Saturday, May 21, 2005
Auto Makers and Labor Unions
In an editorial on GM and Ford's huge pension costs, the Economist (May 14, 05) points out the approach taken by other manufacturers in the not-so-distant past:0 Comments:
In the early and mid-1990s, mid-western heavy truck and plant makers Navistar and Caterpillar took on the UAW (United Auto Workers) and emerged as leaner, globally competitive groups, but only after bitter conflicts. GM and Ford can set a new example by talking to the UAW. But, like those other companies, they should make plain their determination to resolve the issue rather than fudge it. It is hard to imagine a better, or tougher, test for labor and capital, but its in both sides' interest to get Detroit back on the straight and narrow.
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