It's amazing how the press refuses to report the whole story. This weeekend it was reported that GM lost money this past quarter or are expecting another loss for the second quarter. Immediately the press jumped on the fact that the UAW medical benefit package adds $1500 to the cost of a GM vehicle. The message was the union is the problem.
Sure the $1500 disadvantage GM has as compared to its competitors is a serious problem, but to frame the problem as solely a question of competition and the "greedy unions" is unfair. The fact of the matter is GM made a serious mistake when it decided to pour most of its resources into the SUV market. Now with the cost of gas at record levels the botttom has dropped out of the SUV market and more economical cars are selling.Yes, Toyota and Nissan benefit from the fact that their employee medical benefits are subsidized by the govenment, but they also benefit from producing these new hybrid cars that switch from gas to battery power and get 65 miles in the city.
Toyota and Nisan made better choices and GM did not. I hope the unions decide to compromise and do what is best for a great company, but the truth is the workers deserve better leadership from the big wigs at GM.