Most of them are gone now, so perhpas you have never met any of the old guys who sat down in Flint and said NO! I was fortunate enough to meet a few in the '70s.
Before the union, you might have lived in a company owned property. If you had a pretty young wife, you tried to shield her from your foreman lest he ask for "favors". When the flu came around and you sent word in that you were too sick to work, lots of others did the same thing. So there weren't enough people to run the line so inevitably the company goons came to the door and you went in to work. If you didn't, they broke down the door, told you you were fired and no longer eligible for company owned housing. Your things would be thrown in the street.
Even in the late 70s when I worked there as a salaried employee GM treated hourly workers like biological robots. I was even admonished by my management for "fraternizing" with the hourly folks who had busted ass to get a job done on time. My sin, I went out for beers and bought a round.
Throughout the same time periods, IBM never had unions. They took care of their people and there was no need. In the 90's IBM lost sight of its promises. They now have unions in the plants.
The issues usually come down to greed, on both sides. In this case the union wants guarantees of jobs, the comapny execs want a bonus. In this battle the union will likely lose.
Here in the States, we preach that the free market will solve all ills. In theory that is true. In practice, the playing field is never level.
A bankrupt GM would be horrible. GM without a union to balance the greed would be horrible too. None of this is simple or easy. Just getting rid of the union won't solve GMs problems.

posted by 75.62.23...

• How goes the strike against GM impact Saab?, Pete Saab 9-5, Tue, 25 Sep 2007 12:23:50
  • How about GM do Chapter 7 and broken off to pieces...., TKC, Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:27:32
    • 5 cent solutions for 50 dollar issues, hr, Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:23:43 <-- Viewing This Message
      • But you look at the non UAW plants, Noel, Wed, 26 Sep 2007 06:29:56
        • Re: But you look at the non UAW plants, BrianG, Wed, 26 Sep 2007 07:21:11
        • Look at Japan plants, hr, Wed, 26 Sep 2007 07:13:36
          • Right! That's the point., Noel, Thu, 27 Sep 2007 11:01:00

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