Working Life

   Today, I’m going to be talking about labor and the president-elect with WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, who, for non-New Yorkers, has one of the most interesting radio talk shows in the city. It’s at 11:25 am Eastern time. Those people fortunate enough to live in NYC (okay, let’s not start a war over that…) can […]

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   Even though I’ve suggested that auto workers should not pay for the mistakes made by the industry’s executives, the drumbeat has been pretty persistent that the workers will take another hit. And it picks up in today’s New York Times: While the union has not agreed to reopen contracts at General Motors, Ford and […]

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Memo to the traditional media: you want to see the auto industry go down? Fine. But, at least try to give the facts about what workers have undergone in the industry–an assignment that most of the traditional media could not live up in its coverage of yesterday’s hearings on the proposed bailout.   The facts […]

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    Yesterday, I posted a dairy about the right way to bailout the auto industry. I have no issue with those people who disagree with the basic premise that we should bailout the companies. But, in other places where I posted this and generally out there in the ether, there was a shocking level of […]

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I’ve been reading the various proposals about how to bailout the auto industry. Some of the ideas are good but one piece floating around in the punditry is foolish and dangerous. This has to be done right–and it has to be done in a way that does not attack the workers of the industry.   […]

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   The momentum to merge General Motors and Chrysler is being given a strong push by the government (oh, no, socialism…industrial policy). I’m not saying I think the merger is a great idea but since both companies are leaking billions of dollars and may run out of cash in a year or less, it is […]

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    I don’t know how many of your media outlets carried the news that Doug Fraser, former UAW president, died Saturday night. From the Detroit Free Press: Douglas Fraser, a Detroit sit-down striker in the 1930s, UAW president in the 1970s and ’80s who played a key role in helping Chrysler survive, and a senior […]

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    I don’t know how many of your media outlets carried the news that Doug Fraser, former UAW president, died Saturday night. From the Detroit Free Press: Douglas Fraser, a Detroit sit-down striker in the 1930s, UAW president in the 1970s and ’80s who played a key role in helping Chrysler survive, and a senior […]

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    I don’t know that one should trust The Wall Street Journal’s take on the vibe inside any union. I’m not familiar with the reporter who wrote today’s story describing stronger dissent inside the UAW to the negotiated deal with Chrysler, as well as a relatively strong minority "no" vote on the GM deal. But, […]

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  Last week, I took part in a discussion on CNBC about the agreement reached between the UAW and Chrysler. The show’s producers wanted to focus on the question of whether the deal showed that the UAW’s power is in decline. The truth is that the Chrysler deal, and the previous pact reached between the […]

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