Well, it has happened again.
GE is
the largest private employer in Erie, Pennsylvania,
where I now live (Government is of course the largest
employer in any town). This particular division
make locomotives. Just before Christmas, there was
a big front-page article in the Erie Times-News
featuring an interview with the young CEO. When
asked about the health of the division and whether
layoffs were eminent, he replied that things look
stable and that none were planned.
That,
of course, was the cue.
By New Year's
Day, the radio news had announced that unpaid leave
for some workers would be mandated. This morning,
a big newspaper headline told of layoffs to come.
These are all union guys and gals
that are getting laid off. They all bloc voted for
Obama, who was of course endorsed by the unions,
and were promised they would be taken care of. I
guess they can be retrained to be part of the New-New
Deal Civilian Conservation Corps or that mysterious
new protection force Obama mentioned on the campaign
trail that will patrol the land and will be as well
funded and as well supplied as the military.
What the heck, we don't make anything in America
anymore anyway. We don't need no stinking skilled
industrial workers. Right?