Comments on: UAW President's First Interview After Auto Bailout

By: Mike Westfall

Mike Westfall — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 13:43:13 +0000

Happy New Year to the UAW’s prosperous officers Ron Gettelfinger, General Holiefield, Bob King, Cal Rapson and James Settles …from over 500,000 betrayed UAW retirees.

These union officials call themselves negotiators.

In the few short months of Gettelinger’s depressing tenure how much negotiating skill did it take for them to say yes when they should have said no as they gave back 70 years of hard won worker gains that are now lost forever?

At Solidarity House these union officials promote the Reuther brothers who set the standard for working class Middle America. For a factual look at what the Reuthers actually thought of their bogus brand of unionism consider the second link below. It is the words of Victor Reuther talking about the new age concessionary UAW leadership at the huge 50th anniversary Rally of the UAW in Flint in 1987. I moderated this large historic event and it was sponsored by dozens of top UAW local leaders from across our nation.

Today defenseless UAW retirees are being treated as America’s irrelevant underclass. They have been sold-out by government politicians, corporate leaders and especially these top union officials.

As many of these elderly retirees suffer from cancer and other serious work related health issues related to auto production their “life and death health care benefits” have been labeled as sacrificial legacy costs. They have become negotiable political pawns.

Retirees legally owned their health care benefits until these union offi

By: James

James — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:11:30 +0000

In the beginning Unions looked out for all workers. They did so by reaching agreements with Corporations that allowed both to prosper. Today it is only what is good for the Union. During recent history Corporations have been put into bankruptcy because “The Union would not make consessions.” Every other corporations has had to reevaluate with the market and the times. The one question I have for Mr. G is “what is your bonus package worth?”

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:59:18 +0000

Reply on Beezie comment that UAW retirees gets 95% of there pay for retirement. That is not true I receive between 48%-50%.

It is not a bail out it is a loan that will be paid back.

Fox has not been fair and balance on the auto companies loans.

I have one question: Is it wrong to make a good wage in this country anymore? Think about it before you answer. You may not have a good paying job but would you like to have one someday? The whole auto industry contributes around 150 billion dollars in federal, state and local taxes every year. (they need around 20 billion in loans, it is worth it!!!)

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:45:12 +0000

typo fix – Why didn’t you ask him why that if the “foreign” workers are getting such great deals in the south, then why doesn’t he go down there a get one for his workers?

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:42:04 +0000

Why didn’t you ask him why he didn’t think the US citizens in the south were not worthy of the jobs? He seemed to imply that they were not even US citizens.

Why didn’t you ask him why that if the “foreign” workers are getting such great deals in the south, they he didn’t go down there a get one for his workers?

By: Loren R.

Loren R. — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:21:41 +0000

NEWS FLASH TO THE MR. GETTELFINGER….THIS ISN’T 1960 AND TAXPAYERS / CONSUMERS AREN’T STUPID. I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO KNOW THE LAST TIME MR. G. REALLY LOOKED OUT FOR SOMEONE WITHOUT EXPECTING SOMETHING IN RETURN TO BOOST HIS EGO. THE UAW IS A JOKE AND A TOTAL RIPOFF OF THE WORKERS THEY CLAIM TO REPRESENT…BUT TO THEIR CREDIT THEY ARE CONSISTENT; THEY LOSE MONEY BE IT IN AUTOMOTIVE OR OPERATING GOLF COURSES! NOW THAT’S REAL LEADERSHIP…WAY TO GO RON!

By: A L Gibson

A L Gibson — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 04:06:44 +0000

The union pay and rules is one of the things that has brought down the car mfg. companys. Just who do you know makes $76.00 per hr and 95% of these wages not working. We quote all the unemployment rates and job loss to forigen companys, the union wages and rules are why. Who can blame a company for paying $25.00 a day vers $600.00 a day per worker. I have to say I would and everyone I know would be a union member for these wages.

By: James

James — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:35:22 +0000

I was a supervisor for eight years in a Ford plant that was closed down. The argument that the UAW president makes about making all the concessions that they can is just wrong. There are plenty of ways that the union could work with the auto makers that would make them much more competitive with the transplants. The work rules that the union imposes on the auto companies destroys their ability to be competitive. The UAW controlled plants are not allowed to hire outside companies to perform services that could be done better and cheaper than using UAW workers. Jobs are given out based on seniority instead of ability. Management has very little ability to fire employees that can not perform or even come to work. The UAW plants have the worse absenteeism than other plants. There many examples of the rules that makes the union plants so much more inefficient than the transplanted foreign manufactures. The transplants do not have to deal with these issues and that is why they can compete so well against GM, Ford and Chrysler on American soil. It is not like these companies are manufacturing their vehicles in other countries. The transplants have to deal with the same government regulations, global economy including job market that every other manufacture deals with, but they do not have to deal with the UAW. The UAW does not want to give up anything as proven by their actions. The companies that they are destroying should be forced into a bankruptcy to release them from the yoke of the UAW. Since the UAW will not negotiate in good faith, bankruptcy controlled by a federal judge is the only way for the American car industry to survive.

By: David Greenlee

David Greenlee — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 23:17:09 +0000

Hi FBN, If you want to see what a “CarCzar” will do for america’s auto industry, just look back to the late 70’s and early 80’s to see what happened to the British auto industry. The goverment nationalized the industry as British Leyland. The “CarCzar”, oversweerer, was Lord Stokes, I think . . . The rest is history. I enjoy your reporting and especially like Alexis and Charles in the AM! Keep fighting the good fight..

Regards,
Dave

By: beezie

beezie — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 19:30:09 +0000

the email you had that said the UAW retiree was drawing 95% of their wages for their pension is just plain wrong, I was just forced into retirement so the company could hire people at less wages. and I get do not get 95% of my wages, I get more like 50%
I don’t get why GM is getting beat up over this loan deal (its not a bail out) but yet AIG and the banks have to answer to no one and now they are giving ‘retention pay” ( a fancy term for bonuses) give me a break..
How can GM cut costs to be more like Toyota,? are they going to purge all them pensions that they have promised their workers,? whos going to pick up that tab, ? is the government ready to pick up the pensions? one more thing, why doesn’t someone ask the CEO of AMerican Axle and Manufacturing while he was complaining about the cost of labor and benefits this last spring he himself received over $18 million in wages and bonuses.? and this is OK??