Wednesday, December 03, 2008

When You Say

When the CEO of one of the Big Three automakers is complaining about "Legacy Costs" it's useful to remember that what he's talking about are obligations incurred by his predecessors in an effort to keep costs low at the time.

Union members bargained in good faith to take less monetary compensation in exchange for the promise of the company to provide benefits, which were a lower cost to the company at the time, for a set period of time. Unions were, perhaps, naive to believe that the manufacturers would uphold their end of the bargain now that it's easier to blame retired workers who gave their careers to build what the decision makers have pissed away.

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