UAW Lives Off Its Savings

With membership down to a quarter of the union's peak size in 1979, dues are not enough to pay the bills at the UAW. The UAW continues to tap into savings to pay for its day-to-day operations, Reuters says.   According to the UAW's annual financial filing with the U.S. Labor Department, 16 percent of the UAW's cash receipts came from investment and asset sales in 2011, while union dues represented 47 percent. The UAW's membership increased slightly by 4,107, or 1 percent, to 380,719 last year. The UAW is still America's richest union, but most of its $1 billion plus wealth is tied up in its strike fund. "As a result, the UAW was forced to sell stocks, bonds and other assets to pay for its day-to-day operations during the most recent U.S. economic downturn as the number of dues-paying members fell," Reuters says. Even after adding new members, the UAW is forced to rely on investment sales to pay for day to day operations. Organizing the transplants is key to the UAW's survival. Failure to do so will result in more money drainage. Already, the balance sheet looks lopsided: The UAW reported assets of $1.04 billion in 2011 and liabilities of $7.1 billion. Cash receipts and disbursements both fell about 6 percent to roughly $258 million each.   from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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