzling road-hog SUVs no one wanted, while the clever, far-sighted Japanese, Germans and Koreans prepared and built for the future. I dissent. What killed Detroit was Washington, the government of the United States, politicians, journalists and muckrakers who have long harbored a deep animus against the manufacturing class that ran the smokestack industries that won World War II. As far back as the 1950s,

WASHINGTON - Congress returns after Thanksgiving to decide whether to approve a $25 billion loan to General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford. The future of United Auto Workers members in Michigan and other states is at stake. “It appears to me we possibly have one too many auto makers,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who opposes the loan. But he said, “even if they went through Chapter 11, there will be U.S. auto makers in this country. I don’t think there’s anybody in this country that really thinks if they went through some re-organization that we’re not going to end up...

GM to return two leased jets amid criticism By Poornima Gupta Poornima Gupta 12 mins ago DETROIT (Reuters) – General Motors Corp will return two of its leased corporate jets amid intense criticism in Washington this week on the luxury travel arrangements of its chief executive even as the company pleads for federal aid. CEO Rick Wagoner was in the capital to testify on the company's dire financial situation but his testimony was overshadowed by irate lawmakers who blasted him for flying on a private jet to ask for public funds and failing to make personal sacrifices in exchange for...

Feds say 'no' to auto giants Ottawa, Queen's Park out of the loop at Washington auto bailout talksWASHINGTON -- Any chance that Canada would muscle in to play a central role in the U.S. arm-wrestling over an auto bailout vanished faster than cash from the Detroit 3 bank accounts yesterday. "We've had two very high level meetings with senior executives in Detroit and that gave us another level of information," federal Industry Minister Tony Clement said at a rooftop press conference at the Canadian embassy. "Is it enough to make a decision on spending taxpayer's money? I'd have to say...

The United Auto Workers union called on Congress and the Bush administration to get a loan to U.S. automakers to prevent their collapse before the legislature adjourns Friday. "Congress must not adjourn with the Bush administration in place without an agreement," said UAW President Ron Gettelfinger. "If there's no action, we could see the collapse of one or more domestic auto companies by the end of year." Gettelfinger said the cost of not acting would be devastating for the industry's employees and the U.S. economy. "The current recession that we're in would be made much worse," he added, saying states...

WASHINGTON -- A full-court effort by U.S. auto makers to secure federal aid appeared to be on the rocks after the companies failed to convince lawmakers of the urgent need for a rescue. Michigan Rep. Dale Kildee, Chrysler Chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli, GM Chairman and CEO Richard Wagoner, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Michigan Rep. Sandy Levin (left to right) prior to a hearing Wednesday on Capitol Hill at which the auto makers made their case for federal assistance. Late Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid backed away from efforts to force a vote this week on a Democratic-backed...

The government-affairs director of the AFL-CIO said he is certain that organized labor's top priority -- a law that would make it much easier for unions to organize businesses both large and small -- will pass Congress and be signed by President Barack Obama. "I have no doubt it will pass and will be signed," William Samuel told reporters and editors of The Washington Times. He was referring to the Employee Free Choice Act, which would give workers the right to join a union as soon as a majority of them signed cards requesting union representation. In a wide-ranging interview...

The chances of the US Congress quickly approving a bill to save the "Big Three" car manufacturers are said to be "remote" but one economist warned that their collapse could shave 4pc off America's gross domestic product next year. Democrat Senator Chris Dodd, who chairs the influential Senate banking committee, believes that the chances of Congress approving a new bill this week to advance up to $25bn in lifeline funding to Ford, General Motors and Chrysler are slim. "I'm anxious to see something happen," said Mr Dodd, who on Tuesday heard pleas for the money from the leaders of the...

A Democratic Congress, unwilling or unable to approve a $25 billion bailout for Detroit's Big Three, appears ready to punt the automakers' fate to a lame-duck Republican president. Caught in the middle of a who-blinks-first standoff are legions of manufacturing firms and auto dealers—and millions of Americans' jobs—after Senate Democrats canceled a showdown vote that had been expected Thursday. President George W. Bush has "no appetite" to act on his own.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Democratic Congress, unwilling or unable to approve a $25 billion bailout for Detroit's Big Three, appears ready to punt the automakers' fate to a lame-duck Republican president. Caught in the middle of a who-blinks-first standoff are legions of manufacturing firms and auto dealers — and millions of Americans' jobs — after Senate Democrats canceled a showdown vote that had been expected Thursday. President George W. Bush has "no appetite" to act on his own.

The top Senate Democrat sought Wednesday to lower expectations for legislation this week to help endangered domestic carmakers, saying it would be the Bush administration's job to save the industry if Congress doesn't. "The Congress need do nothing" if it can't agree on a bill to speed $25 billion in new loans to the industry, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada told colleagues. While he told the Senate he still hoped lawmakers could agree to an auto deal in the "next day or two" of the current lame-duck session, he added: "If we can't do it here legislatively, I would hope...

The CEOs of the big three automakers flew to the nation's capital yesterday in private luxurious jets to make their case to Washington that the auto industry is running out of cash and needs $25 billion in taxpayer money to avoid bankruptcy.

Sen. James Inhofe Official Site:Sen. Inhofe Introduces Bill to Halt Handout of Bailout Funds (S. 3683) - - 11.17.08 ABSTRACT, Washington DC: Today, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced legislation to amend Section 115 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) to require an affirmative vote on the part of Congress to approve Treasury's plan for the remaining $350 billion and require a freeze on any remaining funds of the first $350 billion, stating, "It is imperative that we not allow that amount of money to be added to a deficit approaching $1 trillion this year without any input from...