tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7269993620761104727.post373612304806822138..comments2023-11-03T03:30:46.909-04:00Comments on The ConservativeXpress: VIDEO: Fox News Attacks UAW's Role In Auto Industry MadnessConservativeXpresshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14639174320471804514noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7269993620761104727.post-69570446504278755402009-03-30T22:27:00.000-04:002009-03-30T22:27:00.000-04:00Whoa, how did you get 140 comments on the earlier ...Whoa, how did you get 140 comments on the earlier post? Cool (though i didn't post any disagreements, concerns for personal safety and all that)Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05690390019396901934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7269993620761104727.post-78754415936942307882009-03-30T19:00:00.000-04:002009-03-30T19:00:00.000-04:00I don't think anyone is saying the union isn't goi...I don't think anyone is saying the union isn't going to take a haircut on their claims. Few believe GM will be able to honor all its obligations. That said even if they fired the union and hired people at minimum wage there would still be issues on the brands, engineering quality, lack of profitability on smaller cars etc etc. The UAW has the same contract with Ford and GM and only GM is on the dole.<BR/><BR/>As far as being obstinate, I don't believe anyone is saying that the contract the UAW has with GM is any less legitimate than, say, the retention contracts that AIG had with key employees. That GM can't honor that contract (and its other contracts) is why we have bankruptcy courts. These negotiations amongst the parties are real hardball, and I don't fault the union for not rolling over and playing dead. I think the union will make concessions but it isn't unreasonable for them to expect others (eg the bondholders) to make equivalent concessions.<BR/><BR/>Now, if this was a normal company they would have filed for bankruptcy a while ago and fought it out in court, that is why we have bankruptcy courts. However GM is not a normal company, it is very large and I can see a public policy interest not allowing it to careen out of control in bankruptcy and bring down many with it. Unlike when, say, Macy's went bankrupt - where people kept shopping - the autos are different. I think the real goal here is to get agreement so they have a very short (week or two) bankruptcy as key issues are agreed ahead of time (this is called a pre-packaged bankruptcy...google the term for more info).Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05690390019396901934noreply@blogger.com