UAW Owns Championship Golf Couse, Has $1.23 Billion In Assets

[Spectre]

From the Washington Examiner - http://www.dcexaminer.com/opinion/Sh...lf_Course.html

Make UAW Sell its Championship Golf Course Before a Bailout

By EXAMINER EDITORIAL HOT ZONE
- 12/16/08

A view of the finely groomed Black Lake golf course owned by the UAW. (Michigan Golf) What do UAW executives and workers do to relax? They play golf at the union’s highly touted championship caliber Black Lake Golf Club, designed by Rees Jones. The UAW golf club is in secluded Onaway, MI, as part of the union’s Walter and Mary Reuther Family Education Center. Also part of Black Lake are a learning center, a practice facility with practice bunkers, chipping and putting greens, and a small, nine-hole par-three Little Course.

Golf Digest named Black Lake as one of top “upscale public courses.” And Michigan Golf described the course as a “classic” that includes “wide, well-groomed fairways [that] provide ample room for big hitters.” But some big hitters get special privileges at Black Lake. Tee times can be reserved up to two weeks in advance by UAW execs, compared to only three days for non-UAW duffers. Cost to play Black Lake is $95 per round.

Remember all the much-deserved bad press Detroit’s high-paid Big Three executives received last month when they flew in their corporate jets to beg Washington for a tax-paid bailout? Has anybody in Congress or the media bothered to ask UAW head Ron Gettelfinger about his union’s assets and perks like Black Lake Golf Club?

As head of one of the nation's most powerful unions, Gettelfinger doesn't earn nearly as much as Detroit's top CEOs. GM's Rick Wagoner, for example, made more than $14 million last year. But Gettelfinger's total compensation of nearly $160,000 annually far exceeds the U.S. median gross family income of $61,500 and puts him among the top five percent of all tax filers, according to U.S. Census Bureau and IRS data.

And the UAW is anything but poor, with net assets reportedly worth an estimated $1.23 billion. UAW membership has been declining for years, as it has for most major unions, but annual income from member dues, interest and other revenues exceeded $300 million in 2006.

Nice place. Why are we bailing these people out, again?

[Quiky]

The rich must survive!

[Rokovak]

Wow, it must really suck to be rich. Gotta keep the golf course, cuz ya know that's soooo vital to daily operations. How are these tortured souls supposed to get by otherwise?

[Ottobon]

This kind of brings up a subject some fat crippled old man told me about. Supposedly a big part of the problem is that theirs no real self-regulation, or regulation at all of how the big 3 spend their profits. Now i don't know any hard facts about it, but i wouldn't be surprised if it was a large part of the problem.

[Spectre]

Um... one problem... this isn't a GM property.

This golf course is owned by the "poor, downtrodden, repressed" UNION.

[leadfoot13]

Can anyone come up with a compelling argument for why unions should still exist nowadays? With all of the employment rights advancements made over the years, I don't see a reason why they should. There needs to be more accountability in this nation on all levels and worldwide for that matter.

[difiCa]

Originally Posted by leadfoot13

Can anyone come up with a compelling argument for why unions should still exist nowadays? With all of the employment rights advancements made over the years, I don't see a reason why they should. There needs to be more accountability in this nation on all levels and worldwide for that matter.

For the U.S. style union, i can't really see a point. But at least here, our unions are mostly like another loyalty program, pay a membership fee and while you're working, you'll get free stuff, discount coupons and other perks. The big use for unions here is that if you're an union member and get fired, they're able to help you in various ways, don't ask me much more of that, i'm not that familiar with union operations here, but this is how it tends to go on a very basic level.

[Dogbert]

Originally Posted by leadfoot13

Can anyone come up with a compelling argument for why unions should still exist nowadays? With all of the employment rights advancements made over the years, I don't see a reason why they should. There needs to be more accountability in this nation on all levels and worldwide for that matter.

Greed.

They used to fight for five day work weeks and standardized hours and fair pay, and now they fight for 30 year pensions and half hour bathroom breaks. They got what they were fighting for, once upon a time, but then just kept seeing how far they could take it.

At least in the auto industry, "how far" is rapidly approaching.

[Dogbert]

Originally Posted by leadfoot13

Can anyone come up with a compelling argument for why unions should still exist nowadays? With all of the employment rights advancements made over the years, I don't see a reason why they should. There needs to be more accountability in this nation on all levels and worldwide for that matter.

Greed.

They used to fight for five day work weeks and standardized hours and fair pay, and now they fight for 30 year pensions and half hour bathroom breaks. They got what they were fighting for, once upon a time, but then just kept seeing how far they could take it. At least in the auto industry, "how far" is rapidly approaching.

People are also still paranoid that the big corporations "will screw their employees over the first chance they get". This throws back to "what unions were good for" with collective bargaining, and because back in the day there wasn't that much choice in where you could work. Except now if General Motors, in a non-union society, decided to drop all it's wages to minimum wage... everyone could just quit, cash out their benefits, and go down the street to another factory. There's a lot of accountability that the government and the workers passively hold companies and factories to in the present day, without needing an active force to reinforce it.

[Steve Levin]

It would be interesting to know what the UAW's liabilities are as compared to its assets.

You can't judge things by a single asset.

Steve

[gtrietsc]

Amazing.

[GRtak]

This is not a closed course for the UAW only. Think of this as a bussiness that makes money to further the main operations. Is it a bit much? Well that would make me tell you how I feel about golf courses in the first place.

Unions are not a bad thing. They have simply lost perspective of what they exsist for.

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by GRtak

This is not a closed course for the UAW only. Think of this as a bussiness that makes money to further the main operations. Is it a bit much? Well that would make me tell you how I feel about golf courses in the first place.

Unions are not a bad thing. They have simply lost perspective of what they exsist for.

The only problem with that theory is that the course has apparently *never* made money for the UAW.

[Dogbert]

Originally Posted by GRtak

Unions are not a bad thing. They have simply lost perspective of what they exist for.

Doesn't that make them a bad thing, though? They can just become unnecessary overhead, as we're seeing today, since they have no clear direction. Their only purpose is "make things better for the workers", but if things are already fair for the workers, they're just pushing the envelope.

You raise a good point, though; how much money does this golf course take in?

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by Dogbert

Doesn't that make them a bad thing, though? They can just become unnecessary overhead, as we're seeing today, since they have no clear direction. Their only purpose is "make things better for the workers", but if things are already fair for the workers, they're just pushing the envelope.

You raise a good point, though; how much money does this golf course take in?

Apparently, it is a huge money pit for the UAW. From the Detroit Free Press (http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...SS01/809070512)

United Auto Workers' golf course losing millions

Down a lonely country road far from the interstate hangs a banner at the UAW's golf course: "Public welcome." But a review of the golf course and adjacent education center's financial statements indicate that not enough people have been visiting.

The UAW International's golf course and education center operations on 1,000 acres near Onaway have together lost $23 million over the past five years, independent audits obtained by the Free Press show. Both are run as for-profit corporations, according to paperwork filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, and the UAW has been propping them up with loans.

"There's a lot of debate over what to do," said Arthur Wheaton, a union expert from Cornell University. "They've been having trouble there trying to get enough people to go through there to justify the expense," he added.

The facilities are reminders of another time when the autoworkers' union was flush with dues-paying members. But now the U.S. auto industry is losing money, the UAW is losing members and some people are questioning the need to keep the money-losing operations.

The UAW and others defend the properties as important assets and point out that President Ron Gettelfinger has been aggressive about cutting costs to protect the union's financial health.

While the UAW International has a huge reserve of money, the union filed financial records with the federal government stating that it spent about $2.7 million more than it took in during 2007 -- the third time over the past five years that the union spending exceeded receipts, records show.

"All you have to do is look at the membership trends and realize that there was a golden age when they could easily support the education center," said Hal Stack, director of the Labor Studies Center at Wayne State University.

"It could be that either things turn around or they sell it," he added.

From a peak of 1.5 million members in the 1970s, the UAW ranks have dropped to just 465,000 regular members, according to its most recent federal filings.

In 2007 the UAW had receipts -- union dues, fees and other income -- of $327.6 million and it spent $330.3 million. While losing members, the UAW International, since at least 2000, has been able to hold fairly steady in the amount of money it brings in and spends, according to federal records. It has $1.2 billion in net assets.

Gregg Shotwell, a UAW activist, is not troubled to learn that the education center is losing money. "When you are educating and training union members, that's the business of the union. That's never a loss," Shotwell said.

But the golf course is a different story to Shotwell. "We should be running a union -- not a country club," he said.

The education center, which opened in the 1970s, was legendary UAW President Walter Reuther's dream -- a place where workers could "gather and learn and work together to build a community and solidarity that would help build a strong unity as part of the educational activity," said Roger Kerson, a UAW spokesman. "That vision has certainly succeeded."

Walter Reuther's vision

The Walter and May Reuther Family Education Center, or Black Lake, as it is often called, clearly holds a special place in UAW history.

"UAW members -- if you've never been to the UAW Family Education Center at Black Lake, it's worth begging your local union president for an opportunity to attend a conference here," Dona Jean Gillespie, of UAW Local 602 in Lansing, wrote on her blog, Blue Collar Heart, last month. "There's a peace here at Black Lake," as though Walter Reuther's spirit were present.

Last year, 9,000 members attended classes at the education center and 13,000 rounds of golf were played, including 1,000 donated for charity events and such, Kerson said. UAW members played 4,000 of the rounds, he said.

"The UAW family education center is an integral part of our union. It provides very important training and education activities for our members," Kerson said. He declined to talk about specific operation numbers or plans for the future.

The UAW Web site says the Black Lake facilities are funded from interest on the union's strike fund. "No union anywhere in the world offers an education center of this magnitude to its members. With its stunning design, beautiful location and warm, open atmosphere it is the envy of labor educators."

Course cost $6 million

The UAW opened the adjacent Rees Jones-designed golf course, which reportedly cost at least $6 million, in 2000, before Gettelfinger became the union's president. The UAW said that it has won several honors, including rankings by Golf Digest and Golf for Women magazines.

UAW members and retirees get a 20% and 30% discount, respectively, on greens fees, according to the course's Web site. Golf with a cart on a summer weekend costs $85 for 18 holes. The course offers five tees on nearly every hole to reflect a golfer's skill. The par 72 course can play from 5,058 yards to 7,030 yards.

"Our objective is to make it a state-of-the-art facility that continues to provide the best possible education for our members, while also giving the center the potential to be used during off times as a conference center for outside groups," the golf course's Web site quotes Gettelfinger saying.

Wheaton, the union expert from Cornell University, estimates that he has taught training courses at the Black Lake education center around 40 times over as many as 10 years. "We were part of doing training programs for the UAW and Ford several years ago, and they started to say instead of teaching in other places we want to do many more of our programs at Black Lake, specifically to help utilize the facilities," Wheaton said.

Wheaton said the UAW opened the golf course with the hope of attracting more people to the facility, even going so far as to invite the public.

Stack, the Wayne State labor expert, said the education center "has been losing money for some time."

"In the old days, they had a percentage of the per capita that supported the education center. Obviously when they had a million-and-a-half members, that was no problem," Stack said. "As they have declined in membership and dues income, their budget available to support the education center has subsequently declined."

Stack added: "Given what's going on in the economy, they don't have as many members to go up there as used to be going up there all of the time."

When the Detroit automakers hire workers at a second-tier wage allowed under the new labor contract, Stack said he could see an immediate need for the education center to help train new members. "One could argue that the educational effort becomes even more critical," he said.
Loans keep center afloat

Both the resort and golf course are held by a UAW-controlled holding corporation called the Union Building Corp, which is a not-for-profit organization that holds real estate for the union, records show.

The golf course is operated by a for-profit corporation called UBG Inc., which was set up for just that purpose, Labor Department records say. The education center, which reportedly has rooms to sleep 400 people, is operated by the for-profit UBE Inc. The union values the center at $27.3 million.

UBE's management of the education center has generated revenue of about $30 million over the past five years -- and net losses of $20.5 million. The operations were hit hard last year by a $5.9-million payment to an employee pension fund. And from 2003 to 2007, revenue at the education center dropped by 18%.

Over the same five years, revenue at the golf course dropped about 14%. Over five years, UBG has generated a net loss of $2.6 million. Records indicate that since opening in 2000 the golf course has never turned a profit.

Audits of both UBE and UBG by Clarence Johnson, a certified public accountant from Royal Oak, said UBE had a negative retained earning of $20.6 million and UBG had a $4.2-million negative retained earning at the end of 2007. The two entities had loans payable to the UAW International worth a total of $24 million.

Aside from the loans, UAW International's financial statements show expenses to the UBE for several conferences and other activities. In 2007 alone, the UAW International paid UBE $3.3 million for services.

Also, the union's executive board is authorized to transfer money to UBE "to help supplement the cost of education activities at the Family Education Center," a past financial statement to members said.

The losses at Black Lake are small compared with the UAW International's overall budget, said Sean McAlinden, an economist and labor expert from the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. "That's not going to bother them for a while, but I bet it's something that they're working at."

It has NEVER shown a profit. Ever.


There are some reports that the only reason it exists is as a perk for the union bosses.

GRTak, want to try and justify this giant money loser again?

[thedguy]

Originally Posted by Spectre

The only problem with that theory is that the course has apparently *never* made money for the UAW.

Few courses outside Florida/California (in the US) make money. American Golf is only able to keep it's courses outside those 2 states operating because of profits from California. In fact when they recently tried to sell most of them no body wanted to buy any of the non-CA courses.

So a course in Michigan makes a whole lot monetary sense, at least for the UAW

Originally Posted by GRtak

Unions are not a bad thing. They have simply lost perspective of what they exsist for.

What purpose might that be, the Socialist Revolution in America?