Why Are Dems Palling Around With Big Business?
Posted on November 14, 2008
It is a simple matter of protecting their special interests. That’s right Their – special – interests.
Democrats in spite of all their campaign rhetoric about standing up to the special interests actually have to answer to some of the biggest special interests in the country. In this case – labor unions.
The reason why Democrats are pushing for additional bailouts for the auto industry is the fact that if Ford, GM, and Chrysler have to take their financials before a federal bankruptcy court, they would have an open door to tear apart their contracts with the UAW and Democrats cannot allow that to happen. If they do, they could lose the support of millions of union workers. The UAW has close ties with the AFL-CIO (especially since their members are likely also members of the AFL-CIO) which also has close ties to just about every other major labor union. That translates into a couple of million heavily influenced voters (see also Politically Apathetic American Lemmings*)
If any one or all of the Big 3 file for Chapter 11 reorganization through the federal courts, their employees will lose benefits. These benefits are at the core of what is wrong with the American auto industry.
The Big 3 spend so much of their working capital in their employees’ benefit packages that it cuts into their design budgets. So these major companies have to take risks on a limited number of models of cars. Unfortunately the gamble that they took several years ago was to invest in designs for SUVs. It takes several years to engineer a new model of car so the changing landscape of the automotive market has caught the Big 3 with no attractive models.
The energy crunch of the past couple of years has bitten into the Big 3. An over abundance of gas guzzling models that are now sitting on lots does not translate into sales. Foreign car manufacturers who have production facilities inside the United States are in a better position. Why? The obvious is to say that the models that they produce are more fuel efficient. But a bigger reality is that they are largely non-union and are less obligated to provide extreme benefit packages.
Several years ago, I worked for a company that supplied body and trim parts to General Motors believe it or not. And an even bigger surprise to all of you may be that I was the local President for our Union. Now the company that I worked for wasn’t a very well run company. It was top heavy with management employees which was the reason for their financial problems. The company had a habit of coming to the union a year and a half into a three year contract wanting to renegotiate. It’s not like I’m very big into extorting extravagant benefits out of my employer but I did expect them to honor a contract negotiated before I took office.
The company wanted the union to freeze our pension plan locking out current employees and freezing benefits to retirees. They wanted the union to change our retirement to a 401k that would be matched by the company up to a limited amount. This was bad enough, but they actually wanted to begin to cut into our health care.
I have no doubt that should the Big 3 be able to get out from under some of the more outrageous provisions in their contracts with labor they could be solvent again. The capital that they are begging SanFran Nan and Dingy Harry (Rushism alert) for is so that they can continue to pay for employee benefits as they rush to produce designs that would be more attractive to cash strapped consumers.
It is the position of those of us on the right that these companies cannot pay for these massively expensive employee benefit packages on the backs of the taxpayers. Let them take their cases before a bankruptcy judge and eliminate these expensive contracts.
» Filed Under Democrats, Economy, Fiscal Responsibility, Nancy Pelosi, News, Politics As Usual, Stupidity, Union Mafias/Thugs
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2 Responses to “Why Are Dems Palling Around With Big Business?”
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Uh oh…you guys better put a stop to this ACLU nonsense.
http://www.abajournal.com/weekly/preacher_appeals_sentence_for_article_predicting_god_would_smite_judge
I also work for a living. I work in construction and put in about 3,400 hrs a year. A union worker gets double my pay and takes vacations and long breaks. Give the working person a BREAK. Let those who live by the sword of the unions and let them die by the sword. If there is to be a bail out, let the UAW pay for it. I have paid my bills and taxes. If I don’t build what is desirable to the consumer, I would be out of a job. Let the Big 3 wake up and smell the roses. If they build a fuel efficient car and people are able to keep some of THEIR OWN MONEY instead of paying it to the government who will give it to people who either don’t bother to be a productive member of society, or are raking in millions in bonuses, then we will purchase those cars and the company will grow and prosper. That is how you build a strong and sustainable economy!!!! Wake up AMERICA. Write to your politicians (note I did not use the word “representative”) and tell them that you are tired of working for those that don’t deserve a handout!!! Help those who are productive members of society and not those who seek to undermine it!!!!