Any bailout of the automotive industry, and I do believe they should get one, should come when, and only when, the unions have made enough concessions for our auto companies to compete with the rest of the world. Don't get me wrong, there was most certainly a time and place for the unions, but if concessions are not made soon, they are going to become obsolete out of necessity.
Don't quote me on this, but I heard a figure a few years back that stated a UAW line worker total compensation package (salary + pension + medical) was somewhere around $80,000 per year. I am guessing that, were I to do the research, that number might even be higher now. As a 6th year teacher, my total compensation comes in around $60,000...with a masters degree! In other words, after spending more than 6 years in post-high school education and over $40,000 in college moneys, I make way less than an auto worker!
I believe that auto workers are entitled to make a living as much as the next guys, but to expect to earn more than a college educated educator of others is ludicrous!
Our current economic woes are nothing compared to what is coming if the unions don't WAKE UP! If you have any doubts as to the health of the US automotive companies and the impact of their absence on a community, just visit the Flint area in Michigan!
The same fate will befall the rest of the country soon, if the government throws money at the US auto companies without these reforms mandated. I do, however, see much irony in the government's willingness to throw over a trillion dollars at the same criminals in the mortgage and banking companies that got us in this mess in the first place...and NOW they start asking questions!
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