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Eamonn Fingleton gives a stunning account of how the elite press – the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, the New York Times and Washington Post - pilloried US autworkers while systematically concealing the hidden subsidies which have allowed Japan and Korea to destroy Detroit. All this with the connivance of the US government. Also in our latest newsletter: Michelle Obama comes to Merced. Bill Hatch, the Balzac of the Central Valley, gives an uproarious account of Michelle’s state visit to UC’s new campus. Get your new edition today by subscribing online or calling 1-800-840-3683 Contributions to CounterPunch are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! CounterPunch books and gear make great presents.
How the U.S. Press Helped Destroy the Auto IndustryOrder CounterPunch By Email For Only $35 a Year !
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Today's Stories June 5 -7, 200 Alexander Cockburn Paul Craig Roberts Jennifer Loewenstein Franklin Lamb Missy Comley Beattie Farzana Versey Stanley Heller Robert Weissman Dave Lindorff William Blum Ernest Callenbach / June 4, 2009 Arno J. Mayer Mike Whitney Gareth Porter Ayesha Ijaz Khan Mouin Rabbani Jordan Flaherty Adam Turl Nikolas Kozloff Yifat Susskind Website of the Day June 3, 2009 Paul Craig Roberts Kathy Kelly Alan Farago Franklin Lamb Bill Hatch Nadia Hijab Dean Baker Binoy Kampmark Manuel Garcia, Jr. Remi Kanazi Behzad Yaghmaian Website of the Day June 2, 2009 Uri Avnery Robert Weissman Conn Hallinan Gideon Spiro Roger Burbach Dylan Quigley Dave Lindorff Ray McGovern Belén Fernández Martha Rosenberg Willie L. Pelote, Sr. Website of the Day June 1, 2009 Pam Martens Yitzhak Laor Mark Weisbrot Ramzy Baroud Saul Landau Eugenia Tsao Afshin Rattansi Debra Sweet Abdul Malik Mujahid Bill Quigley John Wright Website of the Day May 29-31, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Patrick Cockburn Vijay Prashad Gary Leupp Ray McGovern Rannie Amiri Bill Hatch Chellis Glendinning, Stephanie Mills and Kirkpatrick Sale Phyllis Pollack David Yearsley Jean-Christophe Servant Dave Lindorff James McEnteer Missy Beattie James C. Faris David Macaray Harvey Wasserman Adam Federman David Ker Thomson Mark Seth Lender Stephen Martin Joseph Nevins Sophia Mihic Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend May 28, 2009 Joan Roelofs Paul Craig Roberts Ralph Nader Mouin Rabbani Joe Bageant James McEnteer Dedrick Muhammad Richard Morse David Macaray Harvey Wasserman Website of the Day May 27, 2009 Joanne Mariner Paul Craig Roberts Walden Bello Dave Lindorff Brian M. Downing Carlos Villarreal Nadia Hijab Adam Federman Laray Polk Isabella Kenfield David Michael Green Website of the Day May 26, 2009 Manuel Garcia, Jr. Mike Whitney Sharon Smith Marjorie Cohn Dean Baker Deepankar Basu Fred Gardner Jordan Flaherty Josh Ruebner Brian Cloughley Website of the Day May 25, 2009 Diane Christian John Ross Kenneth Hartman Uri Avnery Fred Gardner Cindy Sheehan Sen. Russell Feingold Sibel Edmonds Franklin Lamb Dave Lindorff Daniel Wolff Website of the Day May 22-24, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Michael Teitelman Mike Whitney Ray McGovern Sonia Cardenas / Clive Hamilton Conn Hallinan Fred Gardner Carlo Cristofori Dean Baker Rannie Amiri Andy Worthington David Macaray Nadia Hijab Franklin Lamb Ted Newcomen David Ker Thomson David Rosen Mark Weisbrot Robert Fantina Heather Gray Farzana Versey Chris Genovali Ron Jacobs Jay Diamond Dr. Susan Block Ben Sonnenberg David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend May 21, 2009 Jeffrey St. Clair / Paul Craig Roberts Chris Floyd Gerald Paoli Zach Mason Uri Avnery Andy Worthington Niranjan Ramakrishnan Norman Solomon Dave Lindorff Website of the Day May 20, 2009 Michael Hudson Gary Leupp Michael D. Yates Jonathan Cook Peter Lee Binoy Kampmark Peter Zinn William Loren Katz Gary Lapon Trudy Bond Website of the Day May 19, 2009 Kristoffer Rehder Mike Whitney Ray McGovern Vijay Prashad Mirjam Hadar Meerschwam Mustafa Barghouthi Andy Worthington Binoy Kampmark John Walsh David Macaray Website of the Day May 18, 2009 Dave Lindorff Abdul Malik Mujahid Jonathan Cook Ben Rosenfeld Patrick Cockburn Ralph Nader Stephen Soldz Eugenia Tsao Walter Brasch Roberto Rodriguez Charlotte Laws Website of the Day May 15-17, 2009 Alexander Cockburn Jeffrey St. Clair David Rosen Mike Whitney Bruce Page Jeremy Scahill Fred Gardner Tom Barry Mats Svensson Ramzy Baroud Mark Engler Mark Weisbrot Farzana Versey Ron Jacobs Hannah Wolfe Cal Winslow David Macaray Christopher Brauchli Mark Seth Lender Robert Fantina David Ker Thomson Stephen Martin Charles R. Larson Chase Madar Kim Nicolini David Yearsley Lorenzo Wolff Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend May 14, 2009 Michael Hudson Andy Worthington Paul Craig Roberts Jonathan Cook Ray McGovern Lance Selfa David Green Dave Lindorff Frida Berrigan Sue Udry Website of the Day May 13, 2009 Brian M. Downing Gareth Porter Robert Sandels Ricardo Alarcón Eric Walberg Dave Lindorff Deepak Tripathi William S. Lind Kevin Zeese Franklin Lamb Website of the Day May 12, 2009 Gary Leupp Richard Neville Wajahat Ali Dean Baker Franklin Lamb Norman Solomon Paul Craig Roberts Lisa M. Hamilton Bob Fitrakis / David Macaray Website of the Day May 11, 2009 Andrea Peacock Michael Hudson Patrick Cockburn Ralph Nader John Kelly Saul Landau Dave Lindorff David Michael Green Anthony Papa Paul Krassner Website of the Day
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Weekend Edition Why Workers Will Pay the PriceThe Fall of GMBy LEE SUSTAR The bankruptcy and government takeover of General Motors marks the end of an era in which U.S. capitalism could claim to offer an "American dream" of rising standards of living for working people--and highlights a grim future for workers under American capitalism. GM was once the quintessential industrial powerhouse, synonymous with the dominance of U.S. capitalism worldwide. Now GM is a symbol of the decline of U.S. capitalism. From AIG to GM, American capitalists' short-term obsession with profits and their religious faith in the free market contributed mightily to an epic collapse. Even before the auto industry's crash, the current recession had already shattered the lives of millions of working people in the U.S. For the last 30 years, workers have been forced to compensate for stagnant or falling wages with ever-increasing amounts of debt. The financial meltdown and the housing bust put an end to that, wiping out tens of billions of dollars in household wealth. Now comes rising unemployment, reductions in wages and benefits, and deep cuts in public spending on education and health care. The bankruptcy of GM--and Chrysler before it--will only accelerate those trends. But none of that bothers right-wingers in Congress or conservative commentators. To them, the deal that gives the federal government 60 percent control over GM is further evidence of President Barack Obama's "socialism." "What we've done...it's the road toward socialism, government intervention in the market in a big way," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). "I'm sure they haven't cut enough, and there aren't enough concessions there." Shelby, of course, was all for handing out government money when the state of Alabama gave $530 million in tax breaks to BMW, Honda and Toyota to get those automakers to build factories in his state--all nonunion, of course. The Wall Street Journal editorial page sounded a similar theme. "The new agreement simplifies some work rules and job descriptions but makes no reductions in hourly pay, pensions or health care for active workers," the Journal complained. It was forgetting that the United Auto Workers (UAW) agreed to forgive a $20 billion debt that GM owes the union for a retiree health care fund. Instead, the UAW health care trust fund will get 17.5 percent of company stock--which is highly unlikely to ever be worth enough to pay for retirees' health care. At Chrysler, the UAW health care trust fund will get 55 percent of company stock under the takeover by Fiat--but that's even more likely to force cuts in retiree health care. And at both Chrysler and GM, the UAW gave up the right to strike until 2015--and contract negations will apparently be replaced by arbitration. So despite the complaints of right-wing blowhards, it's autoworkers, their families and communities who are getting screwed. With 14 GM plants set to close, the company's UAW workforce will be downsized from 64,000 today to just 40,000--compared to 450,000 in the late 1970s. And as better-paid autoworkers retire, most will be replaced with new hires earning just about half the current top wage of about $28 per hour, thanks to a contract concession made several years ago. That means that the UAW, once the pacesetter in winning improvements in wages and conditions for U.S. workers, is now collaborating with Corporate America in its race to the bottom. As Labor Notes' Jane Slaughter put it, "From now on, working for the auto companies will be just another bust-your-hump factory job." * * * THE IMPACT OF GM'S collapse--and that of Chrysler before it--marks the convergence of three crises: the worst recession since the 1930s; the resulting acceleration of a long-term decline of decently paid, unionized manufacturing jobs; and the rollback of what little exists of a welfare state in the U.S. Under these conditions, the impact of the auto crisis will radiate throughout the economy--not only in its direct effects on related industries like auto parts and steel, but in setting an example for employers who are determined to cut wages and benefits. Of course, even in its heyday, GM was never the utopia for autoworkers that right-wingers imagine. The company was notorious for the brutal pace of its assembly lines, its militaristic discipline and constant attempts to undermine union power in the workplace. If the company set the standards for blue-collar wages and benefits, it's only because the union was powerful enough to fight for them and win. Over the last 30 years, however, the UAW has been unwilling or unable to resist continuous cuts in jobs. Hourly pay was effectively limited to increases in the rate of inflation. And now, as the Obama administration triumphantly proclaims [2], "the concessions that the UAW agreed to are more aggressive than what the Bush administration originally demanded in its loan agreement with GM." But none of this is good enough for anti-union forces, which never forgave the UAW for its radical beginnings in the 1930s that included illegal factory occupations and clashes with police and the National Guard. While media commentators may complain about GM's terrible management and disastrous investment decisions, they concentrate their fire on "overpaid" autoworkers for causing the company's problems--even though labor costs account for less than 10 percent of GM vehicles' costs. * * * THE AUTO crisis should be an opportunity to forge ahead in new directions for the U.S. economy--to meet goals the Obama administration claims it supports, like creating jobs and supporting green industries. But as former labor secretary Robert Reich pointed on the public radio program Marketplace, the government isn't spending $50 billion to save jobs, since the Obama administration's plans call for the elimination of 21,000 positions at GM. The only logic to the government intervention, Reich argued, is to soften the economic blows from GM's unraveling:
Filmmaker Michael Moore made a similar argument [3], calling for the conversion of GM factories to social needs, modeled on the changeover from car manufacturing to military production during the Second World War:
Instead, the Obama administration is using bankruptcy as a means to beat down the UAW and lure private capital into taking over a profitable "new GM" that's rid of its debt and unwanted assets. "The [administration's] GM/auto task force plan for bankruptcy and restructuring--shaped by a secretive, unaccountable group of Wall Street expats without expertise in the industry--seems designed above all to perpetuate GM as a corporate entity," wrote left-wing journalist Robert Weissman. The GM and Chrysler bankruptcy proceedings fit perfectly with Obama's banker-friendly economic policy: a thinly disguised state capitalism in which the government bails out and props up failed companies, but hides behind private managers in order to dodge political responsibility for everything from rising home foreclosures and the bankers' outrageous executive pay to auto factory closures. The collapse of GM is a signal moment in the history of U.S. capitalism. A stronger and more militant labor movement could seize the opportunity to call for new economic priorities that not only maintain good-paying manufacturing jobs, but create millions more of them. Instead, the bankers and their enablers in the Obama administration are calling the shots. That means the autoworkers and other workers will keep paying the price for this crisis--until they're organized enough to fight back. Lee Sustar writes for the Socialist Worker.
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