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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: rockylee (Dec 17, 2008 7:00 am) Reality: That's baloney. But seemingly intelligent politicians such as President-elect Barack Obama have been swallowing it. Don't blame me I voted for the other guy. I think you are seeing our new Prez moving to the center far sooner than I would have guessed. It should make you happy as it is like a third Clinton Presidency. Obama is not buying into the UAW hype. All new simpler UAW contracts are needed to salvage what is left of a Domestic Auto Industry. GM over the last 40 years has been castrated by an overly powerful UAW. Perception: Americans have been demanding the small cars that GM and Detroit refuse to build. Reality: That's more perceptual junk. The reality is that most American consumers seek fuel economy only when pump prices are high. I do agree that Americans are knee jerk buyers. The imports such as Corolla and Civic are still doing even better than 2007 YTD. Corolla is up 5.6% for the year and Civic is up 4.4% with the Fit & Yaris coming on very strong this year. How is the Malibu and Aveo doing YTD? That is more important to GM surviving than how Honda or Toyota is doing. Toyota has not laid off any full time workers. Can you say that about GM? Toyota also has their people doing menial work to keep them employed. Why does GM and the other domestics not use the excess UAW people to shovel snow or mow the lawns? Perception: All Detroit needs is deep restructuring and federal bailout money for long-term viability. Reality: Wrong. Detroit needs what America sorely needs -- a Congress with the leadership chutzpah to devise and implement industrial and energy policies that will help to keep native manufacturing industries alive. I do agree that the 110th Congress is the WORST in the history of the USA. Again I did not vote for any of those losers. As a taxpayer I want to see some Fiscal responsibility. GM has not shown any over the last 20 or more years. What makes you think they will do any better in the future? They have rolled over and let the UAW trample the greatest company on earth into the Michigan dirt. That, I blame on a HORRIBLE management team headed up by Wagoner. When he buckled to the UAW in 1998 he gave up the last chance at survival, to sell a few more SUVs. That was total Stupidity on Wagoner's part. He should have chained the gates and said sorry boys we are moving where we can make a decent profit. Instead he just added to an already lopsided UAW contract and over the last 10 years squandered the wealth of General Motors. The GM you see today is pathetic begging for crumbs from Congress.
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Replying to: gagrice (Dec 17, 2008 7:56 am) -Rocky
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Dec 17, 2008 7:29 am) So what? It would not have hurt the views of most Americans. With the $72 billion that GM has pissed away over the last 4 years they could have built all new factories in states that were not so repressive as Michigan. They could have had the latest and greatest with NO worries about the UAW striking. Not all states in this country are as anti profit as the Midwestern states. Why does Indiana & Kentucky seem to attract both Union and Non Union auto makers while Michigan and Ohio do not? think Time Magazine's Man of the Year will do that with part of the $600 million campaign funds having come from labor? It depends just how much of a pragmatist he turns out to be. I think he is leaning toward spending billions on putting people that are currently out of work and hurting into meaningful jobs. It is hard to look at the over paid UAW workers sitting eating jelly donuts and reading the newspaper as hurting. That is a perception based on reality. Just a small part of the 2000+ pages of UAW contracts that need to be tossed in the fire. The biggest obstacle at the Big 3 for this new President will be their lack of cars that meet the new CAFE standards coming up. Do any domestics have a car for next year that meets the 35 MPG combined mandate? Why should he bail out companies that do not build what the government mandates? You are right it will be interesting. |
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Replying to: rockylee (Dec 17, 2008 8:06 am) That is just not true. We have more tariffs on Imported vehicles than Japan. You are in denial on the global economy. I can tell you the new Congress and President are not in any way going to do anything to slow the World economy. NAFTA was signed by Bill Clinton and you can see this new administration is filled with Clinton people. The only reason the Big 3 and the UAW did well in the 1990s was the Dot.com bubble and the massive market for SUVs and PU trucks. This new President has denounced that kind of vehicle. He is pushing for smaller fuel efficient cars. The only really small car that GM has is the Aveo coming from Korea. How does that help the UAW cause?
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Replying to: 62vetteefp (Dec 17, 2008 4:20 am) Good question. What about the family living in the woods? One of those tribal families? |
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Replying to: rockylee (Dec 17, 2008 7:00 am) Reality: GM knows darn well how to make small cars. It's been doing so for decades in Europe, South America and Asia. The problem is, absent high fuel prices, GM has no earthly idea how to get Americans to buy small cars -- at a profit to GM. What is this supposed to mean? If they know how to sell small cars at a profit in other parts of the world, how come it cannot do so in their own backyard? |
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Replying to: lemko (Dec 17, 2008 7:55 am)
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Replying to: rockylee (Dec 17, 2008 8:06 am) Everybody is blaming the GM management and UAW for the mess. At least the GM management is owning up to it and willing to work for peanuts as repentance. What does UAW do? It had only 3 words......"Go !  #% Off" ?
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Replying to: imidazol97 (Dec 17, 2008 7:29 am) I don't understand this at all. What "problems" have the transplants caused? They've built factories here in the U.S. & hired American workers. Would you prefer that foreign manufacturers build all of the cars that they sell here in Germany & Japan?
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Replying to: gagrice (Dec 17, 2008 8:40 am) |
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