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Thanks m8 I wasnt aware such a high percentage went to benefits like that. I made an assumption, I will never learn , that it would be mostly small suppliers far down the food chain that suffered.
The fact that its the retirement/health fund is not really different though, its just different people being affected of course.
I have vented against unions before, and still despise them (left doesnt necessarily mean union ) so you certainly wont get any argument from me there. The benefits were too high, and the unions are to blame for that.
However, when looking for a job, assuming you have the luxury of choice, you would be looking at what benefits that job offered vs a different job. Presumably at least some of the GM workers chose to work there specifically because of the benefits that came as part of the employment package.
They may have planned their life, their debts, their retirement funds, and perhaps even the age they retire at based on the package offered.
If you plan your life, and your finances, around what you think is a contract, I am sure you personally would not be pleased if someone came along and changed the deal retrospectively. You'll consider that you have already kept your part of the bargain, and them honouring their part of the deal is now a necessary part of the future you had planned.
But everyone including those who lost out here would have lost out had gm just gone under.
Who is GM owned by? If Old GM collapse owing so much do they not then go after the owners other assets, in the case new GM? This may be a dumb question but I don't know how it works