Working Life

    I’m not surprised that the strike against GM was a relatively short one. We’ll see what the details are as they emerge over the next few days. Obviously, the key was the establishment of the Voluntary Employee Benefit Association, or VEBA. Here’s what The Wall Street Journal has to say this morning: Mr. Gettelfinger […]

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    It’s happening. From The New York Times: Members of the United Automobile Workers union walked off the job today at General Motors plants across the country after union leaders and company officials failed to reach an agreement in contentious talks on a new contract. It is the first national strike by the union against […]

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    Well, it’s less than half an hour to go to see if there is a strike at GM. If you’re asking if I know whether it will happen, got me. I think a deal will happen but it could easily come quickly or come after a fairly tough strike. It’s that up-in-the-air. People were […]

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    I’ll tell ya, I wouldn’t want to be the negotiator for those negotiations between the UAW and GM. According to the mainstream media reports coming out today, the idea of a volunteer employee benefits association (VEBA) is now off the table. The Wall Street Journal reports: UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has for now ended […]

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    I hear things are quite tense in the negotiations between the UAW and GM. A Wall Street Journal article gives some info today: General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers resumed talks toward a new collective-bargaining agreement but remained well short of a deal and were probably headed toward a few more days […]

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    Tense times in auto worker land. Something will happen in the coming weeks that will reshape the lives of autoworkers and the UAW. But, it’s the longer term future that is perilous.     Right now, the negotiations between the UAW and the auto companies are focused mainly on health care costs. As we’ve discussed […]

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I’ve written about this before but it bears repeating–particularly when The New York Times and the rest of the MSM continue to let ideology, not economic facts, dictate policy coverage. Today’s Times article on the challenges facing UAW retirees gives us another opportunity see how, despite large public sentiment in support of single-payer, the MSM […]

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     The real story bubbling within the auto industry is not the news that Toyota vaulted over General Motors in worldwide auto sales. Rather, it’s the growing ideological–not economic–drumbeat that is gathering targeting the livelihoods of tens of thousands of auto workers. And this is a direct attack against a decent standard of living for […]

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The inevitable ideological attacks against the UAW has begun. Just in time for the news that Toyota overtook General Motors in worldwide sales for the first time in history, the drumbeat has picked up in the pages of the business press: auto workers have to just buck it up and take the hit to save […]

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This is no surprise. A majority of Americans say the federal government should guarantee health insurance to every American, especially children, and are willing to pay higher taxes to do it, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. And the taxes issue is also important, as the front-page story in The New York […]

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