Black is white, up is down, dogs are cats, and the UAW has agreed to major concessions just to keep its employer alive. Sound fantastical? It sure does to me. It goes against every major union agreement since, well, any time I can remember.
According to an article in Automotive News, the even bigger story isn’t just that the union rank and file approved the concessions, but that it did so by a whopping 4 to 1 margin. Let’s put this into perspective: The same body that demanded a “job bank,” where laid off workers could continue to get paid even though they weren’t doing a damn thing, has willingly given up performance and Christmas bonuses for the next two years. Thus, union workers are now a step closer to everyone else out there who hasn’t gotten a bonus for, oh, ever.
There’s more. The union also agreed to allow an unlimited number of new hires at half current wages up to the 2015; previously, only 20 percent were allowed at the lower wages. The UAW also will become a majority stakeholder in Chrysler, taking a 55 percent share of stock in exchange for the concessions. Oh, on a sad note, UAW workers at Chrysler will have to give up their traditional Easter Monday holiday for two years. Easter Monday…do they really not understand public antipathy toward the UAW?
Anyhow, it’s nice to see that the UAW is capable of being reasonable. And to think, it only took the real threat of imminent bankruptcy (which may still happen) to get them to deal. Chrysler and GM should have tried going out of business years ago.
