Bdwplus4

A Radical Solution for U.S. Automakers

I agree with all those who say this article doen't provide any real solutions to the Big 3 problems nor does nationalizing the auto industry.

Here are a couple of "radical" ideas to help the Big 3

1) As mentioned many times, the legacy costs and union benefits are killing the industry. For anything to work, the UAW is going to have to make MAJOR concessions - not the window dressing stuff that has been mentioned over the last few weeks. I suggest that pensions go away and replace them with a 401K system with some matching money from the companies (like most of the rest of us have). Of course, the companies would have to continue to pay the pensions of those already retired and those who will soon retire but for those who are 15 plus years from retirement and all new employees the pensions should be eliminated.
2) Wages - the wages should be reduced significantly but add a profit sharing program so the more profitable the company is, the more money the workers make. Taken to a greater extreme, turn the companies into competely employee owned companies so the workers enjoy high pay in the good times but have to make hard decisions in the bad times. I think this would also reign in on the rediculous demands from the UAW as workers would understand what the companies could and could not afford with respect to benefits and job security

Just some thoughts.