The UAW backs down, but the Marines don't

I blogged here earlier about the UAW's extremely ungracious conduct with respect to Marine reservists who used to use their parking lot. Here's the update:

The United Auto Workers union waved a white flag Monday in its parking skirmish with neighboring reservists, but the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines are not accepting surrender. Facing intense criticism, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger reversed his decision to ban Marine Corps reservists driving foreign cars or displaying pro-President Bush bumper stickers from parking at the union's Solidarity House headquarters in Detroit. 'I made the wrong call on the parking issue, and I have notified the Marine Corps that all reservists are welcome to park at Solidarity House as they have for the past 10 years,' Gettelfinger said in a statement. Wounded by what they consider an unpatriotic ambush, the Marines rejected the union's olive branch and secured an alternative parking lot.

The same article mentions that the UAW's original decision reflected the Union's deep hostility to George Bush, but it's clear that the Union made a big mistake in going after the military, too. Indeed, in my earlier post, I'd questioned whether the union rank and file agreed with this management decision, and it turns out that many did not: "The UAW's reversal Monday followed a barrage of criticism from both union members and nonunion members."