Equality of Sacrifice, um NOT For American Axle's Execs

As the economy continues to slow, the housing crises continues to develop, home prices continue to fall, gas prices continue to go up, and the cost for just about everything in our lives rises from rice to wheat to a glass of milk...wel it's on this vein that Warren Brown at the Washington Post took the owner, Dick E Dauch, and his top executives to task for, well, being complete asses...

Equality of sacrifice -- it is on that issue that the management of American Axle did something so dumb, it borders on the unforgivable. While demanding that its workers accept cuts in pay and other compensation to help the company underwrite future development and competitive costs, American Axle's top four managers gave themselves hefty raises.

Richard E. Dauch, 65, the company's chairman and chief executive, earned $10.2 million last year -- $850,000 more than in 2006, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. American Axle earned $37 million in 2007 after posting a net loss of $222.5 million in 2006, when it began hinting that its workers would have to give something back for the company to keep moving forward.

It just doesn't sit right. It matters not that the company is Dauch's company, or that he can move it to Mexico if he wishes. It is simply wrong to ask the troops to bleed while the generals feast.

No one wins wars that way. And no company trying to gain a favorable position in the future of the global automobile industry will succeed using such an ill-considered strategy.

American Axle and the UAW sat back down yesterday. I've got my fingers crossed that they can come to a solution to this strike, and soon.

I wish they would just get it over with one way or another.

I'd like to see Jerd0708 able to go back to work. Until that day comes, I suppose I'll just peruse the AAM annual report so I can be mystified by this owner's gross stupidity.