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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16667 messages, Last post on Nov 10, 2009 at 3:38 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 29, 2008 9:08 pm) You may be right and you may be wrong. He did not sound that enthusiastic about the GM bailout. Remember he has the enviro whackos to please also. They are in DIRECT conflict with your UAW brethren and GM. GM has done nothing to really look GREEN. The Volt is a big joke. Their hybrids are an even bigger joke. At least Ford has leading edge hybrid technology that is on the highways. GM only has trailing edge hybrid junk to try and please the green weinies that are controlling Congressional Democrats. Remember Obama has an Escape Hybrid and a Chrysler 300 in his garage. He drives the 300 to visit the So Side of Chicago and the hybrid for all the Eco weinies to see. NO GM in the stable. He may have a non Union job ditch digging for all those out of work UAW guys. They may have to move to Louisiana or Alabama to get a job.
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 29, 2008 9:17 pm) |
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 29, 2008 7:14 pm) Excellent Point ! Hopefully the UAW and the manufacturers will come to workable solutions, before they all go out of business. Kip |
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 29, 2008 7:14 pm) Child labor, uhm? Is that what took out GM and Chrysler and put Ford in trouble? Wow - you must know something I don't. Why don't you call CBS so they can make a demaskatory piece on all those children employed at Toyota's and Honda's factories and their suppliers. Pleaaaazeee 
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Replying to: gagrice (Dec 29, 2008 9:21 pm) The Big Three and the UAW aren't responsible for the current economic climate. The very fact that all of the auto makers are finding it hard to sell cars is evident. The UAW is for more consumer choice, not less. However, the UAW would rather encourage buy American and buy UAW made goods/services. Its just good business. There is good reason that those so called transplants pay a competitive wage aka the prevailing wage. They don't want their workforce to opt for UAW representation. If they don't pay a livable/compatible wage, those workers will vote in the union. You seem to forget that many of these same companies migrated from the north to the south. They did so to avoid the union. It wasn't too long after, that the southern workers voted in the union/UAW for representation. The equalization/globalization factor seems to be altogether avoided as a topic of discussion. The very same thing that occurred as factories moved below the Mason Dixon line. Many economist are now predicting that manufacturing will be moving back into the country. They see the weak dollar making American exports more attractive overseas. I'll have to see that, to believe that. Then too there is a move to unionism in China and other countries with oppressed workers. At this very moment there are labor leaders jailed in China. Lastly, the stereotypical indolent duffer that you label UAW worker is a far cry from those I've come across. They are just ordinary people working to support their families. No different than the non union workers out there trying to make their families lot in life better. Your outlook is rather pessimistic. I'll bet there were those back in the day, when the 364 day/no weekend/no benefits/working for life's basics, also said that the end of the gravy train was over. Little did they know that consumerism would include a large middle class and not just an elite privileged few. This was far better for everyone, the companies made more profits and our standard of living was the envy of the world. Consumerism is and will be the true downfall of communism/socialism and big labor/UAW has a part in it. As those folks in China see consumer products that ordinary Americans enjoy, they will want the same. Besides, if we just didn't have the consumer society and or that consumer has no means to buy, who the hell is going to buy the goods and services produced by the corporations? I don't know if its a good or bad thing, but our nation consumes more than any other on the planet. America fuels the world economy. The Japan's/China's/India's and others seek our markets. Think about it and what the implications of shipping all of the jobs overseas. Just how much does a Walmart employee's check buy? Can they buy a new car or are they looking on the used car lot? American jobs fuel this economy and are that goose that lays the golden egg. Apple was bailed out by Microsoft. Since then they went on to beat down the famous Sony Walkman brand and are the leader in MP3 players/IPOD's and look to get their IPHONE market going. Another IAMERICAN story of beating the odds after a bail out.
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 30, 2008 5:44 am) Please don't forget that the Microsoft-Apple transaction was not a taxpayer-funded bailout. Microsoft chose to invest $150M in Apple for reasons that made good business sense back then (1997) to Bill Gates. I had no problem with that, just as I would have no problem if, say, BMW chose to invest money in GM in return for an equity stake in Cadillac. That would be fine with me. But I do have a big problem with the nutty idea that American taxpayers have some sort of obligation to ride to the rescue of the domestic car makers. That's not an investment. That's a state-sanctioned mugging.
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Replying to: dino001 (Dec 30, 2008 5:27 am) Just because your unaware of it, doesn't mean that it isn't happening. The Toyota/Honda have much more to worry about as Chindia (China and India make up a third of the worlds population) awakens. You seem to think that everyone on the planet lives by the American standard. I respect your opinions and views, but disagree that this evolution and or morphing is just a carefully planned progression. First, see who owns the media outlets. Then see why a large chemical corporation kept the dairy hormone story off the air. The very same chemical that is banned in Europe and Canada. http://www.takebackthemedia.com/owners.html http://anti-union.blogspot.com/2008/10/video-fox-news-monsanto-cover-up-bovine.h- tml Second, watch that "Darwin's Nightmare" documentary. http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/darwinsnightmare
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Dec 29, 2008 5:50 pm) First what would a golden parachute be? Most salaried employees today get some kind of money to leave a company. It used to 2 weeks salary I thought but it seems like many get one year of salary. And it is just not the auto companies in this. Last night I was with someone who was let go from an advertising firm due to downsizing. His one year is almost up. So from this a one year payment would not be considered a golden parachute? Or would it be? From Wikipedia: A golden parachute is an agreement between a company and an employee (usually upper executive) specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated. Sometimes, certain conditions, typically a change in company ownership, must be met, but often the cause of termination is unspecified. These benefits may include severance pay, cash bonuses, stock options, or other benefits. They are designed to reduce perverse incentives. So I would say a one year severance package would not be a golden parachute. It would be some kind of pre agreed package. I do not believe any GM execs have this. Would it be in the financials of a company?
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Replying to: jimbres (Dec 30, 2008 6:04 am) Good point! However, my contention is that there is life after a bail out. Unfortunately, Bill Gates is retired. I did meet his father in law, years ago. Great person and his daughter did well. Then too I met/saw Bill at the COMDEX. These new billionaires are a far cry from the greedy wanna be groups of the past. Warren Buffet and some other older ones excluded. Well educated and wanting to make a difference they are the future. I understand they are dealing with the problems in the third world and have their hands full. I respect and support their efforts. We could go on to the saying. What would a smart man/Bill Gates/Melinda Gates/Warren Buffet do? If you ever have the chance to see Microsoft, I think you would agree that its a perfect model for future corporations. Then again they have our best and brightest working there.
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