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Being a government employee, I can assure you that we don't always have it better than the private sector. Compared to my previous private sector job, my medical benefits were better (company paid all premiums, and the deductible and copays were a lot lower), retirement benefits were better (gov't doesn't offer up stock options that would automatically vest after a fixed period), and the paycheck was better. About the only advantage my government job has is job security, but even that's not a guarantee.
With that said, there's a general assumption here that if if the UAW made significant concessions then GM and Chrysler would be profitable again. That is simply not true. UAW workers could offer to work for free and GM/Chrysler would still be in the same financial bind. Their problem isn't the UAW, their problem is that the Cobalt isn't a car worth considering against the Civic or Corolla, much less the Focus. Their problem is that they didn't direct their engineering talents that brought them the Silverado and Surburban over to the Impala. Their problem is that they turned Saturn from the best idea GM could've ever came up with into just another ho-hum brand (they don't even build Saturns at their Spring Hill, TN plant anymore). Their problem is that when Chrysler was acquired by Daimler, they forced out the team of designers and engineers who brought forth the Neon and Avenger---cars that were rough around the edges to be sure, but were as distinctive to the automotive landscape back then as the Taurus was back in 1986. The problem is that Chrysler replaced them with unattractive and uninspiring cars like the Caliber, Avenger, and Crossfire. The problem is that somebody thought it was a good idea to make a Jeep that is incapable of travelling off road (Compass). The problem is that they failed to follow up on the rare success that the 300C/Charger had become. 3/4th of their problem stems from a flawed culture and an inept corporate governance that fostered it. Now it's obvious that the UAW's aggresssion in negotiation tactics has come back to bite them, but to pin their woes on the UAW is to find a scapegoat and miss the real troubles of what ails GM and Chrysler.
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Cameron originally envisioned the Terminator as a small, unremarkable man, giving it the ability to blend in more easily. As a result, his first choice for the part was Lance Henriksen. O. J. Simpson was on the shortlist but Cameron did not think that such a nice guy could be a ruthless killer.
-From the Collector's Edition DVD of The Terminator
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