April 28, 2009

The crystal ball tells me your future holds...

It is interesting to me that Chrysler would turn over so much of their company to the Union.  It has kind of a mixed feel to it.  On the one hand, as we have learned, when unions get more and more power they tend to advocate for more money, more benefits, etc.  So in that context, them giving the union more power, is going to cost them money.  However this is a very unique situation.  If the workers don’t take pay cuts, and less specialized jobs, and the lower benefits, it is likely they won’t have a job. 

                As I see it, for now giving the union that power and allowing the people to control somewhat what happens with their jobs may be beneficial.  Since it is their job on the line they should be much more understanding, take the pay cuts, and just be thankful that they have jobs.  So this could potentially work.  So long as the labor union isn’t dumb about it.

                However, once Chrysler starts getting back up on its feet (assuming it ever does), they may be in quite a bit of trouble.  The government is going to own part of their company, and set lots of controls on them, and then the union is going to own another part, and be trying to fight the government regulations. Granted, that won’t happen for quite some time, but they’re not looking ahead at the trouble this will cause.  They’re going to get out of this recession, start becoming strong, and then it’s going to hit them like a brick wall.  However, that mostly depends on how understanding both the government regulations, and the labor union is.  

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