february - IAM Local Lodge 839

Page 8 MACHINISTS MATTERS
FEB RU ARY 2009
December 26, 2008
Lack of
good wages, not unions,
to blame for crisis
NEWS-LEADER.COM
Springfield, Mo.
This column is in response to Paul Schneider's letter,
"Union assisted companies' decline." I can understand
his frustration. I am, as well as most workers in America,
frustrated at the loss of good-paying jobs in the U.S.
What I don't agree with is his statement, "....they are
the main reason that the automakers are in such bad
shape. The union has demanded such huge salaries,
such complete health care coverage and such outrageous
pensions that the cost of a new car or truck has
become unaffordable for many Americans."
The union did not demand salaries and benefits. Wages
and benefits were negotiated between management and
labor. They were agreed to and a contract was signed.
Union leaders didn't demand, they negotiated, as well
as management, in good faith. The problem now being
that time, the economy and situations beyond our control
have changed. What made good sense in the past
may now be misunderstood or even look ridiculous.
"Complete health care coverage" that Mr. Schneider
refers to as being part of the fall of the automakers was
given to almost all American workers in the past. America
had an abundance of good-paying jobs. These were
factory jobs where goods were being made in America.
Americans could actually work, pay taxes and provide
for their families with these jobs. Corporate America
did have a problem, though -- that being too much work
and not enough workers. Companies lost employees to
competitors. One way companies solved this was by offering
free health care to employees. Health care was
very cheap and a good benefit to give employees. This
benefit was not forced on companies; it was just a good
deal for all concerned at the time.
The automakers do pay a weekly wage to employees
who have been laid off. In the past this probably made
sense. The assembling of an automobile takes many
highly trained employees. They were probably paid during
retooling times so as to retain their skills. It was
cheaper than training new workers.
I believe the UAW negotiators and union leaders understand
that America, as well as American workers, have
a horrendous problem. They are willing to talk and negotiate
with the automakers.
Mr. Schneider implies that auto workers need to lower
their wages and benefits in order to compete. As I have
said in the past, low wages have never brought prosperity
to America. What brings prosperity to us is lots of
good-paying jobs. Paychecks to spend. Automobiles
made in America and across seas cost about the same;
the difference is in how the company splits the pie. It is
a dangerous situation when American workers agree to
lower their wages and benefits to "compete." It doesn't
matter what the UAW negotiates as a wage concession
if they choose that route; the imports will move somewhat
below that amount. It's a vicious cycle.
All workers in America, no matter what their occupation,
should make a wage that will give them the ability
and dignity to raise a family and save for the future.
Right now, that is not the case.
We should not ask employees to work for less. The solution
is to bring back good-paying American jobs where
workers can make a good living and pay taxes. We
should be trying to bring the low-paying jobs up in pay
and stop trying to bring good-paying jobs down.
Mike Brumley is president, Local 1553, International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers IBEW, Springfield.
Editor’s Note; I was in Springfield , Mo. For Christmas.
The article above was in the Springfield News-
Leader on December 26th. I felt Brother Brumley
spoke about the lack of good wages and the rush to
blame the Unions in a way that made sense for everyone
to understand. I contacted him and he has given
me permission to reprint his letter to the editor. L.S.
Quote from Robert B. Reich January 26, 2009 in an article for the Los Angles Times
“Go back about 50 years, when America's middle class was expanding and the economy was soaring. Paychecks
were big enough to allow us to buy all the goods and services we produced. It was a virtuous circle. Good pay
meant more purchases, and more purchases meant more jobs.
At the center of this virtuous circle were unions. In 1955, more than a third of working Americans belonged to
one. Unions gave them the bargaining leverage they needed to get the paychecks that kept the economy going. So
many Americans were unionized that wage agreements spilled over to nonunionized workplaces as well. Employers
knew they had to match union wages to compete for workers and to recruit the best ones.”