In the wake of the General Motors and Chrysler’s bankruptcies, United Auto Workers finds itself in a complicated position. In some sense it has achieved a Marxist ideal: it has gained (at least some) control of its means of production. The UAW owns 55 percent of Chrysler and 17.5 percent of GM. Consequently, however, the UAW is placed in a strange situation when negotiating with Ford.
A key provision of proposed legislation to bailout General Motors and Chrysler, which say they are on the brink of insolvency, may be an unconstitutional taking of private property. The Takings Clause of the Constitution has been the subject of considerable public interest since the Supreme Court’s Kelo decision involving the taking of a private residence for the benefit of a pharmaceutical manufacturer. To protect taxpayers, the legislation requires that government loans to the automakers be given priority over all other debt held by the companies. In general, when a …
