Perhaps you have seen the story about the United Auto Workers-owned golf course in northern Michigan and the controversy about the value of its property and tax history. Well, local blogger Chetly Zarko has dug even deeper to try to figure out why the facility's reported Pension Fund expenses are so high:The only explanation in my mind for this kind of pension fund investment is that the pension contributions are for SOMEONE ELSE other than the workers at the hotel. Just who might be receiving the long-term benefit of those contributions? It's not big enough to pay the pension debt of any serious number of rank-and-file union members - but it is big enough to sauce up a few individual's or union leadership. Or perhaps the UAW is using … [Read more...]
Yo, Ho, Ho! A UAW Boss’s Life for Me…
Here's another small log to throw into the automotive bailout fiasco: A local Detroit TV news station tracks the well-paid lifestyle of a couple UAW union plant officials. See if you can count the number of stops at the liquor store made while on the clock, being compensated from their line workers' mandatory dues funds. (H/T Labor Pains) … [Read more...]
“Un-American”? Michigan Bailout Rhetoric Reaches Fever Pitch
I can feel the pain of my home state of Michigan (and no, I'm not referring to the bitter cold temperatures we're experiencing here along the Front Range). The angst coming from the Motor City and its environs is palpable. One of the most poignant examples, at least from my perspective, relates to a scheduled weekend appearance by Kentucky's U.S. Senator (and former Detroit Tigers pitcher) Jim Bunning. Detroit Free Press columnist Brian Dickerson ripped Bunning a new one after the Republican Senator voted against the UAW's federal government bailout deal. Dickerson wrote:He may be losing his marbles, but U.S. senator and ex-Tiger pitching great Jim Bunning still has big brass cojones. After all, most of the GOP senators … [Read more...]
Have You Seen Just How Big a United Auto Workers Contract Is?
(Via Michelle Malkin) The Labor Pains blog has a great visual and links to the huge labor contracts negotiated between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Detroit's Big Three:Ever wondered what a UAW contract looks like? Here is all 22 pounds of it (in this case, Ford’s 2,215 page 2007 master contract; Coke can is for scale and because I was thirsty). I’ll tell you this much, those 2,215 pages don’t include much regarding efficiency and competitiveness. What you’ll find are hundreds of rules, regulations, and letters of understanding that have hamstrung the auto companies for years. One of my claims to distinction (certainly not fame) is I have read all 45 or so collective bargaining agreements between Colorado school districts … [Read more...]
Auto Bailout Dead for Now: GOP, UAW Won’t Strike Last-Minute Deal
Update: Colorado's own Ken Salazar voted for the bailout. John Hawkins at Right Wing News reports within the past hour that the automotive bailout deal is dead in the U.S. Senate for this year. Confirmed by the Associated Press:A $14 billion emergency bailout for U.S. automakers has collapsed in the Senate after the United Auto Workers refused to accede to Republican demands for swift wage cuts. Michelle Malkin reports only 52 votes in the U.S. Senate, eight short of the 60 needed for cloture to move the auto bailout forward. Good news. If this economic disaster ends up going forward, the Democrats and their UAW sugar-daddies will own it. … [Read more...]
Blago and Bailouts Connected in Anger-Inducing Big Government Theme
Economist Steve Horwitz ties the thread between the two mammoth stories running through the blogosphere right now (H/T Brian Doherty, Reason):I can't help but note that yet another politician is indicted on corruption charges at the very same time we are handing over unprecedented power to the political class as we partially nationalize the banking system and, apparently, the Big Three auto companies. I simply do not understand how those who are in favor of giving government all of these new powers because they sincerely believe that doing so will work out the way their blackboard designs intended can keep a straight face. What kind of cognitive dissonance must it take to believe that the people YOU are handing power over to are "not … [Read more...]