Joe Conason has written an article, A Ruinous Bias Against Helping Detroit, in The New York Observer.

In a scathing rejoinder there was this comment:

Bill08 (not verified) says:

Uh, Joe, I know you wrote your article almost verbatim from a “Media Matters” press release (“Media still wedded to $70+ per hour autoworker falsehood despite GM’s recent statements to the contrary”), which in itself is nothing more than a regurgitation of a bunch of phony UAW claims.

But there is a complete refutation of your entire article, using empirical evidence like SEC filings and how the automakers are required to report costs by the FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board). It is extensively referenced with footnotes, unlike your Media Matters screed.

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Economy/wm2162.cfm

The fact is that the $73.26 hourly cost as reported by GM includes only CURRENT employees, not retired ones. If you have the intellectual integrity, please read the article and attempt to refute any of its positions.

Noticing the link was to the Heritage Foundation, I could not help taking the bait. Here is what I found.

Their chart http://www.heritage.org/Research/Economy/images/wm2162_chart1.gif is as phony as a $3 bill.

Their reference at http://chryslerlabortalks07.com/Media_Briefing_Book.pdf

Shows the following
GM Assembler Hourly Rate $26.09
COLA 1.77
Total $27.86

FORD Assembler Hourly Rate $26.10

COLA 1.83
Total $27.93

DAIMLERCHRYSLER Hourly Rate $26.86
Assembler COLA 1.89
Total $28.75

The section labeled

2006 Average Labor Costs — UAW represented (per hour worked)

DaimlerChrysler $75.86
Ford $70.51
General Motors $73.26

Does not specify what other factors go to make up this number until you get to page 41.

In 2006

$29.15 (38%) went to Base wage and COLA
$20.14 (27%) Went to Health Care includes incremental FAS beginning with 1993
$26.57 (35%) All other elements
$75.86 total

I didn’t use a fine toothed comb, but I did not see anywhere “The fact is that the $73.26 hourly cost as reported by GM includes only CURRENT employees, not retired ones.”  I wonder what the commenter thinks he knows is in the 35% of the cost labeled as “All other elements”.  One also has to wonder how Chrysler calculated the 27% that went into health care. With these two pieces we are unsure of how 62% of the costs were calculated.

If you go on to read the rest of the Heritage Foundation’s report, they also mention:

The hourly benefits figure includes payments into defined benefit pension plans to provide future pensions to current workers. It also includes the estimated costs of future retirement health benefits that current workers earn today.

Read the rest of the report yourself and judge for yourself.  Of course I have just cherry picked a few paragraphs from the report.

According to corrolaries of Greenberg’s Law Of The Media, you would have to see comparable calculations for the transplant auto companies to make any judgments about these numbers.  These comparable numbers are never presented.  Instead we are to take Heritage Foundation’s word for what they all mean in the greater scheme of things.