Just to cut through some of the crap being spread around by
various news outlets, it is not the fault of General Motors or the United Auto
Workers that Toyota, Honda, and Subaru are allowed to pay their employees
roughly half what GM employees bring home in pay and benefits. We should not be
asking GM's employees to give up more than what they already have.
If you must affix blame for the need of a bailout, blame
every single employee of Toyota, Honda, and Subaru that has refused to sign a
union membership card. Blame the management of Toyota, Honda, and Subaru for
hiring temps kept on the payroll often times longer than two years at $12/hr.
with no benefits. Blame the politicians that have consistently made it more
difficult for workers to organize. Do not blame people that have already
sacrificed half of their wage and benefit package for the sake of the company.
Granted you could blame the UAW for not paying its striking
members more to walk the picket lines, but the UAW leadership is not what it
used to be and apparently they expect to win long term strikes by giving the
rank and file a poverty level wage that qualifies for food stamps. This
problem, however, is for the UAW's rank and file to fix, not the American
Government.
