"What do union haters make of that?"
They never acknowledge it. They continue on with their venom of how the union is the same thing as communism.
If you mention the GM plant in California that was closed down, and Toyota reopened it, and made a profit, they won't even address that point. They continue to blame the workers, (who happen to be their neighbors), and root for the jobs to go to China, (which happens to be communist).
Idiots who favor hate over logic. And I re-iterate, are just as un-American as DU'ers.
My family has been a small Ford dealer since 1953. There was a time that the unions were much too strong. Ford and GM caved to their demands because they were selling all they could produce, and foreign competition was non existent. That all changed in the l970s. With the oil embargos, a shot was fired over the domestics bow. Protectionism allowed the domestics time to get their house in order. They failed. Not because they continued to cowtow to unions demands, but because they failed to recognize the importance of reinvesting in product that would find success in the market place.
Then came the internet. GM and Ford management perceived an opportunity to dismantle the dealer network. Do away with marketing costs, and keep all the profits for themselves. Nasser, Wolfgang Reitzel, and jet setters who had no clue about retailing cars, took over Ford and GM. Billions, I said BILLIONS, were lost in unwise investments. Greed, unmitigated greed. Small rural dealers, the ones that knew their customers, went to church with, and coached their children in baseball, were offered money to go out of business. While they represented a small percentage of total new sales to the company, they represented the stablilizing factor in customer loyalty. Bottom line is, unions have ceased to be the reason Ford and GM are losing market share. It's product. Price is not the issue. Pretty cars cost no more to produce than butt ugly ones. Ford and GM allowed their cars to become "old" in the market place because they were making $15,000 a copy on SUVs. Greed. Poor foresight. Poor management. And now, we all know, "they rest of the story".