Intersrting Read

[Builderdad]

Sorry about the typo in the title should have said "interesting"

 

http://www.soldiersofsolidarity.com/

 

Live Bait & Ammo #125: They’re Closing In

The Detroit Three cite legacy costs as their biggest competitive disadvantage. Their solution? Add

to the legacy costs by retiring more workers faster with buy-out packages subtracted from the pension.

When the market crashed the government loaned the D-3 money on condition that they close

factories, cut jobs, and slash wages. Then, the government passed a stimulus bill to create jobs.

GM estimated its retiree health care costs at $50 billion and committed half that amount—$24.1

billion (and promises)—to a union trust fund [VEBA]. Now the government demands that 50% of the

50% underfunded trust be replaced with stock worth less than six rolls of toilet paper.

It’s illegal for a company to invest more than ten percent of pension assets in their own stock.

Why should a VEBA be different? Over and above the question of legality, the government’s proposal

compromises the union’s ethical capacity to represent workers. The union will have a vested interest in

the company’s stock. But you haven’t heard the punch line.

GM is planning a government run bankruptcy. The union won’t be left with an investment for

retiree health care. The union will be left holding a bag of chicken necks.

And the slapstick at Chrysler makes the situation at GM look like romantic comedy.

Government mandates neglect the fact that the Con Caucus already ratified contracts that will

ratchet working conditions down to nonunion levels by 2011. Well actually, the company-government

didn’t neglect the Con’s con, they just want to pop the clutch and hit the wall at maximum rpm.

The government is strong-arming workers into accepting terms that will achieve the benefits of

bankruptcy without litigation. The wage scale will become nonunion; the VEBA won’t last a decade; on

demand will replace the eight hour day; the pension is underfunded; the D-3 will close dozens of plants

and import half the cars they sell in the US; all without the hassle and haggle of bankruptcy. What the

hell is there to vote for? More plant closings?

A real union solution would advocate for all workers not just an isolated gaggle in the gated

community of the UAW elite. A real union would reject the VEBA demolition derby and pit all its energy

into John Conyer’s bill [H.R.-676] which would insure everyone equally, not just the privileged. A real

union would resist buy-outs and job cuts by demanding a short work week to offset reduced demand.

The company-government-union cartel prefers to reduce labor costs by curtailing Supplemental

Unemployment Benefits _{, thereby pushing more workers into early retirement or foreclosure. The}

_{plan will result in more desperate workers lining up for fewer desperate jobs. It’s a bust in the chops to}

_{the working class but a boon to bankers and bosses as high unemployment depresses wages and curbs}

_{inflation. Screw that.}

_{We deserve a union solution: a collective action that unites rather than divides workers.}

_{If the union demanded a short work week in exchange for SUB, all affected workers would}

_{remain employed and equal. When the market goes up, workers would return to a forty hour week}

_{without diminished wages. A real union could back the talk with a one day walkout and send an army of}

_{unemployed workers on buses to Washington with a petition to convert closed auto plants into}

_{nationalized manufacturing centers for energy independence. But don’t expect the Caucus that negotiated}

_{two tier to unite the union. Collective action is not their agenda. They’re collaborators not organizers.}

_{We can debate economics until the pyramids collapse, but there’s a chronic and undeniable tic in}

_{our current fix: class conflict. Bankers get handouts without conditions, but a blue collar industry in need}

_{of a loan—because reckless bankers destroyed the economy—gets boiled in a vat of Republican venom}

_{and ordered to return for more of the same in ninety days.}

_{I’m no fan of management. The D-3 are grossly mismanaged and over compensated. They}

_{deserve a dressing down. But workers aren’t responsible for the failing economy or the sinking of the}

_{flagship of American industry. Bankers, bosses, and bureaucrats failed, not workers. It’s like the}

_{Pentagon procurement racket. War profiteers get no bid contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.}

_{Soldiers get shot, killed, traumatized, and maimed. It’s a bad deal. We deserve better.}

_{We deserve a union that represents all workers everywhere equally including our brothers and}

_{sisters in arms. Bring our soldiers home, now. We’ve found the enemy. They’re closing in.}

_{GreggShotwell@aol.com www.soldiersofsolidarity.com www.factoryrat.com}

_{LABOR DONATED}

Edited February 27, 2009 by Builderdad

[CBGB]

Sorry about the typo in the title should have said "interesting"

 

http://www.soldiersofsolidarity.com/

 

Live Bait & Ammo #125: They’re Closing In

The Detroit Three cite legacy costs as their biggest competitive disadvantage. Their solution? Add

to the legacy costs by retiring more workers faster with buy-out packages subtracted from the pension.

When the market crashed the government loaned the D-3 money on condition that they close

factories, cut jobs, and slash wages. Then, the government passed a stimulus bill to create jobs.

GM estimated its retiree health care costs at $50 billion and committed half that amount—$24.1

billion (and promises)—to a union trust fund [VEBA]. Now the government demands that 50% of the

50% underfunded trust be replaced with stock worth less than six rolls of toilet paper.

It’s illegal for a company to invest more than ten percent of pension assets in their own stock.

Why should a VEBA be different? Over and above the question of legality, the government’s proposal

compromises the union’s ethical capacity to represent workers. The union will have a vested interest in

the company’s stock. But you haven’t heard the punch line.

GM is planning a government run bankruptcy. The union won’t be left with an investment for

retiree health care. The union will be left holding a bag of chicken necks.

And the slapstick at Chrysler makes the situation at GM look like romantic comedy.

Government mandates neglect the fact that the Con Caucus already ratified contracts that will

ratchet working conditions down to nonunion levels by 2011. Well actually, the company-government

didn’t neglect the Con’s con, they just want to pop the clutch and hit the wall at maximum rpm.

The government is strong-arming workers into accepting terms that will achieve the benefits of

bankruptcy without litigation. The wage scale will become nonunion; the VEBA won’t last a decade; on

demand will replace the eight hour day; the pension is underfunded; the D-3 will close dozens of plants

and import half the cars they sell in the US; all without the hassle and haggle of bankruptcy. What the

hell is there to vote for? More plant closings?

A real union solution would advocate for all workers not just an isolated gaggle in the gated

community of the UAW elite. A real union would reject the VEBA demolition derby and pit all its energy

into John Conyer’s bill [H.R.-676] which would insure everyone equally, not just the privileged. A real

union would resist buy-outs and job cuts by demanding a short work week to offset reduced demand.

The company-government-union cartel prefers to reduce labor costs by curtailing Supplemental

Unemployment Benefits _{, thereby pushing more workers into early retirement or foreclosure. The}

_{plan will result in more desperate workers lining up for fewer desperate jobs. It’s a bust in the chops to}

_{the working class but a boon to bankers and bosses as high unemployment depresses wages and curbs}

_{inflation. Screw that.}

_{We deserve a union solution: a collective action that unites rather than divides workers.}

_{If the union demanded a short work week in exchange for SUB, all affected workers would}

_{remain employed and equal. When the market goes up, workers would return to a forty hour week}

_{without diminished wages. A real union could back the talk with a one day walkout and send an army of}

_{unemployed workers on buses to Washington with a petition to convert closed auto plants into}

_{nationalized manufacturing centers for energy independence. But don’t expect the Caucus that negotiated}

_{two tier to unite the union. Collective action is not their agenda. They’re collaborators not organizers.}

_{We can debate economics until the pyramids collapse, but there’s a chronic and undeniable tic in}

_{our current fix: class conflict. Bankers get handouts without conditions, but a blue collar industry in need}

_{of a loan—because reckless bankers destroyed the economy—gets boiled in a vat of Republican venom}

_{and ordered to return for more of the same in ninety days.}

_{I’m no fan of management. The D-3 are grossly mismanaged and over compensated. They}

_{deserve a dressing down. But workers aren’t responsible for the failing economy or the sinking of the}

_{flagship of American industry. Bankers, bosses, and bureaucrats failed, not workers. It’s like the}

_{Pentagon procurement racket. War profiteers get no bid contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.}

_{Soldiers get shot, killed, traumatized, and maimed. It’s a bad deal. We deserve better.}

_{We deserve a union that represents all workers everywhere equally including our brothers and}

_{sisters in arms. Bring our soldiers home, now. We’ve found the enemy. They’re closing in.}

_{GreggShotwell@aol.com www.soldiersofsolidarity.com www.factoryrat.com}

_{LABOR DONATED}

_Excellent!

[Builderdad]

Live Bait & Ammo #122: Keep your Eye on the Rabbit

 

“When you believe in things you don’t understand, you suffer” — Stevie Wonder

 

Bush’s bailout for the Detroit Three is a $17.4 billion dollar bow on a prepackaged bankruptcy.

Chump change for fast track union busting.

The bailout is conditioned on the UAW agreeing to a non union contract. That means:

—a substantial wage cut and elimination of COLA

—deep out of pocket expenses for health care

—conversion of pension to a 401-k

—no JOB Bank or SUB pay

—complete disregard of seniority rights

—retiree health care in hock to company stock

Bush’s bailout turns the fed into a hired gun. Hired to shakedown the union at no cost to

the company. Why hire lawyers to pilot your company through the kangaroo trails of bankruptcy

court, when you can get a Car Czar to chop the shop for free?

The real chumps in this exchange are taxpayers. Lower wages won’t lower prices or

stimulate demand. The only thing lower wages guarantee is increased competition for more lower

wages. Toyota has already revealed plans to slash compensation [Toyota Sweats US Labor Costs, Jason

Roberson, Detroit Free Press, 2/8/07].

When a nation exports the means of production, recession turns into depression by design.

Depression gives the companies leverage to restructure rapidly. The depth and breadth of

restructuring in the auto industry will exert downward pressure on compensation in all sectors of

the economy. Eventually workers won’t be able to afford autos, let alone homes or health care.

In order to better understand the scam we need to step back and examine the long term

trend. We didn’t arrive at this juncture by accident. GM is poised to take full advantage of this

latest capitalist disaster. GM manufactures vehicles in 35 countries. They’re prepared to compete

for the lowest wages in the world.

The UAW Concession Caucus typically justifies concessions because GM has lost market

share. But market share is the top hat not the rabbit. The two principle trends to track are

productivity and sales. Accountants can lie about everything else.

GM’s share of the market looks smaller because the market has grown. In fact GM’s sales

have remained steady while productivity has leaped off the charts.

In 1992 GM had 34% of the US market and produced 4.4 million vehicles. In 2005 GM’s

US market share fell to 25.7% and GM produced 4.5 million vehicles. (The rabbit didn’t shrink,

the top hat got bigger.) In 2007 GM sold 4.5 million vehicles in North America and lost more

market share. (Keep your eye on the rabbit not the hat.)

What’s most shocking is the enormous jump in productivity.

In 1992 GM employed 265,000 UAW members. In 2005 GM employed 111,000 UAW

members. In 2007 GM employed 73,000 UAW members and sold as many vehicles in North

America as ever.

Let me do this again. Without the top hat this time.

—1992—4.4 million vehicles—265,000 UAW members

—2005—4.5 million vehicles—111,000 UAW members

—2007—4.5 million vehicles— 73,000 UAW members

When you remove the top hat the rabbit looks pretty fat. The trend is clear. One would

think that higher productivity would mean higher profits and thus, higher wages. But GM invests

heavily in the craft of creative bookkeeping. Higher profits are transferred off shore into assets

protected from bankruptcy and masters of illusion point to the rabbit in the hat and shrug.

If figures lie and liars figure, what’s a Gettelfinger? In 2005 Ron Gettelfinger and his

Concession Caucus insisted that UAW members must open the contract and give more

concessions to make up for lost market share. In 2007 the Con Caucus pulled the same stunt.

If productivity increases phenomenally, why are workers responsible for lost market share?

How will concessions increase market share? Isn’t market share the venue of the Marketing Dept.?

There’s another aspect to marketing, i.e., convincing the public that workers are overpaid

despite a long term trend that indicates extraordinary productivity and stable sales volumes.

Concessions can’t buy security when the company is bent on exporting jobs instead of

products. And if market share is the only measure that matters, all the concessions and company

union collusion that the Con Caucus has preached for 25 years is an abject failure. But US market

share is not the sole criteria for success in a multinational corporation.

In 2007 GM sold more than 9 million vehicles worldwide for the third consecutive year.

Let me say that again, without the top hat.

In 2007 GM sold more than 9 million vehicles worldwide for the third consecutive year.

GM plans to become a major importer to the US, just like Toyota, but they need help.

They’re counting on government assistance to help them close factories, disarm resistance, and

downsize domestic operations until the rank & file is small enough to snuff out as discretely as a

cigarette butt.

If all goes according to plan GM will employ about the same number of UAW members at

the end of 2009 as Delphi did when they were spun off in 1999. Delphi is not going to exit

bankruptcy, but Delphi is well established in Eastern Europe, Asia, Mexico, and South America.

Likewise GM is poised to dump retirement obligations onto taxpayers, cut wages in half, drive

dealers out of business, and import 50% of the vehicles it sells in the open US market by 2010.

The Car Czar will enable the Detroit Three to gain all the advantages of

bankruptcy—broken contracts—without the encumbrance of litigation.

When the finance companies came to Congress with their tin cup extended, no one

scrutinized the compensation of their workforce or suggested that they were overpaid. The evident

bias clarifies the class conflict. In the eyes of Congress and professional parrots blue collar

workers do not deserve to be in the middle class. We don’t deserve to own a home, take a summer

vacation, send our kids to college, retire in dignity, or have unrestricted access to health care.

GM not only wants to import cars to the US, but also sweatshop standards. GM is ready to

lead the industry to the lowest level, but they need help from the Con Caucus and the government to

convince workers to lower their standards. The President of the UAW stands for concessions.

To paraphrase an oracle: don’t believe in people you can’t understand, or you’ll suffer.

Most of us learned early on the American Playground that when someone knocks you

down, you get up and kick his ass. If the bully is too big, you organize and the whole gang kicks

his ass. The UAW Concession Caucus led by Ron Gettelfinger prefers to roll over every time the

boss glares. He’s already waving his white hanky and promising to behave non union.

He’s pulled this trick too many times. Shame on us.

GreggShotwell@aol.com www.soldiersofsolidarity.com www.factoryrat.com

==================================================================

Thirty-nine state AFL-CIO federations, over 100 Central Labor Councils and 400 local unions have

endorsed HR-676, John Conyer’s "Expanded and Improved Medicare for All" bill.

[www.johnconyers.com/healthcare] The first step is to unite the huge reservoir of support for single

payer in thousands of local unions and labor bodies. To take that step, a number of labor

federations and unions are planning a national meeting of labor organizations that

support HR 676, "Medicare for All," to be held in St. Louis on January 10, 2009.

Labor for Single-Payer Healthcare Meeting

January 10-11, 2009

The Crowne-Plaza - Downtown St. Louis

For additional information> www.laborforsinglepayer.org or contact Organizing Committee

Coordinator Mark Dudzic at 201-314-2653 or > mdudzic@igc.org

[AnotherAutoWorker]

[fordworker]

I will take the 401K conversion TODAY thank you very much...