Whose Side Are They On, Anyway?

    A handful of wanna-be union-busting Southern senators with non-union automakers in their states don't give a rat's ass about the U.S. auto industry or its workers. They claim to be against a taxpayer-funded auto bailout. Of course, tons of taxpayer's dollars went to subsidize the foreign auto plants in those states.

     These Dixie demagogues are now demanding cuts to bring U.S. wages in line with those of the non-union foreign automakers down South.

     According to the AP, hourly wages for UAW workers at GM factories are about equal to those paid by Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) at its older U.S. factories, based on figures supplied by the companies. GM says the average UAW laborer makes $29.78 per hour, while Toyota says it pays about $30 per hour. But the unionized factories have far higher benefit costs.

     Part of those benefits, of course, are health care costs. Since the U.S. provides no national health care coverage, those costs are routinely negotiated into the UAW contract.

      From a separate AP report, the Bush administration said it was ready to step in and prevent the U.S. auto industry from collapsing after the Senate refused to pass a rescue bill endorsed by President George W. Bush and congressional Democrats. The most obvious source of help was the Wall Street bailout fund.

     "The current weakened state of the economy is such that it could not withstand a body blow like a disorderly bankruptcy in the auto industry," White House press secretary Dana Perino said.

     Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin said, "Because Congress failed to act, we will stand ready to prevent an imminent failure until Congress reconvenes and acts to address the long-term viability of the industry."

     The Wall Street bailout fund was one of the few remaining options for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, which have said they could run out of cash within weeks. Bush had originally refused to use the bailout fund to help the automakers, insisting that help come from Congress. But the White House said it must reconsider after the Senate failed to agree on a $14 billion rescue plan.

     "Congress spoke last night. They don't have the votes to do anything," Perino told reporters on Air Force One as Bush traveled to a commencement speech in Texas. "They didn't get it over the goal line and so we have to consider what other options we would take." She declined to say when a decision would be made.