Back to the UAW - are the UAW contracts keeping the D3 from being more flexible and competitive in production, in innovation of the inventory/selling experiences? Why don't we have integrated/automated UAW plants in the US like the highly automated Ford plant in Brazil?
I have toured plants and most of the easy work has been outsourced. Much like Delphi, Mackie, and others. But outsourced to plants in this country. Then GM has allowed the UAW to organize these plants. The lesser of two evils or better than going overseas?
The honey comb consept plant here in Arlington Texas is the latest in cell technology. Unfortunately it was geared to build SUV's. As far as engineering America has no rival. All of the plants I've been to have state of the art equiptment.
So what a male boss makes sexual advances to your wife? Quid Pro Quo situation that requires sexual favors for promotion? I can name many other instances which a employee can call out their union for protection. Your particular experiences are just that. You are a sum total of all of your life experiences. Hence, you can't make generalizations from your unique experiences and ignore each and every possibility out there. Seek some statistical evidence and or something to support your views other than heresay from your spouse. It should be noted that this only one issue of many.
At least 40 percent of all women report being sexually harassed at some point in their career, and men currently account for 11.6 percent of all sexual harassment cases. So, the chances of your company needing to respond to a sexual harassment concern are great. Be prepared, and you will likely deal with it successfully for all parties involved.
Where was congress when this happened? Adding billions to the 700 billion. Now they are bellyaching about the Big Three only because of their UAW connections.
But corporate tax lawyers quickly realized the enormous implications of the document: Administration officials had just given American banks a windfall of as much as $140 billion.
The sweeping change to two decades of tax policy escaped the notice of lawmakers for several days, as they remained consumed with the controversial bailout bill. When they found out, some legislators were furious. Some congressional staff members have privately concluded that the notice was illegal. But they have worried that saying so publicly could unravel several recent bank mergers made possible by the change and send the economy into an even deeper tailspin.
"Did the Treasury Department have the authority to do this? I think almost every tax expert would agree that the answer is no," said George K. Yin, the former chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the nonpartisan congressional authority on taxes. "They basically repealed a 22-year-old law that Congress passed as a backdoor way of providing aid to banks."
Yeah after divesting the other businesses. Note the date.
In the pension agency's view, to permit a company to adopt this type of ''follow-on'' pension plan after terminating its original plan is to invite abuse of the pension insurance system. As the agency explained its view to the Court, workers will have every incentive to collude with their employers in the abandonment of troubled pension plans, knowing that the Federal program will cover most of the benefits and a relatively inexpensive new plan will pick up the rest. The result, the agency said, will be an accelerating drain on its resources.
But the appeals court ruled that under the Federal retirement law, the existence of a new pension plan of this type was not a basis for the pension agency to order restoration of the old plans. In its appeal, P.B.G.C. v. LTV Corp., No. 89-390, the agency is arguing that the appeals court should have deferred to the agency's professional judgment that misuse of the insurance fund should not be tolerated.
I wonder, if we let them go bankrupt, is it just the tip of an even BIGGER iceberg than what we are talking about???
Depends who you think is more correct. 3 think tank type groups or the Republicans down south with the competitors plants.
Just for balance, there's also Milton Friedman, Harvard economist, and a lot of other economists who side with your "Republicans down south with competitors plants".
Unfortunately we may find out. Headlines as of this moment are saying the talks have broken down because UAW won't agree to wage cuts. Looks like not much has changed with them.
"Several Republican senators seen leaving a meeting on a proposed settlement said the deal was off following hours of negotiations. The problem, they said, returned to the contentious issue of forcing the UAW to accept wages and benefits equal to those paid by foreign automakers in the United States."
I know what "at will" means, I've been an "at will" employee for over 20 years.
Your original post implied that because the UAW were collective bargaining employees they shouldn't have to tighten their belts (make concessions). Nothing to do with whether your employer can fire you. Are you suggesting that just because workers pay union dues they should be exempt from sacrifice to save a company? Everybody else sacrifice but not them?
That appears to be the mentality as the bailout bill failed tonight because the UAW didn't want to budge until after their precious contract runs out in 2011.
u try to lie and steal, might as well call it trying to cheat .., keep the teacher's in the classroom where they belong and they should not be allowed to corrupt the rest with their ideas. Socrates was put to death for corupting the youth you know...., It is somebody(ies) theory being passed around to depend on the bankruptcy, but it does not have to be that way at all. There have been trillions of dollars here at play.., if all of those are so smart then something should have been done to save the economy more than where it's at now. 1)the UAW have made concessions. 2)A contract is a contract....., You could find a pie of your own and leave everbody elses' pie alone........, it's unlawful to break a contract....., The workers are tired enough already to deal with people trying to eat at them. pick pick pick the banks that were bailed out could allow the general public to open they're Home Loan Contracts for a better interest rate instead of foreclosures or the way you are talking, lower the amount of the loan to the lowered value of the home if that be the case. ceos have been fired in the past, but i don't see a good economy still. for $1 a year, one might be given the opportunity to resolve this.
The group came close to agreement, but it stalled over the UAW's refusal to agree to wage cuts before their current contract expires in 2011. Republicans, in turn, balked at giving the automakers federal aid.
The UAW did not immediately react to the failure of the Senate proposal.
Here, with FIOS going strong in RI, an installer could pull in that kind of money but they'd have to work 10, 12 hrs a day for 6 or 7 days a wk. That's a LOT of OT!!! ANYBODY living a lifestyle based on 50% MORE than their base salary is asking for big trouble.
I wonder though, when you're pulling that kind of hours, how you'd find the time to spend it! For a brief time, I actually had three jobs, back in early 1996 when I got divorced, and was deep in debt. There was a couple times I pulled in 80+ hours per week, and I think once I hit 90! About all I had time for though, was work and sleep! At that time, all the money was going to pay down bills, so I couldn't have blown it on an extravagant lifestyle if I wanted to...but even if I could, I wouldn't have the time!
Back in March 2005, there was one week where I had to work 90 hours. It was pretty brutal. It was one thing when that 90 hours was spread across three jobs, and one of them involved a lot of running around, delivering pizzas. At least there was some variety, and it kept me moving. But to do 90 hours of PowerPoint and proofreading, is enough to rot your brain!
I imagine that if you're getting overtime on a regular basis, you just get used to it always being there, and it's easy for your lifestyle and spending habits to adapt. Up until about 1-2 months ago, I had been averaging 4-5 hours of OT per week at my job. And on top of that, I maxed out my leave balance, so they've been letting me cash out 8 hours per week. So for the time being, that's been like getting a 30% raise! (getting paid for 52 hours, rather than 40. Also, I don't get time and a half, just a straight hourly rate).
Unfortunately, about 1-2 months ago, we had a meeting, and they said they're going to start cutting out overtime to save on costs. At first they tried to stand their ground on it, but then they realized that if I go home as soon as I hit 40 hours and something comes up, the people that are left here can't always handle it. So they backed down on that one.
And the vacation paydown won't last forever, either. We switch companies in a few months, at which point they just cut a check for our remaining balance.
I never was one to live beyond my means. I've taken the extra income from the vacation paydown and the overtime and invested it (which in this economy, means I would've been better off stuffing it in a mattress. :sick: ) Still, I guess it's not hard for some people to adjust their lifestyle, thinking the prosperity will go on forever. How easy it is to forget the past!
f your CU is insured under the NCUA it is now covered to at least $250,000. That may have come about when the upped the FDIC to that amount. Getting much more than 2.5% right now is tough with any kind of assurance that it is safe.
If you're married, isn't the insured maximum doubled? So $500K in this case? Or is that an old wive's tale?
And yeah, much over 2.5% is pretty mythical these days. I know Emigrant Direct is at 3%, but I'm expecting them to drop soon. They usually change their rates soon after the Fed does, but this time they've slacked off...thankfully! Citibank had some savings account that was paying 3.5%, but it's down to 2.75 now. I was able to lock in a 6-month CD with H&R Block bank for something like 4.25%, but I doubt if they'd pay that now. And I didn't want to tie up the money any longer, just in case I need it.
This is like any other strike by the UAW. They do not care if the employer cannot afford their demands. This time they are not up against a big loser like Wagoner. They are going butting heads with the Republicans that they have fought against forever. The Republicans were right to stop the flow of cash to a company that cannot survive under their current Union contracts. The UAW decided they would rather be out of work than to make what the rest of the country makes.
I got news for the UAW. Obama has 12 million illegals waiting for their free green card. They will be more than willing to work for the going wage in the industry. It would do the UAW workers good to be in a WPA type camp building roads in the wilderness for 3 squares and a tent to sleep in. Many have never known what it is to work like a dog for minimum wage. It is an experience everyone should go through. You appreciate what you have in a good job so much more.
I wonder though, when you're pulling that kind of hours, how you'd find the time to spend it! For a brief time, I actually had three jobs, back in early 1996 when I got divorced, and was deep in debt.
Easy, all you need is a spouse and kids. I remember when I met my wife and her dad was an iron worker for LTV. He worked doubles 6 days a week for years and that didn't end until LTV went belly up. Particularly when he had 2 kids in college and one getting ready to go.
One of my grandpa's best friends actually worked fulltime for both US Steel and Republic Steel in NW Indiana for about 20 years. Sure he made plenty of money, but he went through several wives, ended up gambling it all away, what he didn't gamble away, he drank away, then died about 10 years into retirement from a heart attack. Go figure.
Still, I couldn't imagine working two 40 hour/week jobs for 20 years. I'd think that would be tough liven.
Just for balance, there's also Milton Friedman, Harvard economist, and a lot of other economists who side with your "Republicans down south with competitors plants".
First I do not disagree that the government should not be bailing out corporations or individuals. BUT when I talked to Milton last week he said that this is a case where the government needs to do something to keep millions more of americans from losing their jobs and making it worse. Whoops, could not have been Milton, he died 2 years ago. Where did your hear that he said that all the suppliers would be fine if GM went under? :surprise:
"Several Republican senators seen leaving a meeting on a proposed settlement said the deal was off following hours of negotiations. The problem, they said, returned to the contentious issue of forcing the UAW to accept wages and benefits equal to those paid by foreign automakers in the United States."
So funny. Here GM is ready to go out of business and the UAW says it will not speed up its concessions and get parity with the other non union shops to save their own jobs.
For those who said the domestics should have not have caved in to the UAW demands when the big 3 were making money a little knock on the head.
If that were true the jails would be overflowing. Contracts are broken every minute of the day. Lots of union contracts are supposedly illegal to break (especially public employee ones), but that doesn't seem to slow anyone down.
The spin:
"The UAW is deeply disappointed that Senate Republicans have blocked the bipartisan legislation that was agreed to by President Bush and congressional Democrats." Detroit Free Press
>That appears to be the mentality as the bailout bill failed tonight because the UAW didn't want to budge until after their precious contract runs out in 2011.
>Back in March 2005, there was one week where I had to work 90 hours. It was pretty brutal.
At the risk of hijacking the discussion, 90 hrs is pretty regular for Doctors doing their residency.....it is brutal. They live in the hospital, literally.
At the risk of hijacking the discussion, 90 hrs is pretty regular for Doctors doing their residency.....it is brutal. They live in the hospital, literally.
Yeah, I can imagine! To a degree though, they probably get acclimated to it. In my case, I had been averaging maybe 44-45 hours per week, and hadn't worked a second job in about 4 years. So to suddenly go from that slower pace to 90 hours kicked my butt!
Cooter: I would think that the PBGC would assume some of the pension cost, but I am unaware of the formula used to pay retirees...
As far as suppliers, they will sink or swim on their own...like it or not, if someone (person) or something (company) files bankruptcy, and they eliminate their debt to that supplier, then the supplier will either absorb the loss and continue operating, or they, too, will go bankrupt...it is a tough thing to swallow, but the right to file bankruptcy and relieve yourself of all/some of your debt does not take into consideration the effect of your bankruptcy, even tho it may start a chain reaction...
The bottom line is that the Big 3 cannot continue on like they are, making cars in numbers that enough people refuse to buy...their overcapacity is shameful, and they simply do NOT need as many plants, or workers, to make the products that CAN sell...the must shed workers by the 1000s, and close plants that make products that nobody wants...it is that simple...the human cost, SADLY, is immaterial in the long run...if a company has the workers to make 5 million cars but only sells 3 million, and cannot make a profit because of the overhead of the capacity to make 5 million, then the plants and the workers must be eliminated...period...if billions of profit were there, those workers could be eased out slowly, but with no profit, the workers must be jettisoned TOMORROW...
The UAW is disappointed that they did not get out unscathed. Concessions in two years are meaningless when the company is doomed in two weeks. The UAW has brought down the mighty General with their greed. Those UAW guys will be using that Michigan assisted suicide law when they have to go to work in the real world.
The UAW has brought down the mighty General with their greed. Those UAW guys will be using that Michigan assisted suicide law when they have to go to work in the real world.
You guys sure can confuse me. What Michigan assisted suicide law?
I thought Michigan passed assisted suicide this year. Maybe only Oregon has that law. I guess the UAW workers will just have to suck it up and work at WalMart.
Here GM is ready to go out of business and the UAW says it will not speed up its concessions and get parity with the other non union shops to save their own jobs.
Senator Corker of Tennessee today said that the major sticking point was that he wanted a finite date by which the changes would be made - anytime in 2009 - and the UAW did not want to commit to that date. Gettlefinger said that he felt "set up"!
In reality the huge retiree benefit for hourly and the work rules mandated by UAW through the decades have made US brands unable to manufacture efficiently. I have no doubts that even the overpaid, ineffective management at GM knew how to automate factories even more than they have, but they were held back by the work rules and mandated employment numbers. While I commented on the IUE workers and how efficiently they worked when I was in the Moraine plant, it seems the problem has come down not to the current workers being efficient, but that the plants could have been more automated and much more efficient financially. GM could have been making more profit per car to have more money to do recalls on problems that erupt as have Toyota and honda with their transmission, vibration, shifting, VCM, sludge and other problems. That would have earned GM a better reputation about handling of the typical, average problems which most manufacturers have.
Ok, what IS the going rate that the others make???? Gettlefinger was saying in a news conference that Toyota workers acually made MORE than UAW workers this year. If that's so, how does THAT help the situation????
The AMA has controled the supply of doctors as to keep medical expenses up. Their lobby/union much like the UAW representing autoworkers. As we all know cartels are illegal in America. No American company can belong to OPEC. However, cartel who set supply quotas often cheat on each other and therefore they fail. Which cartel has survived the test of time?
Nevertheless, what IS the going rate???? Should it be the same for someone in Michigan as Alabama, where there is a great disparity in cost of living???
My friend you have to factor in the purchasing power of that money (INFLATION) in addition to taxes. Thats the rate of inflation. So pretty much your paying them to hold your money. However, inflation is different for most folks. If your home is paid off, then you can exclude housing. If your going to buy food with that money your going to hurt. As a rule of thumb, goods have been going down (electronics, autos, homes) and services have been going up (medical costs etc). So if you plan on buying things you maight be better off as oppose to services.
Many folks out there would like 10% or better, but if we are in double digit inflation we aren't gaining any wealth.
Taxes, as well as where in the vicinity of the plant one lives is also a factor. Huntsville may be a more "upscale" city, whereas Detroit is, well, um, a city. It's a given that taxes are more in Mi.
The main difference between candidate Roosevelt and President Hoover was that Roosevelt favored direct relief to individuals (what we today call welfare). President Hoover opposed this
Is social security welfare?
As historians Peter N. Carroll and David W. Noble note, Hoover feared that the collapse of the large corporations would bring down the entire US capitalist system. After all, one percent of the banks held 50% of banking assets. Three corporations—Ford, Chrysler, General Motors—manufactured 85% of the automobiles sold in the US. Chain stores dominated retail sales and their difficulties had national repercussions.
Hoover and the Republicans saw aid to corporations as being different. Whereas they believed that helping the individual citizen weather the Depression would corrupt him or her, aiding corporations and other business was different. To many, it appeared that the Republicans were only interested in the rich. The newly-created Reconstruction Finance Corporation aided only the large corporations.
And from my view of history, WW2 was the only thing that brought US out of the Great Depression. None of the programs did much good. Only left US with a SS program that is unsustainable.
Eerie isn't it?
He regulated capalism. Before FDR the nation had a laizze-fair notion about business, let business run itself and monitor itself. Unfortunately, as it always does, unregulated capitalism destroyed itself as those with inordinate money and power were able to circumvent the laws of free market.
For instance, pre FDR, steel companies had a total monopoly and what a degree of collusion and price fixing that is considered criminal by today's standards.
FDR: Cycles tax money back to the average person via works programs and emergency assistance. He also improved our infrastructure by using gvt money to build dams, roads etc that bolstered the economy. He passed laws restricting business to encourage free market competition such as anti-trust laws (not allowing companies to merge and form monopoly's). He endorsed labor's right to strike and to demand living wages from employers. He implemented social security which has proven to be the number one means of avoiding poverty.
FDR's policies produced the hightest standard of living the world had ever known. We had overall continued growth until the Regan years. The conservative movement in the us corresponds to decline in wealth, education, health of the US public after 50 years of steady improvement.
He put people to work, brought hope and confidence back to the US and possibly saved us froma communist revolution.
We actually were well out of the depression long before we entered WW2, Thanks to FDR.
In 1930 GDP fell 9.4% In 1931 GDP fell 8.5% In 1932 GDP fell 13.4%
FDR took office in March 1933
In 1933 GDP fell 2.1% In 1934 GDP rose 7.7% In 1935 GDP rose 8.1% In 1936 GDP rose 14.1% In 1937 GDP rose 5.0% In 1938 GDP fell 4.5% In 1939 GDP rose 7.9%
My wife is looking at over 100 application right now, for a job which pays $32,000 a year. For this area thats not common in the past. I can only imagine what other parts of the country are like.
If autoworkers/suppliers and the folks who they frequent with purchases get hit. The problem will not get better. More foreclosures and whatever else goes with hard times.
Comments
I have toured plants and most of the easy work has been outsourced. Much like Delphi, Mackie, and others. But outsourced to plants in this country. Then GM has allowed the UAW to organize these plants. The lesser of two evils or better than going overseas?
The honey comb consept plant here in Arlington Texas is the latest in cell technology. Unfortunately it was geared to build SUV's. As far as engineering America has no rival. All of the plants I've been to have state of the art equiptment.
http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/ObjectID/AAD74992-4C86-44DA-8102A340BCEC520A/cat- ID/D348BE73-C552-4D58-B00586C0C0909EFA/104/150/269/ART/
At least 40 percent of all women report being sexually harassed at some point in their career, and men currently account for 11.6 percent of all sexual harassment cases. So, the chances of your company needing to respond to a sexual harassment concern are great. Be prepared, and you will likely deal with it successfully for all parties involved.
http://www.nfib.com/object/IO_25824.html
But corporate tax lawyers quickly realized the enormous implications of the document: Administration officials had just given American banks a windfall of as much as $140 billion.
The sweeping change to two decades of tax policy escaped the notice of lawmakers for several days, as they remained consumed with the controversial bailout bill. When they found out, some legislators were furious. Some congressional staff members have privately concluded that the notice was illegal. But they have worried that saying so publicly could unravel several recent bank mergers made possible by the change and send the economy into an even deeper tailspin.
"Did the Treasury Department have the authority to do this? I think almost every tax expert would agree that the answer is no," said George K. Yin, the former chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, the nonpartisan congressional authority on taxes. "They basically repealed a 22-year-old law that Congress passed as a backdoor way of providing aid to banks."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/09/AR2008110902155_- pf.html
In the pension agency's view, to permit a company to adopt this type of ''follow-on'' pension plan after terminating its original plan is to invite abuse of the pension insurance system. As the agency explained its view to the Court, workers will have every incentive to collude with their employers in the abandonment of troubled pension plans, knowing that the Federal program will cover most of the benefits and a relatively inexpensive new plan will pick up the rest. The result, the agency said, will be an accelerating drain on its resources.
But the appeals court ruled that under the Federal retirement law, the existence of a new pension plan of this type was not a basis for the pension agency to order restoration of the old plans. In its appeal, P.B.G.C. v. LTV Corp., No. 89-390, the agency is arguing that the appeals court should have deferred to the agency's professional judgment that misuse of the insurance fund should not be tolerated.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE6D6123EF932A05753C1A96F94826- 0&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
Also your right about everything being done on the IPhone. I stand corrected.
Depends who you think is more correct. 3 think tank type groups or the Republicans down south with the competitors plants.
Just for balance, there's also Milton Friedman, Harvard economist, and a lot of other economists who side with your "Republicans down south with competitors plants".
Unfortunately we may find out. Headlines as of this moment are saying the talks have broken down because UAW won't agree to wage cuts. Looks like not much has changed with them.
lTalks break off after GOP senators, UAW can't agree on pay (Detroit Free Press)
Your original post implied that because the UAW were collective bargaining employees they shouldn't have to tighten their belts (make concessions). Nothing to do with whether your employer can fire you. Are you suggesting that just because workers pay union dues they should be exempt from sacrifice to save a company? Everybody else sacrifice but not them?
That appears to be the mentality as the bailout bill failed tonight because the UAW didn't want to budge until after their precious contract runs out in 2011.
keep the teacher's in the classroom where they belong and they should not be allowed to corrupt the rest with their ideas. Socrates was put to death for corupting the youth you know...., It is somebody(ies) theory being passed around to depend on the bankruptcy, but it does not have to be that way at all. There have been trillions of dollars here at play.., if all of those are so smart then something should have been done to save the economy more than where it's at now.
1)the UAW have made concessions.
2)A contract is a contract....., You could find a pie of your own and leave everbody elses' pie alone........, it's unlawful to break a contract....., The workers are tired enough already to deal with people trying to eat at them. pick pick pick
the banks that were bailed out could allow the general public to open they're Home Loan Contracts for a better interest rate instead of foreclosures or the way you are talking, lower the amount of the loan to the lowered value of the home if that be the case.
ceos have been fired in the past, but i don't see a good economy still. for $1 a year, one might be given the opportunity to resolve this.
~cheers
The group came close to agreement, but it stalled over the UAW's refusal to agree to wage cuts before their current contract expires in 2011. Republicans, in turn, balked at giving the automakers federal aid.
The UAW did not immediately react to the failure of the Senate proposal.
Bailout DEAD!
Greed is the ultimate killer.
Regards,
OW
I wonder though, when you're pulling that kind of hours, how you'd find the time to spend it! For a brief time, I actually had three jobs, back in early 1996 when I got divorced, and was deep in debt. There was a couple times I pulled in 80+ hours per week, and I think once I hit 90! About all I had time for though, was work and sleep! At that time, all the money was going to pay down bills, so I couldn't have blown it on an extravagant lifestyle if I wanted to...but even if I could, I wouldn't have the time!
Back in March 2005, there was one week where I had to work 90 hours. It was pretty brutal. It was one thing when that 90 hours was spread across three jobs, and one of them involved a lot of running around, delivering pizzas. At least there was some variety, and it kept me moving. But to do 90 hours of PowerPoint and proofreading, is enough to rot your brain!
I imagine that if you're getting overtime on a regular basis, you just get used to it always being there, and it's easy for your lifestyle and spending habits to adapt. Up until about 1-2 months ago, I had been averaging 4-5 hours of OT per week at my job. And on top of that, I maxed out my leave balance, so they've been letting me cash out 8 hours per week. So for the time being, that's been like getting a 30% raise! (getting paid for 52 hours, rather than 40. Also, I don't get time and a half, just a straight hourly rate).
Unfortunately, about 1-2 months ago, we had a meeting, and they said they're going to start cutting out overtime to save on costs. At first they tried to stand their ground on it, but then they realized that if I go home as soon as I hit 40 hours and something comes up, the people that are left here can't always handle it. So they backed down on that one.
And the vacation paydown won't last forever, either. We switch companies in a few months, at which point they just cut a check for our remaining balance.
I never was one to live beyond my means. I've taken the extra income from the vacation paydown and the overtime and invested it (which in this economy, means I would've been better off stuffing it in a mattress. :sick: ) Still, I guess it's not hard for some people to adjust their lifestyle, thinking the prosperity will go on forever. How easy it is to forget the past!
If you're married, isn't the insured maximum doubled? So $500K in this case? Or is that an old wive's tale?
And yeah, much over 2.5% is pretty mythical these days. I know Emigrant Direct is at 3%, but I'm expecting them to drop soon. They usually change their rates soon after the Fed does, but this time they've slacked off...thankfully! Citibank had some savings account that was paying 3.5%, but it's down to 2.75 now. I was able to lock in a 6-month CD with H&R Block bank for something like 4.25%, but I doubt if they'd pay that now. And I didn't want to tie up the money any longer, just in case I need it.
I got news for the UAW. Obama has 12 million illegals waiting for their free green card. They will be more than willing to work for the going wage in the industry. It would do the UAW workers good to be in a WPA type camp building roads in the wilderness for 3 squares and a tent to sleep in. Many have never known what it is to work like a dog for minimum wage. It is an experience everyone should go through. You appreciate what you have in a good job so much more.
Easy, all you need is a spouse and kids. I remember when I met my wife and her dad was an iron worker for LTV. He worked doubles 6 days a week for years and that didn't end until LTV went belly up. Particularly when he had 2 kids in college and one getting ready to go.
One of my grandpa's best friends actually worked fulltime for both US Steel and Republic Steel in NW Indiana for about 20 years. Sure he made plenty of money, but he went through several wives, ended up gambling it all away, what he didn't gamble away, he drank away, then died about 10 years into retirement from a heart attack. Go figure.
Still, I couldn't imagine working two 40 hour/week jobs for 20 years. I'd think that would be tough liven.
I am not positive. It seems like that is what the manager at WaMU told us when we were concerned about their financial condition.
First I do not disagree that the government should not be bailing out corporations or individuals. BUT when I talked to Milton last week he said that this is a case where the government needs to do something to keep millions more of americans from losing their jobs and making it worse. Whoops, could not have been Milton, he died 2 years ago. Where did your hear that he said that all the suppliers would be fine if GM went under? :surprise:
So funny. Here GM is ready to go out of business and the UAW says it will not speed up its concessions and get parity with the other non union shops to save their own jobs.
For those who said the domestics should have not have caved in to the UAW demands when the big 3 were making money a little knock on the head.
Paying 4.25% and getting 3.75%. Well worth it to have a bit of cushion if GM goes under.
If that were true the jails would be overflowing. Contracts are broken every minute of the day. Lots of union contracts are supposedly illegal to break (especially public employee ones), but that doesn't seem to slow anyone down.
The spin:
"The UAW is deeply disappointed that Senate Republicans have blocked the bipartisan legislation that was agreed to by President Bush and congressional Democrats." Detroit Free Press
It is the game of chicken, very simply put.
Who will blink first? UAW or the Government?
Paying 4.25% and getting 3.75%. Well worth it to have a bit of cushion if GM goes under.
Depending on your tax situation, you may break even after the mortgage interest deduction. Certainly a good move in my opinion. Good luck.
At the risk of hijacking the discussion, 90 hrs is pretty regular for Doctors doing their residency.....it is brutal. They live in the hospital, literally.
Yeah, I can imagine! To a degree though, they probably get acclimated to it. In my case, I had been averaging maybe 44-45 hours per week, and hadn't worked a second job in about 4 years. So to suddenly go from that slower pace to 90 hours kicked my butt!
To paraphrase Click and Clack, don't drive like my doctor.
It's obvious that medical residents need a better union. :P
As far as suppliers, they will sink or swim on their own...like it or not, if someone (person) or something (company) files bankruptcy, and they eliminate their debt to that supplier, then the supplier will either absorb the loss and continue operating, or they, too, will go bankrupt...it is a tough thing to swallow, but the right to file bankruptcy and relieve yourself of all/some of your debt does not take into consideration the effect of your bankruptcy, even tho it may start a chain reaction...
The bottom line is that the Big 3 cannot continue on like they are, making cars in numbers that enough people refuse to buy...their overcapacity is shameful, and they simply do NOT need as many plants, or workers, to make the products that CAN sell...the must shed workers by the 1000s, and close plants that make products that nobody wants...it is that simple...the human cost, SADLY, is immaterial in the long run...if a company has the workers to make 5 million cars but only sells 3 million, and cannot make a profit because of the overhead of the capacity to make 5 million, then the plants and the workers must be eliminated...period...if billions of profit were there, those workers could be eased out slowly, but with no profit, the workers must be jettisoned TOMORROW...
You guys sure can confuse me. What Michigan assisted suicide law?
My mistake! I meant Martin Feldstein of Harvard, not Milton Friedman!
Martin Feldstein called for the Big Three automakers to enter bankruptcy to rewrite excessive union contracts
Senator Corker of Tennessee today said that the major sticking point was that he wanted a finite date by which the changes would be made - anytime in 2009 - and the UAW did not want to commit to that date. Gettlefinger said that he felt "set up"!
...or go to Oregon!
GM needs to be the one feeling set up.
In reality the huge retiree benefit for hourly and the work rules mandated by UAW through the decades have made US brands unable to manufacture efficiently. I have no doubts that even the overpaid, ineffective management at GM knew how to automate factories even more than they have, but they were held back by the work rules and mandated employment numbers. While I commented on the IUE workers and how efficiently they worked when I was in the Moraine plant, it seems the problem has come down not to the current workers being efficient, but that the plants could have been more automated and much more efficient financially. GM could have been making more profit per car to have more money to do recalls on problems that erupt as have Toyota and honda with their transmission, vibration, shifting, VCM, sludge and other problems. That would have earned GM a better reputation about handling of the typical, average problems which most manufacturers have.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Just got my Home equity statement. I am paying 3.24% APR. Dropped 1 point in one month!!
Sure. Because it is performance bonus. Sometimes you get it. Sometimes you don't.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9A0DE2DF173AF93AA15755- C0A960948260
Many folks out there would like 10% or better, but if we are in double digit inflation we aren't gaining any wealth.
Detroit is cheaper than Huntsville but Huntsville is cheaper than Dearborn.
Cost of Living Calculator (Sperlings)
But CNN gives the nod to Alabama.
Neither one of these talk much about the respective tax burdens.
I doubt the UAW likes the idea of performance-based bonuses.
He was spinning it to serve the union's purposes.
Is social security welfare?
As historians Peter N. Carroll and David W. Noble note, Hoover feared that the collapse of the large corporations would bring down the entire US capitalist system. After all, one percent of the banks held 50% of banking assets. Three corporations—Ford, Chrysler, General Motors—manufactured 85% of the automobiles sold in the US. Chain stores dominated retail sales and their difficulties had national repercussions.
Hoover and the Republicans saw aid to corporations as being different. Whereas they believed that helping the individual citizen weather the Depression would corrupt him or her, aiding corporations and other business was different. To many, it appeared that the Republicans were only interested in the rich. The newly-created Reconstruction Finance Corporation aided only the large corporations.
http://historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=603
Eerie isn't it?
He regulated capalism. Before FDR the nation had a laizze-fair notion about business, let business run itself and monitor itself. Unfortunately, as it always does, unregulated capitalism destroyed itself as those with inordinate money and power were able to circumvent the laws of free market.
For instance, pre FDR, steel companies had a total monopoly and what a degree of collusion and price fixing that is considered criminal by today's standards.
FDR: Cycles tax money back to the average person via works programs and emergency assistance. He also improved our infrastructure by using gvt money to build dams, roads etc that bolstered the economy. He passed laws restricting business to encourage free market competition such as anti-trust laws (not allowing companies to merge and form monopoly's). He endorsed labor's right to strike and to demand living wages from employers. He
implemented social security which has proven to be the number one means of avoiding poverty.
FDR's policies produced the hightest standard of living the world had ever known. We had overall continued growth until the Regan years. The conservative movement in the us corresponds to decline in wealth, education, health of the US public after 50 years of steady improvement.
He put people to work, brought hope and confidence back to the US and possibly saved us froma communist revolution.
We actually were well out of the depression long before we entered WW2, Thanks to FDR.
In 1930 GDP fell 9.4%
In 1931 GDP fell 8.5%
In 1932 GDP fell 13.4%
FDR took office in March 1933
In 1933 GDP fell 2.1%
In 1934 GDP rose 7.7%
In 1935 GDP rose 8.1%
In 1936 GDP rose 14.1%
In 1937 GDP rose 5.0%
In 1938 GDP fell 4.5%
In 1939 GDP rose 7.9%
If autoworkers/suppliers and the folks who they frequent with purchases get hit. The problem will not get better. More foreclosures and whatever else goes with hard times.