Yes, the retreat looks bad, I agree. However, blaming the unions for the Big 3's downfall is not correct, either. IMO. I place a lot of the blame on management decisions. Insted of investing in new tooling to build fresher bodystyles or smaller, more efficient ones when the energy prices spike and people flock to the foreign automakers cars, the decision was to save the money for stock dividends. This enriched the management who was paid in stock and enriched the stockholders. This kept the stock up, which repeated the cycle every quarter.
The prevailing opinion seems to be "look at how greedy the union is", but it got benefits for the workers in place of WAGES. Remember the UAW strikes. The companies didn't want to pay for higher wages, as that would take money away for the stock dividends, so they negotiated in the very thing they now want to ditch, pensions.
As for eliminating the pensions, would YOU like to take a pay cut? Didn't think so. And if it's eliminated, they will get paid for pennies on the dollar by the gov't, which means us.
Now, the next prevailing opinion is the foreign automakers here don't do that. That is correct. When they lay off, you don't draw a pension, you draw unemployment benefits. So they don't have the big pension fund to contribute to, now do they?
Also, they locate in areas where they are the big wage payers in that area, even though they are paying less that the big 3 in terms of wages. Usually, there is nothing nearby in comparison, so once you are on the job, you are stuck. (Unless you are willing to relocate). THAT is how they keep the herd pacified. You move up in pay scale, get used to it, then can't find something comparable.
Now, the UAW contracts get a good bit of compensation to the workers if they are laid off (usually 80 per cent). SO let's compare apples to oranges here. I live in Mississippi, where the unemployment compensation rate is a max of $255.00 a week. If you work for the local foreign manufacturer or one of their suppliers, THAT is what you get if you are laid off. Would you prefer that or the 80% that was negotiated in good faith. Could you pay your bills on that? I couldn't when I was laid off...
Now the foreign manufacturer is not unionized, so here is another way they further protect their bottom line. They cut hours,and schedule weeks of unpaid time. SCHEDULED, means no unemployment can be filed. I know times are tough, but this hurts. How does this affect me since I no longer work at a foreign auto manufacturer you say? Well ,my spouse does. As they are working a 4 day week, and with the scheduled extra days off as well, in a year, she has lost the equivalent of 11 weeks salary, which is a BIG chunk out of my ability to pay the mortgage.
I'm not knocking the foreign manufactures here, nor am I being pro union. I am just expressing my views as i see them.
I am not now, nor have I EVER, been a member of a union...