One Reason Detroit is a Mess
You would think unions were a good thing. At one time, in the early 20th century, they did help protect employees from abusive employers. But at some point the balance shifted and the unions became the abusers, asking so much from the companies that they were locked into contracts that no longer work in today’‘s economy. In the 1960s, the American Auto industry had little competition. Things have changed. And yet, union contracts only got more extreme. Some assembly line worker can be making $70 an hour, when they’re working.
And when they’re laid off, they still get paid. As part of the jobs bank programs, which the UAW negotiated in the 80s, companies are losing billions of dollars.
And that’s just one of the things hurting them. Non-competitive wages are another.
This is why a bailout is a bad idea. They need to be forced into bankruptcy where they can get a lot of dead weight union contracts rescinded. Others will have to be changed.
That may suck for the workers in the short term. But if the companies truly go under, no companies means no money at all. The economies of places like Michigan will never revive until this kind of madness ends.
Of course. the Dems are big union boosters, so we’ll see who wins, the reality of the economy or the fantasy of Democrat thinking.
