UAW On Strike

[Leo]

To put perspective on the business, Ford made 7 billion last year with the ICE engine cars, not exactly record breaking. That was after they decided to abandon the car market. Pretty sure Henry's mission statement included the words, practical, reliable, affordable cars. They have been losing 3.2 billion per quarter with their co-op with the red chinese on electric car technology. You know those brilliant designs that catch fire in storage, catch fire while charging, catch fire while driving and catch fire when you park them. 8 per day in Bejing, burning a bunch of real estate with them.

As someone who has been sitting on what was once a small fortune in FOMOCO stock, Watching Ford CEO Jim Farley, who also sits as an insider in Washington DC, keep flogging the dead chinese EV dog has me way more concerned than paying the workers. Just to spread the love, Farley was installed on the Board of Harley Davidson in late 2021 joining everyone's buddy, bill gates..

 

[Glock22]

What I’m hearing is it’s going to be a targeted strike- only a few plants are going to strike, not all.

 

[Rookie]

 

[Shadow01]

Had a guest speaker in an economics class at college. Someone ask his opinion on unions. He made a single statement. “As a company, if you treat your employees in such a way that they prefer to bring in and work under a union contract, then you are getting what you deserve.”

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Had a guest speaker in an economics class at college. Someone ask his opinion on unions. He made a single statement. “As a company, if you treat your employees in such a way that they prefer to bring in and work under a union contract, then you are getting what you deserve.”

Yep, just look at the Japanese auto companies and you will understand why they're not unionized.

 

[Leo]

Yep, just look at the Japanese auto companies and you will understand why they're not unionized.

There is some truth to that. The Subaru plant in Lafayette has equal benefits and wages as a union plant. At least as long as you are 100%.

The difference is in injuries. I had a girlfriend that worked for SIA about 20 years. She had a repetitive motion injury to her lower back. She was able to earn a position in Quality inspection, that did not require lifting. She worked that duty probably 12 years successfully. Eventually she needed back surgery. The operation went well and six weeks later the Dr signed off for her to go back to work. They would not allow her to return to her inspection job. They said she would have to work on chassis or installing seats. Her medical limitations disqualified her to they walked her out the door and told her to try again when she had no restrictions. She is not the only one that happened to.

Like the blues guy sang, "no body loves me but my mother, and I think she's jivin' too"

 

[Creedmoor]

Which I've never understood. Almost everything they do bends "the workin' man" over and not for a fun time and yet they never seem to understand it. Just confirms my feelings that all people are ****ing stupid.

A few things that The Marion Stamping Plant UAW's wanted, was an indoor olympic sized swimming pool and a full sized indoor basketball court.
With their last contract. lol

 

[Creedmoor]

It takes 20 years seniority to get four weeks vacation. The 32 hour work week is a pipe dream and will never happen. Doesn't hurt to ask though.

Should have picked the Elevator Trade, helper, mechanic or foreman it makes no difference in vac or pension money.

Up to 5 yrs one earns 3 weeks paid VC, after 5 yrs 5 weeks of vacation pay.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

There is some truth to that. The Subaru plant in Lafayette has equal benefits and wages as a union plant. At least as long as you are 100%.

The difference is in injuries. I had a girlfriend that worked for SIA about 20 years. She had a repetitive motion injury to her lower back. She was able to earn a position in Quality inspection, that did not require lifting. She worked probably 12 years successfully. Eventually she needed back surgery. The operation went well and six weeks later the Dr signed off for her to go back to work. They would not allow her to return to her inspection job. They said she would have to work on chassis or installing seats. Her medical limitations disqualified her to they walked her out the door and told her to try again when she had no restrictions. She is not the only one that happened to.

Like the blues guy sang, "no body loves me but my mother, and I think she's jivin' too"

I had a buddy that worked for them up there and he was telling me that they emphasize the whole "we're all on the same team" type of philosophy, but he was never in the situation that your girlfriend was in. That seems odd to me that her inspection job would be more physically demanding than chassis or installation work.

 

[Leo]

View attachment 299193

The direct labor cost per vehicle has been right there at 5% for decades. The auto executives have always loved the UAW as a scapegoat. They fanned the flames of class hatred blaming workers every time the company raised the car prices. 30 years ago was the same as today, even if every worker built cars for free, the price would only go down 5%. But the money spent on promoting the propaganda to blame the workers has worked, even people who don't drive hate the UAW.

The pickups that sold for $50K three years ago are now pushing 90K, and the workers have been making the same. How does that balance?

 

[DoggyDaddy]

The pickups that sold for $50K three years ago are now pushing 90K, and the workers have been making the same. How does that balance?

Simple!

 

[Rookie]

I had a buddy that worked for them up there and he was telling me that they emphasize the whole "we're all on the same team" type of philosophy, but he was never in the situation that your girlfriend was in. That seems odd to me that her inspection job would be more physically demanding than chassis or installation work.

It wasn't more physically demanding. Removing her from the better job was punishment for having the nerve to go on sick leave.

 

[Leo]

I had a buddy that worked for them up there and he was telling me that they emphasize the whole "we're all on the same team" type of philosophy, but he was never in the situation that your girlfriend was in. That seems odd to me that her inspection job would be more physically demanding than chassis or installation work.

It wasn't, they would not put her back in inspection when she came back from surgery. They said that duty was no longer available. I am sure that is how they escape long tern disability cases. Simply DQ workers when they have any weakness and you lower the chance of work place injuries and disability costs.

 

[Rookie]

They tried something similar at my plant a few days ago. Employee with a non work related injury came back to work with restrictions. Boss claimed no work available and tried to send her home. In reality, boss doesn't like the employee. Union got involved and, as if by magic, a job was found.

 

[Leo]

A few things that The Marion Stamping Plant UAW's wanted, was an indoor olympic sized swimming pool and a full sized indoor basketball court.
With their last contract. lol

Ask for the moon, get what you can. Just like buying a car. Nobody wants to stay after work to swim or shoot hoops. Just like at one time the steel mills sponsored a bunch of leagues for the employees to enjoy. Then the mills got to be a lot more stressful, no one wanted anything to do with work after clocking out and that all went away.

 

[jamil]

I have worked in Union and non union environments, I have also been a skilled trades employee and a salaried supervisor in both environments. Add in several different states to round out things. Technical people kind of ride the line between salary and hourly.

Of the Four experiences, I guarantee none have the market on lazy, crazy, hard working, or stupid or brilliant.

Workers do not "bite the hand that feeds them". Union or non union, It is a negotiated rate of how much the labor is worth. No poorly run company with bad products survives long even if the wage is only a bowl of gruel and a whip to the workers back.

A well run company makes money paying top wages to those who produce the profit.

When a simple parts plant manager gets an annual bonus greater than the profit sharing of 7000 hourly employees, and says that profits are short of projections because workers get paid too much, that is criminal.

We fought a big war across 5 Aprils to stop plantation management based on a two tier society.

Anyone that has not worked both sides really has little basis for a critical wide brush. There are huge wives tails on both sides against the other. BTW, the medical industry is no different.

Welp. They can always move to Mexico.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

It wasn't, they would not put her back in inspection when she came back from surgery. They said that duty was no longer available. I am sure that is how they escape long tern disability cases. Simply DQ workers when they have any weakness and you lower the chance of work place injuries and disability costs.

How would a union shop have handled that situation?

Edit: I think Rookie may have answered my question.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Ask for the moon, get what you can. Just like buying a car. Nobody wants to stay after work to swim or shoot hoops. Just like at one time the steel mills sponsored a bunch of leagues for the employees to enjoy. Then the mills got to be a lot more stressful, no one wanted anything to do with work after clocking out and that all went away.

I think a 40% pay increase over the next 4 years and a 32 hour work week is definitely asking for the moon.

 

[Leo]

Welp. They can always move to Mexico.

Dodge did that with the Neon. Paying people $1.22 an hour really did not work out. Warranty costs were very high, reject rates were really high. I remember that the Kokomo transmission plant had dozens of people on every shift hand gauging parts to send to Mexico, so only nearly perfect parts were sent. They were hoping to pad the quality issues. The effort made no difference.

Side trivia. Guess what the highest warranty cost car Chrysler ever sold was? The German built Crossfire. All the chronic problems they had were VERY expensive to repair, and all the parts from Germany were insanely expensive. Like the little electric motor that ran the back wing was $600.

 

[Rookie]

How would a union shop have handled that situation?

Edit: I think Rookie may have answered my question.

Union shop wouldn't allow your job to be taken. If you leave for sick leave, you return to the job you had. If the job needs covered, it's typically covered by over/early or placing the lowest seniority employee in that job as a temporary assignment.