UAW: Necessity or Hypocrisy

This morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time workers from General Motors went on strike. Despite working all night to reach a deal, the 11 a.m. deadline set by the United Autoworkers Union in its negotiations with General Motors Corp. passed with out an agreement. Workers have already begun picketing outside five GM plants. I wish I was still in Michigan. I would pick up a picket sign and stand right next to those workers. But my picket sign would read "Overpaid for Decades and Loving It".

I can not believe that these union protected workers have the guts to stand on a corner and hold a sign saying that they are mis-treated workers. I hope that there is someone out there that can explain it to me. These workers have been being paid way too much for over three decades and still find a reason to complain. The economic situation in MI is already in the toilet. The epicenter of this horrible situation is the Detroit auto market and the ever-increasing unemployment rate.

I have been reading the WWJ Newsradio 950 message board all morning. I was delighted to see that there were so many people out there that agreed that the unions have taken advantage of the auto industry. There are union protected workers that get 15 paid vacation days, 10 sick/personal days, full medical coverage, and receive an annual salary of $80,000 a year. Please keep in mind there are many of these workers that have no more then a high school education.

This is my stance. I am not going to spit out statistics and quotes from union and GM representatives. I have friends and family members that work in the auto industry and I have sat down at holidays and told them my views. And here it is....

Union protected auto workers have been extremely overpaid for decades. The original reason for the unions was to protect the rights of the worker. This was a noble start for this group. The unions came in and developed safer work environments, they regulated the hours that a worker could take on, helped provide them with sufficient pay, and made the company responsible for taking care of its employees. But this has spun out of control. OSHA was developed to specifically keep workers safe and out of harms way. This left compensation for the unions to take care of and they have beaten it into the ground. There is no reason for the UAW to exist. Is the auto industry really that different that they need a union when so many other industries can function properly without? If the UAW is so worried about the rising threat of union protected employees then why don't they suspend their union dues. Let the workers have a little more disposable income. This will not happen because it is a business. It is not looking out for the workers, it is looking out for itself. If the UAW keeps going at the pace that it is, GM will be ripped apart due to the high costs of labor compared to the low quality of the work they perform. Where will UAW reps be after that? Still fighting for the worker? Are they going to be actively seeking out jobs for those workers that handed them a piece of there check that they didn't deserve in the first place? I very much doubt that the UAW will still be helping workers if they can't get their hand in the worker's wallet.

In today's day and age, no ones job is safe. The mechanic, the dentist, line worker or the computer programmer. You have to be good at what you do to keep your job. You have to work your ass off and try and be the best. There are way too many people out there that can get away with not doing their jobs. The auto worker is one of these people. But it is time for the auto market to stand up and fight.

I am hoping that a GM representative comes out of the building and approaches one of the many news crews on-site. I hope that representative looks into the camera and states the following "Good morning. I wanted to let all of our workers know that we appreciate their views and opinions. But we are still a business at the end of the day. Therefore, if you are scheduled to be working at this time, I recommend you return to your job. Those that fail to arrive within a half hour of their scheduled starting time will be laid off without compensation. You are paid to work and if you don't want to work then we will not pay you. For all of you that sit watching this because you have felt the real economic struggle we are currently experiencing in the great state of Michigan, you are welcome here at General Motors. Those standing behind me would like to offer you their jobs. Please apply within."