GM is preparing the way for a rise in anti-American sentiment in Germany

[JDPriestly]

This is as big a blunder as anything Bush did in his relationship with Europeans. Why is GM being allowed to play around with German workers like this? Since WWII, Germans have been our best friends in the world (well maybe the Israelis are our best friends). They have been unbelievably supportive and grateful. Why are we treating Germany and Angela Merkel so badly?

An allen vier Opel-Standorten in Deutschland gehen zur Stunde die Mitarbeiter auf die Barrikaden. Zehntausende protestieren gegen den Mutterkonzern General Motors, rügen das Verhalten der Amerikaner mit derben Worten.
"Es stinkt uns einfach an, was da abgeht", wettert Betriebsratschef Harald Lieske in Eisenach. Es sei ungeheuerlich, dass GM nun erst Ende März 2010 ein Sanierungskonzept für Opel vorlegen wolle, beschwert sich IG Metall-Landeschef Oliver Burkhard in Bochum.

At this moment at all four Opel locations in Germany, workers are manning the barricades. Tens of thousands of employees are protesting against General Motors and condemning the conduct of the Americans in the roughest of language. "What is going on stinks," complains the union leader Harald Lieski in Eisenach. The plans that Opel has presented for job layoffs for the end of March in 2010 are outrageous, said Oliver Burkhard, head of the union, IG Metall in Bochum, Germany.

Am lautesten und heftigsten aber protestierte Opel-Gesamtbetriebsratschef Klaus Franz. "Wir werden gemeinsam für unsere Zukunft streiten. Wir geben uns nicht geschlagen, wir sind selbstbewusst, denn wir sind Opel", rief er vor dem Stammwerk in Rüsselsheim. Franz forderte mehr Eigenständigkeit für den deutschen Autobauer. "Die Adam Opel GmbH muss in eine deutsche Aktiengesellschaft umgewandelt werden", rief er. "Wir wollen kein Anhängsel sein, das von Detroit aus durchregiert wird."

But, Opel's national union leader, Klaus Franz protested the loudest and strongest. "We will struggle together for our future. We will not allow ourselves to be beaten. We are confident because we are Opel," he shouted at the main factory in Russelsheim. Franz demanded more independence for the German automobile industry. "The Adam Opel Company must be converted to a publicly held German company," he called out. "We don't want to be a lackey, dependent on direction from Detroit."

http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/0,1518,659497,00.html

This will push Germans away from supporting the U.S. and Obama. The state department appears to have no understanding of the deep tradition of trade unions in Germany that actually dates back to the Middle Ages if not before. Workers in Germany cannot be treated like this. They are not like American workers. They spend years from early teens on preparing for their work, learning their crafts in apprenticeships and they take pride in their work and jobs. If GM thinks it is going to be able to treat German workers like it treats its American employees, it has another think coming. That this was allowed to happen is an absolute disgrace. And what shocks me is that we have heard so little about it on DU. This is a major foreign policy fiasco.

Apparently this was so important to Angela Merkel and Germany that Merkel dealt with negotiations herself and tried to arrange some sort of deal with Canadian, Russian and German investment that was rejected by GM. This is a huge mistake on the part of GM and the US. Maybe GM is trying to squeeze more money out of Merkel's offer. If so, they do not know Germans like I know them. Huge mistake.

I should add that I posted this in response to a video by Max Keiser.