Following the conclusion of the GM/UAW contract negotiations, it was revealed that one component of the contract was that each worker would get a “signing bonus” of $5,000 each if the contract was approved by the rank and file. Does it strike anyone else as a bit disturbing that the company would be passing out bonuses to workers whose jobs were saved by American taxpayers (when the US Government lent GM the money), while those loans are still outstanding? Should GM not be required to pay back the loans before issuing bonuses to ANY employee, as was done with the banks that were bailed out by taxpayers?
What am I missing?
Robert M. Bilkie Jr., CFA