Don't kill the host

The two failing auto manufacturers were taken from the owners and control was turned over to the unions. We'll see how that works out. In the meantime, one of the stated primary goals of this administration is to see that EVERY state becomes a closed shop. Can the 2010 elections get here soon enough?

Part of the problem is not the union, but the management structure that keeps the union in place. Keep in mind that it was management in the Auto Industry that agreed to the terms of the union contracts that are so convenient to bash. Management has the ability to say no. But instead of just saying no, they need to offer alternatives that encourage a happy and productive workforce. There are a number of examples of successful unionized companies that don't experience labor problems. In fact, many of these companies are well run and are leaders in their industry. If you look closely, you won't see the management and labor divisions that exist in many older companies. The mindset is amazing. The waste and luxury spent on managers is something to behold. It not only shows in salary, but the myriad of benefits they seem to need. If they would humble themselves somewhat and become part of the greater team it goes a long way. While the auto unions certainly have been part of the problem, they aren't the bigger problem. These companies would be broke because of poor management, in structure as well as personality.

Talent will follow the money and that is for any industry. While I do agree that the executive perks are excessive and tha pay high. What happens if they move on? Sometimes the companies fail and if that happens all who work there are failures. The unions should not hold companies hostage and companies should have the right to fire and hire at will to replace unproductive or employees that cause trouble.

Union workers have been paid and gotten benefits that far outstrip the compensation of other people at their level of experience and education. I came out of college with a degree, twice, and it was years before I made as much per year as my HS grad brother-in-law made as an entry-level assembler. The American auto industry has almost died not just because of management compensation but because workers haven't had to be all that productive and have priced themselves out of the marketplace. Union corruption and over-valuation and overpayment of worker have been the bigger problem in undermining continued growth and prosperity. Union leaders and workers have been just as greedy as any management organization. The only difference has been how widely the profits have been distributed. Workers have elected bad leaders who would perpetuate that level of compensation. Executives have looted their companies or sold them off to predators who then looted them. There is plenty of blame to go around, and it's all from pure greed.

Unions are the reason the auto industry failed in the first place and mangement allowed it!

gm and chrysler belong to the government,i have always been a gm person but not anymore.i really love my new toyota tacoma.

The heads of unions are power hungry sometimes, but that is the same for the heads of any organizations that get large. If not for unions people would still be working 70 hour weeks for next to nothing, and have no benefits. What some small minded southern hicks (and yes I am from the south, but many of you embarrass me) is that even though some..SOME..workers at those plants might make $60,000 a year (you do not know how senior these guys are or how much overtime went into that figure) that the cost of living is much higher up there so $60K there is no more than $35K here. Also, read the latest editorial in Automobile magazine. it is great. It talks about how many concessions the unions have made to this point. They are not what have brought the US car companies down. The reluctance to ever change is what hurts US automakers. I still see them pushing their gas guzzling SUVS and sports cars.

Another irony, is the person writing this is just another peon like the majority of us. He is on the side of those he is not part of. Guess what moron, you are not one of the rich. So why are you supporting those that want the rich to get richer and the middle class to become poor? Do you want it to be just the rich and those near slave class? Read your idiotic BS and you will learn that if everyone was a mindless, non-questioning sheep for their rich master the way you are, then the class divide would go the Rich's way. You are too blind to see it.

How many of you would go to a job that said there will be a wage freeze for six years? I doubt many. Most people want and expect raises, union workers or not. Heck, most non-union places give them or at least cost of living increases. The argument that Ford is doing well counters the argument that they need more concessions. If they are doing well, then they should be able to afford paying people other than big bosses.

If you want them to act like they are going to compete in a "global econony" then I guess people should get paid pennies an hour like in other nations. Then again the companies would have to start selling products for a fraction of what they cost now also because if people all start making less, they will not be able to spend as much. Thus the profits will not be any greater. The overall scale would just change.

What some small minded southern hicks (and yes I am from the south, but many of you embarrass me) - imdstuf I work at a former northern plant that moved south b/c of the union, and boy o boy do we have our share of small minded think they know it all yanks that moved down here! So quit branding southerners as small minded hicks! THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!
NEXT POINT! The cost of living is not that big - many of the transplanted ppl came at there same wage or better and live just like I do! Years ago that might have been true, but not anymore. Taxes have caught up down here, unfortunatly.

Terry, not all of the south has low cost of living, but I mean Augusta specifically. Thus because of that companies here tend to pay less. So many people, not all, but many who never get out, do not comprehend that though people elsewhere get paid much more, they also pay much more for what they have. Take Seattle for instance. Their minimum wage is over nine dollars an hour. That sounds great to people here. However average homes up there and rent up there are probably triple what they cost here.

I am also mad because the editorial failed to point out that this is not some new contract for the first time in a long time. Just recently the unions twice made big concessions for Ford. The union leaders are actually going along with Ford, but it is the actual workers who see themselves getting steamrolled. If they keep rolling over every six months Ford will push for more concessions, until the people work for free.

The problem is that all of us are getting steamrolled. The idea is to take cuts in order to keep things moving and keep people in their jobs, even at static or reduced compensation, until things pick up again. If the company isn't making enough to keep paying everybody at the same level as before, what options are there? They can't force sales to rise and they can't print money. Cuts and lay offs are about it, across the board. For unions to refuse to adapt to the realities that exist simply speeds up the end.

This is a national recession. Usually it was limited to a few areas or a few specific industries; this one is all over. Recession are actually normal when economies are shifting. It happened in the 1920's when we left our farm-based economy and it's happening now as we are leaving our manufacturing-based economy. And this was predicted when Clinton signed NAFTA. Remember he and Hilary proudly proclaming how many new jobs were created, and they were mostly service jobs? Many people feel they have been betrayed and blindsided, but this was predicted.

Predicted and fought by people who understood the implications. There were lots of new jobs alright. In India, Indonesia and Mexico.

Absolutely, Fiat.

If the big three make a car worth a crap I would buy one. As a european car tech, they are about 15 years behind the Germans. You can't cheapen a car material wise, then keep the price the same. Where are the decent econo cars from the big three? Cobalt, Neon, Focus? All turds. Zero personality. Your lucky if you get one with paint for $17,000.

Here's what it boils down to: the UAW wants an ownership stake in Ford, just as it has Chrysler and GM. The only way it can achieve this is by driving the company down so bankruptcy is the only solution. Then the Socialist in Chief will step in and do his stuff. Any American who values freedom should run, not walk, past the GM and Chrysler dealerships on their way to the Ford lot.

I think the union ought to teach Ford a lesson and just abandon the big auto manufacturer. Let them see what it's like trying to operate without the union there to help.