Agreed. (FYI, I have a link and data to add here, that goes with your question below.)

More to the point, UAW uses "pattern bargaining" with Chrysler/Ford/GM, where they negotiate with whomever they consider weakest, and then use the same contract with the other two. If Ford is "OK" and GM/Chrysler are not, it isn't just the auto unions...

PS "I'm sure that I'm going to be asked, 'Congressman, I work at Honda' or 'I work at Mercedes. I get $40 an hour. Why are you going to take my tax dollars and pay it to a company that's paying their employees $75 an hour?' " Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) said last month.

That wage figure -- widely used by opponents of the auto industry bailout -- is not in fact the wage paid to current workers. It is an approximation of the costs of salaries and benefits for current and retired workers. After wage concessions in recent contracts, the UAW says its workers at GM, Ford and Chrysler plants range from $33 an hour for skilled trades to $14 an hour for new hires.