United Auto Whiners

As we all know Ford has just announced the termination of thousands of employees. The first feeling upon hearing news like this is sympathy for the families effected in the job cuts. Then we hear the people who say "We need to support American companies and buy American." This is true when all things are equal, but in this case they are not. Ford and GM have been less innovative and had lower quality cars than their foreign competitors. This is what capitalism is all about; if Ford and GM can't give the consumer a good product, the consumer goes elsewhere.

And what about all those poor people losing their jobs? Well, how about this fact...since 1990 with Ford and GM laying off tens of thousands of employees the number of automobile manufacturing jobs in the United States has actually remained the same! Why is that? Well, anyone driving through Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi can see foreign car and parts manufacturers popping up all over the place. Foreign companies wishing to sell to the American consumer find it cheaper to have all, or at least some, of their parts manufactured in the US. So, by buying foreign, we are also keeping Americans employeed. But a shift as to where these manufacturing jobs are has occured, they are no longer in Michigan and the midwest, they are now in the southeast. And the reason for this can be summed up in three letters...UAW.

The United Auto Workers Union was founded in 1935 when it was necessary for laborers to have representation by a larger organization. But recently it has served as a noose around the neck of American companies trying to make a profit against foreign competition. The foreign companies don't have to overpay their workers and give them benefits that just don't fit in a capitalist society. Unfortunately, these overpaid wages and benefits have cut into the research dollars and profits of such companies as GM and Ford. The lack of research led to a poor product which only inflamed the decreasing profits further. In the end, the UAW's stronghanded tactics only hurt the ones they are supposed to protect as their worker's get laid off. Meanwhile, in the Southeast, where Unions aren't as strong, struggling small towns are now thriving as foreign companies bring their manufacturing plants to the United States.

I don't blame the workers of GM or Ford themselves. Everybody wants to get as much money paid to them as possible. I hope these people can recover and find work---maybe they just need to drive down I75 for a few miles.