Textio

My father spent his working years in a union. My wife is in a union. I don’t hate unions, but over the years, I’ve always wondered how workers and companies could be expected to succeed when the workers and companies habitually acted as if they were in battle against each other.

In terms of the auto industry, I’ve long been interested in the principle of kaizen, which is so pervasive in Toyota’s auto business. This philosophy of continuous improvement has enabled Toyota to develop more reliable automobiles more quickly than their US counterparts. And it has represented the antithesis of the UAW.

According to a fascinating Newsweek piece, this adversarial relationship killed GM’s early ’80′s interest in developing a new kind of car company focused on small cars – even hybrid cars – that could compete with the Japanese, while creating a new relationship between the UAW and GM partially based on incentives and success. This was to be the future and the salvation of GM. It was called Saturn.

The original idea didn’t survive, but the reasons for its failure were not just limited to corporate ineptitude, but the stubborn, refuse-to-adapt-to-the-future UAW mentality. However, had the original intent of Saturn succeeded, according to Newsweek, many analysts speculate the US auto industry wouldn’t just be free from the tentacles of bankruptcy, but far more successful and fuel efficient.