President Bush's modest auto bailout, which gave the companies enough funds to survive through March, essentially left the problem to Barack Obama. After that, Obama and the Dems in Congress will take over the keys to the car.
Bill Dupray of the Patriot Room saw this as a union-buster for President Bush. I certainly hope he's right, but I'm not so optimistic on this one. Obama and his Congress will have a choice. They can bring the auto workers' unions to their knees, or they can upset the public with another massive bailout. While neither road looks great for the democratic leadership, throwing their unions under the bus would seem highly unlikely.
Obama is clearly the most-pro union President we've seen since FDR, and this version of Congress can't be far behind as Congresses go. This is why the unions refused to sign a deal that would have dramatically lowered labor benefits. They expect negotiations to go much better with Obama. They know that Obama can effectively lay the downfall of the auto companies at the Republicans' feet if Congressional Republicans refuse to agree to a bailout that would allow the industry to continue with business as usual. It is my belief that only a vocal public opposition will prevent this from taking place, and the American electorate appears more likely to support Obama, at least early on.
This will be one of the major battles of Obama's first 100+ days. As much as I try to envision a better future for the U.S. auto industry, I can't envision him effectively destroying unionization in America. Because if the UAW can't get its workers a better deal than non-union workers in the South, the UAW pretty much dies. I would pay to witness that execution, but I doubt I will get the chance.
Dreaming is free, but eventually there comes a time to wake up.
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