Between the UAW and the EPA the big three are doomed

GM Ends Jobs Bank on Monday. Calls It Something Else. Will Reinstate ASAP.
By Edward NiedermeyerJanuary 28, 2009
You may recall this headline. That’s because we’ve already used it: “Chrysler Ends Jobs Bank on Monday. Calls It Something Else. Will Reinstate ASAP.” In said post, we debunked the idea that the United Auto Workers (UAW) was making anything resembling a concession.Bloomberg reports that the 1,600 GM employees currently enjoying the benefits of the UAW jobs bank will be out in the cold starting February second. But not really. GM spokesman Tony Sapienza tells Bloomberg that those leaving the jobs bank will get state unemployment benefits and “some GM pay.” As Sapienza clarifies, when GM union workers are laid off from factory jobs, they receive state unemployment and GM supplemental pay equal to about 72 percent of their normal compensation. Workers joined the Job Bank only after receiving these benefits for 48 months. So GM will now only be paying folks to not work for 48 weeks, which smells prett pyhrric to me. But hey, at least it looks like concessions are being made and the bailouts can continue. “We really appreciate our union partners’ willingness to work with us as we restructure our business for long-term viability and work on terms of the bridge loans,” says Sapienza. And what of the UAW’s claim that the Jobs Bank had been “suspended” on December 3 after becoming the union’s “jet-gate?” GM workers who qualified for the jobs bank were told to stay home, and received 85 percent of their pay. Seeing a pattern here? The UAW also set Jan. 26 as the date to halt the jobs bank at Chrysler LLC, but confirmation is unavailable. Since Ford isn’t accepting federal money (yet), the Blue Oval Jobs Bank remains intact.Bloomberg »