Union Bailout Upsets Other Auto Workers

Good points.

For some, the most galling aspect of the bailout is that federal money could go to union workers and retirees — people, mostly in the North, who at least historically have enjoyed higher pay and better benefits than Southern auto workers.

“Over here, we’re taking days off without pay to keep the company going, but the unions for the Big Three aren’t willing to do that,” said Kathy Ward, 54, who has worked 27 years at the sprawling plant here. This year her pay has been cut $5,000 because of days off. “Everyone has to give a little in times like these.”

The bailout efforts for Detroit’s Big Three are laying bare long-held resentments between union and non-union workers, echoing North-South divisions as old as the Civil War.