>> according to the UAW's Gettelfinger (interviewed on US National Public Radio this a.m.), it's not the union that will own the stock but instead the fund that controls the medical insurance. Also, he said that the stock would be sold soon, because they _had_ to sell it. << --
Comment Correct. A company, with a board of directors independent of the company and the union, was set up as the result of the 2007 contract talks. The fund was established to take medical cost off the books of the company and to shed all the legacy cost of medical. Thus, all companies could claim less liabilities and less legacy cost. There was opposition to this approach in 2007 because these independent boards tend to reduce medical benefits and invest in ways beneficial to the individual board members. In the 1980 into the 1990 we had this exact same problem with Merrill Lynch putting individuals funds into the worse possible, highest cost investments and could not resolve matters until a decision was made to leave the company. Then rates were slashed 80 - 90%. In terms of the stock now owned by the "medical fund" the plan is to sell stock back to the company. Much of this is just financial manipulation designed to please Congress. The union is pathetic not because of the concessions forced on it and everyone should be aware that the union is compelled to accept concessions. President Gettelfinger is a political bum, buffoon and extremely ignorant. Not because the has signed on to concessions. Gettelfinger is the last of a generation of union leaders that takes great pride in ignorance and glory in telling anyone who will listen that he does not read books. He is the last of a line of union leaders that openly hate anything with an intellectual flavor in the union. I am not speaking in metaphor. Gettelfinger won Presidency of the UAW with the backing of previous President Steve Yochich. Steve stated publicly, several times he never reads books and has an inbred hate of intellectuals. Gettelfinger opponent was Bob King, an intellectual and long time head of the UAW organizing division. King is an attorney but came through the Ford division of the UAW working his way up from apprentice to journey man. Bob King has the ability to reorient the union, although he does in fact talk a lot. Hell, when he did his apprenticeship under my father he talked to damn much. So what. The only other time the UAW has had a truly literate President was first in the form of Leonard Woodcock - an attorney and then Dough Fraser, a self made intellectual in his own right. I was no fan of Woodcock, who brought was the legal 9 hour day, but in a pinch it is best to have someone that can read and read real good . . .ok. Union contracts are absolutely complex document requiring a high degree of literacy and experience to unravel. Behind every single paragraph is a history and letters of understanding - legal documents, that clarify the detailed meaning of each paragraph. The day of the "hard nose" beefy armed militant union leader, with "big balls" and gumption died in the late 1960's and early 1970s. Gettelfinger comes from outside the historical center of industrial conflict, and is akin to a "country boy" (inside the union the word used is "hillbilly") making it big in the union and being to thankful to the company, viewing the benefits auto workers have fought for as a gift from the company and God. "The company and God" is not metaphor. Gettelfinger is scared to march on anyone or anything because he believes in God and country first, at the expense of the workers he suppose to represent. If the workers read he knows that sooner or later they are going to read the Communist Manifesto. Really. Against the advice of leading members of the union, Gettelfinger insisted on going to Washington to sit besides the CEO's of GM, Ford and Chrysler. This rat fink fuck knows good and well we never invite ourselves to sit with the company before a Congressional committee. Our policy for the past 50 years has been without a court order, enforced by the state, we appear before no ones inquiry and "you can go straight to hell." We did not steal or mismanage any company funds or overpay CEO's or drive Chrysler GM into the ground. In fact GM cries crocodile tears over health cost and for the past 20 years said nothing about national health care because the auto companies had established their own profit making health care centers and networks. Why did Gettelfinger to Washington to sit besides the corporate CEO's? 'Cause he felt it "was the right thing to do?" "Well, why do you feel like that brother; after all no one is sending the police or army and none of us represent or speak for the company?" "Cause I want to." That's bullshit and it weakened our hand and made is so the union was blocked from presenting the issue independent of the company. The first approach is always to demand the company open it books. How can the company pay out millions in CEO bonuses and not fund pensions and health care 100%? Opening the books is simply good politics, and not revolutionary at all. Gettelfinger is ignorant and stupid in the most personal meaning. The union movement and the working class is nothing without its intellectual detachment, which comes in all political flavors. Getting beat up and forced to accept concession is neither ignorant or pathetic. Groveling and genuflecting to the very people that are swindling us out of our accumulated medical and pension funds and doing everything in their power to literally steal and under fund pensions, makes Mr. Gettelfinger a political bum. One does not have to be socialist or a communist to be a decent union leader. One does have to learn how to read and comprehend documents and the moment. The anti-intellectualism of the union pushes us into destruction. WL. **************Join ChristianMingle.com® FREE! Meet Christian Singles in your area. Start now! 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