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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
16705 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 6:56 PM
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Replying to: m4d_cow (Jan 24, 2009 6:22 am) |
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Jan 23, 2009 2:46 pm) Sorry, but brand-new foreign cars - except for the Hyundais and Kias - tend to be more expensive than their domestic competitors. And they retain a higher percentage of their sale price when it comes time to trade them. People who buy foreign cars tend to buy them because they want them, NOT because they can't afford anything better. It's the domestics that are more likely to be sold on the basis of price, or the "deal," as opposed to their merits.
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Replying to: fordexpo (Jan 24, 2009 4:36 pm) "We don't want to borrow any more money. We have sufficient liquidity to fund our transformation plan, which means our business is in a relatively good shape," Mulally told reporters on the sidelines of the National Automobile Dealers Association convention. Kudos to Ford for doing a lot of things right. Even Bill Ford was smart enough to know that he was the wrong person to be CEO, so he hired Mulally. Not like Wagoner and the GM Board of idiots. Let's support Ford and let GM and Chrysler rot.
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Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Jan 24, 2009 6:40 pm) I notice when he's asked a direct question he brings up Congress, bankers, history, philosophy, phases of the moon, economic theories, political theories, why everybody else are a bunch of crooks, etc., without answering the question in regards to the UAW. As if multiple wrongs of others make the UAW right. |
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Replying to: grbeck (Jan 24, 2009 10:20 pm) I am gladly paying $22,000.-- for my Honda Element!!! It is solid as a tank and will easily go 300,000 miles. After a nightmare experience with a ford and a gm product I have 4 HONDAs decorating my driveway, and all are nothing but maintenance and driving!!!! In '97 I wanted to give the domestic industry a shot at it with a lincoln continental. This is (was) the worst POS ever hanging around my property! When I asked ford to stand straight for their flag ship brand, I was told to f... off! NEVER again will a ford product be seen in my driveway!!! BTW: I could easily buy a matched set of MBZs or BMWs, but I am of the opinion that Honda is the best value for the $$$$ spent! ...my opinion, of course!
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Replying to: wiseman (Jan 24, 2009 6:55 pm) A similar pattern of authoritarian control and stubbornness marked Ford's attitude toward his workers. The $5 day that brought him so much attention in 1914 carried with it, for workers, the price of often overbearing paternalism. It was, moreover, no guarantee for the future; in 1929 Ford instituted a $7 day, but in 1932, as part of the fiscal stringency imposed by falling sales and the Great Depression, that was cut to $4, below prevailing industry wages. Ford freely employed company police, labour spies, and violence in a protracted effort to prevent unionization and continued to do so even after General Motors and Chrysler had come to terms with the United Automobile Workers. When the UAW finally succeeded in organizing Ford workers in 1941, he considered shutting down before he was persuaded to sign a union contract. |
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Replying to: grbeck (Jan 24, 2009 10:20 pm) http://www.forbes.com/2008/02/29/resale-value-autos-cars-forbeslife_cx_jm_0229re- sale.html |
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Replying to: tlong (Jan 24, 2009 10:56 pm) As if multiple wrongs of others make the UAW right. The UAW is its membership and are not a for profit organization. They/we protect the rights of workers. Point is that the UAW is its membership and not some monster from another planet. About the Texas AFL-CIO The Texas AFL-CIO is a state federation of labor unions representing 220,000 members in Texas. We advocate for working people -- union and non-union alike -- in the political and legislative arenas. We provide support for unions in organizing new members and we coordinate a variety of community service, volunteer and educational programs. Delegates at the Texas AFL-CIO Constitutional Convention govern the state federation. The policies set forth at our conventions are carried out by the officers of the Texas AFL-CIO – currently, President Becky Moeller, Secretary-Treasurer Paul Brown and a 56-member Executive Board. The Texas AFL-CIO’s Committee on Political Education (COPE) makes statewide political endorsements at its conventions in January of even years. The Texas AFL-CIO works closely with Central Labor Councils (CLCs) around the state. The councils are part of the national AFL-CIO. The Texas AFL-CIO also works closely with constituency groups representing Hispanics, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, women and retirees affiliated with organized labor. The federation also works with a variety of allies, including members of Working America, which allows non-union members to become active in the labor movement. All AFL-CIO unions in Texas pay per capita dues to their national organizations, which in turn pay per capita dues to the national AFL-CIO. But affiliation with the Texas AFL-CIO and other state federations is voluntary. Membership tends to fluctuate within a relatively narrow range, mirroring the economy. Texas AFL-CIO membership was slightly more than 150,000 at the time of the merger between the AFL and CIO in the mid-1950s. It peaked at more than 290,000 at the start of the Reagan presidency in 1981, then dropped dramatically during the oil bust of the 1980s. In 1990, membership was 203,400; in 1995, it was 197,462. These figures tell only part of the story. Texas has substantial union membership that does not affiliate or pay dues to the Texas AFL-CIO. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that if you add non-affiliates, about 500,000 union members work in Texas. In addition, more than 100,000 more workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements but decline to pay for their union representation in this “right-to-work-for-less” state; nevertheless, unions are obligated by law to represent those workers in contract talks and grievance procedures. Texas has more than 1,300 local unions. The largest Texas AFL-CIO affiliates in the state (memberships above 5,000) are the Communications Workers of America, Texas AFT, American Federation of Government Employees, United Steel Workers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Fire Fighters, United Auto Workers, Transport Workers Union, International Association of Machinists and United Transportation Union. Generally speaking, public employee unions have experienced the strongest growth in recent years, but building and construction trades unions and some service unions remain engaged in promising organizing campaigns. The numbers reflect the national shift toward a service and information economy and the growing importance of public employee unions. Besides AFSCME and AFGE, the CWA numbers include the Texas State Employees Union. Some medical professionals, including podiatrists, doctors and nurses, have joined unions. Organizers continue to see health care and low-wage professions like hotel workers as a major target; high tech industry remains on the horizon. Recent changes in organized labor’s policy toward immigrant workers have made low-wage “day workers” and others at the bottom of the economic rung a prime target for organizing. As for geography, we count our members in Central Labor Councils, which are sometimes not neatly located in one city. The ones with 5,000 or more members include: Austin, Coastal Bend, Dallas, El Paso, Galveston, Harris County, Sabine Area, San Antonio, Smith County, and Tarrant County. Some of the highlights of our programs include: Legislation and Politics – We support legislation that benefits union families and the working public at large. We work diligently to defeat harmful legislation, a key pursuit in an era when labor’s friends have not won high office in Texas. We also support political candidates who we perceive will help our cause. Political endorsements are made through our Committee on Political Education. Legislative policies are established through the delegates to our conventions, the United Labor Legislative Committee and our Executive Board. All the governing bodies are representative of our membership. Among labor’s achievements in recent legislative sessions: pay raises for teachers; an electric deregulation bill with pro-worker provisions; a state holiday honoring UFW founder Cesar Chavez; improvements in the workers’ compensation system, a statewide public school employee health care plan, a pay raise for state employees, an increase in the state minimum wage, a hate crimes bill and new bargaining rights for public employees. Community Services/Volunteers – This department helps working people who are on strike, victimized by disasters or otherwise in need of assistance. Affiliated programs help adults learn to read or offer them guidance if they abuse drugs or alcohol. Our volunteers are a key to maintaining good community relations, helping not only when we promote a political cause, but when we are simply trying to help our neighbors. The Texas AFL-CIO also helps direct the operations of the Workers Assistance Program, a grant-funded, nationally recognized organization that helps workers navigate difficulties in their lives. Human Relations – This department works on mobilization of working people around the state, organizing actions and maintaining grass-roots contact with a statewide network of activists. The Human Relations department also oversees the Texas AFL-CIO web site, at www.texasaflcio.org. opeiu298/afl-cio
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Replying to: dallasdude1 (Jan 25, 2009 5:08 am) Ford announced his $5-per-day program on January 5, 1914. The revolutionary program called for a raise in minimum daily pay from $2.34 to $5 for qualifying workers. It also set a new, reduced workweek, although the details vary in different accounts. Ford and Crowther in 1922 described it as six 8-hour days, giving a 48-hour week, while in 1926 they described it as five 8-hour days, giving a 40-hour week. (Apparently the program started with Saturdays as workdays and sometime later made them days off.) Ford says that with this voluntary change, labor turnover in his plants went from huge to so small that he stopped bothering to measure it. When Ford started the 40-hour work week and a minimum wage he was criticized by other industrialists and by Wall Street. He proved, however, that paying people more would enable Ford workers to afford the cars they were producing and be good for the economy. Ford explained the change in part of the "Wages" chapter of My Life and Work.[18] He labeled the increased compensation as profit-sharing rather than wages. The wage was offered to employees who had worked at the company for six months or more, and, importantly, conducted their lives in a manner of which Ford's "Social Department" approved. They frowned on heavy drinking, gambling, and what we today would call "deadbeat dads". The Social Department used 50 investigators, plus support staff, to maintain employee standards; a large percentage of workers were able to qualify for this "profit-sharing." It is no secret that Ford did not think that Unions were good for the country. It turns out he was absolutely correct. His vision of the future UAW was spot on. Ford was adamantly against labor unions. He explained his views on unions in Chapter 18 of My Life and Work. He thought they were too heavily influenced by some leaders who, despite their ostensible good motives, would end up doing more harm than good for workers. Most wanted to restrict productivity as a means to foster employment, but Ford saw this as self-defeating because, in his view, productivity was necessary for any economic prosperity to exist. Henry Ford cutting wages in the Depression is very much a parallel to our current situation. Will the UAW give in, or will one or more of the D3 go out of business. I see the ball in the UAW court. If not for the UAW, the D3 could have corrected the imbalance several years ago and not find themselves facing bankruptcy.
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About the Texas AFL-CIO Communications – The Texas AFL-CIO publishes a daily e-mail newsletter that is available to union members, retirees and journalists. To subscribe, send name, e-mail address and union or media affiliation to ed  texasaflcio.org. A monthly newspaper contains news on labor events around the state. The federation also issues special publications to promote our cause. As part of our public relations program, we maintain relationships with reporters throughout the state, holding news conferences and interviews to get our points across. The public relations department also helps individual unions with letters to the editor, editorials and honing of messages. Education and Research – The Texas AFL-CIO prepares and conducts educational programs for affiliates and their members. Topics have included union organizing, labor law, political organizing, workers’ compensation, steward training, grievances and arbitration, communications, the Americans With Disabilities Act and job training. On request, we will address other topics as warranted. The legal workshop offers college course credit as part of the National Labor College at the AFL-CIO. The Education Department also administers an annual scholarship program in which at least 20 (closer to 30 in recent years) graduating high school seniors who are children of union members receive $1,000 scholarships. Legal Counsel – The Texas AFL-CIO retains an outstanding law firm -- Provost Umphrey LLP, headed by Walter Umphrey -- that provides full-time support and information on labor laws, government regulations, campaign and lobbying laws and other topics that unions face every day. The Texas AFL-CIO legal director addresses legal issues for unions across the state and is a respected lobbyist on behalf of working people. opeiu298/afl-cio |
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Automotive News & Views United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)
