The UAW, the Bailout and Biology
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Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2001
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From: Rochester, NY, USA
The UAW, the Bailout and Biology
Let me propose a slightly different take on the recent collapse of the bailout talks for the (former) big three. Everything was going pretty well until the United Auto Workers (UAW) dug in and refused to take a pay cut before their current contract(s) run out. I’d like to propose that the UAW leadership apparently neglected to attend Biology class in high school or they might have avoided this potentially disastrous move. Let me explain why.
In nature – which has been around a bit longer than the UAW – there are certain laws and relationships that one should be aware of. There’s that big one on “the balance of nature” where humans repeatedly “discover” that if one messes with nature’s delicate balance, bad things happen. But that’s not the most important one here.
Then there’s an interesting one called “symbiotic relationships.” You can look this one up, but in plain English, it’s where two species that shouldn’t get along (like a predator and prey or a parasite and a host) do get along. The reason they get along is that they have found that one can benefit from the other. I’d like to propose that this is exactly the kind of relationship that the UAW ended up in with the auto makers – but they apparently didn’t know it. In this case, the hosts were the auto makers and the parasite was the UAW. This may sound callous, but it’s true. After all, the auto makers were around long before the UAW, then a need arose and the UAW came to be. (Notice, I did say something nice about the UAW there.)
Here’s the rub though. When UAW leadership lost track of the fact that they enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the auto makers, they forgot one interesting fact. In nature, the host can live without the parasite, but in many cases, the parasite cannot live without the host. I think UAW leadership lost track of this fact and figured that the host could not live without them. Nothing could be further from the truth.
As sad fact of business is that there are no guarantees. Nobody can guarantee a business will survive forever and therefore nobody can guarantee you a job forever. (Unless you’re in government, then the rules change.) So, in order for one to have a job in a business, that business must stay in business – by making a profit. The UAW leaders have basically told their members that they can guarantee them jobs forever. Not if the company that employs them can no longer make money! Remember, Detroit no longer sets the selling price for vehicles – the market place does.
And that brings us to exactly where we are today. Due to bad decisions over the years by both union and auto maker leaders, the UAW has slowly strangled the business – making it harder and harder to make money because they assumed that prices could be forever raised. If the leadership of the UAW doesn’t go back to high school Biology class and re-read their text books, the unfortunate losers in this whole thing will be the UAW members – who have been lied to for far too long.
In nature – which has been around a bit longer than the UAW – there are certain laws and relationships that one should be aware of. There’s that big one on “the balance of nature” where humans repeatedly “discover” that if one messes with nature’s delicate balance, bad things happen. But that’s not the most important one here.
Then there’s an interesting one called “symbiotic relationships.” You can look this one up, but in plain English, it’s where two species that shouldn’t get along (like a predator and prey or a parasite and a host) do get along. The reason they get along is that they have found that one can benefit from the other. I’d like to propose that this is exactly the kind of relationship that the UAW ended up in with the auto makers – but they apparently didn’t know it. In this case, the hosts were the auto makers and the parasite was the UAW. This may sound callous, but it’s true. After all, the auto makers were around long before the UAW, then a need arose and the UAW came to be. (Notice, I did say something nice about the UAW there.)
Here’s the rub though. When UAW leadership lost track of the fact that they enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the auto makers, they forgot one interesting fact. In nature, the host can live without the parasite, but in many cases, the parasite cannot live without the host. I think UAW leadership lost track of this fact and figured that the host could not live without them. Nothing could be further from the truth.
As sad fact of business is that there are no guarantees. Nobody can guarantee a business will survive forever and therefore nobody can guarantee you a job forever. (Unless you’re in government, then the rules change.) So, in order for one to have a job in a business, that business must stay in business – by making a profit. The UAW leaders have basically told their members that they can guarantee them jobs forever. Not if the company that employs them can no longer make money! Remember, Detroit no longer sets the selling price for vehicles – the market place does.
And that brings us to exactly where we are today. Due to bad decisions over the years by both union and auto maker leaders, the UAW has slowly strangled the business – making it harder and harder to make money because they assumed that prices could be forever raised. If the leadership of the UAW doesn’t go back to high school Biology class and re-read their text books, the unfortunate losers in this whole thing will be the UAW members – who have been lied to for far too long.
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 701
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From: Navasota, Tx
Very well put...
Ive recently been updating myself with the economy up north. Here is south eastern texas the economy really isnt hurting all that bad. Sure some stuff has slowed a little, but other then that it is still just trucking along. I couldnt figure out why everyone was wigging out until I did a little research. Texas is moving along nicely but the rest of the united states is not doing to hot.
YAY! GO TEXAS!!!
Ive recently been updating myself with the economy up north. Here is south eastern texas the economy really isnt hurting all that bad. Sure some stuff has slowed a little, but other then that it is still just trucking along. I couldnt figure out why everyone was wigging out until I did a little research. Texas is moving along nicely but the rest of the united states is not doing to hot.
YAY! GO TEXAS!!!
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 774
Likes: 1
From: western washington
but they apparently didn’t know it. In this case, the hosts were the auto makers and the parasite was the UAW. This may sound callous, but it’s true. After all, the auto makers were around long before the UAW, then a need arose and the UAW came to be. (Notice, I did say something nice about the UAW there.)
Here’s the rub though. When UAW leadership lost track of the fact that they enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the auto makers, they forgot one interesting fact. In nature, the host can live without the parasite, but in many cases, the parasite cannot live without the host.
Here’s the rub though. When UAW leadership lost track of the fact that they enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with the auto makers, they forgot one interesting fact. In nature, the host can live without the parasite, but in many cases, the parasite cannot live without the host.