Hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk as GOP field arrives in metro Detroit
By RightMichigan.com Posted in Breaking News | Michigan — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Cross-posted on Right Michigan at www.RightMichigan.com.
The hits just keep on coming. Hot on the heels of the United Auto Worker's two day strike of Michigan based General Motors (and before membership has even ratified the agreement) word comes out of the union / MDP power-base that they're prepping their next walk out.
After choosing Chrysler as their next bargaining partner (leaving the most difficult discussion, Ford, for last) the two sides met all weekend long to try to hammer out an agreement. No dice, yet. And the Detroit Free Press reports:
The UAW has set a Wednesday strike deadline in talks with Chrysler on a new four-year contract, people close to the negotiations told the New York Times late Sunday night.
Read on . . .
The report has this pleasant ring of assurance. Like, don't worry, it's just a formality to help the union really ramp up the pressure. Well, yeah, but the last time they did that (oh, two weeks ago) they wound up walking off the job for a couple of days.
Comes a point when a guy asks himself, don't they see the damage they're doing? The whole labor / management thing... it's kind of a symbiotic relationship. They need each other. Telling statistics out of the Associated Press last night.
Over the last five years (Jennifer Granholm's stay in the Governor's mansion, not coincidentally) Michigan has lost 34 percent of it's auto jobs. Mean old President Bush. Obviously it's the free trade policies and only the free trade policies. Except, it isn't.
The state had 181,100 people employed making vehicles or vehicle parts in August, down from 275,200 in August 2002, the federal agency said.
Now, states like Alabama have seen sharp rises in auto jobs (69% for the razorbacks) but those are states where foreign companies like Daimler, Honda and Hyundai are building plants. And while Michigan was in the running earlier this year for a new Honda plant (they ended all consideration after an illegal UAW protest of the company at the Chicago Auto Show) we aren't exactly a foreign-friendly state.
So lets take a look at other states in the region and other states with Big 3 production.
It was followed by Indiana at 81,900 (down 15 percent from 96,300); Kentucky, 47,600 (down 7 percent from 51,300); Tennessee, 35,900 (up 5 percent from 34,120); Alabama (up from 17,800); and California, 27,900 (down 15 percent from 33,000).
Ohio was No. 2 in auto employment this year at 109,200, down 18 percent from 133,700 five years ago.
That's a lot of numbers. Can get confusing to look at so let's simplify even further.
Michigan had 275,200.
Michigan HAS 181,100.
Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and California had 232,520.
Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and California HAVE more than 206,100.
We started with more and now we have less. There's a fundamental shift. Yes, numbers are down everywhere as the industry struggles but nobody's feeling it like Michigan. And we're not getting honest answers from the Granholm administration. We're not getting ANY answers from the Democrats running for President (despite the governor's insistence last year that every problem in the state was the federal government's fault... or John Engler's). But we will get some answers tomorrow from the Republican field.
Tomorrow's a big day for the candidates from the GOP as they arrive in Dearborn for the state's first debate in DECISION 2008 (cue the dramatic network nightly news music). The Detroit News reports:
"It's a good opportunity for the issue of the Detroit community to be voiced," said Jeff Gardiner, 52, who lives in Northville and works at Ford Motor Co. as a cost estimator. "I'm glad they are coming to highlight some of our concerns in the automotive industry. Our economic concerns need to be focused on. We need some help from the federal government."
The debate will highlight Michigan's significance in next year's presidential election. Because of the economic climate in the state, the debate is expected to focus on economic issues that are a top priority for Michigan voters.
Amen, Jeff. Amen. It's a great opportunity to highlight Michigan issues. It's just too bad one of the two major political parties in the United States has decided Michigan isn't worth the discussion.
As far as the good guys tomorrow, I managed to finagle a ticket and I'll be on-site live blogging during the event. If you're unable to make the trip you can tune in and watch it yourselves live at 4:00 pm on CNBC or see a re-broadcast on MSNBC at 9 tomorrow evening. And all indications are it's going to be a big one.
The anti-Fred Heads are all painting this as the make or break event for Fred Thompson. I'm not very good at the whole prognostication thing and, frankly, it still seems a little early to write anyone off (remember, at this point four years ago everyone was buying their tickets to a Dean v Bush main event), but all the pressure they're laying on the man should make for an interesting discussion anyways. After all, this is his first debate. (And, it's worth noting, he made his first major presentation as an official candidate on Mackinac Island.)
The state continues to be a frequent stop for all of the Republican contenders. Glad to know someone cares about Michigan.
Last but not least, I'm not usually one for these online poll thingies but I couldn't help but pass this one along. Not happy with the way the Governor's running this state? Go vote accordingly!