I have been absolutely fascinated by the concept of labor unions ever since Cal Ewing, the patron saint of high school economics, introduced them to me. The power of a labor union is polarizing. There are not many topics that divide people like the relevancy of labor unions. Some people feel that unions are the backbone of our country, while others feel that they are outdated. I'm not here today to give you my view on labor unions, but I am going to discuss the recent strike by the UAW.

This strike will be unlike any other strike in history. Americans are less financially secure today than they were during the last work stoppage. The workers will receive $200 per week if they chose to take a turn on the picket line. So I pose this question, what group will be more prepared for this work stoppage? GM, who has a 65 day supply of vehicles, or the UAW, who like most Americans, have very little emergency reserves saved up. It is hard to have leverage, when you don't have the resources to support your cause. GM can make it at least 65 days, while I would doubt if it is prudent for auto workers to be without income for 30 days.

The UAW wants long term job security. GM wants flexibility in its work force. Those two things don't match up. Add in health care costs and pensions, and you start to see how bad this situation is.

Here is the bottom line: Have this group of Americans done what they need to do to not work for a two month period? Did they plan for this? GM did. It looks like GM subscribes to my blog, let's hope the UAW does as well.