Auto workers in Detroit laid off for years, collect 95% of salary to do nothing

WoW!!! I wonder if there are others like this. They said at&t is eliminating 12,ooo workers. Seems they will be getting servance and all that stuff. Apparently they are Union too, wonder what perks they have too....no wonder we could never get anything done in America, people were getting the gold mine and the rest of us were getting the SHAFT!! I never trusted the Union, I always heard they were dirty. Never made sense to me that you would have to 'pay' for a job! And apparently some are trying to blame the gov. and right after say 'federal reserve'.....u think there are STILL people that don't know the federal reserve ISN'T gov???

think i just lost my great comment.................can i work at gm?

Well, here's my little comment on this all. I've been bringing to people's attention since the 70's, ah, weren't we suppose to be building small cars? And all you SUVs, you are a big big part of the problem. You don't need the semi truck, can't see over or around, eat all the gas, park on the street and cause accidents again, due to shitty VISABLITY. Then 1/2 of you cannot negotiate your vehicles on the street AND IN A PARKING LOT!!! Duh!! You don't know your own SUV "space"!!! Why???? If you can't drive,park, and turn it on a dime,do not buy it ya dufusses. We want SUVs and unions a thing of the past. Hamburger sellers have the same education base as auto workers, what's with the huge disparity in wages??? UNIONS AND MUI MACHO behavior. UGh!

Unions started forming back in the 1920's when corporate greed was at its highest. The employee was a pack animal. The Unions were formed at the behest of goon squads and clubs against the corporations and the police who protected them. It should have been the Labor Department, a part of the government that protected the workers rights, but Government and government employees are too corrupt to side with the labor force. So thje Unions formed picket lines to combat the unfairness of labor. In these late years when Unions have been all but lost to posterity, CEO's have been ripping off the companies and the employees are left to fend for themselves. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity keep running off at the mouth about the fairness of awarding the wealthy while forgetting the wealthy cannot get wealthy if it wasn't for the labor force. It seems that Rush prides himself with being brilliant, while in fact he is a brutal stupid jackass, with no regard for the Citizens who do the battles for this country while fat ass jerks like him criticize these kids and their families. These rich jerks think that America is beholding to them and yet they cannot function without the mass labor force.

Oh and by the way barbara, what do you do for our economy besides putting down workers that helped make this country? Or are you married to one of these CEO's who walk away with millions while others are left jobless and homeless?

UNIONS RUINED THE BIG 3? F*#K YOU!!
They are only after something they were promised thirty years ago. You know, its called retirement!! Like many big companies offer. These corporate fucks bankrupt the auto industry and you're blaming the workers? Go back to being a housewife and keep your mouth out of business that ain't yours!!

You went to harvard so that explains your conservativeness. But you were a 60's girl? What happened to you? I guess you're just a cash mongering yuppie now huh? That sucks!!

Im sure your harvard degree gets you paid pretty well to do nothing too! The only difference is....THESE PEOPLE DESERVE IT!! Don't be jealous that few companies today promise that! I'm sure you'd go apeshit if someone took away your medical dental and retirement!! DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND LEARN TO BE UNBIASED IN YOUR POST TITLES!! THATS JUST STABBING THE BACKS OF PEOPLE WHO WORKED HARD ALL THEIR LIFES AND COULDN"T AFFORD TO GO TO HARVARD, SO THROUGH HARD LABOR HELPED STABILIZE THIS ECONOMY BEFORE BUSH CAME AND BANKRUPTED AMERICA.

I love how no one said shit when these banks were bailed out with taxpayer money!!

Fuck fox news. F all you idiots who think that getting rid of something these HARD LABOR people ( who basically built the middle class of america) have worked their whole life for.

It isn't about saving the auto industry, it's about getting the workers what they've slaved for 30 years for. Something promised in a legal binding document.
Potentially by not bailing them out, we are looking at about 9 million jobless, homeless, workers WITH families in america!!
More than half of these people are 60+!!! You're telling me a 60 year old man can easily find a job in this current economy when the youth can barely find a job! Let alone be fit enough!?

My dads an autoworker and here'the truth...... They ( lawyers and accountants) want to get rid off all these dedicated workers whom have worked more than 30 years for a company than stabilized americas economy for more than 50 years and blow off their pension so that they can bring in "lower level"( I'll let you figure that out ) workers that will be paid about 10 dollars for some of the hardest labor in america today, probably with minimal benefits.

You see, its all about paying the people less and making more for the big wigs who honestly don't care about america's economy because THEY are well off, so why do they need to care? The union was created in order to protect the workers jobs and retirement, and their safety due to the danger and exhaustiveness of assembly line work.. The corporate management only cares about numbers and self wealth while sitting in their offices while the workers break their backs everyday for hours on end.
This is exactly what is wrong with america today. It's all about getting as much money as you can while hurting the most people you can. Their is no labor force or for that matter, NOTHING IS MADE IN AMERICA ANYMORE! What do we make? It is all done by labor workers ( slaves in some cases ) in other countries. WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR AUTO INDUSTRY BUT WE NEED TO KEEP HARD LABOR IN AMERICA. IF THAT MEANS WE BAIL THEM OUT IN ORDER TO SAVE OUR ECONOMY, THEN AS A UNITED AMERICA WE SHOULD STAND TOGETHER. Not being jealous at how much a hard laboring worker gets paid for working for a management that doesn't know shit nor care about the auto industry.

YOU people who hate on them and dont want to bail them out because you think we should shut them all down make me sick. You people think we can build a new "Green" (bullshit) economy to save us. Sure that'll only take twenty or so years to get us back on track .
We have no other economy besides the auto industry and if we crush them, then America's economy will completely crumble. We're already economically shit to the world. No one buys any american things cuz we dont make anything anymore. Thats why china and india are on the rise, because they have labor and manufacturing for all the crap we buy here. So we are forced to buy things built in other countries and watch america dwindle. Its the people who want to get rid off the what little american made things we have left. People like this make this country as fucked as it is!! TRUTH!! It hurts don't it!!

There's a lot of greed on all sides. Who wouldn't want to make money not to work. But while everyone is looking out for number one, it's costing all of us higher taxes in the end.

The reason the system is not working any more is not because the unions demanded fair wages, it's because of all the perks that are hidden on the final pages of the contract. Well today, we are on the final pages.

It's easy to blame the unions, but remember that the big three were the ones calling the shots. If they didn't think these policies were sustainable, they shouldn't have agreed with them.

Why don't we just buy up GM's stock all toll it's valued at only 3 billion dollars instead of giving them 18 billion dollars. Then we can restructure it our selfs. Making a 15 billion dollar profit right off the bat. Then we will wright off the profit by restructuring, problem solved.

Unionized monkeys eh?

Can you not just see the "unionized" animals in the zoo?

wow, and we thought only the big 3 management were morons! being paid for life? isnt the reason unemployment is limited is so the recipients know they had better get a job before the tit gets jerked out of their mouth? i can understand union fighting for suppliment pay, since some people simply can live on welfare alone, even for short while in between jobs, but this is just stupid!

Hating on unions is just one more of many, many examples of conservative screeching to blame everyone but the people at the wheel.

Why doesn't restructoring means getting rid of auto lines all together. For example GM has: Chevy, GMAC, Cadillac, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, Saturn, Hummer, Saab, and Opel.

Seems to me they and the other "big three" need to look at the Japanese model where they have two or three lines. Take Toyota: they have Toyota, Scion, and Lexus. Nissan has Nissan and Infinity. So get rid of some of these line, produce REAL electric vehicles that get more than 40 miles to the charge, and employ those jobs lost in green jobs like recycling, wind energy, and creation of true high speed transcontinental train travel!

Let'em sink. Let the workers find new jobs. If new jobs are not available, what do you do? You adapt and find a new niche instead of sitting around complaining about lost jobs. You move. You create a new market. You start farming. You find another manual labor trade. You further your education. The possibilities are endless if you get off your ass and evolve with the economy and let the economy work itself out.

This is only the beginning of the explanations and excuses. Look at our congress. Do you think they are better than the car manufacturers? One term in office and they retire with full pay and benefits and they even get to vote for their own pay raises. Put the blame everywhere it deserves to fall From The government to the CEO's nationwide. This whole country needs an enema badly.

their cars are twenty years behind the rest of the world, let them burn in their bonus money and ignorance. bye bye Ford, Gm, and Chrysler...time for companies that make a difference not just a profit to step forward and take the reigns. unless they seriously change the are goners. good riddens

Kings X and start all over again!

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

STOP THE MADNESS!!!

A.R.E. U. M.E? Awaken Revolution Evolution (Understanding) Mind Enlightenment. Awaken your Principle of Power within. Viva the Revolution!!!

Between greedy CEOs and greedy unions they both brought their industry to the brink of extinction. If we are assigning blame let's not forget the ultimate consumer, the American car culture. And yes, I have been as guilty as the rest. The blame game somehow never seems to solve anything. It's broke, let's fix it.

Passion is appreciated barbara...but im at work and would have done the research had i had time...relax its an exchange of ideas and only through level headed communication can we find the answers...thanks for the article

What's interesting is that I suspect the people who are must critical of any kind of Jobs Banks or unions in generals.....have never been a Union member in their life nor have they ever worked in a factory before.

A manufacturing environment is a lot different than a clerical one.

Whereas in a white collar world we generally go to work an assume the company will be there everyday, in manufacturing it's not unusual for a factory to just "close" instantly with no notice and unemploy 1,500 at a time.

When you flood a small factory town -- whose main employer was the factory -- with 1,500 new job applicants very few of those people are going to finds jobs. because there aren't any.

So this Jobs bank is designed to prevent 1,500 people from going bankrupt over night and to tide them over until new manufacturing jobs are created or can be found.

This myth that everyone in a Union makes $130,000 a year is bullshit.

No one in my family makes anywhere near that kind of money.

But since most people are all clerical....hell, they won't know any different.

well. originally there was a justified reason to have job banks. and don't forget, the companies sat down at the table and agreed to a contract that had job banks. i guarantee they talked for hours and hours about it.

the job banks were created in the early 80's when the auto industry was transforming and the workforce was being completely restructured so that robots and machinery could replace workers. the companies themselves couldn't even figure out what they were gonna need from employees. it was meant to be temporary until they figured out where they were gonna put the people while the workforce was restructured. now, those job banks probably aren't justified any more. but it was the company that didn't take a look at them. the UAW is voluntarily deciding to give this up, the companies weren't even asking for it.

i worship these people.

I have 3 relatives who live in Michigan and are Auto Union members.

NONE of them make anything close to that.

They all make a little under $50,000.

And that's working 7 days a week and 12hr shifts.

Who here does HARD MANUAL LABOR for 12hrs straight?

And what exactly would that be "worth" at an hourly rate?

Hi diabolical44,
Would you mind explaining to us the details exactly about how this article is false? And what did Fox News do to taint the story? It' looked pretty "straight up" to me.

Please provide specific data and links to creditable sources.

Thanks!

i want to know how this article is misleading and untruthful...what info do others have to negate this article?

I say let the auto makers sell out all their inventory and start anew. Re-employ the people that they have currently WORKING in their plants, etc... We cannot afford another bailout. And the tax payers should not pay for "job banks". That is Obscene!

this is a completely misleading and untruthful article. no surprise though. just look at the source.

IF THEY BUILT RELIABLE, ECONOMIC CARS THEY WOULDNT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT A THING LIKE TOYOTA.

Its not just the unions fault, its the CEO's greed, and its their inability to produce cars for a changing market and world.

If this is the kind of stuff you are going to throw my way, I think I will be in heaven!

My neighbor was an electrician at the GM plant in Janesville, Wisconsin ( recently closed). We would walk side by side golfing a few evening holes on the course both our back yards bordered--he was a member, I was his "tag along" guest.

He was pulling in $130,000 a year plus benefits...I told him his union days were numbered, he didn't believe me--

I told him the "world economy" would not tolerate American workers making that kind of money building cars--you gotta start being reasonable and don't give me that high paid executive crap, they gotta change as well--

His home is for sale, I wish them all the best...after a reality check!