Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

In spite of good progress and difficult issues being honestly worked on, the United Auto Workers walked off their jobs at General Motors Corp. (GM), calling a strike.

Burnham Securities analyst David Healy estimates for every week of the strike, it will cut into GM's net income by $335 million, equal to about 59 to 60 cents a share.

While the strike is largely symbolic at this time, this dinosaur way of negotiating only harms GM's consumers, who have tired of the unions and their tactics and added costs to consumer vehicles; one reason GM is floundering.

At the same time, I find it hard to feel sorry for GM which has caved in to ridiculous demands for years, and is being treated more like a government job provider than a free market business.

The problem GM and its workers face now is based on treating them almost like a government. In response, GM has almost played that role as well, making promises there is no way they can keep. It's one of the reasons they're in the health care and pensions problem they now face.

They can make more promises if they want, but in a global economy, they are vastly empty promises, as the costs involved with outrageous wages and benefits is continually pricing them out of the market.

Here's one example of what is being worked on in the negotiations: In return for changes in funding the health care program, the UAW wants GM to make assurance that domestic jobs won't be sent to other countries ... along with increasing profit sharing.

If there is an agreement concerning health care, GM would save approximately $3 billion yearly.

The problem with job assurance is the realities of the global marketplace make it impossible for GM to make promises they won't send work to less expensive countries. Don't get me wrong, they can make those promises, but no one can guarantee they can keep them; not from being dishonest, but from market pressures.

In reponse to the strike, GM said: "The bargaining involves complex, difficult issues that affect the job security of our U.S. work force and the long-term viability of the company. ... We will continue focusing our efforts on reaching an agreement as soon as possible."

The attitude of UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and the union itself in calling this strike, reveals the real underlying problem GM and the domestic US auto industry has: they are no longer relevant!

Even if they get everything they want, in the end there's no guarantee they really get anything. The global economy has changed this draconian way of doing business on its head. That and hearing nothing about what this does for the end user - the consumer - shows they continue to miss what's really important.

GM and the UAW are in a dysfunctional relationship pretends things are like they were 20 years ago. Both sides will find themselves suffering as they stay in denial of what is happening all around them. In the end, they'll both deserve what they get.

To think that this type of garbage is being attempted to infiltrate other companies like Starbucks (SBUX) and Wal-Mart (WMT).