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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mishedlo who wrote (93741)	2/3/2009 3:34:07 PM
From: ajtj99	Respond to of 116555

The Jobs Bank is not over with. The automakers are reportedly paying the difference between what the state is now paying in various compensation including unemployment, and what the UAW contract stipulates.

To: mishedlo who wrote (93741)	2/3/2009 3:42:52 PM
From: ajtj99	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Here's an article I found that explains what happened with the Jobs Bank. They employees are getting 72% of pay instead of 85%. January 29, 2009 Section: BIZ; BUSINESS Edition: METRO FINAL Page: 1D GM TO END JOBS BANK MONDAY 1,600 WORKERS TO GO ON LAYOFF, GET ABOUT 72% OF PAY TIM HIGGINS FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER General Motors Corp. plans to end Monday its controversial jobs bank program, which paid UAW workers who were not working, the company said Wednesday. Chrysler ended its jobs bank program earlier this week. The moves come as GM and Chrysler are racing to get concessions from labor and other stakeholders as required under the terms of the $17.4-billion federal loans granted to the two companies. The 1,600 UAW workers in GM's jobs bank will be placed on layoff and must apply for unemployment benefits. Between a mixture of unemployment and company pay, the workers will receive about 72% of their normal compensation, GM spokesman Tony Sapienza said. In GM's jobs bank, workers had been receiving about 85% of their regular compensation. "We are ending the jobs bank," Sapienza said. "Effective Monday, anyone that's in the jobs bank goes immediately into layoff." Chrysler's UAW workers who were forced out of its jobs bank are also receiving a similar mixture of company and unemployment benefits. The federal loans to GM and Chrysler called for the "elimination of the payment of any compensation or benefits to U.S. employees of the company or any subsidiary who have been fired, laid off, furloughed, or idled, other than customary severance pay." GM indicated that with the elimination of the jobs bank it believes the company is meeting that requirement. However, the automaker noted that talks are still under way. "This allows us to put a portion of our unemployment costs to the states, as most companies traditionally do," Sapienza said. "The terms of the loan agreement say that our severance policy has to be in line with what is customary. We believe this is in line with customary severance and layoff policy. ... We are continuing to work with our union partners to discuss other elements of the bridge loan and the things we still need to do." The automakers instituted jobs banks at a time when they were modernizing their factories and needed to win labor support for innovations that would mean a loss of jobs. The auto companies provided nearly all of an autoworker's pay and benefits when he or she was put into a jobs bank. UAW members went into a jobs bank if they remained laid off beyond 48 weeks. Jobs bank compensation is different from the money the company pays workers who are laid off - which is known as sub pay - to offset government unemployment benefits. "There's a huge difference in terms of what the supplemental unemployment - the sub pay - was doing and the jobs bank. The jobs bank was when they completely eliminated your plant and they had almost no hope of ever being called back," said Arthur Wheaton, a labor expert from Cornell University. "Sub pay was: You're on unemployment and it's going to have all of the same rules and requirements, you're only allowed so long, and there's a big component in there to say, 'OK, you've got to go back and get some retraining or you've got to get some education or do something to get back to work.'" The UAW declined comment. The union's president, Ron Gettelfinger, indicated in December that the jobs bank provision was on the table for negotiations as the automakers' stakeholders were being pressured for concessions. He said he would move to immediately suspend the jobs bank. He has said that the jobs bank has been severely reduced to a "mere shadow of what it used to be." Contact TIM HIGGINS at 313-222-8784 or thiggins@freepress.com.

To: mishedlo who wrote (93741)	2/3/2009 5:40:22 PM
From: John McCarthy	Respond to of 116555

ADP Employment Chart adpemploymentreport.com posted by Keith Feral here: Message 25381246

To: mishedlo who wrote (93741)	2/3/2009 11:14:25 PM
From: John McCarthy	Respond to of 116555

Mish In effect - is it fair to _think_ that the American taxpayer is really paying for / has really paid for - these worker buyouts? regards John

To: mishedlo who wrote (93741)	2/4/2009 8:17:40 PM
From: roguedolphin	Respond to of 116555

We Hold These Truths: The Hope of Monetary Reform by Richard C. Cook (Author) amazon.com Editorial Reviews Product Description In the wake of this U.S. economic meltdown, the mainstream population faces four possible futures: 1. Adjust and accept diminished prosperity, in a life that includes two or three part time jobs, a perpetual job search in a declining economy, and the need to share housing with extended family or even strangers. And by the way, plan to join the underground economy. 2. Jump on the bandwagon of a new international war! Hey, World War II got us out of the post1929 depression, why not try that strategy again? 3. Prepare for chaos in the streets and a rightwing response of martial law and the suspension of our core doctrine the Bill of Rights. or 4. Join a real and positive revolution to reform a broken monetary system, rebuild our public infrastructure, and develop an income assurance strategy that gives everyone a chance at a future that provides for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.