I was surprised today to see that no major source of News (CNBC... etc) reported on this.
May be I didn't search well enough or my RSS just got stupid.
Anyways it certainly wasn't in any major headliners.

250 laid-off factory workers in Chicago occupy the Republic Doors and Windows factory, where some had worked for more than three decades. They say the bail out money handed over to Bank of America should trickle back to the workers, in the form of severance benefits...if not jobs

If you like to listen to this you can find it here: http://www.here-now.org/shows/2008/12/20081208_5.asp

(public radio blog -in case the moderator wonders)

Everything has a start, and I think that if this makes it to the headliner it can trigger a chain of events under current, and what I expect will be job market conditions.

These people are morons.  The employees as well as the politians are getting a real education.  When a business has no money and can't make any money, the employees can't get paid.  Your 60 day notice requirement doesn't mean squat if they don't have money.  Good luck. 

But the money didn't come from any CEO's salary ... did it ?

In the end ... another STUPID banker ... made another STUPID loan ... for which they will NEVER be repaid ... and for which the taxpayers will ultimately suffer ...

Wow ... what a victory ....

Do you think that the company planned to go out of business ??

That this was some facet in the "Grand Conspiracy" to screw the workers out of their severance pay ??

My undestanding is that their sales went from over $4 million/month ... to about $2.9 million/month ... in ONE MONTH !

Sure ... if you promise something ... you should try your absolute best to deliver ...

And the simple answer is that they should have never promised it in the first place ... 

When the union bent them over the barrel ... they should have just closed the plant and moved the operation to China ... and then they wouldn't have to worry about this kind of crap ...

It seems to me that someone was real greedy.  
As for the operation to China, keep doing that and soon the work force of this country will have nothing to do but pick their nose in front of the TV.
Who is going to buy the houses, the cars, and all that chinese crap?
The global economy is on of the great factors that are taking our economy down.
If I was Obama I shut them down.  See how fast they rebalance their wages and benefits.
US workers can't compete with the little chinese guys making a couple of bucks an hour.
A real global economy is only fair under fair terms.
I am always first for my people, the rest can go and screw themselves.

Compare what one of those CEOs make versus your union worker.  Do you see disparateness?

Do you mean bringing the wages here in the US to balance witht the $2/hr in China.  How are those workers going to live here in the US?
Why don't we bring the CEOs salary down and share the reduction with the workers?
What ? The CEO is going to make 4 million instead of 5 - big deal.  What you can't live on 4 millions? on 3 millions? 2 millions? 1million?  
How many hours of labor are in an automovile? Well - how many hours are in a CEO day?

After all there are only so many hours in a working day - what justifies CEO salaries?

How can the union be greedy when comparing to the greedness of CEO's?

How about the fact that per example US is only allowed to sell 5000 vehicles in South Korea, while the Koreans can sell as many as they want here.  What kind of fair trade agreement is that?

Pray the 3 big don't go down or we will see a lot of misery around.

...our glorious government will be running the show, this is the future. I'm sure they'll sell like hot cakes.

"ROFL ... I pray that they fail ...
Unfortunately ... it seems that they're going take the US taxpayer down with them ..."

Well if you get your wish...our glorious government will be running the show, this is the future. I'm sure they'll sell like hot cakes.

Compare what one of those CEOs make versus your union worker.  Do you see disparateness?

Do you mean bringing the wages here in the US to balance witht the $2/hr in China.  How are those workers going to live here in the US?
Why don't we bring the CEOs salary down and share the reduction with the workers?
What ? The CEO is going to make 4 million instead of 5 - big deal.  What you can't live on 4 millions? on 3 millions? 2 millions? 1million?  
How many hours of labor are in an automovile? Well - how many hours are in a CEO day?

After all there are only so many hours in a working day - what justifies CEO salaries?

How can the union be greedy when comparing to the greedness of CEO's?

How about the fact that per example US is only allowed to sell 5000 vehicles in South Korea, while the Koreans can sell as many as they want here.  What kind of fair trade agreement is that?

Pray the 3 big don't go down or we will see a lot of misery around.

You're sooooo bad .....






Very good points ...

And bankuptcy is the ONLY way that the oppressive union contracts can be set aside ... and the US automakers can be forced into a competitive stance ... with competitive labor costs ...

The unions were in Washington ,,, alongside the automaker CEOs ... begging for taxpayer money ...

But they were unwilling to give up even a little ... in order to help obtain it ... they didn't even want to consider it until their current contract expired in 2011 ...

Whoever said that a parasite wouldn't kill it's host ... has NEVER dealt with a labor union ...

Without a pre-packaged bankruptcy ... the unions will continue to suck the blood from the automakers ... until they've gone the way of Eastern Airlines ...

Workers without representation are like puppets of the corporates.
I think it is clear by now.
The new GM standard $14 / h.  You cannot live in this country on $14 / hr, much less support a family.
No pension, no health care, NO DIGNITY.
Look where the manufacturing sector is.
I must assume you are for the walmart culture.  Yeah I didn't capitalize, and may be I should throw a shoe at them.
Lets bring more walmarts and lets keep buying China's (Korea's, Japan's, ... ) CRAP, and I can guarantie you that today's times will look to you like the golden years in not too long.

It wasn't that long ago that I myself was only making $14/hr with a BS in computer science and my wife not much more than that as a 3rd grade teacher. We lived fine, we weren't rich with luxury but you most certainly can make a living off $14/hr besides most of these workers will get a good amount of overtime at $21/hr and probably make 40K a year on average. In the small town where I grew up a job like that is  a gold mine. Not bad money for only having a high school diploma and you can buy a house for 70 grand. Hell, beginning teachers with a bachelors start at 34K where I live, that's about 3 dollars more an hour than an average factory worker. I want people to make as much money as possible but to complain that you're only going to get 20 bucks an hour when you have no real skill is ridiculous. It's an industry based on demand, if there isn't a high demand this year for the product they have to layoff, but I do agree ceo salaries could come down to a reasonable level and get better based on performance yet we have CEO's getting 14 million dollars for companies that are sinking, unreal. 

I am sorry I don't really know how you can live on $34000 a year.  And I assume that is gross - take tax out and what is left?  You can survive.
$14 an hour gross to $2240 a month - take tax out and what is left? Ditto here.

I am sorry but that is basically living in poverty. 
Pray you don't get sick, and pray you will hit the lotto because I am not sure how you would save for retirement under those conditions.  hell just for a rainy day.

What are CEOs making?  Really is their job much more difficult than yours?

What?  CEOs get pay millions to run companies into bankrupcy.  I am sure I don't need to give you examples.
THEN tax payer bail them out.

I haven't see any tax payer bailing out any athlete.  Sure I agree with you that some are way overpaid.  But the consumer has a choice there.  You don't want to pay for them, then don't buy season tickets.
Nobody is forcing anyone to go to the games.

On the other hand all the tax payer are FORCED to pay for that actions of CEOs who got paid millions to do what a 5 yr old could have done.  RUN THE COMPANIES DOWN TO THE GROUND.

There will be no end of the world.  That doesn't change the fact that CEO's are WAY overpaid, and that the regular worker is under paid, and exploited.
Republicans, Democrats, or whatever - The tax payer shouldn't have to pay the salaries, and mistakes of those CEO's.

After Billions and Billions of bailout money Wallstreet is still giving bonuses.  Does that make sense?
A CEO get paid millions, runs the company down to the ground, taxpayer picks up the tab, and then we give the CEO a few more millions in bonuses.

we bailed out all the subprime crooks,  and no one got sent to the penalty box.   so now there is plenty of room in the box  for Madoff or will we bail him out also?