[lbo-talk] Fitch on unions & health insurance

martin mschiller at pobox.com
Wed Dec 28 11:14:57 PST 2005


On Dec 28, 2005, at 7:42 AM, Doug Henwood wrote:


> Big Labor's Big Secret
> By ROBERT FITCH
>
> AS most Americans are aware, our auto industry is in a crisis.
>
> Workers' wages are falling, and hundreds of thousands of jobs are
> being sent offshore. America's largest parts supplier, Delphi,
> filed for bankruptcy protection, and General Motors, Delphi's main
> customer, may too, if a threatened United Auto Workers strike
> occurs next month. Meanwhile, Ford and its main parts supplier,
> Visteon, seem to be skidding down the same road.
>
> How did we get here? There are many causes: poor car designs, high
> pension costs, increased foreign competition.

Does it occur to anyone that the poor designs, high pension costs and increased foreign competition may be part of a long term plan to shut US labor out of the automobile business by shutting US plants and importing auto products via FDI - or was this part of the 'dark matter' that was discussed recently? The contest between big auto and labor has been such a major cultural focal point for my life span that I find it difficult to conceive of any other explanation for the 'failure' of big auto in the US.

Martin



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