When GM sold off its Delphi parts division, it made a series of commitments to its unions, including that it would stand behind its pension obligations. The fact that these commitments are being honored has angered the NYT. It featured an article pointing out that union workers, who had these commitments, are doing better than non-union workers who did not have these commitments. This is similar to the situation in which executives, who were promised large pensions, tend to collect more money in retirement than ordinary workers, who did not contract for large pensions. That may not be fair, but that is the way that contracts work. It should not be news to the NYT.
--Dean Baker
