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Comments
Regards,
OW
As far as the Casino workers inability to get a contract with Harrah's. Don't you find it just a bit strange that the other Unions were able to negotiate with them? Is it possible the UAW was asking for more than the company could afford? Or maybe they don't want to be the next GM or Chrysler.
Sadly the UAW has tainted the workforce in several Midwestern states. That will make it difficult enticing any company back in there. Their best bet is to vote themselves into a Right to Work state and plead for companies to give them another chance.
I would like to agree with you on several points. I just don't think you are seeing where the problem lies. You cannot run a company out of business as the UAW has done for years and not suffer the consequences. Look at your Liberal Congress and what they have done for Labor, Union and Non Union. They have put the light bulb industry nearly out of business forcing US to buy Chinese CFLs. They are pushing Solar power with PV cells mostly made in China and Japan. They are pushing Hybrid and Battery powered cars and most of the batteries will be made in China, Korea or Japan. And my favorite is taking the contract for Condoms from a US manufacturer and giving the contract to the Chinese.
You are right. Globalization will take generations to achieve parity. Why is our Congress and President so intent on pushing US in that direction?
You get too emotional regarding constant changing market conditions that are not favoring Unions anymore.
Like I said, fighting for your wages is not productive. Energy should be focused on creating a future direction WITH change rather than against it.
Regards,
OW
Dear UAW: There's Gotta Be a Better Way
One of the coolest things about advancing technology is that it changes the way things are done. In industry after industry, institution after institution, computers, the Internet, cell phones and so on have shaken up old, inefficient, ineffective methods and created new and better business models.
Which makes for an interesting filter when looking at images of this weeks United Auto Workers strike. There they are -- union men and women standing around, holding paper signs, suffering the fate of not working and not getting paid as a way to win a negotiation. Doesn't seem like anything has changed in 100 years. Makes me wonder: If a couple of tech whiz kids out of Stanford started a new labor union, how would they re-imagine it?
AFAIC, a Labor Union should be dynamic enough to train/develop it's membership by providing constant education to meet the changing forces of the market instead of starting trouble. Strike and your out of the Union. The goal should be to establish the highest quality staffing that companies will willingly pay for. Exactly the opposite of fighting.
Regards,
OW
Such as Google? Well folks are fighting to work there. They treat their employees like gold and thereby keep unions out.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/bestcompanies/2007/snapshots/1.html
NEXT
The Market for Ultra-Low-Cost CarsIn emerging markets, there are at least 10 models already selling for less than $6,000. India and the rest of Asia (excluding China) represent the fastest growing regions. We project annual low-cost country volumes to grow to approximately 17.5 million units globally by 2020 (see figure). Although China and India will continue to be the most populous countries in 2020 with 1.4 billion and 1.3 billion people respectively, their receptiveness to low-cost vehicles differs. The more rapid increase in disposable income in China, combined with an aging population and a historical preference for larger vehicles, lead to the conclusion that India and the rest of Asia (excluding China) will be the most promising ultra-low-cost car markets, accounting for perhaps 60 percent of the estimated global market potential. This is not to say that China should be neglected. The size of the Chinese market in 2020, estimated at 2.6 million units, will contribute significantly to the rise in overall vehicle production and, ultimately, to the profitable production of low-cost vehicles.
Distribution. Bringing an ULCC to the North American or European market will result in a significant price increase (see figure). The $2,500 target base price of the Nano, for example, could jump to more than $4,000, with conversions to meet government regulations. With logistics, marketing and promotions, manufacturer-dealer profits, tariffs, account destination fees, and taxes bumping the final cost up even further. Applying the same percentage increases to an ultra-low-cost car at the highest price point in the category—$5,000—results in a North American or European sales price of more than $9,000.
http://www.atkearney.com/index.php/Publications/a-nano-car-in-every-driveway.htm- - l
Regards,
OW
Read the entire article. I work in aerospace and defense. We have no competition.
TATA = CAR = COFFIN
IUE-CWA settle on healthcare and retirement
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
gagrice, no way in H*ll any company would work with the UAW voluntarily...I have said before that at least 2 generations of people need to pass before that "UAW welfare mentality" is bred out of them, and it would also take that long to breed INTO them the thought of "quality workmanship" on the things they make...
It would be easier to give Mussolini another chance than the UAW...if ever there was a dinosaur that deserved to die a slow, painful death, it is the UAW...not to sound too negative, of course...just my usual mild opinion about brain-impaired autoworkers and what they have done to the industry...
As with Boeing IAM workers, too, I can't stand the sabotage stories. I spose these workers that sabotage jet airplanes or just tuck tools away in hard-to-get places feel that their jobs should be safe after doing those sorts of things, too. Right? :sick:
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Speaking of socialism? Viewed from Wall Street, Citi is too big and important to be allowed to fail while GM is simply a big, clunky old manufacturing company that can go into chapter 11 and reorganize itself. The newly conventional wisdom on the Street is that the failure of the Treasury and the Fed to save Lehman Brothers was a grave mistake because Lehman's demise caused creditors and investors to panic, which turned the sub-prime loan mess into a financial catastrophe -- a mistake that must not occur again. So, by this view, the government must do everything and anything to keep Citi alive. But GM? GM is just jobs and communities.
Little do they know, as seen from Lehman's demise. The economic costs of a GM failure would not just cause a "ripple effect," it would be a tsunami. hence, the UAW/organized labor would come back more militant and stronger.
Due to deregulation of the financial industry the marketplace has not been fair. It was rigged to help the rich become richer at the expense of millions of hapless individuals. This recent greedy misadventure of Wall Street into credit default swaps (derivatives) and subprime mortgages is what brought the economy down and hard times for millions of Americans. If unemployment rates reach double-digits, as some economists fear, nearly 7 million people will lose their jobs, more than 7 million will lose their health coverage, and more than 12 million will fall into poverty.
By 2007, the percentage of poor Americans who are living in poverty had reached a 32-year high. (This closely coincides, by the way, with the timeline of Reaganomics). Millions of working Americans are falling closer to the poverty line and the gulf between the nation's "haves" and "have-nots" continues to widen. After tapping friends and family, maxing out their credit cards and sufficiently swallowing their pride, at least 23 million Americans stood in food lines last year – many of them the working poor, according to America's Second Harvest, the Chicago-based hunger relief organization. The surge in food demand is fueled by several forces – job losses, expired unemployment benefits, soaring health-care and housing costs, and the inability of many people to find jobs that match the income and benefits of the jobs they lost.
There is no one as blind as he/she who will not open their eyes and or turn on the light. Now where does the UAW fit into this welfare for the rich mentality? All those years after deregulation the elite (whom you must admire) have fornicated and sodomized with the nation. So spare me the bad/evil UAW scapegoating. The Republican base (and Fox News) cannot accept the results of the election. This hardcore base is incoherently blaming Obama for problems that Republican policies caused. When someone tells them the facts, they get angry and refuse to listen. I can almost see their collective fingers in their ears.
Not sure who your master might be. Mine tells me to live in peace with all people and pay my taxes. I don't see the UAW or the illegals as scapegoats. Maybe pawns in a big chess game. The UAW members for the most part are sheep led astray by power hungry Union leaders. When 3000 UAW sheep get laid off the Union leader still gets paid. No sweat off his behind. If the leaders were honest in 1998, 2005 & 2008 many of those jobs would still be around. If you cannot see that the D3 were crippled by strikes over the last decade, I don't know what to tell you. My 37 years as a Teamster, we never spent one day on strike. We may have carried out a couple work slowdowns to get the management off the dime. We never drove a company into bankruptcy either. The UAW has destroyed several companies. Not happy with just driving the domestic auto industry out of business, they are going after the aircraft and casino business. We both see the problems through different eyes. I'm no fan of corporate management. I think the current pay scale of CEOs is obscene. That does not mean that you drive business out of the country with unsustainable wage & benefit packages.
I also feel for the illegals. I see the same 15-20 guys hanging around the same corner every day waiting for someone to give them a days work. The problem is the people that hire them. I don't think you can say the people hiring illegals are affiliated more with one party or the other. Many are just individuals that need someone with a good back to help with a project on their home. Companies that knowingly hire illegals and exploit them should be prosecuted. People that pander to them hoping to gain illegal votes should also be prosecuted.
Both the UAW and Illegal immigration has played a role in the deterioration of the American standard of living. They are far from the main cause. I think you are looking at an administration and Congress that are not at all displeased to see people living in tents and collecting food stamps. It gives them more power over the masses. It also cuts down on GHG one of their terror tactics.
"There is no real point in blaming this on politics alone. Most of it is due to the lack of good education..."
The unionized teachers, like the UAW, have big monopolies and are against innovation and certainly against rating teachers on merit. Meanwhile the educational systems of other countries are doing a much better job. Like the auto industry, the unionization is destroying the competitiveness of the US. We have begun our decline, unfortunately. Once things got too successful and too easy we got lazy and began to expect things that we did not earn. And other countries are still hungry and willing to be competitive.
I would hope you're not judging an entire skilled workforce of 160,000 people who take pride in their work by the actions of one or two nitwits.
Regards,
OW
And truer words have not been written here. Take C4C...60% goes to non-USA automotive.
UAW are going to own the bottom jobs in this country. No way around it.
REgards,
OW
They should have the same option I had as a retired Teamster. I paid for a catastrophic plan until Medicare kicked in. I had the option to keep my Teamster insurance at over $950 per month. There are a lot better plans if you look around.
You seem to think it is everyone else's fault that the UAW leadership negotiated a ponzi scheme for retiree health care. Now you want the rest of US to chip in and help your brothers. You are emphasizing the real problem with Unions in general. The membership are expected to trust the leaders blindly. Then when the bottom falls out they expect someone else to pick up the pieces.
I had our contract memorized. Of course it was not 2200 pages of what an employee will not do for the fat wages they get.
ClaireS, Host
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And just in time for Labor Day, too!
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I might add that government employee Unions are many times responsible for bankrupting communities, cities and States. For some reason these Union members feel they are more valuable than those performing the same duties in the private sector.
"Vallejo has been hogtied by its police and fire unions," Moore, a local businessman, said later. "The unions are killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Do I need to bring a dead goose to next week's meeting? I hope not."
Vallejo's base pay for firefighters is more than $80,000 a year. Last year, 21 of them topped $200,000 in salary and overtime, according to city payroll records.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/10/MNFKVEV4L.DTL
Picture of a bankrupt city thanks to UNIONS.
During the calendar year 2007, there were 292 City of Vallejo employees who had total gross wages of $100,000 or more. Find out who they were, what departments they worked for and how much they made by searching that database below.
http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/vallejo/?appSession=7441898916846
Happy LD!
Regards,
OW
That Act defines pension funds that have less than 80% of assets they will need to meet their obligations as “endangered.” Only 14% of non-union funds are in the endangered category, while 41% of union funds have been so tagged.
Not great new if you pay dues, but not to worry!
And there is yet another benefit bailout for Big Labor on the horizon. In late August, Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) announced draft legislation to change how pension fund valuations are determined. For multi-employer (i.e. union) plans, Pomeroy's proposal would extend the rehabilitation and funding improvement periods for plans in endangered or critical status. It would also authorize the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to financially assist in the merger of multi-employer pension funds when it determines that financial assistance "is reasonably expected to reduce the PBGC's likely long-term loss," according to the bill summary. Like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, this essentially would allow underfunded union pension plans to "re-value" assets to make pensions that are in trouble look healthier than they really are.
Looks like the government is arranging yet another Ponzi scheme that benefits Unions directly.
Happy Labor Day!
Regards,
OW
thethis government is arranging yet another Ponzi scheme that benefits Unions directlyAlways looking forward to 2012 and 2010 elections... :sick:
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The fiduciary responsibility gives the control of managing pensions to an uninterested third party. Come on you know better than that? Most of these laws were a direct result of Teamsters dipping into pension plans. My pension is managed by Citi street and not my employer and or the UAW. The UAW doesn't do pension and or 401K's like the Teamsters.
Combating the Teamster’s Pension Fund Ponzi Scheme on CNBC
A few years ago, UPS saw the writing on the wall and left the failing fund in exchange for a one-time $6.1 billon payoff. More than $3 billion of that went to pay for non-UPS employees pensions.
The Teamsters Central States fund is one of the most notorious multi-employer pensions in the country. Before the economic meltdown it was less than 70% funded, which put it in the “red zone.” Now, after losing 9 billion in the economic meltdown, it has $17 billion in project assets and an estimated $33 billion in liabilities. To make matters worse, it has more than 200,000 retirees, but only 93,000 active contributers.
http://laborpains.org/index.php/category/teamsters/page/2/
Happy Labor Day
"When polls show that 60 percent of the workers in America want to organize, yet only 7 percent belong to unions, you know something's broken," one of the bill's sponsors, Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin, told Wednesday's union rally in Washington.
"Card check is real simple," Bego said. "They want to eliminate the secret ballot election. And that is kind of like saying, 'We're going to elect the president of our country by signing cards. We're going to go door to door and you're going to sign a card for who you want to be president.' "
Bego said if his employees want a union, they should be able to secretly vote for one. He offered to hold union elections at his company, but only if they were monitored by the National Labor Relations Board and involved secret ballots.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/04/unions.card.check/
And just in time for Labor Day, too!
What a bunch of hogwash. The mainstream media has done a good job of spreading inaccuracies (that's my polite way of saying it) and getting the masses to believe it. Take the $75 average UAW wage that they claim, for instance. I was at the top of the wage scale for all UAW jobs in skilled trades. I would have been happy to have earned even half of that $75/hr. And don't try to tell me that benefits and other things made up the difference - not even close.
Here's a link to the details of many of the things the UAW gave up or re-negotiated in the middle of their contract agreement recently to help keep the companies running. I don't expect the UAW haters here to actually read it all.
UAW Concessions
I do not hate UAW or the membership. You reap what you sow. If the system worked efficiently, 90% of the labor force would be in a union and US Autos would be the best in the world under the UAW system. No?
I continue to believe unions will become useless shells.
Regards,
OW
Union members tend to believe that most workers want to join a labor union. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 47% of union members hold that view while only 18% disagree.
But those who don’t belong to a union hold a different perspective. By a 56% to 14% margin, they believe that most workers do not want to belong to a union.
9% Dying to Join
Keep dreaming.
Regards,
OW
That is precisely why the founders of the Alaska Teamsters Union did not want any affiliation with the Teamsters in the lower 48 states. Back in 1961 the corruption in the Teamsters was horrendous. Our pension plan is fully funded and healthy, in spite of the downturn. In fact we may get a raise next year. Something that only happens when the fund has money to spend. We don't care how they do it in New Jersey. Our leaders, while not pure as the driven snow, are for our members and keeping Alaska business in Alaska. Too bad the UAW does not have that kind of leadership.
I'm going to celebrate it by working on a few upgrades for my 1975 2002- and maybe take a ride on my 1996 Triumph Speed Triple.
Deutschland über alles, y'all...
Oh yeah, and Rule, Britannia!
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Other than maybe those on the "Protected" list are laid off, no Christmas bonus for regular employees, health insurance is more in line with the rest of the world, adjustments as to how OT is figured, and so forth. Looks to me that they still have it better than most manufacturing jobs.
Also saw how they (Chrysler) are fighting for their corporate lives, so the company and employees can survive.
Considering that the tax payers are contributing $14,000,000,000,000, toward this endeavor, and over 6 million folks have lost their jobs, and the feds are in the process of taking away our freedoms as quickly as they can, what do the UAW members, that are going to their jobs every week, have to complain about?
Kip
Now Kip, you obviously don't understand entitlement, do you? :P
to all that understand the concept of 8 hours work for 8 hours pay.
Hopefully America gets back to that and we move back to our role as World Leaders.
to all that understand the concept of 8 hours work for 8 hours pay.
Hopefully America gets back to that and we move back to our role as World Leaders.
AMEN!
Regards,
OW
And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/MediaResources/PreparedSchoolRemarks/
In other parts of the world, governments routinely help their domestic auto industries with tax breaks, reimbursement for research and development, worker training funds and — perhaps most significantly — state-sponsored health care.
“It would be hard to find a country that has less of a broad infrastructure to support the auto industry than the U.S.,” says manufacturing expert Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California-Berkeley.
http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/auto_us_lags_auto/
India’s largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki expects the new government to continue support to the badly hit car industry.
Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India, Mr. Shinzo Nakanishi said, "Last December the government cut excise duty and froze petrol prices, and also cut interest rates. Those steps helped the auto industry.”
He reiterated, “The company totally agree with SIAM’s (Society for Indian Automobile Manufacturers) view that the auto industry needs support from the government for survival. He further added, “I hope the new government continues with the support and there are no excise duty hikes. I'll be happy if there is a further excise duty cut."
The Indian auto industry has been experiencing its roughest period in the history. The industry registered just 0.71 percent growth in car sales in the last fiscal year. Even this growth was witnessed due to the stimulus package offered by the government.
http://www.carazoo.com/autonews/1905200901/Maruti-Expects-New-Government-to-Supp- - ort-Car-Industry
government employee Unions are many times responsible for bankrupting communities
State and local governments from Florida to California believed their public money was safe in top-rated accounts at Lehman Brothers. What could be safer than putting cash in a venerable investment bank that helped finance America’s railroads?
When the 158-year-old Lehman went belly-up last September and the government decided against a bailout, public officials in at least 20 states watched no less than $1.7 billion set aside for hospitals, fire houses, roads and schools evaporate from their books.
Lehman’s bankruptcy, the biggest in U.S. history, cut deeply into the budgets of state and local governments and other publicly funded entities, which by law keep operating money in conservative, interest-bearing instruments until it’s needed.
The money lost in California’s San Mateo county, in the San Francisco Bay area, was parked in highly rated, liquid Lehman securities, waiting to be used to fund schools, public works projects, prisons and transportation services.
The human cost of the loss of money: 1,658 local jobs — about one-half of 1 percent of the employment base in a county where the jobless rate has risen from less than 4 percent to more than 8 percent in the past year. An estimated $40 million was lost in operating funds for schools, which includes teacher salaries, books, construction and maintenance. Also lost was more than $36 million that supports the county’s public hospital, affordable housing, parks and in-home support services for the elderly and disabled.
http://blog.taragana.com/n/state-local-governments-left-holding-the-bag-in-lehma- n-bankruptcy-want-federal-bailout-money-53478/
UNIONS THE FOLKS WHO INVENTED WEEKENDS
Why did the UAW go on strike several times while the US auto makers were bleeding red ink. The UAW played a big part in bankrupting GM & Chrysler. Your deflecting to totally unrelated issues in other countries does not add credibility to your lack of an argument.
PS
Maybe you think the UAW workers and retirees would settle for the health care offered to the average person in India. Or even the UK. That makes me laugh.
Politics pushing cities toward bankruptcy
Lynndee Kemmet
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Stung by the recession, a growing number of local governments are eyeing bankruptcy, an option allowed under federal law.
Many public finance experts believe payroll and pension costs played a large role in pushing Vallejo to the brink. Bankruptcy would allow Vallejo to renegotiate its employee wage and pension agreements.
The unions have succeeded in getting legislation (AB155 - Mendoza) introduced that would allow the state to limit local government bankruptcies, including the ability of "bankrupt" governments to alter employee contracts. The legislation sailed through the Assembly 47-25, but is bogged down in the state Senate.
The underlying cause of bankruptcy is politics. Cities have been driven to the brink because citizens, interest groups, public employees and politicians have failed to look realistically at what cities can and cannot afford. The politicians, especially in flush times, typically opt for the easy route of keeping everyone happy by handing out gifts, such as higher wages and benefits, and new programs and services. These "gifts" are given with the expectation - not a guarantee - that the economy will grow and with it the tax revenue to cover the increased expenditures.
Sound familiar? The same kind of Ponzi scheme the automakers used to keep UAW workers on the job. The house of cards fell down when people quit buying the junk they were building. Now the tax payers are footing the bill to keep the UAW afloat.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/01/EDG219GEM4.DTL
The UAW can and will go on strike while they are not under contract. There is the no strike/slow down/walk out clause on these contracts. Would you do something your not contractually obligated to do? If so please make one of my car payments.
The point of bring up the gov't funding the auto industry is getting was being addressed. In that this is not mutually exclusive to UAW represented auto makers. If anything this is traditional and on-going in non UAW auto makers. Up to and including the tax and land incentives received here on American soil, paid for by American taxpayers (which includes future generations). The too enjoyed the cash for clunkers incentives (CARS). Now would you please give me one instance where the Big Three were given incentives by governments of other nations?
Your author (Lynndee Kemmet) is paid for by, The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI) is an extremely influential, pro-business, conservative think tank founded in 1943 by Lewis H. Brown. It promotes the advancement of free enterprise capitalism[1], and succeeds in placing its people in influential governmental positions. It is the center base for many neo-conservatives.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Enterprise_Institute
Lehman’s bankruptcy, the biggest in U.S. history, cut deeply into the budgets of state and local governments and other publicly funded entities, which by law keep operating money in conservative, interest-bearing instruments until it’s needed.
Minnesota lost more than $56 million. Missouri lost $50 million. Oregon lost $173 million. Arizona lost $61 million. Florida lost more than $465 million. Public agencies in California’s San Mateo County — one of 35 public entities hit in that state — lost $155 million, according to two California Democrats who presented all the figures as evidence that federal help is needed.
On Tuesday, public officials came to Capitol Hill pleading for a bailout. They asked the House Financial Services Committee to back legislation directing the Treasury Department to take some of the money left in the government’s $700 billion financial bailout and buy back certain Lehman investments at full face value.
It’s only fair, they said. It’s not like these government entities were using taxpayer funds to speculate in the market. The money was invested in top-rated corporate bonds and the like. Now, they are fighting in court to get pennies on the dollar for their bad Lehman investments.
Boulder County and 61 other local governments in Colorado were forced to write off $5 million plus interest because the Colorado Diversified Trust had invested part of its assets in highly rated commercial paper issued by Lehman.
“Ours was not a speculative investment,” said Bob Hullinghorst, treasurer of Boulder County, 30 miles northwest of Denver and home to the University of Colorado. “We should not have been talking risks with taxpayers’ dollars. We did not think we were.”