Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Delphi Part 2

More details from a Delphi management memo to the UAW acquired by Bloomberg (click here for the article) sheds more light on how far this bankruptcy is going to go.

In short, it doesn't look good for anyone that works in the Union. In fact, it's downright depressing. Where this is going to go is anyone's guess.

If everything that is outlined in the Delphi management letter comes to pass, you can forget everything that Union protection has stood for: Fair wages, job protection, representation, pension, health benefits, etc. All that the Union has fought for 50+ years won't amount to a hill of beans (and those will go fast with all the starving retirees fighting for them).

Having been on both sides of the fence, first as a salaried employee and then as a BU employee, I have seen the erosion of benefits for both the working and retired. Every contract negotiation is an exercise in who loses the least. No one seems to come out ahead, although there are those that beg to differ.

Yes, business is bad in the auto industry. However, you have to make a product that sells, and not expect the public to buy any old thing you make. The Japanese have proven that time & time again. Union built or not, the decisions on what to build still have to be made. Decide wrong, and it's the worker that suffers.

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