Union concessions to GM deeper than initially thought

[seafan]

Source: Channel NewsAsia

29 September 2007 0732 hrs


DETROIT, United States: The United Auto Workers union has agreed to a two-tiered wage system and a switch to far-less generous pensions for new hires in exchange for job security promises in its landmark contract with General Motors Corp., the union said on Friday.

The tentative agreement offers far more concessions than initially announced when a deal was reached early Wednesday.

.....

GM will spend between 35.3-36.9 billion dollars to transfer the administration of retiree health-care benefits to the union.
This will take a ballooning future liability currently estimated at more than 50 billion dollars off GM's books and allow it to dramatically reduce its labour costs.

The union won a "moratorium" on plant closures and sales and GM made specific investment commitments at 16 different factories.
In return for the investment, however, the union is expected to make major concessions on work rules and accept dramatically lower wages for non-production jobs, union sources said.

New workers also will be covered by a new defined contribution pension plan, rather than the previous gold-plated defined benefit plan, and less generous health care and dental plans.
GM also plans to offer buyouts and early retirement to an additional 24,000 workers and replace them with lower-cost new hires.

Read more: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/302826/1/.html

[BrklynLiberal]

1. Unions are an endangered species....

[MadLinguist]

3. From the POV of the worker, they ought to be, after deals like this

For management, it seems to me that this kind of arrangement ought to make unions more rather than less attractive to business. If you can get unions to agree to fund health care and retirement, and who knows? maybe even unemployment expenses through union membership fees, hell, I would think businesses would be out there soliciting unions to come talk to their employees. I must be missing something.

[Gman]

6. Why do you say that?

[BrklynLiberal]

7. Because the govt is trying to eliminate them, and where they do exist, they are selling out the

workers.
I have been shocked to hear young people around me question the value of unions. They have no idea what unions have done for them. They have no concept of how many of the benefits they take for granted are theirs due to the sacrifice and struggles of union members before them.

They think the 40 hour week, paid sick days and vacation were given to them on a silver platter. Most of the young American workers have no idea whatsoever about the history of unions and what they have done for America.

I am sure that it is not being taught anywhere, and if the existing unions continue along some of the roads they are going....they are not long for this world.
How could ANY union endorse a Repuke after what they have done to labor over the past decades?

[Gman]

8. You're right to a large extent

I've said for 20 years (starting back in the Reagan years) now that younger people don't know what unions have done for them. WHen it's young people in the union, they never appreciated what was done to get what they had. I said back then that we had to lose everything before people would be shocked enough off dead center to fight. It's the same way now, only much worse.

The Clinton years, in general, were very good for unions, NAFTA not withstanding. Right now we just need a Democrat, any Democrat just to stop the bleeding. We can work on rebuilding later, but the hemoraging has got to stop.

[Yupster]

11. That's funny that the government is trying to

eliminate unions, yet about the only workers who remain unionized are government workers.

Irony can be so ironic.

[0007]

13. People like you would find this fucking funny, huh?

Now why don't you just sit down and figure this thing out on your own instead of making snide remarks about what tickles you.

[2rth2pwr]

2. Why would the union fight to keep open plants that are losing money?

It also looks like the concessions were made when the people who already had strong packages were protected and new hires were chopped up.

[Sherman A1]

4. Wait for the blowback.....

It will take years for it to happen, but GM just screwed itself seeking the short term gain of a two tiered contract. I saw this happen to the Union and industry in which I am employed in the 1980's (we actually had a three tiered contract) and we have two groups of workers now. Those of us in our 50's and a few in their 30's, with no one in the 40 year age bracket (or the group that should be taking over senior level and management functions. In the next 5 - 10 years we will watch a massive amount of experienced management and senior labor retire, leaving the company in a rather precarious state. Upper management figured this out enough that in our recent contract to merge seniority lists and eliminate one of the tiers of the previous pacts. Someone woke up and looked at the workforce looking grayer and maybe got a clue that they don't have a whole lot of time to get themselves ready for waves of retirements.

[4dsc]

5. union management CAVED!!

Fuck the management that agrees to a two-tiered wage system. I know many union managements have caved into this ploy and it sucks!!

And while you'll see 1980's wages with new employees, you won't see 1980 wages with management of GM!!

[pattmarty]

9. The way things are nowadays (Globalization), what can you do?

[pnorman]

10. Up till the Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932, Unions were clost to "illegal".

Until then, any judge could issue an injunction against a union for "restraint of trade", and many did. Here's a telling example:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The judge who issued an injunction against the Amalgamated Clothing Workers in Philadelphia in 1922, declaring that "This organization is no corporation, should have no legal recognition and should be driven out of all existence as a menace to the nation" was an extreme instance, yet he helps to explain labor's ingrained fear of judicial control.

http://newdeal.feri.org/survey/sg41577.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm conflicted as to whether or not the UAW membership should ratify that contract. But if they do so, knowing that it's a major setback --- one that'll need to be undone as soon as possible --- then it'll probably be okay. But if their officials can convince them that it's a major victory, then it won't be good.

pnorman

[JCMach1]

12. UAW= Selling the next generation of workers down the river

:wtf:

[Vinca]

14. I don't see how the union can manage health care for retirees.

The cost is phenomenal. My dad was a GM retiree and had multiple open heart surgeries and other expensive procedures. This seems like a bandaid solution with the hope of government-sponsored, universal healthcare on the horizon.

[Blue_Tires]

15. i hope and pray management is smart with the $50 billion