At the beginning of this week, GM filed for bankruptcy. They announced they would be slashing about 20,000 jobs. That doesn’t count the jobs that will be lost in the related job sector either.

Today, Wal-Mart has announced that it is planning to open new stores and remodel older ones.  This is expected to open about 22,000 new jobs.  That does not include those in the related sectors, either.

So, what’s the difference?  Why is GM in bankruptcy and slashing jobs while Wal-Mart is expanding?  Aren’t they both in the same country, economy?  Isn’t GM the American icon and Wal-Mart the anti-Christ?

There is one word that is the difference; unions.  GM has worked a deal with the devil, UAW, and Wal-Mart employees continually vote down unionization.

The difference is that GM has allowed the union to dictate it’s business practices over the years.  They have caved to unreasonable wages and benefits.  The union has negotiated those benefits to the point that GM can no longer compete in its industry and cannot remain profitable.

Wal-Mart, on the other hand, has done what it can to remain at the top of its industry.  They have ensured that their prices are lower than anyone else.  This has kept buyers coming back and ensured that in an economy with high instances of forclosure and unemployment, they are talking about expansion, not bankruptcy.  The day Wal-Mart files for Chapter 11, pack up the kids, it’s time to leave.

Does this mean Wal-Mart is saintly?  No.  Their wages are decent for their industry, but they generally offer little or no benefits.  They do tend to treat employees like replacable commodities, rather than partners, as they claim, but that is the price us consumers are willing to allow so we can have our cheap products.

The problem is that there must be some middle ground, though, it most likely lives closer to the Wal-Mart model than GMs.  It also would not include unions, as their very design is to drive up prices by demanding a larger share of the profit than ownership is willing to endure, or should endure, as the workers have no risk involved.

So, maybe those 20,000 unemployed GM workers could find a Wal-Mart store to work at.  They’d have to leave their union demands at the door, though, and work for about 14 percent of what they are used to, but at least they’d have a job with a little more stability.