The Glasgow & Edinburgh Branches Blog. Towards a better understanding of the world, in order to change it.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Food for Thought 3
- The auto manufacturers continue to go after workers' benefits during these difficult economic times, as we expect. After reaching a deal two months ago, the US government ordered the contracts re-opened and further cuts to benefits. The workers lose another $15/hour in wages and benefits, on top of the $6/hour already taken. They lose cost of living allowances, one week of paid vacation, a $1,700 Christmas bonus, $3,500 in one-time holiday pay, school tuition assistance and semi-private hospital care. Pensioners lose cost of living increases. Today, GM filed for bankruptcy, will receive further government funds ($20 billion) to restructure and come back firing 21 000 employees and closing many dealerships (and firing their employees). Not to be outdone, Ontario Premier McGuinty, rejected a call for executive pay at companies receiving government money to be capped at $400 000, but he was not slow in joining other governments in insisting on pay cuts for workers. Let's hope the workers in that industry become a bit more class conscious through all this turmoil. John Ayers
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Paternalism is a common attitude among well-meaning social reformers. Stemming from the root pater, or father, paternalism implies a patria...
8 comments:
There's only one of me. A 100% genuine original.
Only seem to be able to get about £10 p/h at auction though!
Death to the entire auto industry and its ridiculous manifestations, the opulent ostentatious gas gluttons and the concomitant century of suburban sprawl which is not only unsustainable(suicidal), it is genocidal and ecocidal.
There are alternatives such as a massive socialist demand side management and supply side reallocation program which will reduce the usage of automobiles, systematically, in the next 20 to 40 years, by rebuilding neighborhoods so that all can get what they need within walking distance of their homes (post-automobile era redevelopment).
Detroit motor city.Not only are there little motor construction going on, but there is little traffic on the streets also.Also the public transport system is close to being non existent.And the mono rail goes no where.
At its peak, motor city provided employment and security and was the biggest gross earner for the American capitalist machine,giving the workers wealth and lifestyle akin to that of corperate middle america.
Today it is a city similar to the dust bowl era,desolate deserted and structure left to the decay of time.And for those souls who lived the dream, the workers, left and forgotten, with no thanks or profit for their labours.
The only upbeat and positive thing to come out of this city in decline, is the beat of Mowtown,at least the disenfranchised and forgotten providers of wealth can reflect and remember when they danced in the streets of Motor City.
Isn't Deroit (and the whole country, if not world)fallow for a massive socialist rebuilding plan?
Don't you think they have enough on their plate presently, without people on blogs deciding their fate for them?
When socialism happens, people wil have their own control and say as to ,what will go where,locally , regionally, globally,within the context of mandating delegate who will be recallable, rather than some central plan being imposed upon them.
No one, on ANY blog, is deciding anybuddy's fate.
No central plan is being imposed, only a suggestion for the industry of workers who may want to consider such a plan as a local, regional, worldwide strategy (when socialism happens).
There's no more than 50 reading it so, a long way to go.
I don't know. We're almost there.
I've got twenty to thirty Actuarial years left.
Something to look forward to.
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