March 2009 - Posts

• Look who's in charge

  No one will defend GM’s outgoing CEO Rick Wagoner: the company needs a top-to-bottom overhaul. More than an overhaul, GM needs a downsizing — a downsizing that customarily, and often effectively, comes by way of a bankruptcy court. That’s why it’s an Read More... Posted Monday, March 30, 2009 4:59 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• The problems get bigger

  As General Motors and Chrysler languish at the brink of insolvency (anyone who says bankruptcy now gets shouted down by the White House’s “ auto industry task force ”), the move has been made to draw automotive suppliers into the spider’s web of government Read More... Posted Monday, March 23, 2009 11:22 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• Know your history

  The interest, and regard, that metalcasters have for the past never fails to impress me. Most foundry operations, wisely, keep their workers and customers well aware of their long records of accomplishments. Some of that history is bittersweet, such as Read More... Posted Monday, March 16, 2009 9:40 AM by REB | 0 Comments

• A view of the world

  If you have the time — a big if — you might drag yourself through this long essay published in The Atlantic , “How the Crash Will Reshape America.” It brings up a lot of interesting details, but the title tells you what you’re in for. If you like a five-miles-up Read More... Posted Thursday, March 12, 2009 4:57 PM by REB | 0 Comments

• The secret is out

  We haven't heard much about "card check" lately. That's the acronym for the Employee Free Choice Act , a bold revision of federal labor laws that will end the requirement for unions to conduct a secret-ballot election among workers at a plant in order Read More... Posted Wednesday, March 04, 2009 8:54 PM by REB | 0 Comments