At present, the UAW union will own 55% of Chrysler !

[kentuck]

This is historic. This would be the first time in the history of the nation that a union and its workers have owned majority interest in a large corporation. Will it work out?

[tabatha]

1. I really hope so.

If they can control CEO salaries, that would be a huge win.

This is the opposite of shutting down the unions.

[marketcrazy1]

2. thats great

:sarcasm: 55 percent of what? thats the question. and Fiat! not the strongest auto company out there and even THEY did not want Chrysler unless the government kicked in Billions. post reorganization Chrysler will be a fraction of what it was, I would not be shocked if it failed AGAIN within 24 months. but I guess 55 percent of something is better than nothing at all...............

[kentuck]

4. I think the government (us) have agreed to put up $8 billion?

But not all at one time?

[Egalitariat]

3. Are you sure about that? I thought one of the airlines did that in the 80's.

[bbinacan]

5. IIRC

It was United Airlines and the deal fell through in 1989.

[marketcrazy1]

6. Chrysler is shutting down all production

starting monday, to reopen when the bankruptcy is complete. they expect to emerge from bankruptcy August 28th... workers will collect up to 80 percent of their base pay during the shut down.... thats what I am hearing... funny they did not mention the plant closings until after the Presidents bankruptcy announcement.

[nilram]

7. wow, good luck, workers!

[marketcrazy1]

8. several parts suppliers

shut down production IMMEDIATELY upon notice of the Chrysler filing.. no work tomorrow for those guys either.......... of course THEY will not be getting 80 percent of THEIR base pay...... I guess they need a better union.

[unblock]

9. i wouldn't call it "majority interest". it's "majority equity" and equity is crap in a bankruptcy

chrysler will be run by a board of directors and the union will have a seat on the board, but not control of the board.

it remains to be seen if and when and HOW chrysler emerges from bankruptcy. if the union actually CONTROLS the company, THAT would be worth celebrating! until then, my horses will remain firmly held.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

14. Won't the union have 55% of the voting stock?

If they do depending on the corporate charter, they should have at least a majority on the board.

[glitch]

15. Everyone of these new owners should watch the documentary "The Take" if they haven't already

About Argentinian tile workers taking over their factory after it was abandoned by the "owners" during their economic collapse and making if profitable. Of course once they did the owners came back -- I am not sure how that ended up in the courts.

But it's a motivating video for workers taking control of their own production after management has driven them into the ditch.

[unblock]

19. the agreement by which they got 55% equity did not give them a majority on the board.

although in a sense it doesn't matter; during bankruptcy, the fiduciary responsibility of the board and the executives is primarily to the creditors, not to the equityholders. so even if they did control the board, they'd still have to cow-tow to the hedge funds rather than the rank-and-file.

[Hannah Bell]

18. thanks for that info, very helpful.

[JVS]

10. I am still wondering how such a thing is legal.

One would think that for one legal entity to exist as both the bargaining agent of the workers and majority shareholder in the company, which basically means boss, would be a massive conflict of interests. Put briefly: we all know the problem with a company union, is a union company essentially different? I hope so, but this is a weird situation.

[malti_poo]

11. Who will they blame when the company fails?

ntxt

[Hoopla Phil]

12. Remember when Harley Davidson was at death's door?

The employees joined together and bought it from AMF. I hope it works out as well this time around.

[leftofthedial]

13. how long until they agree to give themselves a massive pay cut?

[Mugu]

20. Only for new hires. n/t

[hughee99]

22. If they have to have a strike or lockout.

Are the union leaders going to be negotiating with themselves as both management and labor? If so, will they be outside with the picket signs, or inside listening to the chants?

[Uzybone]

16. According to some on DU this is a bad thing

they call it trickle down economics.

[kentuck]

17. Here is more on the bailout from ABC News..

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7475032

[eppur_se_muova]

21. The triumph of corporate capitalism -- workers now control the means of production.

:evilgrin:

[4_TN_TITANS]

23. It's an interesting turn. Did Obama just make history

by handing over the castle to the peasants? You can be sure with the employees in charge, CEO pay will come sharply back in line, and who's making the concessions now, bitches? What seems a disaster could be an Obama golden egg in disguise.

[4_TN_TITANS]

24. It's an interesting turn. Did Obama just make history

by handing over the castle to the peasants? You can be sure with the employees in charge, CEO pay will come sharply back in line, and who's making the concessions now, bitches? What seems a disaster could be an Obama golden egg in disguise.