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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16738 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 10:07 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: tlong (May 04, 2009 11:13 pm)
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However there is the chance that he/she is serious about their mindset, after working CAW for that long. I agree. It does not take that many years of being around the UAW mentality to start believing the crap they are selling. That being an unskilled person is worth as much or more than someone with an earned degree or trade skill. It takes no more training to get someone productive in an auto factory than it does to teach someone to dig a straight ditch for a foundation footing. The UAW unskilled worker gets $100k per year with massive benefits, and the ditch digger that is lucky makes $40k per year with NO benefits.
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Replying to: gagrice (May 05, 2009 5:39 am) If it's a car it's a foreign name, although there are some exceptions - my next door neighbor just replaced a Passat with a Malibu, and another neighbor drives his Buick Company car. If it's a truck, it's domestic. The SUVs are split but over the years the Suburban has been generally replaced by the MDX et al.... and for the smaller SUV the Lexus RX 350 is ubiquitous
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Here's a Quick Inventory of Vehicles on My Street: GM Sedan: Buick LaCrosse- 2 Cadillac Brougham - 1 Cadillac DTS - 1 Cadillac DeVille -1 Cadillac STS - 1 Chevrolet Cobalt -1 Chevrolet Impala - 3 Pontiac G8 -1 GM Sedan Total = 11 GM Truck: Chevrolet Silverado- 2 Chevrolet Trailblazer -1 Chevrolet van - 1 GMC Acadia -1 GM Truck Total = 5 Ford Sedan: Ford Crown Victoria -1 Ford Taurus - 1 Lincoln Town Car -1 Mercury Grand Marquis - 1 Mercury Topaz - 1 Ford Sedan Total = 5 Ford Truck: Ford Expedition - 1 Ford F-150 - 1 Ford F-350 - 1 Ford Truck Total = 3 Asian All Vehicles: Honda Accord - 1 Honda Civic - 1 Lexus RX330 - 1 Mazda 6 - 1 Toyota Prius -1 Toyota Sienna -1 Subaru Legacy - 2 Asian Sedan Total = 8 European Sedan: BMW M5 -1 Mercedes E-Class -1 Mercedes S-Class -1 Maybach 57 -1 VW Jetta -1 European Sedan Total = 5 37 vehicles total - 64.9% Domestic / 35.1% Foreign GM = 43.2% Ford = 21.6% Asian = 21.6% European = 13.6% |
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Replying to: gagrice (May 05, 2009 5:46 am) Patron Services - Sales, Waitresses, etc. These jobs are best paid on 'widget counter' - the more sales, the more pay or tips. Creativity, charm and agressiveness are rewarded as these provide improved results. As the skills of the worker increase the company also receives increased benefits. Thus the costs of increased pay comes from increased benefits the company receives. Administrative Services - Clerical and accounting type job. These jobs are paid for skill and experience. Training and knowledge are rewarded as these provide improved results. As the skills of the worker increase the company also receives increased benefits. Thus the costs of increased pay comes from increased benefits the company receives. Crafts and Trades unskilled jobs- assembly jobs, warehouse jobs, cooks, etc. These jobs are paid on seniority. The factors which lead to increased rewards aren't really relevant here. The employee's productivity is limited by the equipment and the workload is set by factors beyond his control. Generally speaking, after 4 or 5 years on the job there are no gains in productivity to be obtained from these workers.... there's only so much you can do to cook burgers faster or assemble things more quickly. After the employee is trained, the company receives no benefits from which to pay additional salary costs. An aging workforce is a drag on costs not a benefit to performance. In the harshest but most objective sense, companies are best served by keeping pay and benefits low for unskilled jobs.... since the company receives no additional value from a 50 year-old warehouse worker at $20 per hour. They're better served by a 22 year-old warehouse worker at $12 per hour. The worker is best served by increasing his or her job skills and getting the hell out of those crafts and trades unskilled jobs before they get old. Note that there's a distinction between a finish carpenter and a rough carpenter. The young guy framing houses needs to learn a skill, say learning cabinet making. But what about those who just keep showing up for work, and (do a good job) doing the same job? The question becomes this - does the company owe a large paycheck to those who have stayed with a company during its profitable years, but who have not provided increased productivity to the company after their first 5 years. The UAW would say yes, but the economist would say that the workers should be rewarded only for the benefit they bring to the organization... since their contribution never increases(over time, in the same job), their pay shouldn't increase either. The best answer to this is a profit sharing model with comparatively low base pay but big bonuses in profitable years and no bonuses in bad years. Guess which model the Japanese chose? Why? Because in their rough years during the 50's and early 60's their companies weren't making any money consistently, and they didn't dare raise base wages. They weren't so smart... just forced by circumstances. Wonder if the UAW would agree to something similar during the current "dark ages"?
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Replying to: lokki (May 05, 2009 6:17 am) Our closest Lexus dealer is a real pain and it seems to be reflected in the lack of Lexus in our neighborhood. We have a lot more BMW and Mercedes SUVs than anything else. And both dealers are a lot further away. I kind of feel like a piker with my lowly Sequoia Limited. I would say the Cadillac dealer has done a good job selling Escalades. I have not seen a new Cadillac car in the vicinity though. I think Caddy and Buick cars are exclusive to retired military folks. Our neighborhood is mixed retired and yuppie. Most of the people out here needed more space to park motorhomes, travel trailers, boats and dunebuggies. If the UAW are depending on SoCA to bail them out, their are dreaming. No sense of buying junk to maintain the UAW worker's high flying lifestyle. Most unskilled workers in CA do not make half of what a UAW worker makes. And most are happy to get as much as they do. If the UAW would have accepted their lot in life back in 1998, things would probably be different now. The UAW workers made their bed and will have to sleep in it. Even if it is a park bench in the winter. |
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Replying to: lemko (May 05, 2009 6:24 am) Our demographic is much different. I would say their are 2 PU trucks or SUVs to every sedan in my neighborhood. Most of the PU trucks are GM 3/4 ton diesels. I don't know if they are made in a UAW shop or not. I know my 3/4 ton 4X4s were CAW built. Do they park them on the street. We have many areas where there is NO on street parking. If you do not have a concrete or paved location you cannot park your vehicle. No gravel or grass parking allowed. Big environmental no no.
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Replying to: lemko (May 05, 2009 6:24 am)  I should do this for the garage in my building, but I can guess it already: Civic/Corolla = 40% Accord/Camry = 25% (a few everyday other Japanese or Koreans mixed in with those) VW Jetta = 10% Various SUVs = 5% Domestics = 15% Oddball Euros or highline cars = 5%
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Replying to: fintail (May 05, 2009 8:14 am) The Topaz belongs to an elderly lady a few doors down. I think she had it since it was new!
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Replying to: gagrice (May 05, 2009 7:15 am) I leave one of my cars on the street. The rest are around the back of my house. I keep another car at a different property a block away. Fortunately, I live on a very wide street. Cars can be parked on each side with plenty of room between to make a U-Turn. |
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