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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16701 messages, Last post on Nov 20, 2009 at 3:39 AM
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Replying to: dave8697 (Dec 07, 2008 6:06 pm) This is the UAW propaganda and so many people have followed it hook, line, and sinker. "They make a car in 20 hours" I'm sure you know enough about the auto industry to know that these are not the only labor hours involved: - You didn't account for the worker benefits - all US-sourced parts are made here and use lots of labor - US workers transport parts to the factory - US workers make many of the raw materials that go to the parts factories - US workers transport those raw materials to the parts factories - US trains and trucks transport those Civics to the dealers - US citizens manage the Honda dealership - US salespeople sell the cars All of those above costs are included in the cost of the car! And since the profit margin on a $20K car is under 10%, no more than 10% of the cost can go to Japan as profits! So your pathetic example that claims only $290 in base wages is important is totally wrong! |
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Replying to: dave8697 (Dec 07, 2008 6:06 pm) That is pretty funny when we still occupy Japan and Germany. Not to mention all the other countries around the world. The Japanese also have banks in most major US Cities. I doubt that much of that Civic you described being built ends up ever leaving our shores. As soon as GM gets liquidated their will be capacity for parts mfg that can be utilized by Honda on those Civics. The more parts made here the better. Maybe you should ask the employees that built my Sequoia how they like working for Toyota. I can tell you one thing. They did a heck of a lot better job on it than the GMC shop in Indiana did on my 2005 GMC PU truck. As far as robots. What do you call a UAW guy that installs lug nuts all day long? Progress will run over you or anyone else that tries to stop it. Robots are here to stay. Thank goodness for that. I would hate to think I was nothing more than a human robot. The job to have is designing, building, testing and maintaining the robots. All jobs that take a brain. How many of the rubber room occupants took advantage of that free ride, and got some training in other fields? And how many just sat watching cartoons and eating jelly donuts? Probably telling each other they can't get along without us. We are the most important part of the industrial base. GM and the Big 3 have gotten passed by. Ford is hanging on by a thread. The sooner GM dies the more chance that Ford will survive. |
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Replying to: tlong (Dec 07, 2008 11:28 am)  Let us look at how Singapore deals with the fact that it is surrounded by countries which have much much lower wages (Singapore will rank at par with the US, while Indonesia / India etc are even lower than Mexico - so the wage differential is even higher than what US competes against). I remember being in Singapore during the 1997 crisis, and the cab driver - a Singapore national who had been laid off from a company designing circuit boards - was bitterly complaining about how the Government was not helping Singaporeans, but (and he pointed at some construction sites) was allowing import of cheaper labor from Indonesia and Bangladesh. The argument made by the Govt was that Singaporeans need to upgrade their skills and NOT try to compete in labor intensive industries where Singapore can never win. And to force their citizens in that direction, they kept the low end labor market open (thus effectively removing the option of Singaporeans taking refuge in some protected sector). The fact that Singapore came out of the crisis a much stronger economy, and now is a leading player in Finance and biotechnology (also services - Think Singapore Airlines), while Indonesia / Malaysia remain where they were then - Do you think it has anything to do with the harsh decisions taken by the Government in 1997? Certainly worth thinking about. |
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 07, 2008 8:54 am) It has had an interesting effect on the market. The high tariffs on rice have kept the price high, while the price of bread (wheat does not have those traiffs since Japan produces very little wheat) has been relatively low. Over a period of time, Japanese consmers have started eating more and more wheat based products, reducing their rice consumption. So the high tariffs have actually had a negative impact on the rice producers.... In an open market, such manipulation is rarely successful. |
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Replying to: lemko (Dec 06, 2008 4:10 pm) I am merely explaining why the Japs are so good at what they do....nothing more. However, you said, and I quote " I guess you think it's a good thing to work yourself to death while forsaking your family and friends for the good of your Asian masters." To an extent, Yes is the answer. One has to be diligent in his work. I cannot and will not walk away from work because I have to attend my son's birthday party. I would miss the b'day party if my presence at the workplace would resolve a major issue and keep the business running. |
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Replying to: tlong (Dec 07, 2008 11:22 am) Also, due to higher taxes in Japan, Japanese companies WILL NOT repatriate earnings to Japan. Currently more than 100Bn USD of earnings are lying outside Japan (this cash must be invested in something....), and the Japanese Government is now desperate to get it back to Japan. http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINT26990820080509 In modern capitalism, the companies are there to maximize returns, not fly the national flag. (By the way, this number is a small fraction of the total sales that Japanese companies have overseas, proving tlong's point)
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Replying to: marsha7 (Dec 03, 2008 7:22 pm)  Glad to see you made it back....Thanks for the compliments though !!! I got a loooong drive from Grand Rapids, MI to Troy, MI in the morning !!! It's only 2 1/2 hrs away in normal weather but with this snow I'm afraid I will have to leave extra early !!! I'm happy I will have my bosses demo for the week a 2009' Aura XR 3.6 "High Feature" V6 "Black on Black" I will be XMing it all the way there !!! I hope 62' will bring Slick Rick, LaNeve, Henderson, Lutz, and come by and see me !!! Senator Dodd, wants to get rid of Wagoner, but that white haired dude soon forgets he gave Wallstreet, a blank check and because the big 3 didn't write him a ripper for campaign contributions he's going to hold them to a higher moral level ??? Jeff Sessions, is playing the same game. We all said if it was Toyota, that he'd be on his hands and knees asking for a bailout !!!  The bottom line is Wagoner, despite his mistakes is a very smart guy. Sure if 62' and him come beg me to work for them I might think about it !!! I could replace Lutz, when he decides to hang up the gloves !!!   -Rocky |
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Replying to: snookered (Dec 03, 2008 10:20 pm) -Rocky |
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Replying to: tlong (Dec 03, 2008 8:50 pm) -Rocky |
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Replying to: rockylee (Dec 07, 2008 9:05 pm) However, I'm willing to run the experiment on a bankruptcy. But that's just my opinion, its Congress who's going to decide (and we all know how bright that bunch is in managing finances!).
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