I have mixed feelings about this strike, the writing is on the wall. American jobs and manufacturing are not competitive in the world markets any more. Yes, there are American companies making money, but they can make more when the plants and jobs, doing the same thing, are overseas. When I was working I never made half what a GM employee was making but I had to buy a car. I am now retired and I have to pay for my own health insurance, and I resent GM employees wanting their health insurance paid for and their families, even after retirement. On the other hand I don't like watching the jobs go overseas. It would seem we are eating the seed corn. The thing I resent the most is the greed of the Wall Street bunch. If there is money to be made someone is looking for a way to get it into their pocket.
OT: GM strike
Sep 25, 2007
10 Replies
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What some of these union workers make, living in small towns and cost of living is worth.. is ridiculous..
health benefits? sure.. i am all for it.. but the more they drive up their wages.. the more the company has to shell out..
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That was the deal GM agreed to. It's not unreasonable to expect GM to honor its commitments. Of course, GM has not maintained their market share, so they may not be able to keep their commitments. Does the union want half a loaf or no loaf? That's up to them.
Doesn't help that upper management at GM is still doing quite all right for themselves (they're raking it in with both hands before GM can go under) and I'm fairly certain GM is still paying a dividend (checked - yep - $.25/share four times a year).
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We're not unionized and management still can't ship work off shore fast enough. And they don't save money at it; the work that gets done *might* be cheaper (the unit rate is but it takes at least twice as much time) but it's
*certainly* lower quality.
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Most overseas workers in developed countries are covered by National Health Insurance, so the foreign companies don't have to directly cover the health care costs of the workers in those countries. Workers at US Plants owned by foreign companies (Toyota, Nissan, etc.) have health insurance similar to the GM workers. The big difference is retires. What is going to happen in 15 to 20 years when Toyota's US workers are retiring? Does their retirement plan provide continuing health coverage comparable to what they are getting now, or will it be some limited cost (to the company) plan like I have that won't cover anything for more than a few years - after which they'll end up on Medicare - which you are paying for anyhow. I suppose you don't resent paying the Medicare taxes, yet you complain about health care costs GM has to include in the cost of its vehicles. I suppose you want GM to be like Wal*Mart, pay the workers next to nothing, but give them instruction on how to apply for welfare and food stamps.
Ed
In message news:46f9141f$1@kcnews01, C. E. White sprach forth the following:
HAHAHAHAHAHA. And kids' Christmas toys are paid for by Santa Claus.
What an idiot.
In message news:46f9141f$1@kcnews01, C. E. White sprach forth the following:
As a matter of fact I do. Fee-for-service works for everything else (food, clothing, shelter); it works for healthcare too.
And when you're actually paying for your own medical care, you're far more likely to live healthier.
"Moe" ..
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When I first heard about this, the first thing I said was, "Oh my God, those poor workers!"
Natalie
"Go Mavs" ...
But that will suck for the workers.
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Natalie
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Actually even with better wages and benefits American manufacturing is still competitive in many of the worlds markets. American workers are far more productive than most other counties, especially in Europe for example. The high costs of Socialism, thirty hour work weeks, two month vacations, the inability to lay off unneeded workers, make European product far less completive around the world than American manufactured goods.
America farm production is the envy of the rest of the world as well. Search the US Commerce Department site for the facts. WBMA
Those that blame unions do not understand the stability, of the better trained, better qualified workers that are brought in by a union contract. When my technicians joined the Machinist Union our productivity doubled in five years and profits soured as we gained new business because of the quality of our guys work. Before the union I had a turnover rate of well over 12% as workers moved on looking for better wages and conditions. After the union I attracted and held on to the best of the best. I had techs that drove on 100 miles a day, back and forth, to come work in my fleet service shops beause they could earn six figure wages. I tell anyone who will listen, thank God for the Machinist union they helped me earn millions.
mike
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Suck more than unemployment?
I don't see how any US auto worker is in a place where they can demand much of anything. The writing on the wall seems pretty clear to me: GM must die if it is to survive by being reborn.
After all, GM isn't actually primarily an auto manufacturer anymore, it's a health care manager.
The strike ended quickly this time, but it's only a matter of time before GM (or one of the others) and the UAW take each other out in an act of mutual destruction. And the blame is to be shared equally--GM bean counters and engineers for specifying profit over quality and the UAW for demanding wages and benefits that are unsustainable in these post-NAFTA and MFN China days.
You wanna save GM (and maybe even America) then there's only one thing you need to do. You need to revoke China's MFN status and make trade with them subject to enormous import tariffs. I'm not a big fan of protectionism, but protection from slave/political prisoner labor is OK by me.
"Sean Elkins" >,
That's a really long haul, though. How many years do you think it would take? I'd think that those who were formerly in the auto-building industry would have to gravitate toward new careers, by the time the auto industry "rebounded"
It's also a loan company.
I'm with you there - unions were started for a noble cause, but, like most things touched by humans, it became corrupted. Those who they're supposed to protect are hurt the most.
Me too.
Natalie
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