Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16705 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 6:56 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
|
I have made my assumptions on the basis that the shirtmakers moved out of this country for a reason, and I cannot believe the reason was the climate...it was, most likely, labor cost... It is also possible that your price comparisons may be simply because some unions made concessions to keep the work here, so that you are seeing the RESULT of what a reasonable union might do when faced with 100% job loss...it is what we expect of of the UAW, but they will not concede enough to make the Big 3 profitable, so more plants will be closed and moved out of the country... My basic underlying premise is simple...most, not all, unions only serve to raise the cost of labor to a company and create serious roadblocks to eliminating the bad employees, so that the overall quality of whatever they do will severely decrease over time...now, if the product or service can tolerate the increased cost by raising prices, everything seems OK (think UAW 1980s, 1990s)...until it reaches the breaking point, either in cost or poor quality...that is what we have here in the UAW...cost went up, quality went way down, customers deserted the companies, and all the union can do is keep the worthless and useless on the assembly line, whereas Honda and Toyota can fire them at will, which is the way EVERY company should operate...if you can dump the bad ones in a heartbeat, the others learn very quickly that poor quality, poor attitude, poor workmanship will NOT be tolerated, a concept that is quite alien to the UAW, and will always be so, since they simply cannot "get it."
|
|
|
Replying to: cooterbfd (May 16, 2009 10:35 am) Otherwise, just axe the unions and it's cheaper all the way around.  Regards, OW |
|
|
Replying to: marsha7 (May 16, 2009 11:55 am) It very well may be the result of honest to goodness negotiations. But the fact is that they can STILL be made here competitively. But the fact is that Walmart dictates to these companies the price they will pay for "your" product, or the will get it from someone else. A small manufacturing company doesn't have the clout to say no. Levi's aren't made here anymore because "we" don't care about the quality of the jeans, "we" just want the cheapest, and "we" includes corporations like Walmart or K-Mart. You notice the price of an X-BOX is the same, no matter where you buy it. That's because the shoe is on the other foot.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: cooterbfd (May 16, 2009 12:17 pm) What we have here is the Wall Street mentality with financial shenanigans. A few years back there was a TV program (maybe more recently on cable) about how Walmart has setups in China to help companies quickly and easily start production of their products there. When companies don't want to reduce their prices enough for Walmart, they are shown how they can produce it in China and sell it to Walmart at the price Walmart wants (and probably make more profit than producing here in US). In other words Walmart has been a moving force in sending jobs out of the country. The idea that if goods were produced here at living wages then people would be able to buy those goods at a sometimes higher price because the people would have a higher income sounds right to me. As more jobs are moved out of any kind of union production to China et al, we lose. |
|
|
Replying to: cooterbfd (May 16, 2009 12:17 pm)
|
|
|
Replying to: marsha7 (May 12, 2009 6:01 am) My Uncle was a big commie union man and a machinist for Eastern. He had to work on repairing the rides for Disney after they folded. He and his buddies certainly showed those rich fat cats. 
|
|
|
Replying to: imidazol97 (May 16, 2009 12:23 pm) This forum has taken a sharp right turn away from the UAW and car industry to why are goods made in China. IMO, the goods are made in China simply because they can be made cheaper and greater profits can be realized by the retailer that sells them (Wally Mart). If a pair of shoes that retails for $100 can be made here for $80 but made in China for $20, then Wally Mart buys the Chinese made shoes and then sells the $100 pair for $90. Unions didn't kill the clothing industry here, sweat shop child labor in China did. And due to our US child labor laws, it was simply impossible to compete. |
|
|
Replying to: mikefm58 (May 16, 2009 5:13 pm) My mother and grandmother worked in a sewing factory during and after the War in Los Angeles. They worked piece work, which is a dirty word in the Union shops. They worked hard to support my sister and myself. I don't ever recall them referring to them as sweat shops. Maybe that was the workers that could not make any money on piece work. The Unions did play a part in pushing the garment industry out of the USA. Same as the UAW has played a part in the current mess.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: gagrice (May 16, 2009 5:21 pm) The UAW is like the guy who murdered both of his parents and then pled for mercy because he was an orphan...
|
|
You are here:
Forums
Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
