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A weakened union plays its only trump card

Let's take UAW President Ron Gettelfinger at his word when he says, as he did Monday after striking General Motors Corp., "There's not one person on this stage ... that wanted to see these negotiations end in a strike. Who wins in a strike?"

Gettelfinger, of course, blamed GM for being unreasonable.

But wasn't he also conceding, in a way, that the UAW is in a predicament? It's an institution with declining influence, fewer and fewer friends and one big weapon it can ill afford to use without destroying itself in the process, according to Detroit Free Press columnist Tom Walsh.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 9:45 AM to GM , Unions , commentary | Permalink

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