Should Ron Gettelfinger Be Next?
If the world was fair and full on honest and noble people, Ron Gettelfinger, President of the UAW, would step forward and resign. Like Rick Wagoner, Gettelfinger’s resignation would not symbolize “his” failure but rather the long history of distructive “win-lose” UAW-Big Three negotiations. In the end, all parties (union, management, bond holders, and dealers) will be losers.
The UAW celebrated often in the past about how good a contract they had negotiated. UAW members came to believe that their healthcare, pay, work rules, and penion plans were the just do for very difficult work. Sadly, union workers now are finding out that the benefits negotiated are far richer than the average American’s, and their work was no more difficult than most other industries. The UAW, if it were to be honest with itself, would also realize that it did little or nothing to bring its members into the 21st century and prepare them for a global economy.
Gettelfinger’s resignation would be the first step in restructuring auto worker labor. It is a lot to expect that Ron would be replaced with a reformist leader but frankly that is the only way for the Union to survive. Chapter 11 can be harsh on unreasonable union demands. Rebuilding GM (and probably Chrysler) presents a wonderful opportunity for both labor and management.
This entry was posted on March 30, 2009 at 10:15 am and is filed under Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Politics, Republican Party. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: auto industry, rick wagoner, ron gettelfinger, uaw
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