B4091-1 Downhill All the Way

     Our local newspaper this morning had a picture of a man on the second page who had to move here in order to keep his automotive assembly job with General Motors.  He did not seem very happy about the prospect of moving some 270 miles from his home to this blighted region of the United States in order to maintain his pay and benefits.
     The article did go on to mention that the United Auto Workers (UAW) currently has about 355,000 members. In 1979 the UAW had 1.5 million members; or to state things in a slightly different way, there has been a 76% decline in UAW membership during that interval. Looked at objectively, those are rather astonishing figures.
     Yet, the individual pictured in the newspaper pined for the days long past when General Motors and other automotive companies were incapable of saying the word "no" to assorted union demands. Today, on the other hand, many are discomfited by the fact that the UAW finds it necessary to work with General Motors to maintain a reasonable level of profitability. The United States government bailout of General Motors has resulted in a sizable stock ownership by the UAW, and it is no longer prudent or wise for them to foster an adversarial relationship with the company.
     So it is going to be an interesting thing to watch in the next several years as traditional unionists confront the automotive companies as adversaries, while other unionists will counsel cooperation with those same companies. The smart money is on the traditional, dyed-in-the-wool unionists to destroy what's left of those automotive companies.
     If you belong to a union long enough, you will eventually become unemployed. If you don't believe that, just ask the 1,145,000 union members who are no longer part of the UAW.

B1042-4 The Fumble Dooms

    My local newspaper had a sports headline this morning that read: “Fumble Dooms Steelers' Chances" [sic].  I like that.  Perhaps Pittsburgh should re-name their team “The Fumble Dooms.”
    Permit me an observation or two.  The Pittsburgh Steelers Football team likes to run the football and to use its defense to stifle the opposition team.  Generally speaking, that is a winning combination.  It makes for incredibly boring football games, however, with yawn-inducing scores like 7-3 or 10-7.  Yet, they win games.  But those games are difficult to watch.  The Steelers crumble when the opponent is a high-scoring offensive team because running the football doesn’t work when the opponent is up by three (or more) touchdowns.  That forces the Fumble Dooms to pass the football.  And they aren’t much of a passing team.  Witness yesterday’s Super Bowl interceptions and fumbles by the Steelers.  If you count two of the five dropped Packers passes that were sure touchdowns, the real final score was 45-26 (or more).  Don’t look at time-of-possession stats, or yards gained rushing the football. Look at the Lombardi Trophy in Green Bay’s trophy case in Green Bay.
    Fumble Dooms: that’s a pretty good name for the Pittsburgh Steelers.