Tag: Labor

Toyota is feeling the pinch too.

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So much for that stupid  Neo-Con line saying that the slump in auto sales is the automakers fault.

Via the New York Times:

TOKYO — Toyota Motor will idle its plants in Japan for 11 days in February and March to reduce output in the face of steeply declining global vehicle sales, the company said Tuesday.

The Japanese auto giant said the suspension would affect production at all 12 of its directly operated domestic plants, which include four vehicle assembly plants and also factories that make transmissions, engines and other parts. The closings are in addition to a three-day shutdown this month at these plants that Toyota had already announced.

The move is unusual for a company that just a few months ago seemed unable to keep up with voracious global demand for its fuel-efficient vehicles. But even strong players like Toyota have failed to escape the drastic slowdown in the global auto industry.

The company said it would idle the plants to reduce stocks of unsold vehicles amid a relentless slide in sales, particularly in the United States, its biggest market. Last month, Toyota’s sales there dropped 37 percent, a larger decline than at its struggling American rivals General Motors and Ford.

Plunging sales and a stronger Japanese yen, which reduces the yen value of overseas profits, forced Toyota to forecast last month its first annual loss in 70 years at its vehicle-making operations.

Toyota did not say how many vehicles would be affected by the suspension announced Tuesday. The company said its four domestic assembly plants produced 1.5 million vehicles in 2007, the most recent year for which the company has figures. Toyota-brand cars are also made by other companies in the Toyota group.

The company had already announced that it would shut down truck production at two United States plants for three months

Its American rivals — General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler — have also idled plants across North America in response to the slowdown.

For once, I am in agreement with a Liberal, and yes, it is the same knuckle-headed liberal that insulted Conservatives. Hey, I am one that praises when it’s due and bitches when it’s due too; At least I’m fair. 😉 😀 😛

Matthew Yglesias Weighs in:

This is the conceptual problem with efforts to “save” the car industry through bailouts or union busting or whatever you like. One assumes demand for cars will get higher than it is right now, but the industry has a whole just has more capacity to build cars than there is demand for new cars. Which is fine. When you look across the developed world and try to take stock of the medium- and long-run problems facing the OECD nations there’s just no way you’re going to reach the conclusion that an automobile shortage is a big concern. But obviously it’s not fine for the companies that make cars. There’s going to be a need for some shrinkage.

Yeah, I know, most likely some of the Conservatives who are basically scraping my blog for content are going to try and deride me as a fake conservative, because I stick up for the middle class and because I happen to be the son of retired General Motors Worker and U.A.W. member. Well, I got two words; screw you and the rest of the asshole Madison Ave. Conservatives. 😡

Anyhow, I happen to agree with Matthew here, I live here in the Detroit Area. If the auto industry dies, so does this area. That will cause my parents to suffer, they need the health insurance, as they are both diabetic and the amount of medications that they take is staggering.  Anyhow, this article above disproves and basically strikes down the “Meme” that was going around in the Conservative Blogosphere that the issues with the auto industry was the fault of the automakers. Which I totally dismissed as abject bullshit of the highest order. It was the fault of President Clinton for putting pressure on the loan companies to give those toxic subprime loans to those who were considered high risk. That is what started this whole thing. Of course, equal blame can be given to the Republican Congress of 2003 for not changing the laws, after all, they were warned by the Bush White House to do something; and they did nothing at all.

Best thing they could do, was have a hearing, of which the CEO of Freddie Mac pulled the race card, and congress backed off. So, all the blaming of the Auto Companies was nothing more than a feeble attempt by the Republicans at scapegoating the wrong damned people.

Here’s hoping that Japan’s auto industry totally collapses and people, both American and otherwise, have to buy American products, for a change!

More Signs of the Hard Times Ahead

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This is just not a good thing, at all. 🙁

Via the New York Times:

With unemployment claims reaching their highest levels in decades, states are running out of money to pay benefits, and some are turning to the federal government for loans or increasing taxes on businesses to make the payments.

Thirty states are at risk of having the funds that pay out unemployment benefits become insolvent over the next few months, according to the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. Funds in two states, Indiana and Michigan, have already dried up, and both states are borrowing from the federal government to make payments to the unemployed.

Unemployment taxes are collected by states from employers, but the rate varies from state to state per employee. In good times states build up trust funds so that when unemployment is high there is enough money to cover the requests for benefits, which are guaranteed by the federal government.

“You don’t expect the loans to happen this early in a jobs slump,” said Andrew Stettner, the deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy organization for low-wage workers. “You would expect that the states should, even when they are not well prepared, to have savings.”

The Labor Department said last week that initial applications for jobless benefits rose to 573,000, the highest reading since November 1982. It is recommended that states keep at least one year of peak-level benefits in their trusts, but many have not, and already some states are far worse off than others.

Yet more of the ripple effect in the Nation’s Economy. Of course, I could sit here and blame the Democrats or the Republicans. But honestly, who is really to blame here? I personally think it is the fault of both parties really. First off, it is the fault of the globalist Neo-Cons who would rather ship jobs overseas for cheaper labor, than to keep the jobs here on Terra Firma. Second, it is the Democrats, with Bill Clinton putting pressure on the lending companies to offer high risk loans to those, who normally could not afford them. Put simply, it was a system that was set up upon risk and it ultimately failed.

So, now we’re stuck with states with extremely high unemployment rates and states who are having to ask the Federal Government for help to support these people.  Now some of my more purist fellow Libertarians  would essentially say, “Screw ’em! Let ’em suffer!” But seeing I am from the area, and I do admit to being more a moderate, I do not hold to such asinine views.

I personally think that the worst thing that our Government can do is throw up their hands and panic. Throwing more legislation and huge amounts of money at the problem will not work. The Wall Street Bailout proved that. I think, as a moderate, the best thing that the Federal Government can do is give the States that need the help the funds to keep the unemployment programs running and try the best they can to weather out the storm.  The Economy is not going to stay horrible forever, we had a recession in the 1980’s, which was a result of some of the stupidity of the Carter administration.  We weathered that storm out and recovered, I believe that we will do the same here. Yes, there will be hardships for a while, but in the end, we will prevail. We always have and will always will.

Local News: It is not just the big three feeling the pinch

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It seems that the big three are not the only automakers feeling the pinch.

Via Detroit News:

Honda Motor Co. is reducing production in North America by a further 119,000 vehicles in its fiscal year ending March 31, the company said Friday. Honda previously had announced output cuts of 56,000 vehicles for the year.

The Japanese automaker now expects its full-year output in the region to dip to 1.29 million cars and light trucks, from its original target of 1.47 million.

Production is being cut across the board, with output reductions planned for small as well as larger vehicles, company spokesman Ed Miller said. “Showroom traffic is down for everyone,” he said. “The dealers just aren’t in a position to order the number of cars they had been ordering.”

Production cuts are scheduled for Honda’s plants in Alabama, Ohio, Indiana and Canada, but the company does not plan to lay off any workers.

So much for the idea that the big three are causing their own problems. Looks like the Japanese are feeling the pinch too.  I would be willing to bet that you will not be seeing this blogged on any other Conservative Blogs. Because that would mess up the message that it is the Unions fault that G.M. and Chrysler are in the shape that they are in.

Of course they are not going to lay anyone off, the Japanese have all that extra money laying around, they can pay those people to work. They have made it by stealing market share away from the America Workers.

It truly is a pity, those bastards bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. We defeated them, but they really won the long war, by stealing our jobs and market share, aided and abetted by Globalist Neo-Conservatives, who’s only concern was to make a quick buck.

The Automotive Bailouts: The Other Side of the Story

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I have been sitting here, trying to keep out of this. But I have sat and looked at the Republican and Neo–Conservative Spin on this Story and I’m sick of it. 😡

So, I am giving you, the other side of the story, from the horses mouth; without commentary from me.

I did not ask that you agree, I simply ask that you listen and hear this man out. Now I am almost sure, that the Blogs, that I have linked to, will remove my trackback, like the Neo-Con Fascists that they are. I mean, it is all about controlling the message with those guys.  🙄

Here we go:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Media Q & A:

Media Q & A Part 2:

Media Q & A Part 3:

There you have it. The other side of the story. You decide.

(Source UAW.ORG)

Welcome to my World!: New Unemployment Claims Reaches 26-Year High

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Video: (Via Breit Bart)

Back Story via AP:

New claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected last week, exceeding even gloomy expectations for an economy stuck in a recession that seems to be deepening.The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial applications for jobless benefits in the week ending Dec. 6 rose to a seasonally adjusted 573,000 from an upwardly revised figure of 515,000 in the previous week. That was far more than the 525,000 claims Wall Street economists expected.

Elsewhere, the U.S. trade deficit rose unexpectedly in October as a spreading global recession dampened the once-strong sales of American exports and the volume of oil imports surged by a record amount, the Commerce Department said.

More layoffs were announced Thursday. New Britain, Conn.-based tool maker Stanley Works said it plans to cut 2,000 jobs and close three manufacturing facilities, while Sara Lee Corp., known for food brands such as Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farm, said it will cut 700 jobs as the Downers Grove, Ill.-based company outsources parts of its business.

New jobless claims last week reached their highest level since November 1982, though the labor force has grown by about half since then.

I have one thing to say about this; “Welcome to my World!” I’m glad to see that the rest of America has caught up with Michigan. 😀

However, I will say this, that there are people out there who are in worse shape then me. I have people to rely on, and some of them do not. Most, if not all, have mortgages to pay, mouths to feed and so on. So, while it might be easy to be flippant and write with snark about it, the reality is that this economic downturn is going to affect many people. 🙁

While some that read this Blog, especially those over at certain forum, which I will never link to, might think that I do not appreciate the situation I am in. The truth is, that nothing could be further from the truth. It is not lost on me how fortunate that  I am. Never has been. I am very blessed, I really do know this.  As I have written many, many times on this Blog, if were not for my parents, I would be living under a viaduct somewhere.

I am just hoping that things do turn around, with a new President and Congress, maybe, just maybe, jobs can come back to this area. I am hoping. I really am.

Until then. I will be writing here.

Let’s Boycott Alabama

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It seems that there is a grassroots effort to get a boycott Alabama, in response to the Alabama Senator Richard Shelby’s attempted stonewalling of the bridge loans to the Big Three. Well, it’s big two now, Ford will not be needing the help.

Anyhow, here is a e-mail written by my Mother, who is a spouse of a retired General Motors worker.

Senator Shelby,

I doubt that you read the emails sent to your office but perhaps it will be read by someone who will show you the many emails you are sure to receive, and will point out to you just how wrong you are. There are a lot of derogatory comments that could be made but I prefer to try to point out a few facts that you evidently have not wanted to know. My husband and my father are both General Motors retirees and I know firsthand from where I speak.

Perhaps you think the auto workers are wealthy, making that mysterious $75 an hour that has been bandied about in the media. Unfortunately that is very far from the truth. They have never made that much, even including benefits, and most of them live from paycheck to paycheck trying to make ends meet like most middle class people. If the auto companies go bankrupt as you desire, not only will the auto workers lose their jobs, but also jobs directly and indirectly connected, such as suppliers, stores and restaurants located near the plants and of course it will trickle down to the cities who will lose the tax revenues these plants produce. We are not only talking about Detroit and Michigan but every state that has a plant or plants belonging to the Big 3.

It’s odd to me that you think that two companies that have been in business for over 100 years and one that is over 83 years old do not know what they are doing. If this is true how do you explain the fact that they sell over 50% of the cars purchased in the world and have won many, many multiple awards over the years for their cars? Do you perhaps think that people are just too stupid or uneducated to realize they are buying an inferior product? And the award givers are too dumb to realize they are giving an award to a poorly built, not very innovative dinosaur? Maybe you need to voice that opinion in your next media interview. I’m sure people would be interested to hear it.

You need to come out of your office and meet with the GM, Ford and Chrysler workers themselves. Could you really look them in the face, knowing they have families to support and bills to pay and tell them you think they should join the ranks of the unemployed? Do you think it is their fault that the economy has taken such a downturn because of mismanagement on Wall Street, the banks and yes, the government?

The auto companies and the union are trying their best to jump through all the hoops the Congress is throwing at them, as ridiculous as some of them are. To let them go under will cause a depression like this nation has not seen in many years. I hope you think long and hard about that.

By the way, I fully support the boycott of your state.

Y’all see where I get the writing skills from? I was told that I could post that, as long as I did not sign her name.

Anyhow, if you’d like to join the grassroots effort boycott Alabama. Please go to the Official Boycott Alabama Page.

Alfonzo on The “Declaration of Dependence”

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An Excellent Video:

Now, towards of the end of this. He gets off into the weeds about the Unions. I’ll give him a pass on it. Because some of the stuff he says, I kind agree with. But he went overboard with the “They should gotten out from under them years ago…” I disgree with that crap. But the rest of the video is right on point.

Of course, if I was a real butt hole, I could say if it weren’t for the Democrats, his black ass would not have half the freedom that he has now. But to counter that, If it were not for Abe Lincoln, he would be still in chains. So, it evens out. 😀

Still I wish there were more black people, like Zo here who believed this way. But unfortunately most of them got sucked into that stupid socialist identity politics crap. Thanks to tools like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

Good show Zo, as always man. 😀

Starting to wonder about V-Dare.

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They’re scapegoating the Job Losses in this country on…Get ready for it.

On a downturn in illegal immigration.

Yes, that is correct, go read it.

Guys, I’m from this Country. I was born here. I grew up in Southwest Detroit, Michigan. I’ve lived in the ‘burbs now since 1989. I entered the work force in 1991. I have not had a full time, good paying, long term job, since 2005. I’m White, I’m here legally and I’m an Natural Born American Citizen.

Where do I fit into that equation?

🙄

Scapegoating is the most stupid thing we can do. For as long as I can remember, It was the blacks fault that nobody could find work. Now it’s the Illegals. It’s the easy way out and it is stupid as hell.

Let’s get real people. The downturn is because of the Republican AND Democratic Party Stupidity. Period. End of fucking discussion.

NEXT!

Uh…Hugh?

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Replying to this Bunch of Drivel:

As I discussed with economic guru Brian Wesbury on tonight’s show, the GOP should demand a real concession as part of a quick deal to get Detroit cash.  I think the price from the Dems should be a cut in the corporate tax rate for MI- and OH-headquartered businesses to Ireland’s 12.5%.  As Wesbury said, it would spark a huge economic revival in the Wolverine and Buckeye states –just huge.  And the teaching moment would be huge as well.

Detroit is going to get the money now or in February.  So get something worth having, House and Senate GOP.

Uh, Hugh? Has anyone bothered to inform you that you all are in the minority in Congress? I mean, you all had your chance in 2003 till 2006 to stop the economic crisis and you sat around and did nothing. You ought to hope that “The One” does not force the desolving of the G.O.P. and outlaws Conservatism in General.

Somehow, I highly doubt at Tax decrease would even help. We’re in a recession, in case you didn’t know. Of course, being the wealthy radio star and all, I would not expect you to know this.

Thank You for your support

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The Following was made by me. It is my feelings towards those who opposed and still oppose the help that the Detroit Auto Industry needs. It might cost me readers, but it is how I feel.

I declare this photo PUBLIC DOMAIN. Feel free to copy it and post it to your Blogs.

Thank you for your support

Thank you for your support

Update: I posted this for one reason and one reason alone, Washington D.C. will hand over 4 BILLION dollars to Wall Street banks and not even flinch, but when Detroit needs help, they are like “You need a plan.” I am not saying that the companies are not at fault. But it just strikes me as pretty damned funny that Wall St. Gets that help and Detroit gets told to go fuck themselves, in essence. So, Yeah, I’m a little pissed off and a bit jaded at this point. Can’t you tell??!

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Republican Strategist Todd Harris is a liar.

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I was just watching MSNBC’s Hardball. I just watched Todd Harris lie through his teeth.

He sat right there on that show and said that the U.A.W’s President was NOT at the “Bail out Hearings”

Uhmmmm.. Todd?

450_ap_congress_081119

Auto industry executives, from left, General Motors CEO Richard Wagoner; Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli; Ford CEO Alan Mulally; and Ron Gettelfinger, president of the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, testify on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008

Somebody needs to tell Todd Harris to brush up on his talking points. Because here. He is just flat wrong.

Countering the False Rumor that Auto Workers make $70 an Hour

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I am sure that you’ve heard about the Rumor or the Conservative talking point that the Detroit Auto Workers make $70 an hour. The Conservatives will try and tell you that if you figure in all thier benefits, it totals that amount.

There’s only one little problem with that, the math, is quite frankly, wrong.

Jonathan Cohn at TNR Explains:

Well, here’s one reason: The figure is wildly misleading.

Let’s start with the fact that it’s not $70 per hour in wages. According to Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automative Research–who was my primary source for the figures you are about to read–average wages for workers at Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors were just $28 per hour as of 2007. That works out to a little less than $60,000 a year in gross income–hardly outrageous, particularly when you consider the physical demands of automobile assembly work and the skills most workers must acquire over the course of their careers.

More important, and contrary to what you may have heard, the wages aren’t that much bigger than what Honda, Toyota, and other foreign manufacturers pay employees in their U.S. factories. While we can’t be sure precisely how much those workers make, because the companies don’t make the information public, the best estimates suggests the corresponding 2007 figure for these “transplants”–as the foreign-owned factories are known–was somewhere between $20 and $26 per hour, and most likely around $24 or $25. That would put average worker’s annual salary at $52,000 a year.

So the “wage gap,” per se, has been a lot smaller than you’ve heard. And this is no accident. If the transplants paid their employees far less than what the Big Three pay their unionized workers, the United Auto Workers would have a much better shot of organizing the transplants’ factories. Those factories remain non-unionized and management very much wants to keep it that way.

So, where did this wild figure come from? Jonathan continues:

But then what’s the source of that $70 hourly figure? It didn’t come out of thin air. Analysts came up with it by including the cost of all employer-provided benefits–namely, health insurance and pensions–and then dividing by the number of workers. The result, they found, was that benefits for Big Three cost about $42 per hour, per employee. Add that to the wages–again, $28 per hour–and you get the $70 figure. Voila.

Except … notice something weird about this calculation? It’s not as if each active worker is getting health benefits and pensions worth $42 per hour. That would come to nearly twice his or her wages. (Talk about gold-plated coverage!) Instead, each active worker is getting benefits equal only to a fraction of that–probably around $10 per hour, according to estimates from the International Motor Vehicle Program. The number only gets to $70 an hour if you include the cost of benefits for retirees–in other words, the cost of benefits for other people. One of the few people to grasp this was Portfolio.com’s Felix Salmon. As he noted yesterday, the claim that workers are getting $70 an hour in compensation is just “not true.”

I highly recommend that everyone that comes here, go read the rest of this great article. Because it really puts to bed some of the more idiotic rumors and false information. I mean, I have been raising hell about this whole bailout, but it is mainly because of the utter stupidity that is being parroted by the Far Right and by some of the not so far right. I will say this, that if this is the best that right can do, towards the middle class. They can forget about getting elected in 2010 or 2012. Of course, based upon what I’ve noticed as of late, there is not much hope of that happening anyhow.

I would suppose that there are those who might think, that I do not think that there is any problems with the Big Three. Trust me, I do. I also realize that the unions did get a bit greedy in the last 20 or so years. But, I also know this, that the errors that the present management and management in the past made at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are NOT the fault of the Employees. Nor do I believe that the employees of these fine companies should be punished for the incompetency of these companies. Nor do I blame the employees for the missteps of the Union officials, who were out for their own agendas.

It is just a plain and simple, the Republicans and some Libertarians think that punishing the middle class and allowing those who simply go to work and do their jobs to lose their jobs is perfectly acceptable. I am not one of those people.

In a personal level, my Dad never, ever made more than $21 an hour at his job. He worked for general motors for 31 years. He drove a Hi-lo, otherwise known as a Forklift. He worked for those people faithfully, rarely took off sick, he would work as many hours as they asked him to. Sometimes double shifts, he even worked triple shifts, before they outlawed it. My Father earned his retirement, and now, I have to contend with idiot Republicans, Conservatives and some Libertarians; who want to punish my dad for G.M.’s stupidity. It just is not right.  As far as his benefits go, he’s got some good benefits, but they’re not as nearly as good as they used to be. He used to pay zero for Doctor’s visits and Prescriptions, he now pays a large co-pay for doctor’s visits and prescriptions. I think my Dad has earned every last bit of those benefits, and those Conservative who would want to punish my Dad, I will say to you, what Keith Olbermann said about those in the Bush Administration who knowingly send your Nation’s troops into battle for their second and third terms, despite the fact that some, if not all, are suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome; they can go to hell.

It just seems very hypocritical of this Nation to give Wall Street 700 hundred BILLION dollars, for a damned bailout that did not even really work; but you let the big three ask for a bridge loan and the whole world is like “Detroit can go to hell!” It just does not make any sense to me at all.

Matthew Yglesias and Washington Monthly

Ed “The Tool” Morrissey continues to live up to his name

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It seems that my Favorite Madison Avenue Conservative, Ed “The Tool” Morrissey continues his one-man venomous crusade against the middle class, Detroit Auto Workers and the U.A.W.; of which my Father is a member.

He blathers on, in his rather idiotic posting, at the Neo-Con rag called “HotAir” which sums up Ed to a tee. He writes:

The UAW chief, Rich Gettelfinger, has a courageous proposal to resolve the standoff:

“In a news conference in Detroit, Ron Gettelfinger, president of the United Auto Workers, said the Big Three CEOs should consider resigning if that would help win backing for a bailout.”

Why doesn’t Gettelfinger offer his resignation as well?  Why wouldn’t the UAW offer to help by restructuring its contracts with the Big Three, which shoulder far greater labor costs than its competitors, making them less competitive?  It takes a big, big man to offer someone else’s resignation.

Once again, I have to straighten out the four-eyed Neo-Con idiot:

  1. His is name Ron Gettlefinger, not Rich.
  2. He has done more work in his entire life, than you’ll ever hope to accomplish.
  3. Why don’t you do the blogging world a favor and offer your resignation from HotAir.com and from Blogging in General? Better yet; just drop dead. God knows, the world would be a much better place without idiotic morons like you around, that’s for sure.

Sorry folks, I know that sounds a bit harsh, But when this son-of-a-bitch decided to start his crusade against the Detroit auto workers, he declared war against me personally and my Family. Because of this, I will continue to write rebuttals to this idiots writings, until he personally apologizes to me or decides to stop writing insulting Blog postings about my Father, who is a retired auto worker and U.A.W. Member.

I refer to Ed as a Madison Avenue Conservative, However, I know he is not a rich man. But he has the mentality of your typical Neo-Conservative Republican. Of course, for Ed; it is easy to have this attitude. I mean, when you’re basically living off your wife’s disability check and plus getting a nice check from that Neo-Con shill that he works for. It is easy for him to take the positions that he takes.

Meanwhile, people like me, who live in the real world; who have all of $45 in our bank accounts. We know what would happen to this area, if the big three did collapse. This entire area would become desolate, families and individuals would begin to leave in masses. Like they did back in the 1980’s when that big recession hit. Jobs would become nonexistent, like they did during the great depression of the 1930’s.  Thankfully, my Dad’s pension would be protected by the Federal Government, due to laws passed many years ago. But those men and women working those production lines would not be. The unemployment claims would bankrupt our state.

But people like Ed and Mitt Romney, they don’t care. They’ve got their money. They could care less what happens to us middle class folk. Here’s where the jobless rate hits home with me. I have not had a “Day Job” since 2005. Due to high gas prices and a bum car, that either needs to be sold or fixed; I cannot afford to drive to the job offers that I see in the listings, that are up to 50 or more miles from my house. My car has a bad “A Arm” in the steering. I cannot drive the car on the highway, I would be risking smacking the wall at 60 MPH, if I did. Not my idea of good time!  Besides, the car is quite old, as in 1990 kind of old. The money I would be putting into that car would far exceed the value. So, at this point, I am stuck. Unless I find something around here locally. But that market, is a part of the market that’s dried up around here. This is why I am a full time Blogger. It is all a can do, at this point.

Hopefully now, you will understand why I feel the way that I do about Ed, and his idiotic nonsense towards this area.

Update: To the commenter named Joel, who wrote a rather idiotic comment, accusing me of Ad-Hominem attacks. Well, the way see it. Ed has taken it upon himself in engaging in Ad-Hominem attacks against The U.A.W., The US Auto workers, which includes my Dad; and the middle class in general. So, the way I see it, what’s fair is fair.  I am sticking up for those who have no voice, and if that upsets you. Tough Shit! I’m sure there’s plenty of Neo-Conservative Blogs out there, that you can read that just brim with Anti-Union Propaganda. This is not one of those Blogs.

Quote of the Day

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Who killed the U.S. auto industry?

To hear the media tell it, arrogant corporate chiefs failed to foresee the demand for small, fuel-efficient cars and made gas-guzzling road-hog SUV’s no one wanted, while the clever, far-sighted Japanese, Germans, and Koreans prepared and built for the future.

I dissent. What killed Detroit was Washington, the government of the United States, politicians, journalists, and muckrakers who have long harbored a deep animus against the manufacturing class that ran the smokestack industries that won World War II.

For once in my life. I am in 100% agreement with a Republican. Click the link to see who it is.

I get e-mail from Senator Carl Levin

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This just arrived in my inbox:

Dear Paleo Pat,

Immediate support is needed to shore up our automotive manufacturing sector and to preserve the more than 2.5 million jobs directly and indirectly linked to the U.S. auto industry. This morning, I testified in front of the House Financial Services Committee to emphasize the need for Congress to take swift action on behalf of our nation’s automakers. Standing idly by as the financial crisis decimates our domestic manufacturing capabilities and pulls our fragile economy further into recession is unacceptable.

Throughout the world, the dire financial crisis continues to spur governments to provide assistance to their manufacturing industries, which are not able to obtain the credit they so vitally need to continue operations. Both Germany and the European Union are studying the possibility of providing support for their automotive industries. Australia has provided more than $4 billion in funding for its vehicle manufacturers. Automotive manufacturers in China are already voicing their expectation of financial assistance from their government as well. “The Chinese government will undoubtedly support us,” says She Cairong, general manager of JAC Motors, a Chinese automobile manufacturer. This quote appeared in a New York Times article this morning, highlighting China’s consideration of a plan to provide assistance to its domestic automobile companies.

The spotlight is now focused on Congress, which is considering the possibility of rescuing the industry from an economic downturn not of its own making. President-elect Obama has called the U.S. auto industry “the backbone of American manufacturing” and said that the failure of our domestic automakers would be “a disaster” for our economy. President Bush, Speaker Pelosi, and both the Majority and Minority Leaders of the Senate agree that bridge loans for our domestic automakers are necessary at this time. I will continue to work with my colleagues in the Senate and the Congressional Leadership to come up with a plan that would provide auto manufacturers with the bridge loans they need to weather this financial storm.

You can read the transcript of my testimony before the House Financial Services Committee by clicking on the following link: http://levin.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=305099

]. During these difficult times, I am doing everything within my power to convince the Congress to provide the bridge loans for the domestic auto industry that the President, the President-elect and the leaders from both houses of Congress support.


Sincerely,
Carl Levin


The Big Three’s Hidden Agenda??

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I normally would not link to this guy’s Blog. But because my Dad is a Retired G.M. Worker and a UAW man. I’m linking to it.

I think everyone who is worried about thier jobs and what’s happening with the big three need to read this Blog posting.

Click here

I have never been so angry at my Government and at Washington D.C. as I am, right now. Go read the posting and you’ll see why. 😡

Mitt Romney throws himself out of the running for President in 2012

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(H/T to Liberal Values)

I saw this and I could not pass it up.

I’ve already Blogged about another Madison Avenue Conservative who thinks that the Detroit auto worker is a piece of shit. (Who, by the way, removed my trackback, like the little fat coward fuck that he is…) Strike that, it’s still there. My bad. Was looking in wrong place. 😀

Now have another Madison Avenue Conservative coming out against the American Auto worker. Mitt Romney, the idiotic Mormon Freak is now opening his mouth towards the Detroit Auto Worker.

Mormon freak boy writes:

IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

I love cars, American cars. I was born in Detroit, the son of an auto chief executive. In 1954, my dad, George Romney, was tapped to run American Motors when its president suddenly died. The company itself was on life support — banks were threatening to deal it a death blow. The stock collapsed. I watched Dad work to turn the company around — and years later at business school, they were still talking about it. From the lessons of that turnaround, and from my own experiences, I have several prescriptions for Detroit’s automakers.

First, their huge disadvantage in costs relative to foreign brands must be eliminated. That means new labor agreements to align pay and benefits to match those of workers at competitors like BMW, Honda, Nissan and Toyota. Furthermore, retiree benefits must be reduced so that the total burden per auto for domestic makers is not higher than that of foreign producers.

That extra burden is estimated to be more than $2,000 per car. Think what that means: Ford, for example, needs to cut $2,000 worth of features and quality out of its Taurus to compete with Toyota’s Avalon. Of course the Avalon feels like a better product — it has $2,000 more put into it. Considering this disadvantage, Detroit has done a remarkable job of designing and engineering its cars. But if this cost penalty persists, any bailout will only delay the inevitable.

Second, management as is must go. New faces should be recruited from unrelated industries — from companies widely respected for excellence in marketing, innovation, creativity and labor relations.

The new management must work with labor leaders to see that the enmity between labor and management comes to an end. This division is a holdover from the early years of the last century, when unions brought workers job security and better wages and benefits. But as Walter Reuther, the former head of the United Automobile Workers, said to my father, “Getting more and more pay for less and less work is a dead-end street.”

You don’t have to look far for industries with unions that went down that road. Companies in the 21st century cannot perpetuate the destructive labor relations of the 20th. This will mean a new direction for the U.A.W., profit sharing or stock grants to all employees and a change in Big Three management culture.

The need for collaboration will mean accepting sanity in salaries and perks. At American Motors, my dad cut his pay and that of his executive team, he bought stock in the company, and he went out to factories to talk to workers directly. Get rid of the planes, the executive dining rooms — all the symbols that breed resentment among the hundreds of thousands who will also be sacrificing to keep the companies afloat.

Investments must be made for the future. No more focus on quarterly earnings or the kind of short-term stock appreciation that means quick riches for executives with options. Manage with an eye on cash flow, balance sheets and long-term appreciation. Invest in truly competitive products and innovative technologies — especially fuel-saving designs — that may not arrive for years. Starving research and development is like eating the seed corn.

Just as important to the future of American carmakers is the sales force. When sales are down, you don’t want to lose the only people who can get them to grow. So don’t fire the best dealers, and don’t crush them with new financial or performance demands they can’t meet.

It is not wrong to ask for government help, but the automakers should come up with a win-win proposition. I believe the federal government should invest substantially more in basic research — on new energy sources, fuel-economy technology, materials science and the like — that will ultimately benefit the automotive industry, along with many others. I believe Washington should raise energy research spending to $20 billion a year, from the $4 billion that is spent today. The research could be done at universities, at research labs and even through public-private collaboration. The federal government should also rectify the imbedded tax penalties that favor foreign carmakers.

But don’t ask Washington to give shareholders and bondholders a free pass — they bet on management and they lost.

The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing. A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.

In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check.

Hey, Mormon freak boy! Care to share how many workers your asshole father laid off, while he was the President of American Motors? Do you also care to share with the rest of the country of how much of a disaster your daddy’s term as Governor of the State of Michigan was? Especially with his aborted run for President of the United States?

I did agree with some of what he wrote like this:

Second, management as is must go. New faces should be recruited from unrelated industries.

[….]

The need for collaboration will mean accepting sanity in salaries and perks. At American Motors, my dad cut his pay and that of his executive team, he bought stock in the company, and he went out to factories to talk to workers directly. Get rid of the planes, the executive dining rooms — all the symbols that breed resentment among the hundreds of thousands who will also be sacrificing to keep the companies afloat.

However, when freak boy writes stuff like this here:

The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing. A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.

Yeah, let’s kick all the fucking retirees to the damned curb, let’s get rid of all the fucking unions and let the god damn workers work for minimum wages and not give the middle class to have a chance to have a piece of the American dream. All the while the big three make all the damn money and we the middle class American worker gets screwed. Two Words Romney; fuck you! 😡

Classic Madison Avenue, snobby nosed, fiscal Conservatism, the classic Republican attitude of, “I’ve got mine and screw you.”

That mother fucker Romney had better not run in fucking 2012, he wouldn’t get fucking vote one, at least not from this Moderate Libertarian Conservative, not at all. It just so happens that if the big three here in Detroit crash, the whole fucking area will collapse. But that mother fucking Madison Avenue asshole doesn’t care, he’s got his fucking millions. So, it will not affect him.

The State of Michigan has been in recession since around 2001 or so. unemployment is though damned roof, if we let these companies fail, which they will do, if we do not bail them out. If that happens, the economy will go into a full blown nose-dive and this area will become another damned Russia, people will leave in mass and there will be massive bread-lines, it will make for an horrific event.

But the fucking asshole Madison Avenue Conservatives could give a fuck less, they’ve got theirs. Which is why I could never, ever call myself a fucking Republican, Ever!

I am not a fan of Nationalizing of anything, but we’ll prop banks up, and keep the wealthy rich, but to hell with the middle class auto worker. What idiotic bullshit! 😡

Some people, like Mormon freak boy Mitt Romney ought to be seen and not heard. Period!

It is official: Ed Morrissey is a tool

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I’ve held my tongue long enough.

It is official in my book. Ed Morrissey is nothing more than a Republican tool. Not to mention a Neo-Conservative, Pope-Worshiping tool.

I just got done reading Ed’s rather idiotic ramblings about how we should just allow Detroit’s big three to drop dead and die.

You see, there’s a small problem with that, My Dad was employed by G.M.; He’s retired now; and when you insult G.M., The UAW, and the workers at G.M., you are insulting my Father.  The last time some ignorant son-of-bitch insulted my Dad to my face; I ended up breaking his collar bone, in three places, cracked about 5 of his ribs and broke about 5 of his front teeth. Oh yeah, I was that angry. 😡

My Father and I, we’ve had our disagreements in the past and there’s been times, when he’s really ticked me off, but you let someone badmouth my Dad and it’s on. It’s a southern thing, and I highly doubt that you damned Yankees would even understand it at all. Politics is one thing, but family’s another and Ed just crossed into the “Fuck off and Die” category with me, when he took occasion to basically say that my Father and all of the Father’s at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler were nothing but pieces of shit. Yes, I am taking it personally.

I guess I’ll use this opportunity to say this publicly, I won’t be returning to Ed’s daily show. Because you see, when you insult my father, I tend to take that a bit personally and it tends to make me a little angry. No, let me rephrase that, that makes me a whole bunch of angry.

There was a period, when I thought that Ed Morrissey was one of the more level-headed Conservatives, needless to say, I was very wrong in that estimation of him. The truth is, Ed’s nothing more than your a-typical “well to do” Conservative, who’s attitude is “I’ve got mine and screw you” attitude, which is so-typical of your Republicans and most Conservatives.  Much like that slant-eyed bitch that he works for.

So, Ed, if you happen to read this…. On the behalf of my Father and Family, who also worked for G.M….. two words fat boy, fuck you and the fucking horse you rode in on, asshole.

Someone’s gotta say it!

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I am, without apology, a moderate. For most political matters, I’m pretty much cut and dry. But when it comes to personal matters, I tend to lean more towards a moderate, compassionate stance.

This is one of them matters.

I happen to be reading my RSS feeds and I was rather alarmed by the coldness and dismissive tone of this Blog entry.

The entry which I happened to come upon by reading Lew Rockwell’s Blog. Some smart mouth jackass by the name of Philip Greeenspun says, basically, “To the hell with G.M. let them go bankrupt.”

Mr. Greenspun, on the behalf of my Father, a 31 year G.M. Employee and Retiree of General Motors, Cadillac Motor Car Division; and a United Auto Workers Member and everyone else in both of those organizations, who have done more physical labor, than you’ll ever hope to perform; I personally invite you to take a long, extended vacation……IN HELL.

There are just some issues where my Libertarianism stops and my Americanism or Nationalism starts. This is one of those places.  😡

Big Union Corruption Bust in N.Y.

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Wow! 😮

An indictment was unsealed Friday morning in Brooklyn federal court charging Michael Coppola, a captain in the Genovese organized crime family of La Cosa Nostra, with racketeering and racketeering conspiracy.

The predicate acts include the 1977 murder of Giovanni Larducci, also known as “John Lardiere,” “Coca Cola,” and “Johnny Cokes,” extortion and conspiracy to extort members of International Longshoremen’s Association (”ILA”) Local 1235, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit identification document fraud.

The defendant was arraigned Friday afternoon before United States District Judge John Gleeson, at the US Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York.

The charges were announced by Benton J. Campbell, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Anne Milgram, Attorney General for the State of New Jersey, Mark J. Mershon, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Division, and Daniel R. Petrole, Deputy Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General. – Via The Reality Check

I got big money that says you won’t hear about this much in the Liberal Main Stream Media. But let a big name Pastor get busted on morality charges and it’s front page news!

More of Obama’s Audio on the Energy Industry

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(H/T to Capt. Ed over @ HotAir)

The Video:

The Quote:

The problem is not technical, uh, and the problem is not mastery of the legislative intricacies of Washington. The problem is, uh, can you get the American people to say, “This is really important,” and force their representatives to do the right thing? That requires mobilizing a citizenry. That requires them understanding what is at stake. Uh, and climate change is a great example.

You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.

They — you — you can already see what the arguments will be during the general election. People will say, “Ah, Obama and Al Gore, these folks, they’re going to destroy the economy, this is going to cost us eight trillion dollars,” or whatever their number is. Um, if you can’t persuade the American people that yes, there is going to be some increase in electricity rates on the front end, but that over the long term, because of combinations of more efficient energy usage, changing lightbulbs and more efficient appliance, but also technology improving how we can produce clean energy, the economy would benefit.

If we can’t make that argument persuasively enough, you — you, uh, can be Lyndon Johnson, you can be the master of Washington. You’re not going to get that done.

Sorry, you cannot spin that.  Obama, in essence, is saying that he will cause one industry to collapse. All so he can promote his own agenda of “Green” energy. The problem with that is this, there are no tested, proven and ready alternative forms of energy, yet.

Ed from HotAir weighs in:

Energy prices skyrocketing will leave the economy in tatters, as we saw earlier this year.  While no one doubts the need to start transitioning to better sources of energy, the manner in which that gets done means the difference of whether it gets done at all.  A stagnant or receding economy does not produce scientific breakthroughs, especially when government both increases taxes and imposes steep cost burdens on energy.  That cuts into both manufacturing and R&D, because as profits fall, fewer dollars go into research — which means that all of these wonderful developments would get delayed, or go unrealized altogether.

We need to plan for the transition better than what Obama proposes.  We need to use our own reserves of oil, natural gas, coal, and shale to cushion the economy while we develop the alternatives and build the infrastructure to deliver it.  That’s what John McCain proposed in his Lexington Project.

Price shocks on energy is the last thing this economy needs.  It would be worse than the taxes Obama promises to impose on investment, and would have the same depressive effect.  It’s an utter disaster.

Not only this, but I also believe that if Obama does this, Jobs will be lost. I guess Obama believes that stealing one man’s job, top create another is just perfectly fine. 🙄

That would be like shutting down an auto plant, and putting people, who have worked at an auto plant for some 30 years, out of a job. Just so that a company could start a car plant, making electric cars. Yeah, sure, new jobs are created, but what about the people working for the auto plants, that do not make the Electric car? Why allow them to suffer?

Just more things to keep in mind, when voting, come Tuesday. Because Obama believes in spreading the wealth, except it comes to those working in the coil industry.

If I were the Unionized Coil Miners, I would raising the roof about this!

Others: : QandO, PoliGazette, Little Green Footballs, Soccer Dad, Chicago Boyz, Silent Running, Ed Driscoll.com and Tapscott’s Copy Desk

shocking audio: Obama said he will bankrupt the coal industry…

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This is not new, but it is still something to think about when you vote on Tuesday.

First the Video:

The Quote: (H/T to News Busters)

Let me sort of describe my overall policy.

What I’ve said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else’s out there.

I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted down caps that are being placed, imposed every year.

So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.

That will also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in solar, wind, biodiesel and other alternative energy approaches.

The only thing I’ve said with respect to coal, I haven’t been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it.

So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can.

It’s just that it will bankrupt them.

Now had John McCain had said something like that, the Liberal Media would be all over it. But it’s Obama, so it’s okay.

Remember this on November 4.

Others: Weekly Standard,, DBKP, Democrat=Socialist, Ed Driscoll.com, Neptunus Lex, Macsmind, Jules Crittenden, Right Wing Nut House, Political Byline, Michelle Malkin, Wizbang, Babalu Blog, The Campaign Spot, Shopfloor, Doug Ross, Stop The ACLU, A Blog For All, Don Surber, BizzyBlog, 24Ahead, Wake up America,  Moonbattery, Dirty Harry’s Place, Scared Monkeys and  and more via Memeorandum

Dude, where’s MY Union?

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I was reading this morning over on a Liberal blog, about the return of the middle class and unions. As a Moderate, I will confess, I have no quarrels with unions. But as a bit of a Conservative, I do criticize them and their double standards.

This entry at firedoglake by someone calling themselves Joe Fish is of interest:

As a member of a union that I have to wonder about sometimes (ALPA, the Airline Pilots Association) I think it’s certainly worthwhile to talk for a minute about the Employee Free Choice Act and the role of unions in building a stronger middle-class and hence stronger America. Why do I wonder about ALPA? More on that in a minute…

A quick and simplistic review for those not old enough to remember the ultimate Federal Union Buster, Ronnie Reagan and his most excellent (in his mind) PATCO adventure. In 1981 the air traffic controllers union decided to go on strike and the controllers were fired by Reagan for violating a federal law banning strikes by governmental unions, although previous strikes by other governmental unions like the Postal Workers had not been punished by terminating their employees. Reagan’s views of unions was the same as virtually every other major republican figure of the 70’s and 80’s; that unions were the creation of the devil and the antithesis of American/Free Market capitalism and thus should be put down like Old Yeller… with a single shot to the head, but without the emotion.

This, of course, is a stretch of the truth and a bit of poetic license. Reagan was forced into the position that he was put in, by the union. Reagan knew that if the air traffic controllers had struck, commerce would have been interrupted and it could have led to a shut down in the economy. Reagan saw that and took action. One must remember, the economy was still shaky from the disastrous Presidency of Jimmy Carter.

Where does this apply to me? My Father is a U.A.W. member, I am very appreciative and grateful for the many great things that the Unions did for him. I am here today, because of that. I am also, as a history buff, very aware of the role that the unions had in the forming of this area here. However, as a man, I must ask the unpopular question, asked by many of the children of the Union members:

What exactly has the unions done for me?  The sad, but truthful answer is, nothing at all. Has the union ever approached my Father and offered me a job in the plant, where my dad worked, No. The closest thing I ever came to getting a job offer from the Union, was G.M. sending me for a test to see if I had the smarts to work for the company. Me and 10,000 other people. The test I took, there were people at this testing session with 2 year college degrees, who were having trouble with it. Needless to say, I never got a call to work for the company.

The sad truth is that the unions have simply become protectionists. There was a time when the unions had a legitimate role in defending auto workers from the out of control hiring and firing polices of the auto companies here in Detroit. But because of the greater control and stricter labor laws in America. Unions have lost their value. Not to mention the various trade agreements, passed by the Democratic President Bill Clinton, which was viewed by many unions as a “selling up the river”, caused the unions to lose their foothold in the organized labor movement.

This is not to say that I think that unions should be eliminated, not at all. I think if the unions want to be brought back into the mainstream and taken seriously again, the Democrats need to work to make them strong again. Like renegotiating trade agreements and if said countries will not, Op out of them. This was a early campaign promise of Obama. I wonder if he will honor it? This would cause the unions to become strong again. Also, giving tax breaks to companies who hire new blood, without all the restrictions, would be a bonus as well.

So, until this, I ask the question; Dude, where’s my union?

Blogs 4 Borders! 10/13/2008

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Jake snuck this one out on me or I didn’t see it, one of the two! Doh

——————-

Our weekly vlog/podcast on illegal immigration and border security issues. In this weeks edition…

The subprime meltdown: a basic issue of fairness?

You do the math: California calls for $7 billion bailout, where’d the money go?

100% Preventable! Americans continue to pay the bloody price for open borders. When will the madness end?

Download for your Ipod here.

Make sure to visit this weeks sponsor….

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If you’d like to sponsor a show contact us here.

This has been the Blogs For Borders Video Blogburst. The Blogs For Borders Blogroll is dedicated to American sovereignty, border security and a sane immigration policy. If you’d like to join find out how right here.