“Labor costs represent only about 10 percent of the total cost of producing a vehicle in the United States, ”

“average wages and benefits for UAW hourly workers to about $55 per hour ”

From wikipedia: “In the Japanese health care system, healthcare services, including free screening examinations for particular diseases, prenatal care, and infectious disease control, are provided by national and local governments. Payment for personal medical services is offered through a universal health care insurance system that provides relative equality of access, with fees set by a government committee. ”

I’m pretty damn sure that if you take the cost of providing workers with health care in the US comparable to that in Japan … including through retirement … you will account for most of that $20 / hour difference between Japanese labour costs and US labour costs.

And even in that case, with “overpaid” us workers the labour+benefits of a car add up to only 3 thousand of a 30 thousand car. Doesn’t seem unreasonable that 10% of the cost of your meal at a restaurant goes to the guys that cooked and served it, or that 10% of you cost for a bit of software went to the guys that wrote it.

Yes, when you are given the ultimatum, “Take a cut or get another job.” and the economy is crappy, it’s probably not the best time to try and fight it, and the union is certainly not doing good PR.

But I’ve been on the other end of that “high paid unionized employee that has it so easy” stereotype. I’ve had to take cuts or “get another job.” And I’ve known damn well that the cuts I and others took were a drop in the bucket compared to the real problem. And I’ve watched while others got big perks and bonuses while I never got back the “temporary concessions” made, and still have had to listen to people in private industry, with better benefits, higher pay, bitch about how overpaid I was. And now I have to put up with those same people wanting my job, because theirs is gone.

So, I don’t share you malice towards the autoworker. I’m sure the average guy works hard for his money, does the best he can, and realizes he is a lot luckier than the people without a job at all. Just like you or me.

Do I have much use for the UAW and it’s offshoots? No.
But I have no more or less contempt for them than I do for the senior management that has a lot more say in ( and is paid accordingly ) in how the company does things than does the guy that installs dashboards on the line.

I’m not exactly sure why you have such a hate on for Auto Workers ( as opposed to their parasitical union, which I can understand.)