Thank You UAW!

As you all know by now, the auto bailout package, weighing in at a whopping $14 billion, failed to survive a Senate procedural vote on Thursday night.

Shortly afterwards, the blame game started.

Democrats pointed the finger at Republicans using phrases like “un-American” and “an unbelievable stab at workers around the country” to describe the actions of Republican Senators that stopped this legislation from passing.

In turn, the Republicans pointed the finger at the United Auto Workers (UAW) as the real culprits in this story. The Republican senators stated that it was the UAW’s refusal to accept immediate wage reductions that actually killed the bailout package.

In fact, Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the GOP's point man in the negotiations said "We were about three words away from a deal," referring to any date in 2009 on which the UAW would accept wage cuts.

After reading these accounts, I only have three words to say…

Thank You UAW!!!

While their incredibly selfish and shortsighted decision to refuse lower wages may (and I say “may” because I have little to no faith that the bailout would have actually worked) ultimately cost them and many of their fellow coworkers their jobs, it nonetheless, proved to be the death knell in another piece of misguided legislation.

Way to go UAW! Keep sticking it to the fat cats in management!

So, I know what some of you are thinking. ”What did they actually object to?”

Well, I’m glad you asked.

Senate Republicans asked the UAW to bring total wages (including benefits and pension plans) down to levels that mirrored what Japanese automakers pay their employees at American plants.

Currently, UAW and Toyota workers make nearly identical hourly wages ($29.78 per hour for UAW workers vs. $30 per hour for Toyota workers). However, and here’s where the lunacy begins, when figuring in benefit and pension packages, Toyota states that their costs are about $48 per worker per hour.

UAW’s?

$69.

That’s right, $69 per worker per hour.

And some people wonder why the automakers are running out of money.

So in other words…

All American citizens are expected to suck it up and make sacrifices as their tax dollars save these companies, all governmental agencies must stop certain programs due to slashes in funding in order to pay for this bailout, CEOs of the Big 3 agree to work for nothing to make sure this plan gets past, yet these UAW workers can’t sacrifice a little of their obnoxiously decadent benefit plans to ensure this plan passes?

The gall of these workers is, literally, indescribable and indefensible.

Yet, I’m quite happy that they took this stance as it, momentarily, will save taxpayers billions and billions of dollars.

I say “momentarily” as President Bush, appearing hell bent on providing the Big 3 with taxpayer money, is considering raiding the coffers of the $700 billion financial bailout package.

I have a question for President Bush, and I say this with the utmost respect because I really do like him…

What the hell are you thinking?

First, has he abandoned all of his so-called Conservative ideals when dealing with economic and domestic issues?

It appears that way as he supports rampant governmental spending, this auto bailout, the financial bailout, Illegal alien amnesty (which I actually agree with him on) and environmental actions designed to stop global warming.

My God man, you’ve got like five weeks left. Can’t you just hang on for a little longer, rather than capitulating to the Left? Are you that tired from fighting these people for the past eight years that you’ve got nothing left in the tank?

Secondly, he’s been all over the map on this package. First he was against it, now he’s for it. I actually think he went back and forth a few times in between that as well.

And this is the guy that criticized John Kerry for flip-flopping?

I do give the Senate Republicans credit, as they, for once, stuck to actual conservative ideals in killing this plan.

I know that Congressional Democrats are going to attempt to paint them as the boogieman in this situation and try to convince voters that they turned their back on the working man.

I do think that this will backfire, as people are smart enough to realize that it was not the Senate Republicans that turned their backs on the working man, rather it was the working man that turned its back on itself in this situation.

That’s all for now folks. Until next time, take care and be well.

-John