The deadly parasite that goes by the name United Automobile Workers union has almost killed its hosts, the Detroit car makers. Like any mindless host, it continues eating and plundering until the grisly moment of death, as the UAW has done for 61 tyrannical years.
With the aid of its associates in Congress, the UAW has gotten legislation passed since 1935 that has:
(1) forced car companies to recognize unions
(2) forced car companies to bargain with unions and abide by arbiter's decision
(3) forced car companies to desist from dissuading union activity or non-union voting
(4) rejected car companies' right to threaten to shut down plant
(5) rejected car companies' right to fire union activists
The above restrictions have put GM, Ford and Chrysler at the mercy of strikes, sit downs and intimidation, resulting in a current labor cost of more than $70 an hour for workers (Toyota pays around $45 at its American plants), delayed labor-saving technology, prolonged employee incompetence, allowed thousands of workers to play dominoes all day at full pay because robotics have assumed their jobs and unions don't allow them to be fired, skyrocketed healthcare costs to over $1,600 per car, created a catastrophic pension program, restricted "variety" jobs by insisting on "specialists" to do each job, and much more.
Take away all of the above cushie "rights" of union workers, and GM would then make almost the $2,000 per car that Toyota currently makes with its non-union workers and high technology, instead of the $1,250 that GM currently loses on each car. For a good read on much of the above see this web site posting: http://mises.org/story/2124
And so the hosts take to bed and wobble to Congress for an emergency injection. Whether the ilk in Congress provide the injection or not, sooner or later the parasites will die a horrible death at the hands of economic justice in the bodies of their deceased hosts. None too soon for me.
Whatever comes around ... goes around.
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