"thunder" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 20:27:08 +0000, NOYB wrote:


But how can this be? Toyota builds a lot of its cars in the US.

Oh, never mind. Their US manufacturing plants are non-union.

That may be, but their labor costs are comparable.

No they're not. Labor costs *include* health care costs and retiree
benefits costs...two areas where GM, Ford, and Chrysler have a huge
comparative disadvantage.

GM's health insurance is second to none. Their dental insurance pays for
things that no other companies pay for. Their pension plans and
post-retirement health insurance is also among the top in any industry.
That's a good thing if you're an employee...right up until the company
begins to go broke because they can't afford the benefit packages any
longer.

A similar thing happened to the steel mills in northern Indiana. The unions
fought tooth and nail to prevent any cuts in benefit packages, always
threatening to strike if management tried to implement any cost-cutting
measures. The result? Management shut the plants down, declared
bankruptcy, and folks were left with nothing. Sometimes half a loaf is
better than no loaf at all.