UAW Owns Chrysler

Friday’s lead article in The New York Times was titled, “Chrysler Files for Bankruptcy; U.A.W. and Fiat to Take Control.” It describes the shocking development of Chrysler filing for bankruptcy protection after a deal brokered by President Obama was rejected by the company’s debtholders.

This just goes to show the greed of the financial sector while the rest of the economy is hurting. They don’t care about the impact of Chrysler’s failure on the United States, just recouping what they think is theirs. The union and management of Chrysler have made sacrifices again and again, but the debtholders want every cent of their money.

As a result, they will get less than they could have unless they have the additional gall to file legal charges.

One can only hope that a stronger company will emerge after restructuring though there are several landmines along the way. Many plants will be closed, workers laid off and “collateral damage” will occur as well. Who can say how many parts suppliers and other dependent businesses will be affected by the process?

And noone knows how the American consumer will react. Will our citizens lean over backward to buy Chrysler automobiles after the restructuring or will they react with the same greed as the debtholders who torpedoed a deal?