Trench Collapse

Not much news comes out of Kenosha so I figure I should do some citizen reporting on the recent trench collapse on Green Bay Road:

A Racine man was killed Wednesday while installing a sewer line for a new Wal-Mart Supercenter near Kenosha.

Authorities said Juan Oviedo, 52, was in a trench up to 30-feet deep and the wet soil flowed around him causing him to be trapped.

Two co-workers were trying to free Oviedo when rescue personnel arrived a little before nine a.m.

At that point, he was talking and was freed to around his chest. But the unstable ground kept caving in. Officials said the soil was filling the trench as fast as they could dig it out.

By late morning, a mudslide formed, and Oviedo was dead. It took about 12 more hours to recover his body.

I was driving to Regency Mall in Racine last night when I saw an incredibly bright light near County S (I live near there) on the lot of a massive construction site. For the last few months they have been moving dirt around in great quanities with their nifty yellow machines and ever morning I drive past dozens of guys in pickup trucks drinking their coffee before the day starts.

I just assumed it was more construction work until I got closer and saw there were several cranes set up as lighting fixtures and visual cacophony of blue and red emergency lights. Around the emergency vehicles and on down the road were nearly a dozen news vans with their camera towers fully extended.

On the way home at around 8:30 PM there had been only an increase in activity and news presence. I wish I had brought a camera but didn't. Hopefully Christmas will take care of that for me. Anyway, this morning the activity had much diminished and reading the account in the news makes it clear why.

Rest in peace, sir. I can't think of a much more horrible way to go.

Saving the Auto Industry

For decades, the unions have strangled already ailing auto manufacturers in the United States without allowing for the fact that they were hemorrhaging money. It never occured to the menoras that they may want the shark to live.

Recent developments, while not perfect, seem to be trending in the right direction:

The UAW and Chrysler, the third-largest U.S. automaker, announced a settlement late yesterday that will bring workers back to plants today. In a similar showdown last month, GM employees staged a two-day strike before the carmaker agreed to invest in a health fund. The commitment by Chrysler matches GM's on a percentage basis.

The agreements attempt to narrow the cost gap between the U.S. automakers and Japanese rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Chrysler will spend $11 billion to finance a union-run health fund and will pay beginning employees lower wages while protecting the jobs of others, people with knowledge of the negotiations said.

"Chrysler's labor costs will be a lot like those at Japanese automakers in the U.S.,'' said Dan Luria, an analyst at the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Institute in Plymouth, Michigan, after being told of the terms. ``In return, the UAW gets a certain amount of jobs, but it isn't all the jobs they have now.''

Under the contract, Chrysler's $11 billion would create a trust fund giving the UAW control of an estimated $19 billion in future retiree health-care liabilities. Chrysler's investment, amounting to 60 percent of those obligations, takes the retiree liabilities off its books.

The idea that the UAW is willing to make even the most trifling concessions to one of the Big Three demonstrates that they mah have finally realized the realities of the situation. Chrysler cannot pay them more or up the benefits. They already can't compete. Slashing their hamstring any further would just take them out of the race completely.

Now we see two of the three making very similar deals with the UAW in which they offload their health benefits to the union while implying that any future workers will be paid at a much lower (more reasonable) level which might keep them competitive. I hope so.

An aside...

I live in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which was once a major Chrysler town after being an epicenter of AMC manufacturing. In the late 80's they shut down the main Chrysler factory leaving only the engine plant. This was exactly when I moved there and even as a child I remember the epic pronouncements of doom and gloom from the now jobless Chrysler employees. It turns out, it was the best thing that could ever happen to the city. The elimination of run-down manufacturing areas allowed commercial and retail ventures to thrive and thousands of people moved in to take advantage. Kenosha is now much larger with a healthy tourist industry and a much lower crime rate.

Packers fans aside, it is a pretty great place to live. I'd like to get some comparative images Lileks-style to demonstrate just how stark the difference is.