UAW Head Says US Automakers’ Troubles “Can’t Be Ridden Out”

Yesterday, United Auto Workers’ President Ron Gettelfinger issued a report in advance of his union’s convention that opens today. The report read, “The challenges we face aren't the kind that can be ridden out. They’re structural challenges and they require new and farsighted solutions.” Farsighted is not something Detroit does well.

The UAW, like all labor, suffers when management screws up. Detroit has been in decline for decades, largely due to the inability of the Big Four (then, Big Three, and now Big Two-and-a-Half) American car makers to adapt to changing market tastes and technology. Mr. Gettelfinger wrote, “Dig into the reasons behind this state of affairs and there’s no getting away from the fact that bad management decisions have played a role. But it’s not all a matter of bad management.” If that doesn’t signal a willingness to work out a deal in the upcoming contract negotiations, what does?

Of course, the knock-on effects of Detroit’s decline hit more than just the employees at Ford, GM and Daimler-Chrysler. Mr. Gettelfinger said, “The fact that our biggest employers are losing sales and share has serious implications not only for our members there, but also for those employed in their respective supply chains, and for our entire union.”

The UAW is, not coincidentally, in decline as well. Since 2002, it has lost 12% of its membership. There are now fewer than 600,000 UAW members. In the 1970s, there were over a million. The UAW has failed to organize a single US factory run by a European or Asian car maker. They now hold 22% of the US car market, up from 15% in the 1990s. As they grab market share, the UAW will continue to lose members unless it can break into these factories.

This situation is unique in the US auto industry, the companies on their backs and the union recognizing the fact. Working in tandem, instead of against one another, they could well discover a path forward. The price of failure is huge, yet confidence remains in short supply.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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