[The strikers are on their own against] a very determined employer and a large pool of replacement workers, ... If things remain the same and continue on this path, then the strike would be doomed. |
Cutting costs is not a business plan. You can cut costs but it doesn't sell cars. |
General Motors is more than just a symbol of American industry. It envelops the towns where it operates, and people become dependent on it in those towns. |
I think it (the AFL-CIO) will survive as long as it has key unions still in it like Steelworkers and Auto Workers and especially the Communication Workers, ... But it's going to be a loss for the AFL-CIO in terms of income. It's not going to be effective in terms of political activity for quite a while. |
I think it may have emboldened some employers to reassess their situation, making them realize if they plan carefully they can withstand a strike, ... And that means, yes, you can ask for major demands from unions. |
I think that (AFL-CIO President John) Sweeney will have to make a strong statement about the AFL-CIO and how it's strong and still relevant. |
I thought a month ago that the industry had reached a plateau, and we would finally see what the direction would be, ... Instead, it's just gone from bad to worse. |
In collective bargaining, it's important for both parties to get used to losing because they have to make initial demands or offers and then they have to be willing to accept less. |
In organizing itself I see a tremendous increase in the reinventing of the labor movement as the heir of the civil rights movement. I think it's the recasting of the labor movement in a way that I haven't seen in many years. |
It may give the governor a sense he has to prove something — establish his reputation to not back down. I am afraid the parties are really digging in. This has become a first-class dispute, a bitter dispute. |
It's a union that's been defeated, and they're trying to decide how they're going to be defeated. |
People looked at jobs in the auto plants like property, like something that they owned, something that could be passed down from father to sons. That was pretty much making it for a lot of people. |
Quite bluntly, to an auto worker at General Motors or an airline worker facing demands for concessions, this doesn't mean a hell of a lot, ... Their concern is 'can my union deliver at the bargaining table?' I can't think of any union that would really be hurt at the bargaining table. |
The Machinists are saying, 'We're going to make a stand and make them respect us,' ... This is what the union strategy is as a Labor Day celebration of the power of labor. |
The question is: Are bigger unions, better unions? |