Pressure Obama, UAW Tells Members; Workers, retirees urged to ask for equitable treatment

[Purveyor]

Source: Lansing State Journal

NEW YORK - The United Auto Workers, facing the prospect of deeper wage and benefit cuts, urged its members Monday to lobby the Obama administration for support as the union presses ahead with negotiations with troubled automakers General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC.

The automakers are trying to wring deeper concessions from the union so they can achieve the cost cuts the government is demanding before it lends more money to them. Chrysler has until the end of April to arrange a tie-up with Italian automaker Fiat SpA and to get deeper concessions from debtholders and the UAW. GM has until June 1 to work out deals with its stakeholders.

In an e-mail Monday to a UAW mailing list, the union told members and supporters to contact the White House and "insist that workers and retirees must be treated in a fair and equitable manner in any restructuring plans."

"We need President Obama and his auto task force to stand up for the interests of workers and retirees in these restructuring negotiations," the e-mail said.

White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said in an e-mail that the autos task force "will continue to hear the views of all the stakeholders involved."

Read more: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20090421/NEWS03/904210311/1004/NEWS03?GID=8wPsT2eNS6VVLmFPZ3L350KLSA+X0NJykUITLCTmnq0%3D

[boomerbust]

1. GM Bankruptcy =

POTUS Sarah Palin 2012

[cosmicone]

2. No way. 2012 is a long ways away. n/t

[safeinOhio]

3. Screw a million retired workers=

blood in the streets.

[Old Michigander]

6. Wouldn't Be Renominated

If Obama screws over the UAW retirees he will never be able to win renomination as the Democratic Party presidential candidate in 2012. A pro-labor candidate with the support of the AFL-CIO would wrest the nomination away from him. Look at what happened to Jimmy Carter after he Ted Kennedy, and his policy-wonk man Alfred Kahn or whatever his name was, screwed the Teamsters over by deregulating the trucking industry. Carter was lucky and limped into first place at the convention, but the party was too damaged for him to win the general election.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Why A Trillion-Dollar Bailout For Banks, But Bankruptcy For GM?

Could it be for the chance to break the UAW?

[AZ Criminal JD]

5. Say what you want about bailing out the banks

But at least they are beginning to show a profit. GM continues to lose money every day. Giving it more money is like throwing it down a rat hole. They will never recover. In large part because the big bureaucratic UAW can't change.

[MannyGoldstein]

8. By Most Accounts, The Bank Profits Are Transient

And, as Paulson's buddy Geithner said today, lending is still very tight.

[Romulox]

9. Your post is completely illogical. The banks are "showing a profit"

based on trillions of taxpayer dollars subsidizing their operations.

If the Federal Government gave GM and Chrysler hundreds of billions of dollars, they would also "show a profit" (sic).

[AZ Criminal JD]

11. Talk about a illogical post

GM, etc. are getting billions and they are in worse shape than ever. Several of the banks want to pay back the bailout money and the government won't let them. Is that illogical, I think so.

[Romulox]

13. LOL. Add math to the things that apparently elude you.

"GM, etc. are getting billions and they are in worse shape than ever."

GM and Chrysler combined have received less than Citi alone.

[AZ Criminal JD]

15. Have GM or Chrysler offered to pay the money back?

I didn't think so.

[Romulox]

17. Goalposts: MOVED!

:hi:

[AZ Criminal JD]

19. My goal is to get the bailout money back.

Not just to gripe about the evil bankers. So yeah, I'll move them to real issue.

[Romulox]

20. Then basic logic suggests that you begin with demanding no NEW monies be disbursed to the finance

sector, who have received trillions in comparison to GM and Chrysler's several billions. Then you would move on to demanding a "viable business plan" from these Wall Street recipients of taxpayer largesse.

But you don't do that, do you? Instead, you claim that the self-same institutions that have received the most government aid are "making money", and concentrate your fire on Detroit, ignoring Wall Street altogether.

That's odd! :hi:

[mbperrin]

10. Might want to take a look at those "profits" - they are at best

transient, because they are making much larger allowances for future write-offs and foreclosures are rising sharply again now that the moratorium has expired.

Big bureaucracies like these big banks have no reason to change - they're taking us for every dime they can get....

[AZ Criminal JD]

12. They never should have been bailed out in the first place

Too bad Geithner and Obama went along with it.

[Romulox]

14. Right. But you were just pointing at the "profits" these bailed out banks have "earned"

Without the bailout, there was to be ARMAGEDDON (remember?)! :hi:

[AZ Criminal JD]

16. Yes I remember

And I was more than willing to let it happen.

[Romulox]

18. Right. But you were just pointing out the alleged "profitability" of these bailed out banks.

I think if you weren't feeling so defensive, you'd admit that you're making no sense.

[Metta]

7. Clearly, Obama isn't equally interested in taking care of workers and families around this.

This would be a better country if the government oversaw the retooling of some industry, as well.