For some reason many Americans seem to be pleased with the demise of GM, the one hundred year old car manufacturer that at one time was the world's largest corporation. For some reason they think it 'serves them right', for...doing what, I'm not sure. Maybe making mistakes is now punishable by obliteration, termination and complete destruction. Maybe strong labor unions getting benefits for their workers and having these benefits extended across broad expanses of American workplaces is offensive. Certainly things like national pride and accomplishments of the past have no bearing on this way of thinking.
GM employed hundreds of thousands of Americans and others around the world, educated thousands, donated to those effected by disaster and were one of the bulwarks of America's 'arsenal of democracy' during WWII, building everything from planes and tanks and firearms to trucks and other machines. The tools of war that liberated millions from Nazi and Japanese militaristic barbarism.
Many of GMs foreign competitors built planes and tanks and ships for the Axis powers, supplying them with the killing implements of a war more aggressive than any ever seen and making a tidy profit from it. Yes to be fair, GM and other U.S. war suppliers made a profit too but there was and is still a difference. GM never used it's connections to high ranking members of the party to secure contracts to make ovens for death camps or railcars to take jews to the camps or to build the camps themselves.
GM voluntarily stopped domestic auto production before it was required to do so in order to concentrate on vital war production. GM built war machines AFTER the United States was attacked, after the war had already started. The auto manufacturer built Avenger TBM torpedo bombers that defended the west coast against the Imperial navy and Hellcat fighters to counter the Mitsubishi Zero fighter that killed so many American and allied servicemen during the early years of the war. We'll never see American manufacturers do that again, God help us if we ever need to.
Today, for some reason, the atrocities are forgotten when we go shopping for a car while some old UAW strike or a bad set of brakes or balky transmission 35 or 40 years ago on the family Buick or Pontiac will remain forever unforgiven. The sticker price apparently creates a pleasing amnesia when you are buying your car from the manufacturer of bayonets used to impale Chinese babies in the 1930s. The smooth quiet ride lulls you into complacency, so they funded a few horrendous medical experiments on some helpless peasants decades ago, that's all in the past.
People don't think these things matter anymore, but if not, then why even bother to record history or hold anyone accountable for the things they've done 'so long ago', why still hunt some old Nazis down or have memorials to massacre victims?
Personally I'll stick with my Chevy, a guilt free car. I know what my car company built during WWII.
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| General Motors died today |
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dizzydoll
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Jun 1 @ 6:17PM
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GM are not only in the states in fact they are doing fairly well in china and other countries. so GM hasnt died
GM will still supply spare parts
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thenewguy295
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Jun 1 @ 6:32PM
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I meant it in the broad sense of the term, poetic license if you will. When going through bankruptcy a business becomes a legally seperate entity from what it was. So the GM that emerges from chapter 11 will not be the same GM that went in, the old GM is dead....and we killed it.
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ceecee1952
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Jun 1 @ 8:17PM
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blood red
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blue130160
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Jun 1 @ 8:37PM
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ragtopcookie
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Jun 1 @ 8:41PM
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Feel sorry for the GM that killed the oldsmobile and pontiac names?....The GM that moved most of its factories to mexico and canada and over seas?.......tell this to the retiries that just had there union backed retirement benifits slashed in half.....the GM that quit making cars that people wanted years ago?.....the GM thats getting tax payer money to bail them out....only to lay off and close down plants here in the US?.....Youve got to be out of youre mind guy.......  ......cookie
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ElmerFudd445
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Jun 1 @ 9:19PM
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Thank goodness they filed so that the old GM could die.. 
All things come to an end.. I just hope that the "revitalized" GM (Government Motors) will listen to it's own buyers and build the cars that they want.. They become so big they couldn't waddle fast enough to rediesign cars the country needed..Quality suffered.. I blame the union agreements for that.. it helped let the union worker become lazy (I do know not all are lazy.. but allowed for a lazy atmosphere).. GM ran things in an inefficient way .. Companies don't last long when they are run poorly..
We'll have to see if the new CEO (A Kmart guy?) does any better.. But at least they were given a fresh start.. I just hope the use our money wisely.. but I don't have high hopes either..
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some_thing_missing
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Jun 1 @ 9:23PM
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The question should be "Why can't they build cars here like the ones over seas?" They're building cars and trucks that run on alcohol in other countries but here they build for big oil companies. GM never recovered from the 80's they've built junk for years and it's finally catching up to them. It's like any business that starts producing an inferior product, it eventually fails... I feel for the workers I truly do, but the guys that are responsible.... they'll just invest in something else and move on. Why not? The Government has bought their failing company, so the stock holders are happy, and they could careless about the people that will suffer from their bad decisions for all these years. I've been disappointed with all the 'Big 3" shortly after they scrapped the electric car that seemed to be the direction that they should have taken, rather than bringing back the "Big Block" gas guzzling beast that they chose too.
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chatillion
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Jun 1 @ 9:46PM
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thenewguy295 said:
the old GM is dead....and we killed it.
'We' didn't kill GM. I believe it was self inflicted poison... like slow suicide, smoking or excessive drinking. Man, you enjoy it although it's gonna kill you..
Good blog... thought provoking opinion. While I may not agree with your views, it says a lot. My thoughts are different but I enjoyed reading yours.
Regarding German ovens... I always wondered why so many German Jews bought Mercedes.
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bardnsage
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Jun 1 @ 10:30PM
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Poor GM,,, killed by their own hand,,, and the hand of the American Government. So many regulations, that forced GM to produce cars that did not line up in the mix of the proffit report.
Now,,, the union owns 10% of GM,,, is that right. What the heck are they going to tell their members come contract time? Sorry, but we don't have enough money to give ourselves a raise right now, but we could strike against our own greed and force ourselves into given ourselves a better contract.
Geeeee,,,,, nice.
Unions are going to kill all the compaines they have infested. Now that bond holders and bond raters have to rate union held compaines as a higher risk,,,, it's just one more cost on the company.
But that's OK,,,, we will just cut the package for the new hires in order to support our,,,,wait,,,,, that's not going to work.
OK,,, we'll take a cash signing bonus instead of,,,, no wait,,,,
OK,,, how about we take on the administration of our own pensions and medical benefits, since the company is not to be truested,,,, no wait,,,, now that we own part of the company,,,, do we not trust ourselves,,,,,,,
Sheet,,,, now what?
OK,,, off to tech school, and we will be nurses for the city of San Fransico,,, where the union RN nurse makes over $300,000 a year. Hell yeah, we can ,,, huh, what,,, they are broke too you say,,,, must be Bush's fault,,,, the som-bitchhhh.
Teacher it is then. They are still union,,,, and the power of the Detroit School system is such that,,,, wait,,,,,, what,,,, damn.
Not again. 
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lizardlicks
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Jun 1 @ 11:59PM
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I could never get a job there
Now with everyone else own 70 % and wont be allowed to
vote on company policy. Almost like owning a 401 k
K
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unionman154
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Jun 2 @ 10:29AM
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When ever a ship goes down its the captains job to explain why. I have yet to hear the big shots who ran GM blame it on the Unions.
How can you blame the unions for negotiating a decent labor contract? They are over paid you say. Not according to GM who continued to sign one labor contract after another. What you say the unions threatened to strike? Labor negotiating 101: Don't be a fool. No one wins in a strike.
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bardnsage
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Jun 2 @ 11:48AM
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How can you blame the unions for negotiating a decent labor contract?
Well,,, in 2006, the base rate for an assembler - (not a tool and dye person - assembler - put this screw here,,,) was 26.09, with gaurentee Cost of Living Raise (COLA) to make that figure 28.85 per HOUR by the end of 2010. This was the base rate,,,, so with regular work, plus 10% overtime,,, which the union trys to mandate,,, $62,407.28 annual income to start. IE... base rate. Don't forget,,, night shifts get a premium.
(Remember, this is an assembler,,, tool and dye is of course higher.)
That does not sound like too much,,, does it.
There is also the signing bonus,,, $3000 first year,,,, and annual signing bonus each year of the contract to equal $10,059.
Then, add in the Independance Day Shut Down Week,,, 36 hours, about $950 each, on top of the 17 paid holidays (on top of vacation) already received per year.
Now to be fair,,, in order to pay for some this,,, the UAW agreed to lower the starting wage of new employees to $14.00 per hour, if they were highered in 2007 or after..... (nice job sacraficing the future brothers to keep that union greed going).
They did manage to also keep the SURVIORS BENEFITS - you know,,, money paid each month to the spouse of a UAW memeber should he die,,, on top of his LIFE INSURANCE. And of course,,, they kept the provision to pay MOM AND DAD every month. (This is a common benefit.)
Sickness coverage - meaning,,, I get paid if I am sick and out of work,,, went from $625 per week, to $675 per week.
Retirement is about $1527 per month, with a $3140 if you retire before SS kicks in, and that is on top of your free medical benefits. And the 4 lump sum bonuses for retirees of $700 each.
Then there is limiting of outsourcing of jobs,,,, with future employment guarentees for all facilties except three..... and forced insourcing of 3000 jobs.
There is also the forcing of full time hiring of 3000 temporary employees.
20 cent per hour tool allowance increase,,,,,
Forced highering of 1500 new apprentices,,,,
$5000 per year tuition assistance per year for active UAW members, plus $200 per year for books,,,, (So,,, how come they are not already retrained when they are laid off?)
$1750 per year for retirees,,,,
$1500 per year for dependants,,,,,
(Yes,,, they pay for the college of your kids...)
Relocation bonus of $30,000. Protected employees who go to another plant to keep working,,,, further than a reasonable commute.
Relocation bonus of $4800 regardless of distance moved.
Now non-union plants, pay just a hair under the GM contract,,, but they share the costs of the health plan, retirement costs, and don't have all the other benefits.
Of all the favorite benefits in the GM contract,,,,,
A special provision to speed up resolution of conflicts from defects in employee vehciles, (Ummmmm,,,,, DEFECTS?)
There is the real problem I think.
However, I'd say this contract was more than just "decent". 
source
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thenewguy295
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Jun 3 @ 11:46AM
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So bardnsage, is it your contention then that instead of bringing everybody else's wages, benefits and standards of living up to the UAW level, we should all go down to the level of Mexican shop workers, or Chinese or Korean or Indonesians or worse, someone getting $100 a month and a mat on the factory floor?
If they had similar arrangements for their workers there then the competitive differences would be less. Instead American workers with good wages, benefits and strong health and safety and pollution control laws are being blamed for high costs when foreign workers often toil for little money in dangerous factories that pollute the air and water. In many cases unions aren't legal and the companies are owned or permanently propped up by their own governments.
Why don't we force them to upgrade, or is the enticement of a cheap product more important than quality of life?
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bardnsage
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Jun 3 @ 1:02PM
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I think it would be great, if everyone could be at the same level as the GM contract mentioned above. However, government and companies do not set price,,, the market sets price. And hoping the US can force a company in Korea to offer the same total compensation packages as GM,,,, is less likely than winning the lottery. Here is the rub,,,, the $5.00 a day, hotracking in a dormatory, working 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week,,,,, is A DESIRED POSITION to have for the workers in China.
As far as the pollution laws,,, well,,, they made great strides when they were started, but now,,, all they are doing is chasing manufacturing to countries that don't have the laws,,, and forcing the global pollution levels higher, than if we had a measure of common sense and kept that business here where it could be regulated and monitored.
It all boils down to the cost of doing business. GM has huge legacy costs associated with the contracts, and the BIG MAN at GM has said it's a problem, and so have the politicians charged with running the new Government Motor Company. These costs, and others like them, have to be working into the unit price of each auto, in order for the company to make a profit. No profit,,, no company,,, at least under the old rules of business before bailouts.
SO,,, GM manufacturers what the public perceieves as an infeiror product to imports,,, and charges more for it. Not rocket science here. What do think was going to happen? And it did,,, import models of small to medium cars, with good fuel efficency, and marketablity in both the US and forign markets fueled the building of plants in the US, so products made for the US market by forign compaines were ecconomically viable.
Over the past few years, GM has maintained profit (or at least acceptable losses) by leveraging products not manufactured overseas, the large pick-up and the SUV. These products do make sense for the overseas markets,,, so there has been little compatition from imports on them,,, until the TUNDRA. But even with that,,, GM was holding their own.
Then came the gas crunch, and the election,,,, a double wammy. The consumers began to look at fuel milage,, and the guys running for office took the environmental PAC money and waged war on the SUV.
Ironic, that the politcal party charged with saving GM, and has touted their support for the labor union, has been the one on full scale assault on GM's profitable units. Face it,,, some of the cars built by GM, are only really manufactured to keep the average fuel economy of GM's product line low enough to avoid government fines and penalties.
What does all of this mean, in the scope of labor?
That GM, Ford, Chrysler, and the UAW must change their paradyms and business models to the new reality of business. Manufacturing as an industry,,, has lost the war of survial in the United States, succumbing to a death by a thousand cuts.
Textiles, Furniture, Plastics, Electronics, all gone - or going. It is inevitable that the big three will go also, and so will the huge number of US compaines that survive by supporting them, providing the business environment for manufacturing stays the same.
Meanwhile,,, the UAW, AFL-CIO, TEAMSTERS, etc.... are struggling to retain their very lives - as the manufacturing golden goose dies, and their membership and revenues fall.
Instead of attacking the coffers of the government, or beating the drums in front of GM,,, the UAW should be standing in Washington, shoulder to shoulder with the AFL-CIO, and all the other unions, demanding that the politicians they have supported for years get the government to remove the opressive regulations from manufacturing, increase the tariffs on acutal imported units, and get the hell out their company.
Then the UAW needs to go stand in front of GM, and recalibrate their contacts into something that fits the reality of the current real world. Worker's total compensation packages can not be industry leading,,, if your profits are not.
In one way,,, maybe part of the proposed solution does have merrit, in that the UAW is part owner of the new company. They should be 51% owners, and then they would have a clear cut stake in understanding the impact of the contracts on the viability of the company. But that's not going to happen.
If I were a member of UAW today under the GM contract,,, I'd be working that tuition assistance as hard as I could, to make sure I could feed my family when the inevitable happens.
As far as the contract,,,, I wonder how many other semi-skilled (assembler) manufactuing jobs offer a total compensation package like that contract? I wonder why the bonues of that contract are not tied to production and profit goals,,,, rather just being an employee when the calander hits that day. I wonder why their is no COLA equivalent to lower the wages,,, when the company does not make a profit?
Ultimately, it's the consumer that has to save to GM. The company has to make products that people want, that are competitive in price. To date,,, they have not done it. And the only changes I see,,, are the smoke and mirrors of a "Do not worry" campaign,,, and not any real change in the costs, the products, or the busniess.
The general public also must feel this way,,,, which is why GM stock is less than a dollar a share,,,, and 45 million shares were traded.
It's moved from a blue chip,,, to a long shot. Hey, when it was 28 cents a share, I bought some. But the money I spent was pure venture capitol,,, the risky stuff you gamble with. At just over 60 cents a share,, I'd double my money if I sold it today.
It's always sad when a company dies. The reasons cited are changes in technology, business climate, etc. But the ultimate end of the day a business dies,,, is costs versus revenues. Profits.
The UAW has never seemed to quite grasp that concept in a meanful way,,, until the announcement of the bankruptcy reorganization.
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