Help is on the way for United States-based automobile manufacturers in spite of Mitch McConnell & Co.'s best efforts to bust the Autoworkers Union.
Yesterday, right before the U.S. Senate loan deal for automakers fell through, Senate Republicans like Mitch demanded the UAW agree to lower pay and benefits "that would be in line with compensation earned by workers at U.S. factories producing cars for Japanese companies such as Honda, Toyota and Nissan." Having Senate Republicans try to set salaries for autoworkers is reckless and idiotic. Consider this: THEY are the ones who have spent this country dry on pork projects and a misguided war to the tune of $600 billion, and just last month gave away, without condition, $700+ billion to banks that didn't even ask for the money. To think they could set an hourly wage for an autoworker in this country is downright insulting to Americans. How about we Americans get a chance to set THEIR salaries?
This is an excerpt from an article by Eric Boehlert on Media Matters:
Felix Salmon at Portfolio did perhaps the best job explaining the misinformation at play:
The average GM assembly-line worker makes about $28 per hour in wages, and I can assure you that GM is not paying $42 an hour in health insurance and pension plan contributions. Rather, the $70 per hour figure (or $73 an hour, or whatever) is a ridiculous number obtained by adding up GM’s total labor, health, and pension costs, and then dividing by the total number of hours worked. In other words, it includes all the healthcare and retirement costs of retired workers.The United States helps foreign auto companies; gives them land worth billions, state incentives worth billions and training funds worth tens of millions of dollars. Japan helps the Japanese automakers, Germany helps the German automakers, Korea helps the Korean automakers. The United States had better start helping Americans keep American jobs at American auto companies. The nonsense you are hearing from Republicans in the Senate, the idiots on talk radio and the anti-union, corporate-owned media crowd only glosses over the facts. FACT: Senator Shelby from Alabama has no problem throwing piles of your money at foreign based automobile companies to locate a plant in his state. HERE'S THE PROOF. McConnell has no problem making sure we negotiate crooked, one-sided trade deals where foreign cars get dumped in America but American products have no chance being sold overseas. Wake up!!
Indeed, according to this Associated Press report, a chunk of GM’s $70-an-hour labor costs goes toward paying current retirees’ pensions and health-care coverage. In other words, that’s money that’s not going to end up in the pocket of any autoworker when he cashes his paycheck this week. That’s money GM has to set aside in order to pay off costs associated with workers already in retirement. That money has absolutely nothing to do with calculating the hourly wage of a full-time UAW employee today. None.
There are a lot of union autoworkers in Louisville, and many reside in Southwest Louisville. These people are your friends and neighbors. You go to church with them. Your kids play with their kids. Don't insult and degrade them by acting as though you think you know how much they deserve to be paid per hour. With these high-paying jobs, they are paying more taxes so you don't have to. But when these jobs are gone, watch your tax bill, because the shortfall in receipts must come from you.
This matter affects all of us. Stand with American industry, and back the union autoworker. Thanks to the government, you are all the support he/she has left.
Call Senator Bunning (202-224-4343) and Senator McConnell (202-224-2541). Tell them to get their asses in gear.
MITCH THE BITCH HAS NEVER HELPED WORKING PEOPLE ANYWAYS!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOnly his rich buddies.Good job Kentucky on reelecting this idiot you get what you deserve!!!!!!!!!!!!
from one ironworker to another----keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteAmericans are being sold out by these traitorous sleazebags in our Congress. There are a few that actually care about this country and the people that pay the taxes in this nation. People like McConvict and Shelby are not even supporting your country when they give millions to overseas interests and even billions of dollars of trade concessions to the Japanese and Red Chinese.
ReplyDeleteIts hardly about leveling the playing field to allow our manufacturers to compete. Not when you can dump vehicles here from other countries and not have to pay certain taxes because of incentives. Which are taxes gleaned from the bodies of hard working Americans. The Japanese are not our friend either as their trade practices are predatory as are the Chinese.
GATT and the WTO have lowered the standards of not only our workforce but also health and welfare of all those in the workforce. Not only has the pay been lowered but also working conditions, job protections, and true economic empowerment. These people in Congress have forgotten about the value of the working and middle class Americans. Therefore, the people that are working the hardest are the ones getting taxed very heavily.
As far as the people that vote people like McConnell back in, I have to question their character and ethics as well as their personal morality. How exactly can you support people that are selling your country away piece by piece. While millions here are without basic health care. Millions more hang at the edges of society near losing their homes and apartments on basis of one job loss. Millions more have their retirements swindled by vultures in the financial sector as values of 401k have dwindled to in many cases 50 to 75 percent of their former values.
Is it just me but doesn't moral values meaning to stand up for right at all times, not just when your so called ethical political party does so. And to expect these politicos to stand for your so called moral values, is like the greatest treachery because its like giving a burglar your house keys and not expecting anything to be stolen.
So much for your moral values when the nation is swindled. Jobs are being sold out to China, Vietnam, Mexico, and the lowest paid bidder. The nation is 11 trillion dollars in debt. 70 trillion in unfunded liabilities including social security, Medicare, Medicaid, AFDC, etc. To tell me that you know about moral values when tent cities are popping up in Reno Nevada, Las Vegas, San Bernadino, and hundreds of other places is appalling. While Mitch McConnell and your so called moral majority trashes an entire country for the benefit of the World Trade Organization, United Nations, GATT, North American Free Taco Agreenment or Trade Agreement.
So much for your conservative and superior values while kids go hungry, old people lose their homes, and the youth are left with little future other than continuous debtors. An American disgrace.