Feeling sympathy for Detroit?

Thursday, November 20th, 2008 | Economics |

Feeling sympathy for Detroit? Me neither. Besides bad cars and excess compensation, the list of paid holidays for United Auto Workers members is insane (hat tip to Sebastian).

At my job we get 10 paid holidays per year. UAW workers get 21, including not just Memorial Day but the Friday before, not just Good Friday before Easter but the Monday after, Election Day, and eight days from Christmas Eve through New Year’s.

Likewise the executives aren’t exactly sympathetic, doe-eyed little ragamuffins:

Big Three CEOs Flew Private Jets to Plead for Public Funds
GM, Ford Executives Say No To $1 Salary In Exchange For Government Aid
Mitt Romney NY Times op-ed: Let Detroit Go Bankrupt: “The need for collaboration will mean accepting sanity in salaries and perks. At American Motors, my dad cut his pay and that of his executive team, he bought stock in the company, and he went out to factories to talk to workers directly. Get rid of the planes, the executive dining rooms — all the symbols that breed resentment among the hundreds of thousands who will also be sacrificing to keep the companies afloat.”

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