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Thanks, Professor!
That's the term I was trying to remember for what I was describing. And I do blame dunderheaded executives for their role in failing businesses. (I was victim of such shortsighted management decisions myself in my past career.)
But I don't think there's a contradiction here; rather, the additional information you provided better illustrates what I was describing. I think you're begging the question. Is it right to do this, especially in light of the image it gives of the union? The "job club" payment can hardly be called "fair."
Ideally, GM should still be the job-creating powerhouse it once was, and should be able to afford all these concessions and deals to labor. But those days are gone, due to GM's own actions, the greed of the unions and the vast improvements of foreign autobuilders to compete with American firms.
By the way: Many foreign owned autobuilders are building plants here in America, employing American workers. Again, not the ideal situation, but it's not the total loss of all manufacturing jobs that is being portrayed.
posted by
WriterofLight
on November 22, 2006 at 7:42 PM
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"Job Clubs"
Your post has an inherent contradiction. Allow me to explain.
You comment that Democrats should be helping minimum wage earners get training and move up the employment ranks. A fair argument, one that I could debate, but will save for later.
Then you complain about the autoworkers sitting around doing nothing, dragging down their employers' bottom lines.
But what just a few keystrokes worth of research would tell you is that those autoworkers are members of a job club set up by their union and negotiated for with the carmaker. They report to the job club, peruse "help wanted " listings, use the computers, etc., etc. Sometimes, they just play cards. And yes, they are still paid a salary by the company.
Why? Because that's the deal the union negotiated with the car company in order to let them out of their contract, move their production facilities overseas, and lay off thousands of workers. Was it a good deal? Don't know. But I don't pity the huge auto companies, with their millions of campaign contributions, for negotiating a bad deal with the union workers.
Why lambast the unemployed workers for not earning a living? It was the car company that shut down the plant and moved it to Mexico or the Phillipines or wherever. How come you conservatives never blame the businesses, only the "corrupt unions" and "lazy American workers"?
Oh, and BTW:
"At 17, Laura Bush ran a stop sign and crashed into another car, killing her boyfriend who was driving it..."
What's the odds of running a stop sign and killing your boyfriend????
So if Sen. Kennedy is "splash", then Laura Bush is "crash".
posted by
Professor_Peabody
on November 21, 2006 at 10:41 PM
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It won't be long before many companies don't offer healthcare
It is just too expensive. It's already the trend and it's going to keep on going.
posted by
SuccessWarrior
on November 19, 2006 at 8:04 PM
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