Autoworkers sense end of era

sent this to our US Reps and Senators... do the same! Dear XXXXXXX, I most strongly urge you to oppose any bailout for the auto industry. It is irresponsible and will not correct the problem: mainly, overinflated wages, benefits, and retiree plans. The "other" American auto industry is thriving with happy employees, efficient output, and quality products that American consumers are buying in record numbers. The Big Three are simply non-competitive in the global economy - or even in the domestic market! The Big Three will not disappear; they will either reorganize or be acquired by other automakers - there is simply too much brand value and infrastructure in place for them to disappear. But a bailout will only prolong their demise and cost us - and our children - billions. It is nothing more than pandering to the unions. Your support of a bailout will ensure my not supporting you in the next election and resolve me to work hard to see that you are replaced with someone who truly represents the desires of the majority. Please oppose any more bailouts for anyone!

The attitude that they had "jobs for life" is an outrage. Never plan to work at anything other than the auto plant. The UAW contracts gave the members quick money, security and lifelong benefits. Why should everyone including auto workers for Honda, Toyota and Nissan have to pay for the greed at the big three?

Sorry, I can’t feel sorry for the auto workers. For the last 30 years or more, I have been “anxious, frustrated, scared and angry” at union excesses which have increased my automobile prices tremendously, and have now caused the collapse of their own industry. The workers lament their sudden loss of “security.” So much for one of the major purposes of a union. I hope workers in the South look to Detroit to see what the Unions are doing for workers there.

The Union bosses should also be herded before the same Congressional panel. IMO, they are as culpable as Big 3 management in creating this mess. That'll be the day...

We are Americans. We are Auto Workers. Reality be damned. What we have here are thousands of people, both management and labor, who still believe in Santa Claus.

It was the companies bowing to the unions for years that caused the long expected plummet. I worked in small foundries that supplied parts for the big three for 43 years and was active in the union as an auditor and as a rep. for COPE. I saw how they worked. I saw how our dues money was spent to support democrats only (including Carter). I saw how union officials threatened those (and their families) who spoke against their monopoly. I saw how they somehow cheated in counting ballots and who they appointed to key positions (such as vote counters). I saw how they cheated in records kept to make good people inelligible for office. I saw how the union officials worked secretly with our company owner to decide what way we were told to vote. Now I am retired and receiving all of $520 per month after 43 years of virtually keeping my company in business (I was instrumental in designing and engineering over 80 some improvements in manufacturing). The 2 companies I worked for both shut down within 1 year after I left. One to re-open without the union and one to re-open on a much smaller scale. And all this time I worked for less than 1/3 of the wages and benefits that the big three assemblers "earned". I spent 2 weeks trying out a job in N. Carolina where they had no union. I was made the second highest paid worker there and was kept on the payroll for over 1 year in hopes that I would return. It was amazing the difference in how the hourly workers and the management got together as equals. The unions did a number on many great companies. The high prices and low quality of the big three makers was the result of them trying to support the union demands. The big three union members need to have 1/2 their earnings taken away so they will have to live like the rest of us who have supplied them with parts, on time and in high quality, to keep them in business. The management of the big three needs to be put in their proper place. Actually they should follow the example of the N. Carolina company, and other southern non union companies, and throw the union out. All it took for one company I know of was to fire everybody and rehire not more than 49% of the original union membership and be non union. Oh well dream on!

No crocodile tears here for Brian Fredline et al. The average wages+benefits for hourly workers at the 'Big Three' as of 2006 amounted to $146,000 per year. Brian old boy, it was **your** choice to work for GM. It's **my** choice not to bail you out.

POOR MANAGEMENT AND UNION GREEDINESS CAUSED THE FAILURE. IT WAS A MATTER OF TIME AND THE TIME IS NOW. I BOUGHT MY LAST GM VEHICLE FOREVER. I MAKE MY OWN RETIREMENT AS DO MOST OF AMERICANS. BE ON NOTICE TEACHERS AND GOV'T WORKERS ARE NEXT.

Anybody read Atlas Shrugged? .....Scary!

ds80 wrote: No crocodile tears here for Brian Fredline et al. The average wages+benefits for hourly workers at the 'Big Three' as of 2006 amounted to $146,000 per year. Brian old boy, it was **your** choice to work for GM. It's **my** choice not to bail you out. ************************************* The above statement hourly workers wages+benefits 146,000 per year, can you back that up with sources or are you like most of the wingnuts speaking out of an orifice other than your mouth.

"... a GM electrician for 22 years who retired last year ..." "He joined GM when he was 18 and retired in July. Now at 49 ..." How many times is this repeated in the US auto industry? Retirement after 22 and 31 years? With what kind of pay and benefits? How much does this cost the companies? If this is typical, then it is hard to feel sorry for these workers. The rest of us taxpayers being asked to support 49 year old retirees with our tax dollars have to wait until we are 65 or 67 years old to retire. If we bail them out I guess I should fell so lucky to be able to have to work for only 17 years more than that 49 year old retiree in order to afford him the luxury he deserves in his retirement. By the way, every year the Honda workers in Ohio reject the UAW. I wonder why Honda isn't up there begging Congress for our money too?

RDH wrote: By the way, every year the Honda workers in Ohio reject the UAW. I wonder why Honda isn't up there begging Congress for our money too? *********************************** Honda workers in Japan are are in unions, If its good enough for the workers in the home country why not here. Walmart fights unions here and yet they want to expand in China,where their workers are in unions. RDH you sound jealous, I would bet you have never had a good well paying job where there were defined rules of mutual respect. I would hazard a guess that you have always lived in a right to work state and been an at will worker subject to firing at anytime. Either that or you are a military lifer.

Oh yea, the other BIG reason the auto companies lost out is the idiotic rules and regulations the environmentalists conned the politicians into dreaming up. I understand (at least it was in the past) that cars were only allowed so much pollution per gallon burned. That in itself was idiotic. The standard should have been and should be changed to "how much pollution is created per mile traveled ". This would virtually allow all the pollution crap on our cars be eventually eliminated as the companies went all out to get more mileage per gallon. Maybe we would be back to getting 50 mpg like I used to get on my Nova and my accord in the 70's and 80's. Also the price of oil would drop and stay down and our (us who are poor) cars would be easier to work on. Also we could eliminate the wasteful designing, experimenting and engineering play time that is costing the companies millions (just to prove that we couldn't supply enough electric power to charge all those vehicles anyhow. So add the extravagent spending by the leaders, the union fiasco, the government regulations and the environmental hysterics and subsequent "fixes" that were ill chosen and youve got a 4 ring circus going outdated. Let it go.

In response to the post by truthspeaker1: Japan and China do, in fact, have unions, but their nature and their situation is much different from the UAW. First, China is a Communist country. As such, Communist Party-controlled unions are mandatory, but don't think, for a minute, that any Chinese union is going to strike against any business unless the government there has allowed it to. As a result, manufacturers like China because despite its authoritarian nature, it is relatively stable and it keeps it workers under an iron fist. That's not a model that will transfer well to the land of the free and the home of the brave. Regarding Japan, Japan's unions are company-based, not industry-based like the UAW. If our union set up was like Japan's, Chrysler, Ford, and GM would each have their own union. Perhaps because of this or because of the Japanese sociology, their unions and management work together to keep the company on track and collaborate on business decisions -- unlike UAW's historically us vs. them approach to auto industry management. Also much different is the UAW's monolithic structure in which union bosses not connected with the company are in a position to demand perks and benefits that may not be in the best interest of the company's long term profitability.

Jaeger wrote: unlike UAW's historically us vs. them approach to auto industry management. Also much different is the UAW's monolithic structure in which union bosses not connected with the company are in a position to demand perks and benefits that may not be in the best interest of the company's long term profitability. ************************************** UAW us vs them approach? Yes there have been times when unions, in spite of the benevolent corporations have had to fight for a decent wage for their workers. We know that America attained its high standard of living because the corporate owners just wanted to do the right thing, they wanted to cut their profits so that the guy on the assembly line could have a steak night out. This must be true because unions are a curse. If there were no more unions we know that the corporations would be fair and honorable. Yeah right! I suggest that unions drove wages higher not only for union members but for everyone in America. You can't have the guy on the assembly line making more then the local banker, now can you?