Oh thank Heaven for Chapter 11...

WASHINGTON - A $14 billion emergency bailout for U.S. automakers collapsed in the Senate Thursday night after the United Auto Workers refused to accede to Republican demands for swift wage cuts.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was "terribly disappointed" about the demise of an emerging bipartisan deal to rescue Detroit's Big Three.

He spoke shortly after Republicans left a closed-door meeting where they balked at giving the automakers federal aid unless their powerful union agreed to slash wages next year to bring them into line with those of Japanese carmakers.
Republican Sen. George V. Voinovich of Ohio, a strong bailout supporter, said the UAW was willing to make the cuts — but not until 2011.

Reid was working to set a swift test vote on the measure Thursday night, but it was just a formality. The bill was virtually certain to fail to reach the 60-vote threshold it would need to clear to advance.

Reid called the bill's collapse "a loss for the country," adding "I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It's not going to be a pleasant sight."

The implosion followed an unprecedented marathon set of talks at the Capitol among labor, the auto industry and lawmakers who bargained into the night in efforts to salvage the auto bailout at a time of soaring job losses and widespread economic turmoil.

"In the midst of already deep and troubling economic times, we are about to add to that by walking away," said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman who led negotiations on the package.

Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, the GOP point man in the talks, said the two sides had been tantalizingly close to a deal, but the UAW's refusal to agree wage concessions by a specific date in 2009 kept them apart.

The autoworkers' contract doesn't expire until 2011.

At one point there was news of progess in the talks.

"All issues are still on the table," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, as he emerged from the talks.

But it was clear lawmakers had made substantial progress toward getting the auto industry aid back on track, and members of both parties were in search of an accord.

"We've got some issues still to resolve but we all want to resolve them," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who led the closed-door talks for his party.

Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee chairman, who was his party's point man, said staff aides were working on legislative language of a still-emerging deal.

"While we've reached some agreement on a lot already, there are issues that are still outstanding," Dodd said.

Progress in the negotiations were the latest development in a long-running debate over bailing out the beleaguered auto industry. The issue gained urgency last week when the government reported the economy had lost more than a half-million jobs in November, the most in any month for more than 30 years.

"There's a lot of hardship out there. People are losing their jobs, losing their homes, losing their cars and losing their patience," said Reid, D-Nev. "We don't need to pile on."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28166218

Oh boy. Wall Street will be in the tank tomorrow.

ETSUfan1 Wrote:Oh boy. Wall Street will be in the tank tomorrow.

Chrysler has retained Jones, Day and GM has retained Weil, Gotshal as their Bankruptcy Counsel.

They might as well go ahead and file because I don't think the UAW will cave in.

UAW isn't going to make the wage/benefit concessions that would equalize to what Toyota/Nissan/BMW pays their employees that work down South and in Texas.

That killed it.

WMD Owl Wrote:

ETSUfan1 Wrote:Oh boy. Wall Street will be in the tank tomorrow.

Chrysler has retained Jones, Day and GM has retained Weil, Gotshal as their Bankruptcy Counsel.

They might as well go ahead and file because I don't think the UAW will cave in.

UAW isn't going to make the wage/benefit concessions that would equalize to what Toyota/Nissan/BMW pays their employees that work down South and in Texas.

That killed it.

That just killed America.
Those foreign auto plants in the south were all subsidized by the taxpayers. Now my dad who worked for 32 years for GM is endanger of losing his pension, and health insurance. Now he's going to have to go back to work? What for $10/hr at walmart?

firmbizzle Wrote:

WMD Owl Wrote:

ETSUfan1 Wrote:Oh boy. Wall Street will be in the tank tomorrow.

Chrysler has retained Jones, Day and GM has retained Weil, Gotshal as their Bankruptcy Counsel.

They might as well go ahead and file because I don't think the UAW will cave in.

UAW isn't going to make the wage/benefit concessions that would equalize to what Toyota/Nissan/BMW pays their employees that work down South and in Texas.

That killed it.

That just killed America.
Those foreign auto plants in the south were all subsidized by the taxpayers. Now my dad who worked for 32 years for GM is endanger of losing his pension, and health insurance. Now he's going to have to go back to work? What for $10/hr at walmart?

GM's Pension is underfunded by $34 BILLION thanks to laws passed by Democrats that allowed the required pension payments be deferred.

If the Bankruptcy Judge allows GM to dump the Pensions in Bankruptcy under 11 USC Section 1113, then the PBGC, a federal agency... will make up the difference. And as established in Enron, maintaining the health insurance on retirees will be deemed to be a "Priority Administrative Expense" so both the US Bankruptcy Trustee and the Bankruptcy Judge will require GM to pay the insurance UP FRONT each quarter before any lawyers, accountants, etc. get paid.

ETSUfan1 Wrote:Oh boy. Wall Street will be in the tank tomorrow.

Who the **** cares? They go out of business, someone else steps up to the plate and buys them out. How many f'n auto companies have THEY forced out of business, bought out, or performed a hostile takeover on?

Guess what, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, ....ALL made RIGHT here in the United States, have seen their sales fall but they ARE doing OK.

**** Chevy. **** Ford. **** Chrysler. Let'em fail. Capitalism does not WORK when you reward failure.

....and BTW, no, I'm not an American car hater. This is what I drive:

We give a 150 Billion to AIG and counting and the coke suckers take a 400,000 weekend retreat that month and **** sucking Bob Corker wants to break the UAW over a 15 billion dollar loan. Fck these Republican **** suckers. They are anti union and Republicans will pay the price EVERYWHERE but the podunk south. It's too god dman cold to survive in a dbl wide trailer up here in the north. We need higher paying jobs!!!! Say goodbye to Voinovich, Good man but he's on the wrong team. Havent the Repukes done enough harm????? I can't believe Republicans let Bob Fckin Corker be the front man on this. Just think when Dems frame this loan as the same costs as a month on Iraq!!!!! Any state tied to the automobile industry will hang Republicans by their testicles. I can't believe they let this fail. I'm dumping all my stockss tommoroow at open and will pick them back up at noon. Probably make 20% It's going to be a bloodbath tomorrow. Dmb fckin ignorant Republicans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God my Dad's not alive to see what has happened to this country and his beloved U.A.W. He was an honest and hard working man who provided for his family. I never felt so angry at Republican's in my lifetime. I know I'm not the most eloquent of writers and I sometimes cheapen the debate with less than standard decorum, but GOD AS MY WITNESS. I WILL NEVER FORGIVE THESE **** SUCKIN REPUBLICAN"S FOR TRYING TO BREAK THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE UAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've sold out our countrymen for the vices of free trade. Not FAIR TRADE, but free trade. Democrats who backed NAFTA are just as guilty. I'm literally sick.

It's the ******* REPUBLICANS THAT ARE HOLDING UP THE PROCEDURAL VOTES!!! YOU NEED TO GET TO 60 you FCKIN RETARD! Read up on it and don't comment til you get the facts. This isn't some Ar-15 macine gun war thread. It's American Manufacturing and Republican's with Corker as the *** **** front man is holding it up. Read and become better educated.

Your so fckin stupid sometimes. Republican's are holding it up. ALL BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BREAK THE UAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Machiavelli Wrote:Your so fckin stupid sometimes. Republican's are holding it up. ALL BECAUSE THEY WANT TO BREAK THE UAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They CAN'T hold it up, ya f'n dumb***! They don't hold the majority!

Get a f'n clue before you vent like this. It only makes people think you're stupid, which isn't hard for you, and make people pray for our future because you're a substitute teacher. ....and NO, it's does NOT require 60 votes.

First damn article I found..................

WASHINGTON – A bailout-weary Congress killed a $14 billion package to aid struggling U.S. automakers Thursday night after a partisan dispute over union wage cuts derailed a last-ditch effort to revive the emergency aid before year's end.

Republicans, breaking sharply with President George W. Bush as his term draws to a close, refused to back federal aid for Detroit's beleaguered Big Three without a guarantee that the United Auto Workers would agree by the end of next year to wage cuts to bring their pay into line with Japanese carmakers. The UAW refused to do so before its current contract with the automakers expires in 2011.

The breakdown left the fate of the auto industry — and the 3 million jobs it touches — in limbo at a time of growing economic turmoil. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have said they could be weeks from collapse. Ford Motor Co. says it does not need federal help now, but its survival is far from certain.

Democratic leaders called on Bush to immediately tap the $700 billion Wall Street bailout fund for emergency aid to the auto industry, whose fate — along with that of the roughly 3 million jobs it touches — was in limbo.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called the bill's collapse "a loss for the country," adding: "I dread looking at Wall Street tomorrow. It's not


Just google Tennesee's Corker. He's the *** **** frontman for the retards

BTW, I give a **** about "American Manufacturing" when it's beholden to unions. Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Kia, Hyundai, Honda.....ALLLLLLL made by Americans RIGHT HERE IN THIS COUNTRY!

Again, **** Chevy, **** Ford, and **** Chrysler.

It's called a fillibuster. You need to get to 60 votes before you can bring it to a vote and Reid doesn't have them. This is close and it's personal.

What part of civics do you need me to teach you, Mach? They do NOT HOLD THE GDAMN MAJORITY, ya dumb ass. ...and no, no filibuster was performed.

What I am SOOOOO PISSED about is they have spent like DRUNKEN FUCKIN SAILORS for years and they are going to bankrupt GM. Ohhh who am I kidding. GM wants you to think they are going bankrupt to capitualte the unions. This is all a power play to WEAKEN the UAW. Corker is fillibustering 15 billion to break the UAW.

You are soooooo thick. You need it to get to 60 to get it to a vote. It's like 52-48 right now. Yes they have a majority but they do not have a super majority so they can bypass the fillibuster. Don't comment anymore on this you are in the wrong. Trust me. You are only going to look dumber.

Machiavelli Wrote:What I am SOOOOO PISSED about is they have spent like DRUNKEN FUCKIN SAILORS for years and they are going to bankrupt GM. Ohhh who am I kidding. GM wants you to think they are going bankrupt to capitualte the unions. This is all a power play to WEAKEN the UAW. Corker is fillibustering 15 billion to break the UAW.

"They" are going to bankrupt GM? I'm sorry, I didn't know "they" were paying the bills at GM.

Do you really want to continue this argument? Or bow out as the self-appointed idiot, not by choice, that you are?

As for the banking bailout, which I was ALSO opposed to, without the Dims, that would have never happened. They SPEARHEADED the ****. Why? Because Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac were Dim-controlled. Not to mention the reason we GOT into this mess, gas prices, fall DIRECTLY at the feet of the GDamn Dims.

Machiavelli Wrote:You are soooooo thick. You need it to get to 60 to get it to a vote. It's like 52-48 right now. Yes they have a majority but they do not have a super majority so they can bypass the fillibuster. Don't comment anymore on this you are in the wrong. Trust me. You are only going to look dumber.

Hey, DUMB ASS, the Republicans did not EXERCISE the filibuster option. If they did, in that very rare instance....and throughout history, it's pretty rare, IT WOULD BE ALL OVER THE GDAMN NEWS!

Thick? No. You dense? Oh hell yeah.