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Love Canal was not a one-time aberration. The 1997 National Research Council’s estimate that the cost of cleaning up the thousands of known contaminated U.S. sites at that time could take 75 years and cost $1 trillion. In 2002 the EPA cited General Motors and Ford as two of the top 100 corporate air polluters. A March 12, 2000 information sheet released by Stanford University stated that GM’s Delphi facility in Indiana released 603,900 pounds of toxic chemicals into the environment in 1994 alone. The sheet also said that GM discharged more than 1,100 tons of volatile organic compounds in...

If there ever was any doubt about who is primarily responsible for the decline of the Big Three automakers, it disappeared when the Italian automaker Fiat demanded major union concessions to ride to Chrysler's rescue. Big Labor is big indeed in Italy, where pensions alone gobble up 14 percent of GDP and massive strikes are common. Coming to America from this environment, Fiat executives recognized the UAW for what it is: a parasite that sucks the vitality out of the American automaking genius of which Chrysler once was a major contributor. So the UAW had to make significant concessions to...

Go to the link to read this interesting article. Here is something not being reported in the MSM: In a statement published on The Wall Street Journal Web site, the recalcitrant bondholders said they sought an accommodation with the government. "Under long recognized legal and business principles, junior creditors are ordinarily not entitled to anything until senior secured creditors like our investors are repaid in full. Nevertheless, to facilitate Chrysler's rehabilitation, we offered to take a 40 percent haircut even though some groups lower down in the legal priority chain in Chrysler debt were being given recoveries of up to...

Plight of Carmakers Could Upset All Pension Plans By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH Decisions that the government will make soon on the future of General Motors and Chrysler could accelerate the decline of traditional pension plans, which have sheltered generations of workers from an impoverished old age. Pension experts predict that a government takeover of the two giant plans would spur other auto companies and all types of manufacturers to abandon such benefits for competitive reasons. For hundreds of thousands of retired auto workers, a federal pension takeover would mean sharply reduced benefits. For the federal agency that insures pensions, it...

he Obama administration will make about $500 million available to Chrysler LLC through the end of this month as it seeks to reach an alliance with Fiat, and up to $5 billion through May to help General Motors Corp restructure outside of bankruptcy, an independent oversight report on the Treasury Department's corporate rescue fund said on Tuesday. Separately, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union urged its members to lobby the White House by phone or email to ensure that workers and retirees are treated fairly in negotiations at both companies on new concessions, which are considered vital for the automakers'...

The Obama administration will make about $500 million available to Chrysler through the end of this month as it seeks to reach an alliance with Fiat, and up to $5 billion through May to help General Motors restructure outside of bankruptcy, an independent oversight report on the Treasury Department's corporate rescue fund said on Tuesday. RELATED LINKS Obama Proposes $100bn Loan to IMF Gov Feels Pressure To Up Green Spending Behind the Wheel with Phil LeBeau Separately, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union urged its members to lobby the White House by phone or email to ensure that workers and...

The Obama administration task force is likely to recommend more aid for struggling U.S. automakers, a senior senator said on Wednesday. Carl Levin of Michigan said on Capitol Hill that "it is clear" more help is on the way and any assistance for General Motors [GM 2.99 -0.21 (-6.56%) ] and Chrysler LLC would be tied to new conditions on restructuring. The Wall Street Journal, citing interviews with task force members, reported late on Wednesday that the panel was preparing a recommendation for more help with new strings attached. The task force has a March 31 deadline to determine whether...

The first letter is one sent out by the President of GM, the second is a response. Dear Employee, Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis.....................As an employee, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and...

This is segment of transcript of Bob Schieffer's interview with Rahm Emanuel yesterday AM. Is this not a setup for business failure and nationalization or just plain nationalization? - - - - - SCHIEFFER: Back now with the White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. Mr. Emanuel, General Motors is now losing $100 millions a day. They have already spent, we are told, two-thirds of what they have already received from the government. And we're hearing they want some more. They're now asking for another $16 billion. Is the president going to do that? Because the question I have is,...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - General Motors Corp. will offer the government the choice of giving it billions more in bailout money or seeing it file for bankruptcy when it presents a restructuring plan next week, according to a report published Saturday. The online edition of The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, said the competing choices present a dilemma for the Obama administration, which may fear seeing the industrial icon carmaker fall into bankruptcy and cut more jobs if it's refused more aid. The government has already committed $13.4 billion to GM as part of a federally-funded bailout. The automaker...

Here is what a UAW contract looks like. It weighs 22 pounds. It no wonder the big three can not compete in the global market. Honda and Toyota don't have to deal with that kind of crap. It would take a team of lawyers just to understand this document

... How is it that successful executives become so unsuccessful as soon as they move to Detroit? Also, how can we explain that whenever GM, Ford and Chrysler leave our shores, they compete well in foreign markets as varied as Europe, South America and China? What makes them viable competitors as soon as they cross the border? One can point to state franchise laws, or to the federal government's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations. But the most striking difference appears to be that the Detroit Three are unionized, and the foreign transplants are, overwhelmingly, not. (The exceptions are the...

Buy a new car, get a stake in General Motors. That's the latest deal from Richard Chevrolet on Route 10 in Cheshire. The dealership launched a stock-ownership plan two weeks ago — 50 shares in GM — to reel in reluctant buyers just before the holidays. General Manager Jason Vianese said the dealership decided to try the program, which gives the buyer 50 shares after they purchase a new car, after learning about a similar offer from a dealer in the Midwest. Vianese said the company bought 500 shares and has sold about half of them in a week. "It...

Apparently the President has heard the voices of his own party, earlier this week Republicans from both houses of Congress sent Bush letters about his plan to bail out the "weak three" Detroit auto-makers. The letters urged him not to make a deal without a reorganization of the Auto Companies, their obligations to their suppliers and the Union Contract. A deal to this effect was almost completed by Senator Corker, but the UAW bowed out at the last minute because they didn't want to commit to a date. At the time the rumor was that the UAW was certain that...

After an expensive and emotional 15-year organizing battle, workers at the world’s largest hog-killing plant, the Smithfield Packing slaughterhouse in Tar Heel, N.C., have voted to unionize. The United Food and Commercial Workers, which had lost unionization elections at the 5,000-worker plant in 1994 and 1997, announced late Thursday that it had finally won. The victory was significant in a region known for hostility toward organized labor. The vote was one of the biggest private-sector union successes in years, and officials from the United Food and Commercial Workers said it was the largest in that union’s history. The union won...

I am very worried. I live in Ohio. The anger toward the Republicans is almost palpable. I work for GM. Management guys I have worked with during GOP campaigns are switching parties. Please read the article I have linked. I can not post it because of copy write laws. It will be hard enough to get through the next four years. Let's not destroy our chances in 2012. I hope you find the article interesting.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Emergency aid for the nation's imperiled auto industry was thrown into jeopardy Wednesday, opposed by Republicans who were revolting against a hard-fought deal between Democrats and the Bush White House to speed $14 billion to ailing carmakers. Democrats detailed the compromise measure and laid the groundwork for quick votes on it, holding out hope the bailout could be enacted by week's end. But a growing number of GOP senators declared they would not go along. The White House, though not formally endorsing an agreement with congressional Democrats, dispatched administration officials to Capitol Hill to make a case...

Stand Up on the Auto Bailout, GOP!December 10, 2008 BEGIN TRANSCRIPT Yes, yes, we're going to get to the auto bailout. This really steams me, by the way. Well, you know, I'm getting so sick and tired... Here we had the auto execs, the white-collar guys, they gotta get fired. Pelosi and everybody else were saying they don't know how to run their business. Obama was seen saying the same thing. We're going to get a car czar in there. We're gonna somebody who knows how to run the auto business 'cause these guys don't. If they want their money,...

With a bailout of automakers moving from likelihood to inevitability, Congress and President-elect Barack Obama are talking tough on the conditions to be attached to the money, no doubt trying to avoid the angry reaction that nearly scuttled the finance industry assistance package. Congressional critics, like Senator Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, senior Republican on the banking committee, say that any Detroit bailout would be ineffective unless the automakers can quickly cut costs and produce more compelling, fuel-efficient cars. What the politicians have not highlighted is that a relatively simple change of regulations — perhaps just a temporary exemption —...

The White House and Democratic congressional leaders said they had reached a deal in principle on a 15-billion-dollar rescue for the ailing automotive industry that could be ready for a vote Wednesday but many lawmakers remained skeptical of the bailout. Even as details of the plan were still being hammered out, Democratic party leaders worked to rally support for a possible vote on the package in the House of Representatives. Senator Carl Levin from Michigan, the base for the auto industry, said he understands that an "agreement has been reached," and that it was only a matter of time before...