And companies will magically reduce their prices without the unions. Oh, wait, no they won't. Saying it is all a union's fault is elementary at best. Sure, they have grown more powerful for a long time, and now it is starting to show, even after they have begun to make concessions. And more concessions are on the way if they want to survive. However, no one could foresee the extravagant rise in healthcare costs that have happened over the last decade. Retirees were given generous pensions with included healthcare that was fairly reasonable. Now it is through the roof, but the automakers had contracts with these guys from way back when it was cheaper. Toyota and Honda USA don't have the costs associated with retirees since they haven't been here that long. And those well-paid retirees fuel the economy. Someone has to have money to buy things. There is enough blame to go around for everyone. If unions were always the only problem, only non-union contractors would get the construction jobs. But I worked construction for many years, and saw non-union contractors put higher bids on projects, allowing union contractors to get the jobs. So were the non-union lesser-paid employees without benefits better off than their counterparts? The company wasn't going to share the excess profit with them. So why do you think GM would be any different? And even a whole lot of you anti-union guys benefit from the unions indirectly. Your breaks, any paid vacations, sick leave, OSHA safety requirements, etc.. all came about because of union lobbying for a better living and a safer workplace. The companies never did it out of the goodness of their hearts. For the record, unions make up less than 11% of the American workforce. That means 89% of us aren't union. Are all the non-union companies doing ok today? Is Lehman, Bear Stearns, and dozens more doing ok? Not when I checked. And not all union employees are highly-paid with great benefits. Sometimes all it does is protect them from being fired because they are getting older. To place all the blame on unions is somewhat silly to me. If the cost associated with union employess makes cars so high, why is it that a Toyota built by a worker that receives 40% less than his Ford counterpart, why can't I get a Toyota Camry for 40% less than a Taurus. Check the newspaper- they are higher than most of their American counterparts. And before you tell me it is the quality, look at Toyota and their recall record. They led all automakers in recalls in 2005 with a RECORD 1.5 million recalls. They improved and still led in 2006. In 2007 they were third, according to their CEO. High prices, average quality. The only difference is how they pay their workers. Go figure.
