Job security was the deal-breaker for the United Autoworkers union in its decision to strike General Motors Corp., according to this Associated Press report. It's an interesting analysis, if true, because it demonstrates something I wrote several weeks ago when the negotiations got underway between the union and the Big Three automakers: that the union's, i.e., the workers', future is at stake in these contract talks, perhaps more than the automakers' future.

Apparently, the UAW leadership feels the same way, and that a high-profile, high-stakes strike against the most successful of the Big Three will gain it the sympathy and support of other workers, unions, and consumers.

There's reason to wonder if it will work. To succeed, they cannot expect to break GM because of their intrinsic value to the automaker: that would have brought them to an agreement through bargaining. Indeed, all reports from the negotiations suggested an agreement was near.

Instead, the union leadership called a strike. So, they must be counting on external pressure to bring GM around. That means they'll want GM customers, suppliers, dealers, lenders, and other interested parties to agree that the workers deserve more than wages and benefits: they deserve job security.

Here's the risk: most citizens these days are not union members and have no family connections to a union. They are not persuaded by the traditional claims of loyalty that unions inspire. Moreover, whereas few people have affection for their own employer, the image of the union worker — well paid, unwilling to compromise, demanding more — is not a friendly one.

Now, consider again this demand for job security. Is the UAW's desire for it, need for it, expectation of it, any greater than anyone else's desire, need, or expectation?

Let me go further. "Security" has come to have a very clear meaning to the average citizen. We all want it; most of us, eventually, have accepted that it cannot be guaranteed. Not in our private or public lives. Certainly not in our working lives.

In my earlier post I referenced the last round of steel industry negotiations as proof of labor unions' waning negotiating strength. Whether they realize it or not, the UAW has just raised the stakes for proving otherwise.