Save Auto Jobs: ‘Mathematically and intellectually dishonest’.
Anecdotal Conclusions:
Obviously my family didn’t enjoy this sort of income growing up; we were always comfortable and the fair income did provide me with some opportunities that nonunion employees wouldn’t have had, such as music and theater lessons and the opportunity to attend a prestigious (and expensive) private college.
1) $30-40/hour (benefits and pension included) is a very decent wage, but it isn’t the $70/hour legacy burden that is so often shoved off on autoworkers.
2) An observation that is (finally) being made is that legacy costs are more than a drop in the bucket, but are an incidental concern when the Big Three aren’t making vehicles that people want to buy.
3) New workers aren’t making these wages; their wages are in line with foreign competitors. This is, in fact, more of a liability for the UAW than it may sound on the surface, since pay tiers by date-of-hire impose a wage wedge that can push unions apart. Many corporations have exploited situations like this to sow discord in unions.
4) God Forbid blue-collar workers would earn as much as their betied brethren!