Assemble the circular firing squad - From the NYT "U.A.W. Picks G.M. as 'Strike Target'": "The talks are focused on the creation of a health care trust, the chief demand by G.M., the Ford Motor Company and Chrysler. G.M. has pushed the most heavily for such a trust because it faces a health care liability of about $55 billion for its workers, retirees and their families."

The Detroit automakers are just coming out of an extended slump and the unions are going to stick by their antiquated notion that promises made a half-century ago are valid in a 21st century economy. Good luck with that.