While much of the reporting
on the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors (GM) has
demonstrated the typical media bias against business, some reporting
has not. For example, ABC’s Jim Williams, on the June 12 World
News Tonight, noted that "auto analysts say GM has no choice but
to trim a work force so bloated it cannot compete with other auto
makers," pointing out that "last year, according to one analysis,
Ford made more than $1,500 per vehicle, almost $1,000 more than GM,
and Ford produced more than 33 cars per worker in 1997, while GM
produced just 27." He reported that the striking Flint plant is "one
of the most inefficient factories in the industry," and that
"hundreds of workers have the right to go home hours early once they
have met a daily production quota."
On that same evening’s
Nightly News, NBC’s Robert Hager noted that Ford and Chrysler
"were forced to lean down more than a decade ago," but that GM has
only recently had to consider overhauling "old, inefficient
operations," such as union work rules, costly parts, and poorly
designed operations using too many workers.
— Rich
Noyes
