Justwanno,
Why do execs get paid more than the other employees? Are you seriously asking that question? Why do brain surgeons get paid more than janitors in a hospital. It is called supply and demand. You cannot take any person off of an assembly line and within a very short time train them to run Ford, GM, or Chrysler. Do you really think that a person trained to install a car seat could within a month or two be trained to run Ford, GM, or Chrysler? How about taking an exec and spending a month or two training him/her to install a car seat? The odds are much better that the exec will be able to install that car seat versus the assembly line worker being able to run the company.
As far as health care is concerned, why do employees deserve it, especially when IT will cause a company to go under? Yep, better to be unemployed without any money coming in AND without health care, versus being employed without health care. I have several small business clients that cannot afford to offer health insurance to their employees.
I don't know what the union demands have been in the way of health care, but hopefully they are thinking about HRA's and HSA's in lieu of full blown health care. The times where an employee doesn't have to pay anything for health insurance are long gone, unless demanded by a union.
Don't get me wrong. Unions were great when they started, but in today's world unless everybody is covered by a union it isn't quite fair. How about requiring other auto makers in the US to be subject to the UAW? They might not find it quite as profitable to make cars in the US anymore.
Honestly, I have no idea why the Big 3 didn't take their corporate headquarters overseas and build cars overseas in lieu of staying in the US. They should have done exactly as Levi did.
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The pond, waterfowl, and yellow labs...it don't get any better.
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