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Re: The UAW's new awareness of global competition

"...Once [unions] win comfortable contracts, they often become

> impediments to the kind of innovation and flexibility essential to > success in today's economy. So in the name of 'job security,' they > undermine a company's--or a nation's--competitiveness. The result, over > time, is less job security for everyone, especially the union > workforce. There's no better example of this than GM, where the UAW now > represents about 74,000 hourly workers, compared to 246,000 in 1994. > Some security..." > > Wall Street Journal:
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Odd isn't it that GM continues to lose more and more market share as it reduces it's unionized labor force, and yet the loss of market share is the unionized workers' fault. Bizarro economic model, no? Let's not blame the bean-counter managers who force (non-union) engineers to cut corners in the design to save a few dollars per unit but which results in shitty designs and inferior quality.

Let's face it, most managers at GM are really indifferent to cars. GM could be making appliances for all they care. They serve only one master, profit. Producing high quality cars that are fun to drive is way down their list of priorities. And quality starts with a quality design. The best factory workers in the world can't produce a quality product from an inferior design and using sub-standard parts.

Reply to
Guy
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Would it make a difference if the engineers were unionized?

It's all about money. The automobile business went to hell about the mid to late '60s. Just look at the crappy blah boxes they've been making.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Not likely. The point is, regardless of the union/non-union status of the workers involved in developing and producing the car, if management cuts corners the product will suffer. The Japanese manufacturers who produce cars in North America do NOT, in my opinion, produce better cars because the plant workers are non-union.

Reply to
Guy

Half of those jobs were lost to the increased productivity brought on by computers, robots and modern build methods, like one piece whole side body stampings.

mike

Reply to
Mike Hunter

Reply to
Chevy Man

Doesn't America have 30 year low unemployment rates?????

The only way to get more Americans working is by bringing in more immigrants LOL.

Reply to
The Henchman

No - I think most European countries' rates are about twice that of the U.S., so one of them would be the 30 year low, with several others having way more unemployment than the U.S.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

And the median income of Americans has risen little if at all in the last five years. The President is not worries at all about this. After all, CEOs and his buddies on Wall Street and the excutives of oil companies are making record salaries and bonuses, including monies 'earned' on stock options.

Reply to
Jeff

Also according to a recent Business Week a low 10% of people employed in manufacturing as manufacturing jobs move offshore. They say manufacturing jobs lead to ups and downs in employment, so unemployment is becoming lower and more stable as manufacturing jobs disappear.

Now for those cars soon coming from China!

Reply to
Just Facts

Reply to
Chevy Man

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