Novel Thought: GOP Senator Proposes Saving The Detroit 3 By Breaking The Back Of The UAW

You know what sucks about this idea is that when the union contract ends, the union leaders are going to go right back to the automaker and say, " we want a $2/year raise for the next 3 years"; they're going to do everything in their power to get right back to where they are now....or else they'll go on strike, and the companies can't afford that.

just dissolve the unions- or severely limit their powers to the point that they are basically just a support group or social club or something!

JUST STEP BACK! Let it be! Nobody needs to 'step in and dissolve' the Unions! They will dissolve on their own, if just left to succumb to their own market circumstances. Why all this interventionism all of a sudden? Let the Unionists whine all they want, just don't pay them any attention. The worst we can do is give those money grubbers eye contact.

I like the stock idea, but think 1/2 isnt enough. I think that all of their benefits should be tied to stock. This directly addresses what most of us think..ie, they should only get paid well if their product is doing well.

the UAW just has too much power

Agent 009, what is this overly blatant obsession with the downfall of the big three? At first, a few mentioned it, but now I do see it. If one was to check out your post, it would probably log 75% negative content about GM, Ford and Chrysler. Why even bother?

It is one of the most important issues facing the nation and the ramifications are tremendous. All you need to do is watch the national news

Here's a thought, why not just get rid of the UAW and put an end to the story? I don't have any union and I work happy, what is it for seriously.

Easier said than done. First, legally, you have to follow through with the contract you agreed to, or you'd be sued out the butt. Second, when it comes time to renew the contract and they say,"eh, no more union workers", they've lost their entire workforce(possibly).

They'd have to have one hell of a contingency plan if they kicked the union to the curb.

Its not UAWs fault. This country needs a new healthcare system. Japan and Germany have nationalised health care, if USA wants to compete they need it too. Makin USA into China were the hard working people get paid like 50 cents an hour is not the answer.

Georgemia,

Notice how the souther Senators who hate labor and want workers to work like dogs come from former slave states?

Just watching Shelby on TV you could see his hatred for detroit and anyone making a decent living.

Sen Shelby... A true American Traitor.

The second condition should have been - UAW should be disbanded one way or another, or over a period of say six months, and the workers from the disbanded union workers be given priority to apply for a job if they still want a job at the big three, but the pay rates will be similar as the import-brand auto manufacturers.

All of this from states that have transplants, it fell apart tonight, lets hope this isn't going to be as bad as I think.

sorry...bailing out the UAW will not solve the economic problem...the fact that they don't want to vote for this waste of money is patriotic. The government needs to get out of the way and let things hit bottom, then we will start rebuilding. Will times get tough, sure, but at least our national debt will not be trillions of dollars...


They blame the unions of for telling their workers that they will fight for them, meanwhile taking advantage of those workers. Reading some of the crap that the UAW sent out pre election, full of lies. Sadly if those represented by the UAW can't find the truth themselves, i don't really want them buidling my car. I'll stick with my Toyota that was built in Kentucky, it's treated me quite well.

First, no one is bailing out the UAW. Stop this nonsense.

Also, its stupid to "start from the bottom". Why would you start from the bottom when you're already massively well built.

It's just about financials and the markets.

quit whing about the taxpayers. Where was everyone when we went to Iraq? How about the stupid "stimulus" checks? How abuot wallst bailouts?

Stop it, give Detroit loans, make things work and in the long run, America will be thousands of times better off than if we just let detroit die.

Im sick of this garbage. Stop theorizing and come to the reality at hand.

Interestingly if you look at the "older" foreign car factories in the US (like Toyota) the workers there make comparable or higher average wages than the average US companies workers. But when you add in the benefits (which has a large built in retirement population... remember we had big auto manufacturing here since the 50s.. so lots of retirees) then it gets skewed. I find it interesting that there has not been similar calls for similar measures regarding the bank and insurance bailout. They got 20X what the auto companies are asking for yet they are still paying bonuses etc... couple news reports here --> http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKIvmgvNl6zA&refer=home
and here ---> http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/17/executivesalaries-banking

Where are the calls in Congress to cut salaries for these bank execs etc..? It seems bizarre to me that we would let our last major manufacturing base go down the tubes. And really the execs in charge at the US auto companies have not been there that long... and things are turning around.. ie Cadillac is besting BMW in a number of prominent tests. Pontiac is offering a great 360hp sedan for low $s. The volt will be out soon... Yet we blame them for making SUVs etc.. in the 80s/90s/00s when we Americans were buying them buy the bucket full. I agree that the big three built some crap for many years esp late 70s through the 90s... but they are doing way better and now competing pretty well with Japan and Germany on desirable products and quality. It is unfortunate that the banks played funny money on so many loans and gas went to $4/gal all at once. Oh and one more thing... if you take out just labor costs (not the retirement/health care benies) it would lower the cost of US big three cars by about 1k. Don't get me wrong... UAW aint the greatest either... paying people to sit around playing checkers all day is just dumb, however they are not the biggest problem. The biggest problem is the one the banks created... and now nobody is buying cars... from US... or Japan or Germany... they are all down by huge numbers.

In the end they will all go broke though... with the economy retracting so quickly.. the huge layoffs everywhere you look ---> http://www.forbes.com/2008/11/17/layoff-tracker-unemployement-lead-cx_kk_1118tracker.html
or here ---> http://layofftracker.blogspot.com/
Not many people are going to be buying cars... or anything else for that matter.

The reason repubs are going after uaw is not because this is uaw fault. its because they hate organized labor and now see a golden opportunity to go after it. never mind that 3,000,000 jobs are on the line, and the fact that they gave 350 billion to financial institutions in a blind of an eye. 14 billion for detroit is too much because they hate organized labor.

it is not surprising because repubs are the party that represents the big business interests, not the interests of the hard working people. if it was up to them the average american would work 3 jobs just to put food on the table. disgusting.

btw, workers in Toyota factories down in those southern states and indiana get paid a few cents more per hour than the GM workers. they just don't get the health benefits b/c Toyota is from Japan, and Japan like all developed countries in the world except USA does not put the burden of health care on business.

You all need to stop with the polarization of republicans vs democrats. The fact of the matter is, we are all in a tough situation when three of the largest companies in the world are facing ruin at the same time. The fact of the matter is that no matter what you think of the bailout, it will not be a permanent fix. In less than a decade the big three will be right back asking Congress for another handout. The government should never get involved in business, it has been shown to cause more problems than good time and time again. When will we learn that we have to let the market take its course. Interfering now will only cot us more money over time without changing the final outcome. Let the big three find a solution that does not involve the government, whether that be bankruptcy, restructuring, liquidation, etc.