A socialist policy for auto workers

[IndianaGreen]

A socialist policy for auto workers

Against the backdrop of threatened bankruptcy of the US auto companies and a deepening recession, Congress and the White House are preparing an historic attack on the working class. The American ruling elite sees the economic crisis as an opportunity to carry out a fundamental restructuring of class relations in America, destroying whatever remains of the gains made in struggle by previous generations of workers.

Whatever the differences between the various factions in Washington, all insist that workers’ living standards must be slashed if the auto industry is to remain “viable.” What they really mean is that work force exploitation must be intensified. Workers must be forced to accept their own impoverishment to make a downsized auto industry a profitable source of investment for the financial elite.

The auto loan bill backed by the Democrats, the Bush administration and the United Auto Workers union, which failed in the Senate last week, would have given General Motors and Chrysler $14 billion in loans in return for the shuttering of factories, the destruction of tens of thousands of jobs, the elimination of health care and pension benefits, and the lowering of wages under the direction of a “car czar.” The Bush administration is now suggesting it may release funds from the US Treasury, contingent on such sweeping concessions from the workers, while a faction of the Republican Party is threatening to force the companies into bankruptcy. It would then be left to a judge to terminate existing contracts and impose concessions, or oversee the liquidation of the Big Three auto companies.

The media and politicians speak of making workers’ wages “competitive.” What does this mean? New-hires at GM, Chrysler and Ford now make $14 an hour. This will be made a benchmark for all auto workers.

In 1967, the average Ford worker made $178 a week, or about $4.45 an hour. This is the equivalent of about $27.70 in today’s dollars, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics-roughly the hourly wage of a current senior auto worker. But as a result of the bailouts being proposed by the Bush administration, the Democrats and the UAW, auto workers will be earning a wage equivalent to about half of what their fathers and grandfathers were making 40 years ago.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/auto-d15.shtml

[doc03]

1. It's just disgusting but there are many on DU

out of jealousy I guess that want to see the UAW stripped of everything. Us in the steel industry went through what the UAW is experiencing since back in the late 70's. The company and the Republicans will not be satisfied until every auto worker losses their pension and retiree health insurance that's the goal. We started giving concessions right after the UAW gave concessions at Chrysler back when Lee Iacocca got his loan. We gave concessions several times for like 8 years. Then in 1985 after they got all they could they then filed Chapter 11 and the Republican appointed Bankruptcy Judge voided our contract and we ended up losing our pension plan and the retiree health insurance. We lived under those concessions for for another 5 years after that. In 1995 we asked for another new Defined Benefit Pension and after the company had accumulated over $400 million in profits they wouldn't spend the $125 million for the new plan. So we went on strike for 10 1/2 months and (won?) we had a new DB Pension Plan. Then in 2003 they filled Chapter 11 the second time and we lost that pension. So here we are now we have two reduced pensions that were taken over by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation mine totals $1300 a month for 38 years of work in a steel mill. Now if the Big 3 have their pensions stolen off of them the PBGC will go under and there will be another million retires in addition to them that will lose everything. Believe it or not there are people on DU that just don't see anything wrong with that.