{"id":4049,"date":"2008-12-08T14:16:00","date_gmt":"2008-12-08T20:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/12\/looking-for-blame-in-all-the-wrong-places\/"},"modified":"2009-08-22T14:08:44","modified_gmt":"2009-08-22T20:08:44","slug":"looking-for-blame-in-all-the-wrong-places","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/12\/looking-for-blame-in-all-the-wrong-places\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking for blame in all the wrong places"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By Carter Bundy<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Over the last few months, as the problems in Detroit have reached catastrophic levels (and no, that\u2019s not a Lions<\/a> reference), there has been a curious intensity of anger directed at the United Auto Workers<\/a> (UAW).<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

America\u2019s autoworkers have made a good living for decades, largely thanks to their union. They\u2019ve had good health care and a decent retirement, which used to be staples of the American worker\u2019s compensation package, at least at large companies.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Having it both ways<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

One of the first things conservative union-bashers point to is the cost of health care in the automotive industry. Two questions: First, do they realize that countries like Japan and Germany have health care for all of their people, giving their companies a built-in structural advantage?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t have it both ways: You can\u2019t criticize unions and the Big 3 for providing expensive private health insurance and simultaneously advocate against any kind of health-care reform at the national or state level.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Second, do the union-bashers really fault the unions for trying to get health care for their members? The majority of people, including conservatives, reading this article have health care that is largely paid for by a corporation or taxpayers. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

How do you blast people who make cars for a living for having health care from their employer when most of the rest of us do, too? You can\u2019t have it both ways.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A leader who gets it<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

President-elect Obama<\/a> was terrific on Meet the Press<\/a> this weekend. Just hearing any politician use the economic term \u201cmoral hazard\u201d correctly, without talking down to anyone or dumbing it down, is incredibly refreshing.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

His take was that the unions were going to \u201chave to take a haircut,\u201d but he\u2019s not pushing for them to lose their health care or retirement. In fact, the UAW already agreed to assume responsibility for member retirement in their last contract.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

President-elect Obama knows that American workers can\u2019t continue to face unfair trade practices, and also knows that the far-right advocacy of a nearly universally low-wage workforce hurts American business and the overall economy. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Just as conservatives are right that capital needs to be strong and that supply-side economics can generate some growth, so too are liberals right that there needs to be a demand side for the economy to hum. That means good jobs, fair trade and a decent union presence. Hopefully President-elect Obama\u2019s team, including Secretary-designee Richardson<\/a>, will be pragmatic and recognize the need for balance. Obama himself seems to see both sides.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Common goals<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

UAW salaries are indeed higher than in non-union shops, and it\u2019s in that area more than any other that the UAW is going to have to make some additional concessions (they already conceded a huge amount in their last contract for new employees).<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But blaming a union for asking for good wages and workers for earning them is simply looking for blame in all the wrong places. Anti-union commentators will get what they want: lower wages for American workers; however, before conservatives celebrate lower pay, they might want to remember who fuels the American economy: consumers.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The great American businessman Henry Ford<\/a> understood that paying workers well was critical for the success of the American economy and of his product in particular. If only there were more disciples of Ford today in American business.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

There is real benefit to business of having a well-trained, well-paid workforce. Business gets better productivity in individual workplaces, and all businesses benefit when workers have disposable income.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Real culprits<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

People haven\u2019t been buying Toyota<\/a> and Honda<\/a> over Chevy<\/a> and Ford<\/a> because of a few hundred dollars\u2019 difference in labor costs, or even a thousand dollars\u2019 worth. They\u2019ve turned away from American vehicles because a Toyota will go 250,000 miles on pretty much oil and tire changes, while many American cars, until very recently, imploded before reaching six digits.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

They turned away because while GM\u2019s<\/a> management thought it was nifty to create an entire brand of 10-mile-per-gallon quasi-military vehicles, Toyota and Honda were investing in alternative technologies. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

How Japanese companies competing in the same markets as the Big 3 managed to bring hybrids to market 10 years before any American company is a story worthy of several books. Heck, Chrysler<\/a> and GM still don\u2019t have any hybrids to speak of.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

These failures aren\u2019t the fault of the line workers (American union workers also make Toyotas) or the people in unions who represent them. They\u2019re the fault of short-sighted management, forever focused on next quarter\u2019s stock showing and rarely thinking of the future or quality control.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I have real reservations about a loan for the Big 3, but there\u2019s too much at stake for America\u2019s workers and economy to let them collapse, especially right now. My reservations are that I fear management will pursue the same short-sighted, foolish, low-quality policies that brought us to this point in the first place. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

If management can\u2019t change its course, then the \u201cloan\u201d will simply constitute throwing good money after bad, and we can\u2019t afford that. But so far, it looks like Congress and President-elect Obama are going to demand some real solutions.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A strong middle class is good for business and good for conservatives and liberals alike. Offshoring all of our decent jobs through suicidal trade agreements and busting unions is the surest way imaginable to permanently shrink our middle class. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Instead, conservatives and liberals alike should focus on making real changes to our economy, like pursuing more efficient structures of health care, rather than scapegoating people who merely work hard every day and have the gumption to ask for health care.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME<\/a> in New Mexico. The opinions in his column are personal and do not necessarily reflect any official AFSCME position. You can learn more about him by clicking here<\/a>. Contact him at carterbundy@yahoo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Carter Bundy Over the last few months, as the problems in Detroit have reached catastrophic levels (and no, that\u2019s not a Lions reference), there has been a curious intensity of anger directed at the United Auto Workers (UAW). America\u2019s autoworkers have made a good living for decades, largely thanks to their union. They\u2019ve had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bundy-columns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4049\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}