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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Geoff Altman who wrote (283980)	12/12/2008 12:25:31 PM
From: Peter Dierks	2 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793999

Now that their livelyhood has been threatened by theirs and the unions greed you think the UAW workers are going to wise up and figure out that the unions haven't just boxed in the big 3, they've also boxed in the workers.... In my encounters with people that have the socialist worker mentality they ave demonstrated in the past an inability to recognise their responsibility. If they are fired the employer wronged them. Even if you interview them and they admit they were terrible employees they don't want to admit their responsibility. We can only hope that there is enough conservative and libertarian thought available that a significant portion of the affected people become willing to accept responsibility for their actions. They can never become fully adult until they do.

To: Geoff Altman who wrote (283980)	12/12/2008 1:04:24 PM
From: miraje	16 Recommendations Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 793999

Couple that with the unions stead fast refusal to lose jobs by modernization.....which is something else the big 3 are lagging...... It's not just UAW wages and benefits that add to the costs of the Big 3, it's the stifling union extorted work rules that have hamstrung the industry for years. Streamlining production facilities, closing inefficient plants and adopting modern manufacturing processes have ranged between difficult and impossible for the Big 3 to achieve. A couple of other points. Contrary to much popular thought, the domestic car companies are making some damn good vehicles these days, both in quality and content, especially Ford and GM. Chrysler still lags somewhat on the quality front. Check J. D. Power. The fact that they've been forced to heavily discount as of late is the price they're paying for days gone by (especially in the 1980's) when they did, in fact, produce shoddy vehicles. Add that to their current financial burden. Also, when you look outside North America, both Ford and GM are doing quite well. Ford in Europe makes excellent, popular and stylish small cars (thanks to the UAW, importing them here doesn't count against the moronic CAFE rules). Likewise, GM's Opel brand. GM also has a good foothold in China, with Buick being a prestigious and popular brand. GM's Holden in Australia makes innovative modern cars, some of which are rebranded and sold in North America. Etc, etc.. I like domestic cars. Always have. I currently own several. There's some great history with the Big 3 and I'd really hate to see them go down. But if Gettlefinger and the UAW won't wake up and smell the coffee and get real, then unfortunately bankruptcy is the only viable option for them to properly restructure, which they can do with innovative management and by shedding unrealistic union shackles..