Republican Walmart Deal For Detroit
I’m sorry but I am totally not in agreement with Republican’s when it comes to the Big Three Bailout that failed in the Senate today. Apparently, the only concession that Republican’s wanted was that Detroit Auto Workers agree to the same pay as Walmart workers! What concessions did Wall Street and the billions of greed laden bonuses were part of the discussion for $700 Billion by the banking industry? Do you read anything anywhere about pay cuts in the banking or brokerage houses? Yes, there are job cuts but nobody is cutting their pay down to subsistence levels. I’ll tell you what… NOT ONE big bank that will take the bailout money is going to trim pay scales! But if you are a Detroit Auto Worker you are supposed to put on a blue vest and be thankful while Republican’s break your legal union up simply because they can. This would not be the same outcome if Democrat’s fully controlled the Congress. Um, Democrats do control the Senate but apparently the leadership has no backbone to actually lead. If Jim Web of Virginia were Senate President it would have passed with no concessions.
Over at the New York Times they have this one last chance to slap the working class in the face by Republican’s with a screw you attitude towards the middle and lower classes of America. And in doing so they dump all of the problems they have refused to work on to fix on a new Democrat President…
U.A.W. at Center of Dispute Over Bailout
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
Published: December 12, 2008
DETROIT — Opponents of a Congressional bailout for Detroit auto companies and the United Automobile Workers union traded charges Friday over who was responsible for the defeat of legislation that would have provided temporary financing until the automakers restructured.
Senator Bob Corker, a Republican of Tennessee, suggested the fault lay with the U.A.W.’s president, Ron Gettelfinger, whose union declined to agree to allow wage concessions in 2009 as part of a deal.
But at a news conference Friday morning, Mr. Gettelfinger said the union feared that it was “being set up” by Mr. Corker, who he said was asking the union for concessions that were not sought from other participants in the talks.
Snip… Grab A Wrench to throw…
In a statement Thursday night, the union said it was “prepared to agree that any restructuring plan should ensure that the wages and benefits of workers at the domestic automakers should be competitive with those paid by the foreign transplants. But we also recognized that this would take time to work out and implement” using programs like buyouts and early retirement offers to bring in new workers at lower rates.
“Unfortunately, Senate Republicans insisted that this had to be accomplished by an arbitrary deadline,” the statement said. “This arbitrary requirement was not imposed on any other stakeholder groups. Thus, the U.A.W. believed this was a blatant attempt to make workers shoulder the lion’s share of the costs of any restructuring plan.”
In an interview Friday morning on CNBC, Mr. Corker suggested the union, not Republicans, bore the burden for the measure’s failure.
“I offered them a solution,” he said of discussions with union representatives. “Our caucus was 100 percent behind it. Do we own it, or does the U.A.W. own it?” – New York Times
There is more to this story than we are all reading and I think it comes down to the foreign automakers spread out over more states that are using that Congressional power of numbers to protect and defend their own interests. If the Big Three fail, then Toyota, Honda and every other foreign owned auto maker with plants in the United States wins. You will never be able to buy another American made car ever again! But the campaign war chest check cleared for the Congress members that shot this bill down. All of them Republican!
What is the real destructiveness of this loss is to the American worker across many industries. Republican’s have found a way to cripple a union and make them look like the guilty party. Good wages for good jobs are wrong in America for people punching the clock and working forty or sixty hours a week. The wet dream of the people that killed this bill is to have a nation of Walmart workers where your pay sucks, your benefits suck, and your opportunity to move up in life is less than the chance of winning the lottery. A nation of part time workers where the top of the food chain of the company hands out crumbs to the masses and feels good about the people eating cake.
This bills failure to pass just created several million new Democrat voters all over America that used to be Republican. With the possible bankruptcy of the Big Three Automakers comes millions of middle management and business owners that will see their own business forced into bankruptcy. Good paying jobs all across America will be lost because Senator Bob Corker of Tenn deemed it so. Democrat’s in Congress wanted to pass a bill to bailout the Big Three, Bob Corker and his Republican friends in the Congress killed it.
I do have this to say, Harry Reed should resign as Senate President. If he didn’t have the guts to politically deal with the Republican’s in the Senate then he has no clue as to how to do the job. How the hell is this going to pass once Obama is President or for that matter any tough legislation he needs passed for America? Nice knowing you Harry but you need to step down and let a real leader with backbone take over.
Hopefully, Walmart can keep opening up stores all across America to keep up with the number of JOBS Senator Bob Corker just put into the unemployment lines. Here is your smiley sticker, you can’t eat it or pay your mortgage with it but doesn’t it make you feel better? NOT!
Papamoka
Over at the New York Times they have this one last chance to slap the working class in the face by Republican’s with a screw you attitude towards the middle and lower classes of America. And in doing so they dump all of the problems they have refused to work on to fix on a new Democrat President…
U.A.W. at Center of Dispute Over Bailout
By MICHELINE MAYNARD
Published: December 12, 2008
DETROIT — Opponents of a Congressional bailout for Detroit auto companies and the United Automobile Workers union traded charges Friday over who was responsible for the defeat of legislation that would have provided temporary financing until the automakers restructured.
Senator Bob Corker, a Republican of Tennessee, suggested the fault lay with the U.A.W.’s president, Ron Gettelfinger, whose union declined to agree to allow wage concessions in 2009 as part of a deal.
But at a news conference Friday morning, Mr. Gettelfinger said the union feared that it was “being set up” by Mr. Corker, who he said was asking the union for concessions that were not sought from other participants in the talks.
Snip… Grab A Wrench to throw…
In a statement Thursday night, the union said it was “prepared to agree that any restructuring plan should ensure that the wages and benefits of workers at the domestic automakers should be competitive with those paid by the foreign transplants. But we also recognized that this would take time to work out and implement” using programs like buyouts and early retirement offers to bring in new workers at lower rates.
“Unfortunately, Senate Republicans insisted that this had to be accomplished by an arbitrary deadline,” the statement said. “This arbitrary requirement was not imposed on any other stakeholder groups. Thus, the U.A.W. believed this was a blatant attempt to make workers shoulder the lion’s share of the costs of any restructuring plan.”
In an interview Friday morning on CNBC, Mr. Corker suggested the union, not Republicans, bore the burden for the measure’s failure.
“I offered them a solution,” he said of discussions with union representatives. “Our caucus was 100 percent behind it. Do we own it, or does the U.A.W. own it?” – New York Times
There is more to this story than we are all reading and I think it comes down to the foreign automakers spread out over more states that are using that Congressional power of numbers to protect and defend their own interests. If the Big Three fail, then Toyota, Honda and every other foreign owned auto maker with plants in the United States wins. You will never be able to buy another American made car ever again! But the campaign war chest check cleared for the Congress members that shot this bill down. All of them Republican!
What is the real destructiveness of this loss is to the American worker across many industries. Republican’s have found a way to cripple a union and make them look like the guilty party. Good wages for good jobs are wrong in America for people punching the clock and working forty or sixty hours a week. The wet dream of the people that killed this bill is to have a nation of Walmart workers where your pay sucks, your benefits suck, and your opportunity to move up in life is less than the chance of winning the lottery. A nation of part time workers where the top of the food chain of the company hands out crumbs to the masses and feels good about the people eating cake.
This bills failure to pass just created several million new Democrat voters all over America that used to be Republican. With the possible bankruptcy of the Big Three Automakers comes millions of middle management and business owners that will see their own business forced into bankruptcy. Good paying jobs all across America will be lost because Senator Bob Corker of Tenn deemed it so. Democrat’s in Congress wanted to pass a bill to bailout the Big Three, Bob Corker and his Republican friends in the Congress killed it.
I do have this to say, Harry Reed should resign as Senate President. If he didn’t have the guts to politically deal with the Republican’s in the Senate then he has no clue as to how to do the job. How the hell is this going to pass once Obama is President or for that matter any tough legislation he needs passed for America? Nice knowing you Harry but you need to step down and let a real leader with backbone take over.
Hopefully, Walmart can keep opening up stores all across America to keep up with the number of JOBS Senator Bob Corker just put into the unemployment lines. Here is your smiley sticker, you can’t eat it or pay your mortgage with it but doesn’t it make you feel better? NOT!
Papamoka
UPDATE: MSNBC HAS REPUBLICAN MEMO ON KILLING GM AND THE UAW!
Video Link
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Labels: Chrysler, Detroit Bail Out, Ford, GM, Honda, Senator Corker, Senator Robert Corker, Toyota, UAW, Union Busting, Union Workers
posted by Papamoka at
7:43 PM
4 Comments:
TYPICAL REPUBLICAN OUTCOME; THE RICH GET RICHER & THE REST OF THE WORKING CLASS GETS THE SHAFT!!!!!!
Random thoughts:
Heard on MSNBC last night that Toyota workers actually are paid a little more per hour than GM workers.
If I had the money, I would buy 100 share of GM now and sit on them! The American auto industry will come back, if it can take a leading role in the greening and energy-saving transition. In all honesty, they have failed at this role, but perhaps this is a wake-up call.
Isn’t it funny that the very people who would be helped most by Democratic programs and labor unions have been indoctrinated to reject both, and they live in the SOUTH.
And …
LOU DOBBS IS AN IDIOT!
BJ
The rethugs would like to see American workers reduced to the slave status endured by sweatshop workers in China...the money the top 1% have already managed to steal from the working class isn't enough for them.
Welcome to the discussion TH and thank you so much for putting a link back to us in your sidebar! We returned the courtesy ;)
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