There's a SIMPLE reason, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Kia, have NO PENSION and FREE HEALTH CARE contracts. They use profit sharing and discounted corporare stock purchase programs along with a generous 401K match as a benefit package. Until the domestic car companies get out from under their pension and health care promises there'sno hope for them...........
all the UAW automakers let the UAW talk them into paying people to sit around and do nothing all day long. over the last 7 years there have been all kinds of stories of kids on the payroll, a jobs bank where people get paid to sit around and do nothing, bad manufacturing processes where most of the cars have problems and need to be fixed before going to a dealer, etc. UAW forced the automakers into these in the name of job security.
Boeing had this problem in the last strike. The union wanted all the parts delivered to one side of the building so some useless job can be there to take them to the other side where the production was taking place.
you get rid of some of these minor problems and you'll probably have enough money left over for retiree health care and all other kinds of things.
i've read cost estimates where the pay for Honda/Toyota and UAW workers is about the same including all benefits. Most of the Japaneese advantages are that their manufacturing is so much more efficient and the cost savings from there go to the employees