Some notes from the land of the manufacturing employee

Habermehl says future wages at Toyota depend on the UAW, whether plant employees realize it or not. When wages rise at the Big Three, they’re also likely to rise at Toyota. And when they fall in Detroit’s plants, Toyota could reduce them as well.

and...

The hard facts about GM's predicament are by now well known. The company says health care makes up $1,500 of the cost of each vehicle produced. GM is the largest private purchaser of health insurance in the country, footing the bill for 1.1 million workers, retirees and family members. Most are retirees, the very people with the highest health care expenses.

and...

For decades building American cars was a family affair. Children followed their parents into the auto plants, where generous union-negotiated wages lifted them into the middle class.

But the days of the industry’s blue-collar aristocracy are numbered.