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Succint Summations Of Week's Events: 2/14/14: Positive & Negative
Today - Saturday, February 15, 2014 VLKAY In a defeat for organized labor, Volkswagen workers reject union In one of the most closely watched union votes in the U.S. in decades, workers at the Volkswagen (VLKAY, VLKAF) plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted against joining the United Auto Workers union. A win would have marked the first time the UAW had been able to organize a foreign-owned auto plant in the U.S., as well as a turnaround in sentiment in the traditionally anti-union South. The UAW’s loss likely will hurt plans to organize other auto plants in the South; two other German-owned plants, Mercedes-Benz (DDAIF) in Alabama and BMW (BAMXY, BAMXF) in South Carolina, as well as a Nissan (NSANY, NSANF) plant in Mississippi, have been among its top targets. The UAW enjoyed some unusual help - the cooperation of Volkswagen management and the aid of Germany's IG Metall union - yet it still lost; "If the union can't win [in Chattanooga], it can't win anywhere." http://seekingalpha.com/news/1572681-in-a-defeat-for-organized-labor-volkswagen-workers-reject-union
Rhode Island Pension Overhaul Is Softened State Officials, Union Agree to Roll Back Retirement Age, Other Changes Efforts to rein in public-pension costs have drawn dozens of legal challenges, from Illinois to Louisiana to San Jose, Calif. The debate in Rhode Island has been watched closely because it was one of only a few states that cut benefits for both current employees and retirees, raising a thorny question about whether pension benefits are contractual promises that states can't break.
Re: the second citation: No matter what you may think after your latest experience at your local DMV, many intelligent people choose to work for the state and their fellow citizens at a somewhat lower salary in exchange for an anticipated better retirement income and relative job security. In the same vein, teachers often accept relatively low incomes with the expectation of decent retirement incomes. To undercut these people after they have made relatively irrevocable career decisions, seems unfair. Admittedly, we taxpayers did not mind that our elected representatives underfunded the retirement plans, but sometimes the piper must be paid, even if he is not leading your (grand)children out of town.
Re: first citation: Propaganda wins. From a distance, it looks like VW could have benefitted from workers' councils (and none of my immediate family have ever been union members). Too bad the UAW and the auto companies didn't adopt that model in the 60's (when, IMO, the unions negotiated their members out of future jobs). We probably would have had more "middle class" workers, and fewer plants in Mexico.
Biases: My sister, salutatorian of a 90 student class, teaches preschool in Indiana, and faces salary and pension cuts. My bro-in-law, scoring above 90%tile on the Law School Admission Test, worked for the state of Florida, but his pension remains intact.
Comments
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/02/14/vw-workers-vote-against-uaw/5500897/
http://www.freep.com/article/20140214/BUSINESS0104/302140095/VW-workers-Tennessee-stun-UAW-reject-union-by-712-626-margin
From Seeking Alpha
Today - Saturday, February 15, 2014
VLKAY
In a defeat for organized labor, Volkswagen workers reject union
In one of the most closely watched union votes in the U.S. in decades, workers at the Volkswagen (VLKAY, VLKAF) plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., voted against joining the United Auto Workers union.
A win would have marked the first time the UAW had been able to organize a foreign-owned auto plant in the U.S., as well as a turnaround in sentiment in the traditionally anti-union South.
The UAW’s loss likely will hurt plans to organize other auto plants in the South; two other German-owned plants, Mercedes-Benz (DDAIF) in Alabama and BMW (BAMXY, BAMXF) in South Carolina, as well as a Nissan (NSANY, NSANF) plant in Mississippi, have been among its top targets.
The UAW enjoyed some unusual help - the cooperation of Volkswagen management and the aid of Germany's IG Metall union - yet it still lost; "If the union can't win [in Chattanooga], it can't win anywhere."
http://seekingalpha.com/news/1572681-in-a-defeat-for-organized-labor-volkswagen-workers-reject-union
Rhode Island Pension Overhaul Is Softened
State Officials, Union Agree to Roll Back Retirement Age, Other Changes
Efforts to rein in public-pension costs have drawn dozens of legal challenges, from Illinois to Louisiana to San Jose, Calif. The debate in Rhode Island has been watched closely because it was one of only a few states that cut benefits for both current employees and retirees, raising a thorny question about whether pension benefits are contractual promises that states can't break.
Courts have been divided over the issue. Rhode Island officials saw the agreement as a way to avoid the chance that a court could toss out the entire law after costly litigation. Unions saw a chance to win back benefits.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304703804579383423023651610#printMode
No matter what you may think after your latest experience at your local DMV, many intelligent people choose to work for the state and their fellow citizens at a somewhat lower salary in exchange for an anticipated better retirement income and relative job security. In the same vein, teachers often accept relatively low incomes with the expectation of decent retirement incomes.
To undercut these people after they have made relatively irrevocable career decisions, seems unfair. Admittedly, we taxpayers did not mind that our elected representatives underfunded the retirement plans, but sometimes the piper must be paid, even if he is not leading your (grand)children out of town.
Re: first citation: Propaganda wins. From a distance, it looks like VW could have benefitted from workers' councils (and none of my immediate family have ever been union members). Too bad the UAW and the auto companies didn't adopt that model in the 60's (when, IMO, the unions negotiated their members out of future jobs). We probably would have had more "middle class" workers, and fewer plants in Mexico.
Biases: My sister, salutatorian of a 90 student class, teaches preschool in Indiana, and faces salary and pension cuts. My bro-in-law, scoring above 90%tile on the Law School Admission Test, worked for the state of Florida, but his pension remains intact.