Two hours after President Bush announced he’d reversed his position– tapping into the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)– to bailout Detroit, United Auto Workers boss Ron Gettelfinger announced his intention to get the incoming president to remove the wage parity provisions included in the deal. Why wait? Reuters reveals that “Legislation proposed on Friday to tighten the sweeping U.S. corporate bailout program omitted specific targets for labor concessions that were a key feature of last month’s Bush administration rescue of distressed automakers. A portion of the bill proposed by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank sought to codify the auto bailout with terms, that with two exceptions, basically mirror those imposed by the White House when it extended $17.4 billion in emergency loans to General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC.” Meanwhile, “Frank’s plan also seeks to formalize oversight of the auto bailout under a trustee or ‘car czar.'” Bottom line: no UAW haircut (a.k.a. business as usual) unless the Senate reinserts the original language. And a Big Stick wielder to make sure that GM and Chrysler realize Congress’ green dreams. I mean, return to profitability. Don’t I?
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Errr…. You can be sure Bigish3 bond holders just spit up their morning coffee over their computer screens.
All the more reason to let the chips fall. Bankruptcy would allow a complete re-org. Labor, Dealers, Suppliers. This is going to be painful no matter what, at least with allowing the market and bankruptcy to do their jobs, there will be a fresh start with a chance of the survivors becoming profitable.
I agree with the above as the direction of a C11 would be followed with closer scrutiny. C11 does not mean a collapse of the industry . . . it will still continue to function, just in a different capacity.
The bailout is a band aid. They have some tough pills to swallow and should be done in a C11 format.
. . . why Edgar Winter?
Congress can codify whatever terms – getting the stakeholders to agree is another matter entirely.
The arrogance of the UAW and the Democrats in Congress is beyond even my cynical expectations. I’d figured they’d wait until Obama was in the White House and then sneak this by. No. They have it right out in the open, promoted by the same guy that assured that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would bring us into this economic collapse, Barney Frank.
So, the big three are supposed to be profitable – and there’s going to be a czar to assure that it be so – and the UAW will have to give up NOTHING?
In other words, our taxes will go to support the UAW members lavish pay and perks. So that they can make cars we won’t want to buy, and couldn’t afford anyway, because our economy will still be in the tank due to brilliant economic policies such as this.
The single most compelling argument for bankruptcy is this: no domestic car maker can be profitable as long as the UAW is alive. The UAW needs to be dead, completely and beyond resuscitation.
But, that’s not going to happen. The Freep story on this reports, in addition to what’s stated here, that Frank realizes the Senate may not go for this, but that he’ll be satisfied if the Obama administration states that, even though it doesn’t pass Congress, they’ll treat the proviso saving the UAW from any givebacks “as law.”
So, the idea appears to be that Obama will also be king.
It is a really sad thing to see unions destroying yet another industry.
But, it’s about time they were visited with the consequences of the decades they’ve spent doing just that to the “Big three.”
. . . why Edgar Winter?”
Frankenstein
The Dems and the unions are in this together. The unions gave the Dems hundreds of millions of dollars last election and the UAW came about as a direct result of the old New Deal.
One of the first things Pres Obama wants to do is take away the secret ballot vote to join a union and have the union thugs go around asking people to sign union cards. The Democrat party considers this more fair.(so would Joseph Stalin)
Lots of goodies for unions will be a major part of the new New Deal.
Barney Frank should not be allowed to craft ANY legislation dealing with economic matters. He was one of the congressmen that allowed Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac to get out of control, and to this day he denies that he had any part in creating this mess.
The left-wingers over at Firedoglake are officially paranoid that the right-wingers want to break the UAW. In a recent post there, I brought up the UAW’s golf course, linked to TTAC, and got scolded for it.
Here…
… and probably here, too.
bluecon, the legislation you’re talking about won’t take away secret ballots. Card check is just another option, that’s all.