Here is a picture and some information about the UAWs contract with Ford.  The irony is that the UAW has taken every bad tactic and method form the government, and incorporated it into its own methods.

Ever wondered what a UAW contract looks like? Here is all 22 pounds of it (in this case, Ford’s 2,215 page 2007 master contract; Coke can is for scale and because I was thirsty).

I’ll tell you this much, those 2,215 pages don’t include much regarding efficiency and competitiveness. What you’ll find are hundreds of rules, regulations, and letters of understanding that have hamstrung the auto companies for years.

If you’d like to read the contracts for yourself, here they are:

Ford’s 2007 Contract:

• Volume 1: Agreements
• Volume 2: Retirement Plan and Insurance Program
• Volume 3: Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Agreement and Plan, Profit Sharing Agreement and Plan (ha!), Tax-Efficient Savings Agreement and Plan, and UAW-Ford Legal Services Plan
• Volume 4: Letters of Understanding
• Volume 5: Skilled Trades Book

GM’s 2003 and 2007 contracts:

• GM’s 2003 contract (71 megs)
• Changes to GM’s 2007 contract (HT: Factory Rats; full contract not available)

Chrysler’s 2003 and 2007 contracts:

• Chrysler’s 2003 contract (21 megs)
• Changes to Chrysler’s 2007 contract (HT: Factory Rats; full contract not available) 

If the unions would spend this much effort working with the automakers as opposed to working against the, the industry would not be in such a mess.

Instead, they want the government to bail them out and let the dysfunction continue.

Unions were a clear necessity in our nation’s history, don’t get me wrong.  Workers were terribly exploited and abused, and the unions forced companies to be fair and offer reasonable workplaces.

But times have changed, and the unions have stopped being a workers protection organization, and have instead become just as controlling and abusive to the workers as the companies that spawned them.

Too many unions seem to have crossed the line and  become trapped by the laws of diminishing returns.

Trackposted to Rosemary’s Thoughts, DragonLady’s World, Cao’s Blog, Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, Political Byline, Allie is Wired, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, The World According to Carl, Walls of the City, The Pink Flamingo, L.O.M.A., Right Voices, and Gone Hollywood, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.