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Corporations blame unions for economic meltdown - Straightgoods.com Elite deflect blame, settle old scores, by demanding concessions from auto workers.Dateline: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 by Linda McQuaig
By any logic, advocates of unfettered capitalism should be seeking cover from public wrath these days, as the deregulated capitalism they foisted on us continues to self-destruct, bringing calamity into the lives of millions. Yet I've heard barely a whisper of mea culpa from members of this corporate crowd. On the contrary, they seem to see the economic meltdown as an opportunity to finally do in their old foes in the labour movement. After years of demonizing unions and undermining workers' rights, they're now taking advantage of the unpopularity of the auto bail-outs to try to take away gains that the Canadian Auto Workers spent decades achieving, and that set a standard for the labour movement. In demanding wage concessions of up to $19 an hour, auto company executives and the Harper government are hoping to deflect public anger for the economic meltdown onto those who assemble cars. (If only GM workers hadn't frittered away their time on the assembly line bundling together those Credit Derivative Swaps.)
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