Edward Conard

Top Ten New York Times Bestselling Author

  • “…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
  • “Unintended Consequences should be read by anyone who takes for granted the superiority of progressive taxation and has not thought carefully about the trade-offs involved.” - The New Republic
  • “Unintended Consequences offers deep and well-argued analyses on almost every issue.” - The New York Times
  • “Unintended Consequences represents the most cogent and persuasive analysis of the Financial Crisis to date.” - Andrei Shleifer, 1999 John Bates Clark Medal Winner
  • “Unintended Consequences is full of substance, it is one of the must-read books of the year, and once I finish it I will be giving it a second read through right away.” - Tyler Cowen, Professor, George Mason University
  • “There are an amazing number of good ideas and interesting points made in Unintended Consequences. The thinking underlying it, and the obvious depth of understanding of the author, are very impressive.” - Steven Levitt, coauthor of Freakonomics; 2004 John Bates Clark Medal
  • “…serious thinking for serious thinkers. …a thought-provoking blueprint for growing middle- and working-class incomes.” - Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
  • “…a comprehensive explanation of the modern economy.” - Julian Robertson, Founder, Tiger Management
  • “Unintended Consequences is far smarter and more thought-provoking than most economics written for the general public” - Greg Mankiw, Harvard University, Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors
  • “…reminds us that inequality sends a signal of what society lacks most, in America’s case, entrepreneurship and risk taking.” - Lawrence Lindsey, CEO, The Lindsey Group, former Director of the National Economic Council
  • “…a fresh argument for the productive value of inequality.” - David Autor, Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • “…challenges misconceptions that distort our economic debates.” - Arthur Brooks, President of the American Enterprise Institute
Upside of Inequality Oxford Unintended Consequences

AI Summary. The United Auto Workers union has demanded a 46% raise, a return to traditional pensions, and a 32-hour work week from the three Detroit automakers. The companies say meeting those demands would raise labor costs by $80bn and lift total pay and benefit expenses to more than $150 an hour from about $64.

Keith Naughton, Gabrielle Coppola and David Welch Bloomberg
Date Posted:

The UAW is making demands of the Big Three that would cost an additional $80 billion over the course of the contract. Bloomberg notes total hourly pay and benefits expenses would rise from about $64 now to $150.

Would union demands more than double automakers' hourly labor costs?

Core argument: United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain has declared "war" on the Detroit Three automakers with contract demands he himself calls "audacious," including a 46% raise, a return to traditional pensions and a 32-hour work week.

Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers union since March, has declared “war” on the Detroit Three automakers, with contract demands that even he calls “audacious,” including proposals for a 46% raise, a return to traditional pensions and a 32-hour work week. The automakers counter that meeting those demands would threaten their existence, driving up labor costs by $80 billion and increasing total pay and benefit expenses to more than $150 an hour, from about $64 now, Bloomberg has reported. Higher labor costs contributed to Chrysler, Ford and GM’s lack of price competitiveness against foreign brands in the 1990s and 2000s.

Takeaways by Macro Roundup® AI

  1. United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain has declared "war" on the Detroit Three automakers with contract demands he himself calls "audacious," including a 46% raise, a return to traditional pensions and a 32-hour work week.
  2. The Detroit automakers say meeting the union's demands would drive up labor costs by $80 billion and raise total pay and benefit expenses to more than $150 an hour, from about $64 now, threatening their existence, according to Bloomberg.
  3. Higher labor costs contributed to Chrysler, Ford and GM's lack of price competitiveness against foreign brands in the 1990s and 2000s.

Related Articles:

  • UAW Warns Contract Talks With Big Three Carmakers Are Moving ‘Too Slow’ — The United Auto Workers union sought authorization to call a strike, arguing contract talks with the three major Detroit carmakers are moving too slowly. Its demands include pay raises of more than 40%, inflation protection, and equal wages across jobs, which Bloomberg has reported would cost carmakers $80bn over four years.
  • The ‘Summer of Strikes’ Isn’t Living Up to the Hype — Recent strike waves differ in composition: earlier ones were dominated by teachers and other state and local government workers, while current strikers are mostly private-sector employees, often organizing location-by-location in stoppages too small to appear in Bureau of Labor Statistics counts. The Cornell-ILR Labor Action Tracker recorded 224,000 workers in stoppages versus the Bureau's 120,600.
  • Everyone Wants to Work at UPS After Teamsters Deal — UPS lowered its full-year profit forecast, citing the volume impact from labor negotiations and costs tied to its tentative labor agreement. Under the five-year contract, full-time drivers are set to earn about $170,000 in annual pay and benefits by its end, while part-time union employees earn at least $25.75 an hour plus full health care and pension benefits.
Showing 96 database articles primarily about Unemployment/Participation