An unprecedented blow to the UAW, where is it headed? Keep guessing says Fain – MishTalk
This has never been seen in 88 years
Motorists in the video above cheer for higher prices and more inflation.
Why the huge decline in August production before the strike?
What then?
Start small and keep you guessing
The Wall Street Journal comments on the UAW’s strategy: Start small and keep guessing
The United Auto Workers union’s strike at three plants Friday marked a show of force that, while more restrained than some expected, sends a signal to Detroit auto companies that actions could escalate if talks continue.
The move is also a big test for UAW President Shawn Fain. He is under pressure to get the deal done, while not depleting the union’s strike fund, which pays picketing members. He also must meet the high expectations of auto workers, which he has helped stoke since taking the top job.
The action would have been more disruptive, and some analysts were surprised that the union did not target the more profitable full-size pickup plants or important parts plants, both of which would have dealt a bigger blow.
Fine emphasized that the union is just getting started. He said that the longer the negotiations continue, the more factories it plans to target, organizing a series of sporadic strikes that will be implemented without warning and aimed at disrupting the production plans of car companies.
The mood was mostly jubilant in the plants, punctuated by cheers, loud music and blaring car horns. In one factory, “No deal, no wheels” became the rallying cry.
Biden urged the two sides to reach an agreement and delivered a message of solidarity with workers. The president said that while auto companies “have made some important offers,” he believes they “must go further to ensure that record corporate profits mean record contracts for the UAW.”
A great clown or genius?
Time will tell who wins
There are two definitions of profit, short to medium term and long term.
It is easier to take the long-term view. GM and Chrysler (now Stellantis) had already gone bankrupt once due to untenable wages and benefits. It could easily happen again. If the bondholders (for which I do not have much sympathy) had not completely failed in the latest settlement, it would have been much worse for the unions.
In the short term, I think everyone will lose, but Fain and the UAW will cheer temporarily.
Biden said record profits. lovable. so what? Then an unreasonable deal, then bankruptcy?
UAW demands
- 32 working hours per week
- Salary increase by 46% over 4 years
- The right to strike against factory closures
- Increasing pensioners’ benefits
- A defined benefit pension plan for all employees
- Cost of living adjustments
Bloomberg estimates that the UAW orders will add $80 billion to costs.
intercede
The saving grace for excessive private union demands is bankruptcy. This is exactly where it will go if the union gets what it wants.
But unfortunately there is no way to save the excess of public unions in many states where union leaders are collaborating with corrupt politicians. Taxpayers pay through the nose.
General unions have no existing business: even Franklin Roosevelt admitted this
For a discussion of the vast difference between public and private unions, please see Public Unions Have No Existing Job: Even Franklin Roosevelt Admitted This
