Its going up again,
(The Blood Pressure)
The auto industry is rolling into Washington with its latest sob story. Do you think the fools on the hill will fall for it this time? The industry is in business- unfortunately for my state of Michigan and the rest of country that relies on the big three to provide jobs and security they are not the least bit interested in you. They do care about the plants they have operating in Mexico- China- South Korea and coming soon Russia. The UAW ( a great idea in the 1930s ) has priced themselves and the American worker right out of the picture. I urge all of you who have legislators that are leaning to the support of this bailout to write and urge them to reconsider.
For any of you that disagree feel free to write and enlighten and lower my Blood Pressure, if you would like a guided tour of a place called Flint Michigan ( the birthplace of General Motors) Write me I can arrange the tour through the ruins. You may ask yourself why does this fool feel qualified to even talk about this, well let me give you a little history. My Grandfather moved here from Illinois in 1924 and hired into Chevrolet and worked until 1959. My Father hired into Chevrolet in 1941 went off to defend this great nation until 1946 and returned to work at General Motors until 1978. I hired into Chevrolet in 1976 and Walk ( or Ran ) away in 1978 after seeing the futility of workbook there. In other words I have ate and slept G.M. for a lifetime. I respect anyone who worked for and retired from any facet of the auto industry I only hope their future is secure. The Bailout will not help them, they will be offered up as sacrificial lambs to save multi million dollar executives and the perks that go along with their respective positions.
Please feel free to comment.
JasperJack
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2 comments:
I too have a generational relationship with GM. My grandfather worked at the Chevy plant, my father at Buick City, and I worked at SPO for 3 years before being laid off in October.
I agree with you that the union has helped seal the fate of American workers. Especially those in Flint, who've been bilked into believing that unions are the only way to ensure fair treatment from an employer.
I'm not sure what to think about this bailout. There are layers upon layers of unnecessary middle management at GM. It would suck to be one of those people, but the company doesn't NEED them to survive. In order for any of this to work, the Big 3 need to cut out the layers of bureaucracy, and not dump the people doing the actual work.
I still wonder if the only only way to truly come out of this viable would be to close up shop, dump the UAW, and reopen as an entirely new company.
I want to share the editorial in today's Free Press, a copy of which is being sent to every member of Congress - It makes a strong case-
SPECIAL FREE PRESS EDITORIAL | A MESSAGE TO WASHINGTON
Invest in America
December 4, 2008
DEAR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS:
YOU DON'T WANT AN ECONOMIC DISASTER ON YOUR HANDS. Not when you could have prevented it. And not in times that are already the worst in a generation.
But that's exactly what you'll have -- and more -- if one of the three Detroit automakers goes belly-up for lack of a government-backed loan. There will be economic hell to pay -- not just in Detroit, but all across America, including in your state, in your district.
The loss of jobs, the devastated retirements, the massive loss of health care coverage, the sharp drop in local tax revenues, the closings of supplier and ancillary businesses -- all would be calamitous in the best of times. And these are not that. Just ask the people you represent.
More than 3 million jobs are at stake in the industry. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are threaded in the fabric of businesses in every state across America.
A failure of one or more of the automakers would deepen the country's worst recession in 27 years, and it could take decades to rebuild the nation's industrial base, which will atrophy like an unused limb without the muscle-flexing of Detroit's automakers.
Who will buy the rubber, plastics, copper and computer chips that Americans make? Who will need all the tool and die shop workers, mold makers or software engineers who help drive the small-business economy in so many states?
You don't want all this blood on your hands. No one could.
Because the losses from an auto industry failure are about more than dry statistics. Every job associated with the industry is a family, a home, a college education, a cancer treatment or a secure retirement. Every one of those jobs is about someone making a living doing work that's vital to the nation's economic interests.
No one knows more than the people of Michigan how precious those jobs are, or how fragile they've become in a cutthroat global economy where so many countries prop up their own auto industries.
Know that the people of Michigan, and especially those who toil for the automakers, are as angry as anyone over the string of misjudgments, failures and bad decisions that contributed to the industry's woes. No one here is enthused about the idea of extending government money to a private industry with so many self-inflicted wounds. But the automakers deserve credit for real gains, including products on par with their world rivals and plants that operate among the best in the business. Remember, too, that Detroit helped rescue America as the Arsenal of Democracy in World War II and, through GM's no-interest loans, helped jump-start the battered economy after 9/11. Now, when our automakers and autoworkers need a hand up, will America really turn its back?
The Detroit automakers are hemorrhaging cash to stay in business. Two of them are nearly drained, and the third is getting by on a transfusion. They can get well. They have shown how. But first they have to survive. And their survival is in America's best interests.
You can help them. And if you don't, make no mistake: There will be bleeding throughout the land.
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