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United Automobile Workers of America (UAW)

16705 messages,  Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 6:56 PM

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#9855 of 16705
Re: Delphi request would end benefits for salaried retirees [andre1969] by dieselone
Feb 27, 2009 (7:10 am)
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Replying to: andre1969 (Feb 27, 2009 6:53 am)

Interestingly, the '76 Grand LeMans I have now is probably in better shape at 33 years old, than Mom's '75 was at 5! I remember last year, my Mom saw my '76 LeMans, took a good look at it, and with a confused look on her face asked, "was my '75 really that big?! I can't believe I used to drive a car that big!" Which I don't fully comprehend, because she and my stepdad have a 2002 F-150 and a 1998 Expedition!
 
I'd be curious to look at the dimensions of the '75 Regal/Lemans. I wouldn't be surprised if they were wider than a current SUV.
#9856 of 16705
Re: Delphi request would end benefits for salaried retirees [dieselone] by andre1969
Feb 27, 2009 (7:33 am)
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Replying to: dieselone (Feb 27, 2009 7:10 am)

I'd be curious to look at the dimensions of the '75 Regal/Lemans. I wouldn't be surprised if they were wider than a current SUV.
 
My '76 LeMans coupe is 208" long on a 112" wheelbase. I think it's about 53" tall, and around 77-78" wide. I think the base weight was around 3850 lb, but once you throw on a/c, power windows, and a few other odds and ends, I'm sure it's around 4,000 lb.
#9857 of 16705
Re: farout [lemko] by grbeck
Feb 27, 2009 (7:53 am)
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Crime rates skyrocketed in the 1960s, when American industry was booming. They declined in the 1990s, when America was supposedly "deindustrializing." There is no credible proof that economic downturns bring about an increase in crime. Contrary to popular belief, crime was not a problem during the Great Depression.
 
Most criminals engage in illegal activities because of attitudes about work and wealth, not because they were denied a student loan. Criminals don't have the discipline to pursue higher education, even if they were given the money.
 
Virtually all criminals prey on people in their own neighborhoods...those crimes just don't make the six-o'clock news, or the front page of the local paper. Criminals from Philadelphia aren't invading the Main Line.
#9858 of 16705
The past not so great [grbeck] by gagrice
Feb 27, 2009 (8:09 am)
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Replying to: grbeck (Feb 27, 2009 7:53 am)

You have set the record straight.
 
If things were so great during the 1960s for the UAW workers and the auto Industry, why the 1967 Detroit riot. One of the worst in US history. 2000 buildings burnt. Sounds like the 1960s were utopia for the UAW and Detroit, NOT. I think rocky's family are looking at the past through rose colored glasses. The 1960s under socialist LBJ were horrible. I guess every generation has to go through times like that.
#9859 of 16705
Re: The past not so great [gagrice] by smithed
Feb 27, 2009 (8:52 am)
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Replying to: gagrice (Feb 27, 2009 8:09 am)

If things were so great during the 1960s for the UAW workers and the auto Industry, why the 1967 Detroit riot. One of the worst in US history. 2000 buildings burnt. The 1960s under socialist LBJ were horrible. I guess every generation has to go through times like that.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Rioting/protesting/dropping acid were just part of life in the late 1960s. The cars were hot then, though. Can anyone say 426 HEMI, GTO?
#9860 of 16705
rocky, rocky, rocky by marsha7
Feb 27, 2009 (8:55 am)
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"How is someone with your mentality that all factory workers are undeserving of a livable wage suppose to afford you or are they just suppose to take out a loan and pass it on to their kids as another debt."
 
I never said that factory workers are undeserving of a livable wage...what I have repeatedly stated (anything I write after 11 pm I am not responsble for, since I am half asleep......) is that floor sweeping and tightening lug nuts simply is not worth $35/hour, even if the President were to do it...my argument is simply that the UAW was able to get unskilled labor paid far in excess of what anyone else in the entire universe would pay for the same job...they lived in fantasyland, and made junk for years, because we had nothing better to compare it to...
 
Then, we started getting products from Honda and Toyota that are manufactured with far fewer workers (simply more efficient than the union featherbedding) and, accoding to many Americans and reflected in their market share, far superior in quality...rock, you NEVER answer the efficiency and quality factors that have been destroyed by the UAW, all you yap about is why can't a worker with a 3rd grade education get $65K a year for sweeping floors...the inherent worth of the labor simply is NOT there...it is up to the individual to better themselves, and the UAW always seems to reach out for the lowest common denominator...
 
Numerous posters here have adequately described how they joined a union workforce and were gently "told" to slow production so that they don't make the others look bad...again, the lowest common denominator from the union...
 
So, I am not against anyone making a living wage, but they must perform work that earns that wage...why can you not see that???
 
If YOU had to hire someone to sweep the floors in your house, would YOU pay them $35/hour plus benefits for 8 hours daily, 5 days a week, plus overtime ($54/hour) on weekends???...if you were Warren Buffet you wouldn't pay that because you know that the work is not inherently worth it...why should a Ford floor sweeper be any different???
 
The competition from superior manufacturers like Honda and Toyota has removed the curtain from the UAW Wizard, and we can all see the emperor has no clothes...just face it, rocky...the UAW deceived us long enough, it was nice while it lasted, but the truth is now known and it ain't pretty...the UAW simply is NOT worth what they are paid, and every taxpayer in the US now knows it...
 
Yogi Berra said It ain't over til it's over...Guess what???...It's over...
#9861 of 16705
Re: rocky, rocky, rocky [marsha7] by dieselone
Feb 27, 2009 (9:03 am)
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Replying to: marsha7 (Feb 27, 2009 8:55 am)

if you were Warren Buffet you wouldn't pay that because you know that the work is not inherently worth it...why should a Ford floor sweeper be any different???
 
Hell, that UAW floor sweeper/janitor is making more than Buffet's secretary who is the gatekeeper for an organization that is worth more than the D3 combined! I should say used to get paid more, as from what I understand, those unskilled positions are getting a pay cut to the $14/hr range, once the UAW concessions take effect.
#9862 of 16705
Re: Delphi request would end benefits for salaried retirees [dieselone] by srs_49
Feb 27, 2009 (9:05 am)
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Replying to: dieselone (Feb 27, 2009 6:27 am)

That's not what I remember and I'm probably 8 - 10 years older than you. My grandpa was a 40 year union employee of the steel mills in Gary, In. He never had more than one car and always kept them 5+ years. My FIL, also a 30 year employee of the steel mills has only bought two new cars ever. He's still driving a '95 Tahoe.
 
I'm with ya. The first car I remember was my dad's '52 Plymouth. I can still remember him and the mechanic down the street doing a "ring job" on it on a lot at the end of the back alley. This was at 50,000 or so miles. The old brake shoes were always needing replacing, and your point about points (sorry for the pun), carburetors, etc is right in line with my recollection.
  
When I started driving it was on the '52 Plymouth, then graduated to a '62 Rambler. I replaced the rings on it too, but this time had a garage to use.
 
You never hear about cars needing rings jobs today. Most new vehicles will go 100,000 miles with not much more than fluid changes and consumables (wiper blades, tires, brake pads) replaced.
#9863 of 16705
Re: Delphi request would end benefits for salaried retirees [srs_49] by dieselone
Feb 27, 2009 (9:10 am)
Reply

Replying to: srs_49 (Feb 27, 2009 9:05 am)

your point about points (sorry for the pun),
 
LOL, just remember to turn the ignition off before using the feeler gauge to check the point gap!! I've done that ONLY once!! Quite a shocking experience;)
#9864 of 16705
Re: rocky, rocky, rocky [marsha7] by gagrice
Feb 27, 2009 (9:31 am)
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Replying to: marsha7 (Feb 27, 2009 8:55 am)

Numerous posters here have adequately described how they joined a union workforce and were gently "told" to slow production so that they don't make the others look bad.
 
My best friend that I worked with for 37 years came to Alaska as an IBEW telephone equipment installer. Much of the job in 1970 was wire wrapping connections. The better installers which Bob was one of the best would take pride in how many pairs they wrapped in a day. He jumped in our new equipment with a vengeance. The second day the IBEW shop steward/foreman called him aside and told him to cut it in half. He was working too hard. A month later our boss hired him and he became a Teamster. Being senior technicians we were not subject to that kind of stupidity. And our bosses were grateful for our efforts to convert the state of Alaska from all manual calling to direct distance dialing. In fact we would only see the boss about once a week. He would come down to see how it was going. Self starters do not need a lot of supervision. And I liked it that way.
 
PS
I know some here like to ignore that big negative hanging over the UAW. They will blame it on Global Warming or currency manipulation. When it is in FACT just lousy employees.

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