GOP Blames Unions for Detroit's Ills

[GoLeft TV]

Run time: 07:08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npxY4RwpqF4   Posted on YouTube: December 02, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: December 03, 2008 By DU Member: GoLeft TV Views on DU: 1347

 
Mike Papantonio of Air America Radio's Ring of Fire appears on Your World with Neil Cavuto to combat the right wing attack on unions. The GOP is trying to pin the blame for the "Big 3" automakers downfall on union activity, a fact that all available research and analysis proves completely false.

[BOSSHOG]

1. A conservative neighbor of mine

(I do consider him a friend and we seldom discuss politics) was prattling on about the unions and how they destroyed the auto companies. I asked him if union activity was at fault wouldn't the auto companies have been destroyed along time ago. I got no reply.

He's a great neighbor who is a big help in times of need (Katrina) and I don't want to cause any friction between us. But when one restricts one's news gathering to right wing sources the brain develops quite an evil cancer.

[sallyseven]

2. What a jerk Cavuto is

Let Mike tell his story. But no the Fox network is in bed with the GOP and union haters.

[Serial Mom]

3. One thought... the companies signed the contracts with the unions

so, aren't they at fault for doing that? Nobody in the unions held a gun to their heads!

Management agreeed because it was OK for them in the short term, stupid CEO's never looked at LONG term issues and STILL DON'T - only what makes them the most money during their tenure, not what is best for the future of the company!

[47of74]

4. Of course, that's who the GOP ALWAYS blames

The unions, according to the Greedy Oil Perverts party, is responsible for everything from sunspots to bad hair days. Don't want to take responsibility for something? According to the GOP, it must then be the union's fault.

[spiritual_gunfighter]

5. I couldn't watch the whole thing

That POS interviewer wouldn't let that guy get a word in. The GOP meme of blaming the Unions for the big 3 auto makers problems is really tired. Where are the Republicans when Citibank asked for the bailout did they ask them for a plan? Did they make Bear Stearns come before Congress to plead their case? No, this is a case of big time discrimination against blue collar workers of this country. If the big 3 go down that could mean 3 million jobs down the drain. Do they really think that our economy will survive that hit. This is all about Union hate and blue collar worker hate. This meme that Union workers make 70 dollars an hour and don't do very much is such bullshit. The average Union auto worker makes 14 dollars an hour and works very hard for that wage. They could be doing other things and make much more but they dont. Unfortunately even a lot of Democrats are pushing this meme of "I need to see a plan before we give them one cent", even Obama has said this. This is just hate on Unions stuff.

[happygoluckytoyou]

6. sons'o'bitch union m-f'ers wanting living wages AND health care... who do they think they are?

[fascisthunter]

14. well, the wealthy want more than the Union, and according to Fox Fascists

that's ok... but workers demanding a tiny piece of the pie(500 times less than their CEO's and Execs) well by gawd that must never be allowed.

Sickening, isn't it?

[Crowman1979]

7. The GOP likes there workers to be suppressed, beaten and fired on a frequent basis.

I guess they want to go back to the good ole days when violent abuse against organized labor was a ok.

:mad:

[navarth]

8. those assholes always want to blame the workers

fuck them in the eyesocket.

[AlbertCat]

9. What union is Fox News workers in?

What union is Fox News workers in? They get paid a bundle for doing nothing.

Yeah...demanding a living wage and decent working conditions and some help when laid off by CEOs who are worried about losing their 4th vacation home in Aruba, is obviously the problem! Not the fact that they've been raising CEO salaries and bonuses while making gas guzzling SUVs big enough to live in that now no one wants or can afford.

[SemperEadem]

10. interesting how that works

the party that has recently said that it is supposed for the working man is turning on the very people trhey clain they represent.

[husky92]

11. Union/Republicans

Of course Fox is going to take an anti-union stance. No surprise there. Anything the Republicans are against they are against. Look at their history of how they slant the news. The Bushies and others send them talking points and the morons eat them up without a thought in the world. The unions all went Obama's way and so they are the enemy to the Republicansw and Fox. The sad thing is the unions have done so much for the blue collar workers in this country but I bet you more than half of the blue-collar types listen to Fox and Rush and Sean and all the other hate mongers out there who could care less about them. Look at some of the nitwits at the Palin rallies railing against Obama and Democrats. They don't get it. All these right-winger are anti-union and pro-big business. They could care less about blue-collar workers but these idiots allow righties to poison their minds and believe the Democrats and others are out to get them. Sad!

[Crowman1979]

12. Republicans have been blaming unions for over a century.

Nothing new from their camp.

[fascisthunter]

13. Fox, the GOP Propaganda Machine, Represents the Wealthy Elite

and not the workers. SO of course they will blame the workers, while they ignore all the bad decisions made by those higher-ups who all seem to be rewarded for screwing each company they work for. Pretty disgusting....

Bunch of fascists...

[Jambalaya]

18. TV Camera Crews

I'm not too savvy on a lot of union issues, but aren't the cameraman and floor crews that work on these networks members of unions? Hey, time to strike. One way to significantly reduce the "on-air" pollution at MUDdoch Enterprises.

[proud progressive]

15. i must ruffle some feathers, here

not sure how many of you know what you are talking about, but i have worked in manufacturing my entire life. unions are a good thing if they do not become too powerful and they work with management not against. no doubt that most blue-collar workers need some representation as protection from SOME management. however, the healthiest companies with the happiest workers work hand-in-hand together with no union.
gm is on the brink of bankruptcy because of horrible management and because the uaw has a strangle-hold on gm. now add in some mighty poor quality and what do you get? 16 tons of a rotten dinosaur. is is that simple.
a bridge loan w/o MAJOR concessions from everyone will just waste more of your money. the best news for the workers at gm would be for the gov to allow a 'modified' bankruptcy.
by the way, i wonder how many of you drive an 'import' vs a gm clunker?

[Greenheron]

16. Detroit

The foreign auto industry that has set up shop in the south is not having the same problem for one reason.They all got major tax incentives and states basically bent over to get them and then claimed some sort of victory for the taxpayers.In South Carolina, BMW basically got what amounted to 125K per employee and a nice brand new landing strip for their private planes. Hell, Detroit basically makes more cars over seas anyway.They would like nothing more than to ship the whole thing to China.They just recently finished building the largest Cadillac plant in the world there.
All I have to say is look up who owns what in the auto industry and you will find everybody has a piece of each other and there is really is no such thing as a car "made in the usa". Cars are often assembled here from parts, like chassis and motors that come from other countries.

[GoLeft TV]

19. great source for more info on that

Greg LeRoy wrote a book called "The Great American Jobs Scam" that talks about how corporations get huge tax incentives from counties, cities, and states to move factories, just like the foreign companies did in the South. Here's a link - http://www.greatamericanjobsscam.com/

[Jambalaya]

17. Union to Blame for Bush rule,too?

Bush strips collective bargaining rights from federal employees.
Yesterday, President Bush issued an executive order “that denies collective bargaining rights to about 8,600 federal employees who work in law enforcement, intelligence and other agencies responsible for national security.” 900 of the employees affected were already represented by collective bargaining units. Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said that employees “had their collective bargaining rights stripped away for no justifiable reason.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~December 02,2008 -Think Progress

[Lil Missy]

20. Fox News? Not even going to watch this.