Working Life

    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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Most of the MSM reporting on the opening yesterday of the negotiations between the UAW and General Motors and Ford was pretty standard fare. The New York Times article doesn’t reveal a lot but there are two things of note. First, from UAW prez Ron Gettelfinger:   Mr. Gettelfinger, too, sees the outcome of the […]

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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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   If you want another sign pointing to the attack against the middle class and a decent standard of living, look no further than what’s happening at Delphi. Apparently, there is some deal to cut wages at Delphi, according to The New York Times:  The Delphi Corporation and its largest union reached a tentative wage-cutting agreement […]

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    I promise I won’t keep writing every day about the UAW–it might seem like favoritism–but, if you’re interested, there is a transcript of an on-line chat that UAW prez Ron Gettelfinger had with members.     One thing I found interesting was this little snippet: Ludington, Mich.: Gentlemen, as a Chrysler retiree and former chief […]

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The folks that are going to buy Chrysler–the private equity firm of Cerberus Capital Management–are working hard to reassure the UAW and rank-and-file workers that a bunch of workers are not heading for the unemployment line. I’m skeptical–mainly for the long haul. The Wall Street Journal has this today (subscription only):   Leaders of the […]

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Yesterday, I did a television interview about the buy-out of Chrysler by a private-equity firm. It was striking to me during that interview—and is reaffirmed if you read the MSM coverage of the story—how much the story is being framed entirely around the “sacrifices” that the rank-and-file workers will have to make to keep Chrysler […]

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    I don’t see how the UAW can avoid a strike at Delphi, without agreeing to massive concessions. As reported today in the Wall Street Journal, the UAW is about to lay down a last offer: The United Auto Workers union is preparing a last-ditch, take-it-or-leave-it offer to Delphi Corp. and its private-equity partners, according […]

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