Are unions to blame for the auto industry crisis?

4 Comments

  • cajuncocoa - 15 years ago

    All of you are looking at this wrong.

    First, it would be a good start to lose some generalizations. Not all CEOs are greedy bastards....some are, some are not.

    Blaming unions is not the same as blaming "the workers", generally speaking. All workers are not the same, but unions treat all workers collectively. Individuals bring unique talents to any job, and they bring unique problems as well. Unfortunately, with unions, the bad apples get treated the same as the good ones (and they make it pretty tough to sort out the bad ones).

    Corporations are at the mercy of the demands of these unions, and the cost of their product is inflated as a result. Hence, the problems of the American auto industry.

  • mike - 15 years ago

    What a shame that people beleive this. Blaming the workers for management's bad decision is simply unfair, not to mention against our own interests. There were no "union" people at the table when management made any of the decisions that have placed the industry at risk, or worse. Just to mention two examples, one humorous and one tragic, no union official or worker had anything to do with the decision to manufacturer a dog like the Edsel, or a death trap like the Pinto. How much did that pair of choices cost their manufacturers? The history of the auto industry, even up to this very day, is replete with such examples, and how many were the responsibility of the workers? None. Certainly the unions dragged their feet on robotics, and stuff like that, but a canny management with a minimal amount of spine, might easily have found a way around that (even if it meant simply bribing the UAW leadership--hey, its been done ;^) especially in this Gordon Gecko era).
    The actual "anti-union" pressure comes not from the public but from the GOP and the main street media, and it is not limited to the UAW. Bringing the auto unions down will greatly advance the anti-union cause and, like Obama says, a great crisis presents a great opportunity; an opportunity for good or for that other stuff.
    As a rule, anti-union is the same as anti-worker which is why a man like me is always a knee-jerk opponent of the "right to work for less" mentality. To me it seems only equitable for workers to have some means of trying to offset the huge advantages that government-owning corporations possess.
    I'll be anti-union when the SCUSA decides corporations DO NOT have the same rights as human beings so I'm safe in my position. The big boys own SCUSA as well.
    If you blame the workers for the auto industry problems, you might just as well blame Ronald McDonald when you get a bad burger.

  • will - 15 years ago

    The average CEO in America makes 130-180 times what the average American worker makes. The average CEO in Japan makes 30 times what the average Japanese worker makes.

    Oh...yeah...it's the workers who're making American companies uncompetitive. Right...just keep paying your taxes America, Corporations thrive on them.

  • Andrew - 15 years ago

    Yeah its obviously the workers' fault. Massive corporate salaries going to people who routinely made decisions that drove the companies into the ground had nothing at all to do with the state of America's auto industry.

    Get a grip.

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