I can vividly recall reading an article in Business Week magazine in the 70’s about a Ford engine casting plant located in Birmingham, AL. The workers went on strike and no agreement was on the horizon. Ford told the workers that if they refused Ford’s final offer, then Ford would shut the plant down and cast the engine blocks outside the U. S. The union rejected Ford’s offer and the plant was shut down.
It wasn’t about the welfare of the workers, but the jeopardy that Ford presented to the union brass. The workers lost their jobs, but the union brass just moved on to another location.
No one asked Gettlefinger what his annual salary is. No one.