American Autoworkers Making $70 An Hour? Source:http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/24/opinion/main4630103.shtml New Republic: Debunking The Myth Of The Exceedingly Well Paid U.S. Autoworker Nov. 24, 2008 (The New Republic) This column was written by Jonathan Cohn. If you’ve been following the auto industry’s crisis, then you’ve probably read or heard a lot about overpaid American autoworkers–in particular, the fact that [...]

Monday, November 24, 2008 Big 3 get aid pitch advice Obama adviser, Pelosi say loan help available but industry must make better case to Congress. David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama’s advisers said Sunday that automakers must convince Congress that they have a plan to return to profitability before [...]

Monday, November 24, 2008 Distressed carmakers bank on lobbying Despite tough times, Big 3 spend $21.6M on efforts to sway Congress. Robert Snell / The Detroit News Detroit’s Big Three automakers have spent more than $21.6 million lobbying Congress this year despite coping with a financial crisis that has forced them to slash jobs, cut [...]

November 23, 2008 If I had the floor at the auto rescue talks BY MITCH ALBOM FREE PRESS COLUMNIST OK. It’s a fantasy. But if I had five minutes in front of Congress last week, here’s what I would’ve said: Good morning. First of all, before you ask, I flew commercial. Northwest Airlines. Had a [...]

GM board: Bankruptcy not the answer Tom Krisher / Associated Press DETROIT — General Motors Corp.’s board of directors does not consider bankruptcy protection a viable option to solve the company’s financial troubles, but it has discussed Chapter 11 because it has a legal duty to do so, a spokesman said Saturday. Century-old GM, an [...]

Sunday, November 23, 2008 Auto help available, but depends on plan David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama’s advisers said Sunday automakers must convince Congress that they have a plan to return to profitability before they can get $25 billion in emergency bridge loans — and that they should fly [...]

Obama backs demand for auto industry plan – aide queryvar=”obama,backs,demand,for,auto,industry,plan,-,aide”; Automotive News November 23, 2008 – 3:00 pm ET   WASHINGTON (Reuters) — President-elect Barack Obama backs congressional demands that U.S. automakers provide a game plan for long-term survival before lawmakers approve a taxpayer funded bailout, a senior adviser said today. "We all have a [...]

Democrats outline conditions for Detroit 3 aid queryvar=”democrats,outline,conditions,for,detroit,3,aid”; Harry Stoffer Automotive News November 21, 2008 – 12:35 pm ET   WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders of Congress have sent a letter to the Detroit 3, spelling out what they want to see in plans the companies must file before lawmakers will consider emergency loans. House Speaker [...]

  Report: GM directors’ options include bankruptcy filing queryvar=”report:,gm,directors,options,include,bankruptcy,filing”; Richard Truett Automotive News | November 22, 2008 – 12:23 am EST     General Motors directors are considering a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, the Wall Street Journal and Detroit television stations reported. According to local TV reports, GM’s board was meeting late Friday night in [...]

Friday, November 21, 2008 Gettelfinger: Jobs bank ‘almost gone’ Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News Reports that the United Auto Workers union is in talks to dismantle the controversial jobs bank program are premature, according to people familiar with the situation. The possibility of more concessions from the union has emerged as Detroit’s Big [...]

Friday, November 21, 2008 Alabama emerges as foe to auto aid Delegation of state with several foreign auto plants voices criticism, irks UAW, Karmanos. Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News If much of the Congress’ criticism of Detroit’s Big Three automakers seems to be coming from south of the Mason-Dixon Line, that may be [...]

Friday, November 21, 2008 Congress: Auto execs must show ‘significant sacrifices’ David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — Detroit’s Big Three automakers must provide a detailed nine-point plan to Congress by Dec. 2 in order to win approval of $25 billion in emergency bridge loans and show that "top automobile executives (are) making [...]

  GM alters production schedule to save cash queryvar=”gm,alters,production,schedule,to,save,cash”; Richard Truett Automotive News | November 21, 2008 – 12:56 pm EST     DETROIT — General Motors is further altering its production schedule for December and January in a bid to save cash and balance its inventory. GM spokesman Chris Lee said some plants will [...]

White House criticizes Congress on automaker aid queryvar=”white,house,criticizes,congress,on,automaker,aid”; Automotive News November 21, 2008 – 11:45 am ET   ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) — The White House criticized Congress today for going on recess without taking action on a plan to help automakers, saying Democrats had "mindless opposition" to what Republicans support. "It is appalling [...]

De-plane! De-plane! GM jettisons 2 jets Company says it already planned to reduce its fleet queryvar=”de-plane!,de-plane!,gm,jettisons,2,jets”; Richard Truett Automotive News November 21, 2008 – 1:10 pm ET   DETROIT — General Motors is scrubbing part of its corporate jet fleet — and scrambling to explain why. Two of seven leased jets were grounded in September [...]