COMMENTARY | The United Auto Workers Union in Oshkosh, Wis., rejected a five-year contract that included raises and a signing bonus. Yahoo! News reports the UAW, rabid supporters of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign, felt the contract was not generous enough.
The UAW contract with Oshkosh Corp., a company that relies heavily on the Department of Defense, is offering the union members a raise to offset increased insurance premiums due to the impending health care law passed championed by President Obama two years ago.
The contract offer the UAW rejected on Friday called for an 8 percent raise over the life of the contract and a $2,000 signing bonus. The raise was given to compensate for a four-fold increase in monthly health care premiums for families.
The deal is meant as a compromise to show good faith between the UAW and the Oshkosh Corp. The union leaders pushed for the deal but the rank and file members dismissed the compromise out of hand.
The timing of this move by UAW members does not win it any popularity contests. With unemployment as high as the teens in auto worker strong-holds such as Detroit, the UAW members of Oshkosh will find it difficult to gain sympathy if this results in a strike.
While former UAW members suffer through a year or more of unemployment with no end in sight, workers in Oshkosh need to consider the perilous position they have put their employer in. A strike could lead to the plant folding. It is not only possible as a result of this strike, it is probable.
Oshkosh relies on government contracts and if they cannot fulfill those contracts they will fall off the map quickly as soon as an eager competitor jumps in their place. The bottom line for the UAW: Be happy with 3,000 workers employed and they will not lose any income during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.