2006-01-25 - 10:55 a.m.
Liberal card revocation
Yeah, I think my liberal card will be revoked after this entry. But by now you've heard about the Ford job cuts. A gazillion jobs lost. I'm sure it will be devastating to those communities that will lose a major employer. We lost a truck plant in the 80s, and it was BAAAD. But. I'm having trouble feeling sorry for the UAW workers. And this is a piece of info you have to pay careful attention to pick up, because it's not in the lead. Those UAW workers who are losing their jobs? According to their contract, they will get 90% of their pay, AND their benefits until September. Of 2007. According to a report in the Detroit Free Press, wages and benefits paid to Ford workers average about 130K. That's a lot. It's more that I make. A lot more. Good negotiating on the part of the UAW, yes. But is there any wonder why the US auto industry is in such trouble? This business model is unrealistic. It's going to cost the company 140 million dollars. Contrast that with what would happen if I lost my job. I would lose my job. And my income. I might get two weeks severance. I might get more. Whatever the oranization felt like doing, really. As for my health bennies....I'd have to pay for them. I know, I know, I shoulda been an autoworker. That's not the point. The point is that it could well be that the very union designed to protect the workers and get them the best deal from The Man had a big role in the demise of those very jobs. But I'm not feeling sorry for the Ford workers. It's a damn soft landing.
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