funny thing is that UAW local is at Freightliner Truck in North Carolina

If it is, the company allowing that parasitical union inside its guts really deserves to die.

In comparison this assembly line gm salary is:

$26,000 more than the average salary for assembly line

Average Assembly Line GM salaries can vary greatly due to company, location, industry, experience and benefits.

This salary was calculated using the average salary for all jobs with the term “Assembly Line GM” anywhere in the job listing.

http://www.simplyhired.com/a/salary/search/q-Assembly+Line+GM/q_1-assembly+line

The jobs, hard to come by in an industry that’s shrinking, might be monotonous and hard on the body, but the workers who have them know they’ve got something special: benefits and job security unparalleled in the rest of the country. . . . On average, active union members cost automakers $130,000 a year, whether they are working or not, according to the Center for Automotive Research.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2006-03-28-buyout-packages_x.htm

Health Care Costs per Vehicle in 2004
Source: 2005 Harbour Report & A.T. Kearny Inc.
GM:
$1,525
Toyota:
$201
Average Labor Cost per U.S. Hourly Worker
Source: GM & Toyota
GM:
$73.73
Toyota:
$48
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/gmvstoyota/

1. “Suspend” a program that is a PR disaster for both the OEM and UAW.

2. “Delay” payments for gold platted health care that the rest of the US does not enjoy that the OEM’s can’t afford to fund anyway.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

So in other words, they were irresponsible for their earlier decisions?

One way of looking at the UAW cost to the American car buyer would be to assume the often quoted $1600 per car disadvantage the Detroit makers attribute to “legacy” costs (which I assume is mostly retirement and medical insurance costs) is a “UAW tax”. Just to make an example, all American car buyers have paid this tax over say the past 10 years.

Since GM has set a floor pricing level in the market, Toyota, et. al. have happily sold their product at a good profit margin, and just as happily, have collected the “UAW tax” for themselves.

So, an approximation for the amount of money that American car buyers have already contributed to the “UAW tax” would be something like: 15M annual car sales x 10 years x $1600 = $240 Billion! I no longer want to contribute.

A chapter 11 bankruptcy (or something concocted to be essentially the same thing by Congress) is the only way for these companies to rid themselves of these competitive killing burdens.

The main thing the negotiations didn’t include: any reduction in the pay of existing workers.

The touted savings of the current labor contract won’t be there at current sales levels, because the lower wages only apply to new hires. And who’s hiring?