Too little too late

I didn't comment on this (see here as well) when it originally came out in the news. Since then, there has been a new development:

The UAW has apologized to U.S. Marine Corps reservists and reversed its stand on which Marines can use the UAW parking lot. But it's too late -- the Marines have moved on.

And rightly so. You don't dis the finest fighting force in all of history and expect them simply to forget about the slight.

After several days of bad publicity, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger -- a former Marine reservist -- retracted the decision Monday. "I made the wrong call on the parking issue," Gettelfinger's statement said.

Ya think?!? And since he's a former Marine reservist, I guess it's possible to be an ex-Marine after all despite the old adage to the contrary. This guy put political considerations above supporting the men and women who are fighting and dying for this country and for his freedom to make these kind of boneheaded mistakes.

"I'm glad he decided to change his decision," said Lt. Col. Joe Rutledge, commanding officer of the Marine Corps Reserve Center.

But the apology came too late. "The decision's already been made that we're not going to park there," Rutledge said. "We've already made other arrangements to park elsewhere."

There's more from Lt. Col. Rudledge in this more in-depth article at The Detroit News:

Wounded by what they consider an unpatriotic ambush, the Marines rejected the union's olive branch and secured an alternative parking lot.

"I talked to Ron; I let him know that I understand he has rescinded his decision," said Lt. Col. Joe Rutledge, a top-ranking officer at the reserve infantry rifle battalion. "However, I've made my decision -- either you support the Marines or you don't."

I'm willing to bet the Lieutenant Colonel had some choice words he really wanted to say, but refrained from doing so in the interests of public relations. More from the second article:

Gettelfinger and other top UAW International officials say Bush is blatantly anti-labor and has opposed measures that could have benefited working men and women.

UAW leaders backed Democratic challenger John Kerry and his running mate John Edwards in last year's election.

Just because a measure benefits working men and women doesn't mean it's a good one. Every time there's a "benefit" there's also a "cost." Unions served a vital purpose in ending the exploitation of labor by large corporations. Now that's not really an issue anymore but the unions are still around and still trying to have their cake and eat it, too. And that support for Kerry by the UAW was paid for with union dues which auto workers were forced to pay and had no say in how they were spent. You ask me, unions should be barred from supporting political campaigns with compulsory dues. Why wasn't *that* in McCain-Feingold?

Tip of the hat for the first article to Mike who had this to say on the subject:

It’s enough to make me consider a Toyota next time around—and boy, let me tell you, I NEVER thought I’d say those words. Congrats, Smiley – you guys are getting so good at shooting yourselves in the foot somebody oughta be giving out marksmanship badges for it.

And another to Kim du Toit for the second article who commented on the situation in his own inimitable style:

And you know what? Now that the UAW has exposed themselves for the fucking bastard socialist Democrat supporters that they really are (not that we didn’t know it already, but it’s always nice to get confirmation), let me add this:

When I get round to replacing the F-150, I’m still not going to buy a car that has been built by UAW labor.

Suck on that, asswipes.