Morning Joe debunks claim that union autoworkers are "paid 70 bucks an hour"

On the December 4 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, co-hosts Joe Scarborough, Mike Barnicle, and Mika Brzezinski debunked the false claim, advanced by many in the media, that autoworkers employed by U.S. auto manufacturers receive $70 or more per hour in wages and benefits.

After Democratic strategist Bob Shrum noted that "there's this one crazy statistic" that autoworkers are "paid 70 bucks an hour," Barnicle said: "The $77 an hour thing is not true. It's the compilation of all the benefits." Scarborough later added, "[J]ust so everybody knows, when we talk about $77 or $45, we're not only talking about the money, the benefits, everything else, retirement, we're also talking about the money to -- the legacy costs of the existing retirees." Shrum replied, "It's health care for ... people retired 25 years ago. I mean, that money's not going to anyone who's working there now." Brzezinski replied, "And they have a lot to carry with that." Scarborough concluded: "It's very misleading when you're talking about $77 an hour in labor costs. "

As Media Matters for America has noted, according to General Motors, the figure representing the hourly cost of labor to U.S. automakers -- a cost that GM puts at $69 -- includes not only current workers' hourly wages and benefits, such as health care and retirement, but also retirement and health-care benefits that U.S. automakers are providing for current retirees. Notwithstanding this fact, numerous media figures and outlets have advanced the falsehood that autoworkers receive $70 or more per hour in wages and benefits, some using it to blame autoworkers for the domestic auto industry's financial straits.

From the December 4 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe:

SHRUM: There may be a better way, and I think the far better way is for Congress to come up with a serious plan, have a serious oversight board. Remember here that we're not just beating up the unions. After all, these are the people who represent those folks in Detroit. Well, there's this one crazy statistic, have you seen it? That they're paid 70 bucks an hour for auto workers?

BRZEZINSKI: Well, yes. This is debatable.

SHRUM: It's not true. It's --

BARNICLE: The $77 an hour thing is not true. It's the compilation of all the benefits.

SHRUM: Right. And the benefits of the retirees and the pensions of the retirees. It's actually about $28 an hour.

BRZEZINSKI: Really. OK, now we --

SCARBOROUGH: The thing is, even on that point, if you're comparing the $77 to the $45 that foreign automakers do, even that is only a two-year deal because they've already made corrective measures.

BRZEZINSKI: Renegotiated.

SCARBOROUGH: So, that $77 figure goes down to $45, $46 in 2010.

BARNICLE: And new hirees, I believe -- don't hold me to this -- but under the new contract that starts January 1, new hirees are receiving like $18 or $19 an hour, so it goes down even further.

SCARBOROUGH: And again, just so everybody knows, when we talk about $77 or $45, we're not only talking about the money, the benefits, everything else, retirement, we're also talking about the money to -- the legacy costs of the existing retirees.

BRZEZINSKI: Well, yes.

SHRUM: It's health care for -- health care for people retired 25 years ago.

BRZEZINSKI: Exactly.

SHRUM: I mean, that money's not going to anyone who's working there now.

BRZEZINSKI: And they have a lot to carry with that.

SCARBOROUGH: It's very misleading when you're talking about $77 an hour in labor costs.

BRZEZINSKI: That's true.