As we all know there has been a lot of push back against the Big 3 bailouts, mostly coming from the GOP. A persistent theme is how the UAW has basically throttled the profitability of the industry with their "outrageous" demands.
This, we all know is a lie.
But they've succeeded in getting the story of the overpaid UAW workers not only on the morning talk shows, but also on Boing Boing.
The contributor over at Boing Boing is a good guy, and very tech-y guy, and the website has a lot of great people writing for it. In short, it's a great news source for everything from tech and DIY, to Electronic Freedom Foundation and RIAA news.
These guys do a lot to bring important developments to the awareness of all, and I love it.
However, we can see how the GOP can get their talking points even out on their site. It all goes to this graph:
Right away, as someone trained in science, I see several "warning signs" – first of all, who are these "Manufacturing Average" workers? What field are they in? What manufacturing sector? Canning tuna? Working for the Toshiba silicon wafer facility? When we do a comparison, we need to compare likes with likes – otherwise the comparison is not valid. It would be like comparing production rates of M&Ms per hour with that of automobiles, and then conclude that M&Ms are much more efficient, and those workers should now start making cars at the same speeds.
Mark J. Perry, of the Mackinac Center, which touts itself as:
"... a nonpartisan research and educational institute devoted to improving the quality of life for all Michigan citizens by promoting sound solutions to state and local policy questions."
– is that these UAW workers, are rich ("Lucky Duckies") compared with other "factory workers". On his blog, he continues the $70/hour wage myth. However, he averages ALL manufacturing wages, not just durable goods. Then, he doesn’t even link to the primary source of the data, the BLS, but another group ("Economagic"), who commit the same fallacy.
The group supporting Prof Mark is a typical republican game. Touted as a "non-partisan" think tank, the Board of Directors have given money to such non-partisan groups & people as: The Club for Growth, local Republican committees, Norm Coleman, Dennis Hastert, and other, non-partisn... um... oh... yeahhhh.
There's a a more detailed post over at Fighting Liberals, please check that out, since I've taken a bit from that site.
I would like to point out that the original post at Boing Boing has been updated with Media Matters data on the salary number games being played, so good for them. But we need to make sure we can keep on this and fight (with facts and firmness) wherever we see the many-headed hydra that is the GOP meme machine.
UPDATE: Boing Boing tag at top fixed...
UPDATE x2: International Herald Tribune gets in the act:
$73/hour - adding it up...
To the Big Three's defenders, meanwhile, the number has become proof positive that autoworkers are being unfairly blamed for Detroit's decline. "We've heard this garbage about 73 bucks an hour," Senator Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, said last week. "It's a total lie. I think some people have perpetrated that deliberately, in a calculated way, to mislead the American people about what we're doing here."
Good, but then they turn around and throw this in the mix:
...The first category is simply cash payments, which is what many people imagine when they hear the word "compensation." It includes wages, overtime and vacation pay, and comes to about $40 an hour. (The numbers vary a bit by company and year. That's why $73 is sometimes $70 or $77.)
The second category is fringe benefits, like health insurance and pensions. These benefits have real value, even if they don't show up on a weekly paycheck. At the Big Three, the benefits amount to $15 an hour or so.
Add the two together, and you get the true hourly compensation of Detroit's unionized work force: roughly $55 an hour. It's a little more than twice as much as the typical American worker makes, benefits included. The more relevant comparison, though, is probably to Honda's or Toyota's (nonunionized) workers. They make in the neighborhood of $45 an hour, and most of the gap stems from their less generous benefits.
Why add the two? Because it makes the numbers higher. Oh course, the Big 3 wouldn't have to pay this amount, if we had a national health care system. Just saying.
UPDATE 3: Mark from Boing Boing replies:
I'm sorry I posted the bad data on Boing Boing. Yesterday afternoon, I updated the post with links to accurate information. I am going to unsubscribe from The Capte Diem blog. That guy obviously has an anti-union agenda going on and he doesn't seem to mind telling lies to push his agenda.
Mark Frauenfelder | Homepage | 12.10.08 - 7:46 pm | #
We've got good people on our side.