Auto Workers Retiree Health Care

GM and Chrysler will submit their scenario for justifying the billions of corporate welfare they received in January and will once again go to the trough for more bailout billions. It is interesting that at the last minute they are locked in intense negotiations with the UAW over ways to cut expenses for retiree health care. My first reaction to this was that the UAW was being unduly stubborn in not agreeing to modify an extremely generous retiree health care plan. Then the question arose in my mind as to why retirees should give up something that their retirement plans were based on. They had a commitment which now someone is reneging on. “Oops, we really didn’t know what we were doing. We shouldn’t have been so generous”. Of course the UAW is between the rock and a hard place. Compromise and do the right thing to help save the auto industry or play hardball and risk the very existence of the UAW. As for the retirees , where were you when universal health care proposals needed your support. I know, the provisions of universal health were not as generous as what you got from the auto companies.