Does the UAW understand Capitalism?

For 36+ years of working, I've always leaned toward the labor side of the fence in the working arena. I got that mindset honestly from my Grandpa, who worked for Armco for 46 years and his stories persuaded me to be leery of management. I'm on my 41st year of working, all for non-union shops, never coming close to $70 per hour on the wage scale, including benefits. I suppose unions were well intended when they started in the 20's or 30's. Perhaps management and company ownership treated their workers poorly back then with a dangerous working environment and unfair labor laws on the books. As time went by, somehow, someway, the unions got too full of themselves and started trying to dictate to the company how it was going to be. Now, they've basically negotiated themselves right out of a job by draining the company of money for wages and benefits costs. In this case, I can't justify supporting union folks as they have become ultra greedy in their demands.Couple that with a management team that was not inventive enough to keep up with the changes in the industry and has cowered down to union demands and we have a disaster that will be painful for all to fix. Union folks have lived the good life for quite a while now. Looks like that good life is about to hit the wall of reality where wages and benefits are more in line with the skill level of the job.

The Unions understand one thing it is about....ME, ME, ME, ME and nothing else matters.  Unions are a significant problem for Ohio, from City Unions to Private Unions.  Personally I think it is time for a little Ronald Regan Air Traffic Controller type of action.  $70.00+ an hour I guarantee you, you will have no problem filling those jobs for about half of that and that includes benefits.  Same goes for Public Safety Unions either play ball with the City and its Citizens or Layoffs are coming.

Bwood I am well aware of that, that is why I said that includes bennies.

BWood- it is understood that the $70 rate includes wages + bennies. The real story here is that the rate outside of the union shops is more in the $40 per hour rate for wages and bennies. That is the focus here. Need to reduce the hourly rate of the union shops while requiring union workers to assume more of their monthly premiums for medical and dental like us non-union folks were asked to do several years ago. It is long past due that union folks start operating under the same conditions as the majority of the working world must do.

I think that in order for the auto industry to get any kind of help, that the taxpayers demand that the top leaders of this failed industry should all be replaced. Why should they be allowed to continue to profit when they were the ones in charge of this failure. If they couldn't make this work from the start then I would assume that they will devise some underhanded way to escape with more money and perks in their pockets if they see that this money was a wasted venture. I would like to see Congress ask for their resignations in return for taxpayer's help then we would really see how much they cared about the industry. We need more concessions from the unions also.

That was a very interesting parable.