Sympathy for The Union

Sympathy for The UnionSomewhere in heaven, Kurt Vonnegut is smoking a Pall Mall and chuckling sadly to himself. The famous American author (and onetime Saab salesman) often scathingly attacked our nation’s political elite for its utter opposition to the rights of the workingman. But perhaps even he could not have imagined a situation as absurdly pathetic as that which unfolded in the U.S. Senate last night.With our economy already in tatters, and 3 million more jobs on the brink of extinction, the Senate declined to pass $14 billion in loans to the nation’s automakers. The ultimate hold up was neither the Detroit Three’s turnaround plans nor even their history of opposing environmental reform. Rather, GOP Senators just couldn’t swallow the idea of giving the automakers any money while their employees make more than those who work for foreign automakers. The UAW wanted to forestall these concessions until 2011. The Senators wanted them right now. Apparently, a government that just threw $1.5 trillion at banks can’t spare a nickel to allow regular people the time to adjust to making less money.Now, it’s perfectly clear to anyone who follows the auto industry that the Detroit automakers simply cannot survive while saddled with antiquated contracts. It’s also true that the Union has at times shortsightedly dragged its feet on the reforms needed to save its employers. Indeed, Union negotiators were once more trying to delay the inevitable last night, refusing to bend the last bit to make a deal.Nevertheless, it’s maddening, almost nauseating, to see officials we elect to government so publicly and vehemently trying to cut the pay of hundreds of thousands of middle class workers.The mostly southern, mostly Republican opponents to the deal insist their motives are not political, that they’re not merely trying to further the interests of their region’s fledgling auto factories at the expense of dozens in Michigan, Ohio, and elsewhere. This begs the question of what, precisely, so bothers them about the union workers. Is it the fact that they enjoy cheap health insurance and reliable pensions, like Senators do? Is it that they insist on being part of the middle class without paying for an increasingly unaffordable college education? Let’s hope, for Senators' sake, that they are merely lying when they say it’s not about politics. Few options remain for the automakers and their workers. The union could give in to Republican demands, and accept lower benefits; however, its constituency might not accept such concessions. After all, GM, Ford, and Chrysler workers have been paying dues for decades on the very premise of earning more money than their nonunion counterparts - that’s why people join unions. The Bush administration could still cut a piece of its initial $700 billion offering to banks. But President Bush has repeatedly made clear he will do no such thing, and in eight years, he’s gained something of a reputation for seldom changing his mind. It seems then the Senators opposed to the bailout might get their wish â€" bankruptcy. Of course, most analysts say a bankruptcy would be disastrous, and ultimately, very costly for the government. Perhaps at that point the Senators will realize the fate of the country lies not with their unyielding principles but rather, in the well-being of the average Americans they were supposed to serve.Read More | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us