[cardiacpaul]

"Small businesses, niche businesses, and a short list of vendors we've all dealt with aside...Look at GE, claiming to be proudly be the "Eco-Imagination" leader, after negotiating a deal to leave the Hudson River contaminated with toxic PCBs for hundreds? thousands? or years to come.
That's not pride, that's profit. Like the many corporations that have declared bankruptcy and reorganized, paying out billions to the higher management while neatly asking the courts to terminate the retirement and medical-for-life promises that they made to their employees. Those promises were binding--if I were the court, I'd say they get paid first, and the high-priced saviors who want to make eight figures "saving" the corporation? They get fired first. If that means the corporations close--but the obligations are met--that's fine too."


Therein lies the rub.
First an foremost, Corporations have as their primary responsibilty profits to their stockholders.. don't think so? find me a CEO thats lost money for more than a couple of years and Wall Street will me shouting for his head on a spit.

As far as the "deals" for lifetime medical care the automakers made with the unions, exactly who is at fault here? I suggest that BOTH parties are at equal fault. The unions hold the possibility of strikes and with that no production, the corps trying to maximise every profitabilty center.

I'm going to relate a family story.
I had a relative that worked for GE for decades. He could bank on taking his vacation the first 3 weeks in July. Why? Because thats when the contract was up and the IBEW would strike.
His Job? He was a floor waxer. note that i didn't say a floor sweeper, or a floor mopper, those tasks were completed by two other people. If the floor he was assigned wasn't mopped, so be it, he waxed it. If it wasn't swept oh well, it was waxed. That was his job. In the mid 70's, he was paid 19.85 per hour to wax floors. add in the 15% night shift differential, and the weekend shift differential of 20%, he was pulling in over 60k a year to wax a floor.
Then "Neutron Jack" came to power.
He told the union reps that if they went out on strike, there would be no negotiation, he would close the plant.
The union thought he was bluffing. He wasn't. While in negotiations, the contract ran out, the union went on strike, and Jack had security chain the gates. The plant was closed that day, never to reopen.

My relative was shocked! How could they do that? Oh my, now what... I suggested that he should cal his union steward and ask them.
When it becomes more profitable to ship finished goods half way around the world rather than make them within your own borders something is amiss.

Perhaps someone can comment as to why it cost GM 1500.00 PER CAR to provide health benefits to retired union employees and dependents for LIFE, when those "evil management" types get a gold watch and a pat on the head.