Unions

We have all been recently exposed to what happens to otherwise solid companies when they refuse to fight back against the destructive forces of unionized labor. General Motors' current march towards death, albeit slowed by a president and congress literally owned by Big Labor, can be directly linked to the problems associated with the corrupt, inefficient world of unions.

After several years in the construction industry, much of it in the industrial field, I've seen first hand what goes on in facilities saddled with the burden of unionization. I've always held that labor unions serve no purpose in today's society, save to drive up the cost of production in whatever industry they infest. And yet, in the wake of the disaster that is the Big Three, even after the blatant slap in the face that we've all received as a nation, we're still not getting the point.

We show outrage over a few executives getting big bonuses in spite of their own failures, and yet we could care less about the UAW refusing to give any concessions in order to prevent the failure of the companies they have leached dry over the years. Where is our president's haughty condescension with respect to this equally outrageous display of idiocy? Isn't GM getting taxpayer dollars to stay afloat? And yet the UAW wants their members to keep getting paid the same ludicrous wages that contributed to this problem in the first place. With OUR money!!!

There's a great article today in what's quickly becoming one of my favorite new websites, The New Ledger. The always knowledgeable Francis Cianfrocca - aka, Blackhedd at Redstate - is a regular contributor, and I never miss his insight into the financial world. Today's article explains why the UAW will end up finishing what they started in the destruction of General Motors.

Oh, the Hypocrisy!

While trying not to laugh at Obama’s righteous indignation over the exorbitant bonuses paid out to Wall Street executives this month, I noticed a very curious, though not surprising irony. Now, don’t misunderstand. I don’t particularly like the fact that these companies, which have received billions of dollars in federal bailout money, are paying out ridiculous bonuses to their employees. In light of the fact that bonuses are usually given to reflect a high level of performance in one’s industry, it’s more than a little idiotic to hand out six-figure awards to folks who just lost their clients billions of dollars in investments.

After the year all of us have had, watching our investments plummet, I can understand how the average 401k owner might feel when he or she hears about their broker getting a new Porsche. I would say that this is supposed to be a free-market economy, where the government has no business telling private companies what to do with their own money, but then this isn’t their own money, is it? And it’s debatable at best whether or not this is a free market economy any more. Behold, the dangers of accepting government intervention.

But regardless of your opinions on whether our new president’s outrage is indeed righteous or not, you can’t help but admire the arrogant hypocrisy that is evident in our great messiah’s lack of an equal amount of outrage over the behavior of the UAW. Last time I checked, these geniuses plan to demand that their union members keep getting paid the ridiculous wages, an average of over $70 an hour including benefits, that got General Motors into this mess to begin with. And what will General Motors be using to maintain this level of remuneration? Well it’s patently obvious that they can’t sustain it on their own, so it’ll be the bailout money provided by you and I that allows UAW members to keep drawing a salary completely out of proportion to their labor.

Where’s the outrage over that? Why should Wall Streeters have to change their excessive ways, when the UAW is still forcing exorbitant wages out of GM, Ford, and Chrysler? Apparently, it’s okay for Big Labor to take a government-funded bailout and use it for disproportionate compensation, but not Wall Street. Does that make as much sense to you as it does to me? Well, it makes perfect sense when you realize the Big Labor unions spent millions upon millions to help put Barack Obama in the White House.

They own him. He’s their bitch.

(You know, I'll be in the market for a car sometime in the next few months. Better believe it won't be a product of GM. In fact, I'm liking Toyota more and more these days. Buy non-union.)

It's About Time...

It's been far too long since I've had any time to blog, but I have to make time to say a little something on the auto-bailout. It looks like Republicans in the senate finally grew a set and made a stand against a very bad idea. Good on ya, GOP, for standing up to what would've amounted to a big fat check for the UAW - the very people responsible for putting the Big Three automakers in this mess. I hate the idea that people may loose their jobs, but the union easily could've made concessions to reduce their exorbitant labor costs. Unfortunately, they know that the incoming administration and congress will be more, shall we say "labor friendly", especially considering that Big Labor money helped purchase the White House and many of the gained seats in both houses.


I really have very little pity for any company that pays its workers well beyond what their worth, refuses to even consider reducing those salaries and benefits, while asking - no demanding - that the taxpayers bail them out of their own bad management decisions. It would be a lot easier to accept some sort of intervention if the companies were willing to restructure in such a way that their labor costs are more in line with the rest of America, making it at least more likely that they'll be competitive and have some chance of remaining solvent.


But it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to pour billions into a company that refuses to fix what got them here in the first place. I didn't like the financial bailout plan much either, but we at least knew that their was a chance - and some say even a good chance - that the taxpayers actually get their money back from that. Make no mistake about it: there is NO CHANCE the American people ever see any benefit from this money. It is not an "investment" of taxpayer dollars; it is a gift. And most folks even admit that they'll just be back for more in 12 months.

The US automakers are insolvent in their current organizational structure. They are far too big, pay their workers and retirees far too much money compared to other companies, and they do not deserve this gift. I hope the president decides against using the TARP money to keep these companies in existence. But if he does, he at least needs to force some serious concessions from the UAW. I say let GM go down - Ford or some other company in a better position can acquire many of its facilities and workers, and retool to meet the demands of the existing market.

Just mark this down as yet another reason to abolish labor unions. All of them.

No Union Bailouts

I don't like this auto bailout one bit. They're basically asking us to pay for the mess made by labor unions. I realize that many people will lose their jobs, pensions, etc. if GM is allowed to go under, but simply giving them a blank check with no conditions would be idiotic. All three of the Detroit automakers need to go through a complete restructuring process, and this should be a condition of any taxpayer money being sent in their direction.

I believe that most of the problems they are facing right now can be traced back to labor unions and our government's self-defeating tax policies. You'd almost have to be an idiot to try and run a large company in this country, especially now that the socialists have taken over. Corporate tax rates are exorbitant in comparison to our main international competitors, and labor unions are costing all of us more than they are worth. These companies are not competitive in their own market because they aren't competing on a level playing field.

I say no bailout unless the UAW is forced to renegotiate their labor contracts, reducing salaries and benefits down to what the market decides is reasonable. We, the taxpayers, are not the ones who should have to tighten our belts, while the people responsible for this whole mess keep on as if nothing is wrong. Congressional conservatives should oppose any legislation that doesn't force a big change in the way these companies do business.

Unfortunately, I don't think we can expect the same from our president in waiting. Big Labor helped purchase his place in the White House, and we all know what that means. Change we can believe in, my arse.