Like much of the country, I have been paying attention to the fate of the domestic automakers as they desperately try to avoid death. The latest potential federal bailout was thrown for a loop when the UAW refused to accept government demands that employees immediately accept lower raises and benefits to make them competitive.Going by past history, I can understand why they are loathe to give into their employers.But they may have to bite the bullet and give in. However, it takes two to tangle and theautomakers themselves need to show some good faith.
Both my father and grandfather spent their entire lives working in unions and I saw the good they can do. I've also seen what can happen when they get too bloated and forget their purpose. The UAW negotiated great contracts for their members when times were good. Unfortunately those same benefits are now a humongous chain around their necks and the unions may need to agree to concessions and accept similar pay and benefits to what non-unionized autoworkers get in other parts of the US.
Foreign manufacturers, with plants in parts of the US have discovered that it is easy for employers to get rid of unions: just treat the employees as if they were unionized, offering them decent wages and benefits. And this is not limited to manufacturing. 7 years ago, Wegmans supermarket opened a store in my NJ neighborhood. Unlike the other chains in the area, Wegmans is not unionized. Yet, they were flooded with applications as they offered wages and benefits comparable to the unionized markets. The union had protesters outside the store's parking lot urging a boycott for almost a year. The protesters are gone now and the store is still there, bigger, cleaner than it's competitors with competitive pricing (some things are cheaper, some things aren't).
Many of the store's initial employees were kids from the other supermarkets. If working in those stores was like the unionized store I worked in when I was in high school and college, I can understand why. In my store, a management vs. employee attitude was always felt, even when it was detrimental to business and affected customers(fault of both sides -- why should an employee do something extra when they'll receive no benefit and just be sh-t upon by management later). Employees were always in a bad mood. Threats of a write-up were always present, along with contacting the union rep anytime somebody got pissed. Deadwood played the union rules perfectly. I don't sense that inWegmans. Wegmans itself is commonly recognized as one of the top 50 employers in the nation. More importantly, they seem to treat employees fairly so employees don't feel the need to unionize.
That said, love them or hate them, unions have and still do play an important role in our nation's economy. Many employers are not asbenevolent as Wegmans . Others, who pay union like wages simply to keep the unions out, would probably lower wages and benefits if the unions weren't there to keep them on their toes. It is irresponsible of lawmakers, with a hate of unions, to let the Big 3 fail, yet that is what some seem to advocate.
I and my wife have owned foreign cars for a decade. Unlike the domestic cars our parents owned, which always seemed to be in the shop, our cars have usually just gone in for basic maintenance (my 9 year old foreign car finally had a non-routine maintenance issue last month). I spend my money on quality, which has been foreign autos, even if made in the US, for a long time.
That still doesn't mean I want to see the Detroit automakers fail. Domestic car companies and their suppliers are an important piece of the US economy. At a time when the economy is in trouble and buying American may mean buying a Honda mostly built in Tennessee over buying a Ford mostly built in Mexico, it is foolish of lawmakers to make an example of the automakers past mistakes as a reason not to help keep them running for the short term just so they can kick unions when they are down. How many more hits can the economy take before we all discover that divided we stand, united we fall.
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