"Do you really think you could afford a pair of tennis shoes made in a UAW shop? Would you even want the style they are making because of Union restrictions on changes in the workplace. I am sure a $150 pair of Reeboks made in China would be $1500 with a UAW sticker on them."
You have summed up in one paragraph why industries are leaving the US and yet, why union people have no conception on why you just can't pay a shirtworker $25 an hour, plus benefits...because the retail price will reflect the overhead, and the product will be unaffordable...
All these pro-union peple act as tho the you can pay labor $30/hour, but sell the item at Walmart ( or any other store) for $9.00...they simply do not, and cannot, get it...
And the union beat, whatever is left of it, goes on...
Here is another thing. IF the UAW workers and all their friends and relatives refused to shop at WalMart, Do you think there would be 18 Walmart stores in the Detroit metro area? UAW workers did not worry about those people in the USA making clothes, appliances, household goods, TVs etc, etc when the money was flowing and they were getting great deals at Walmart. It is well documented in the late 1970s, NO BIG 3 car or truck was made 100% in the USA. One vehicle got to claim that fact. It was the VW Rabbit.
around 1979, when the oil crisis was at full force. The little Rabbit, combined with the optional 1.5l 4 cylinder Diesel delivered superb fuel economy (45 mpg city/up to 57 mpg highway) The Rabbit had waiting lists at the dealership during that time. Production for the U.S. market moved over here to New Stanton* Pennsylvania in 1978. The first Rabbit rolled of the assembly line on April 10th 1978 with NBC news present to unveil the first foreign car to be built in the USA.
Trivia question: Was that PA VW plant UAW or Non Union?
So Volkswagen is returning, but not to Western Pennsylvania. That was a lesson learned. Twenty years after it blew a perfectly sound strategy to make cars in the United States, Germany's biggest automaker will try again with a new U.S. assembly plant. Once a pioneer, however, it's coming back a tail-ender. And this time, its 2,000 jobs and $1 billion of investment will go to Chattanooga, Tenn.
Tennessee is a "right-to-work" state, one of 22 in the United States that give workers the choice to join -- or not to join -- the dominant labor union on the premises. Unions are weak in such places, but job growth is strong.
Nearly all the Asian and German "transplants" making cars in the United States are in right-to-work states. America's gasping "Big Three," in contrast, all unionized -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- are losing market share and rapidly turning blue. None has a common stock worth $14 anymore. GM last week warned of thousands more job cuts coming.
Detroit vented that grim news even as Wolfsburg, Volkswagen's German headquarters, said it will start building 150,000 midsized sedans a year in the United States, beginning 2011.
If the UAW had a reputation for providing a good workforce, you would not see this happening.
I think why many of us are cynical about this is because consumers saw the high prices of US made clothes as opposed to cheaper foreign goods, and bought them. This forced American companies like Levi's or Reebok to look overseas. One problem though, the ONLY thing that changed when they moved their plants overseas was the tag that said "Made In China" as opposed to USA. The $80 sneakers were still--- you guessed it --- $80. But now a union (Steve, this is where I make it relevant to the topic) employee was out of a job.
But how to sell $80 sneakers when the no names are $40? Lets give pro athletes free sneakers AND multi million dollar endorsement contracts. Now, all the welfare recipients take OUR tax dollars and spend them on overpriced Chinese sneakers, and the profits go to the very few (CEO's and athletes).
Should the garment workers get $25/hr? Well, that's questionable. But if they were paid a decent wage, they could be made here, we could STILL afford them, and these people who would be out of work would now be gainfully employed, and be able to purchase OUR goods and services, thus allowing the world to go 'round.
Actually there are 1000s of garment workers still in the USA. NYC and LA have their fair share of sweat shops. Mostly illegals would be my guess. I am not sure where all the union garment workers are at. UNITE has about 200,000 members in the US. The are tied with the HERE hotel workers Union. Total 465,000 members. So there is still a lot of cloths being made in the USA by union people.
My mother and grandmother were in the garment workers union in the 1940s in LA. They all worked piece work back then. The faster you could sew the more you could make. I still have about 8 pairs of VANs from when they were made here in So CA. I would not buy a pair of Chinese made shoes unless it gets dire. I think I have enough shoes to last the rest of my life. I stocked up on Dexter's before they shut down here in the USA.
I have to wonder if all the UAW members were so worried about buying stuff made in China?
New Balance makes there sneakers here, in Lawrence Mass. I would bet they aren't TOO concerned where they buy or what they buy, but the Union mantra will always be to buy union. There are web sites for purchasing union made garments. I would bet if all union workers "bought union" whenever possible, and religiously, it would make a difference, and get noticed. Alas I do see Telephone workers, firefighters, policemen, elect. co. workers, and other union people driving non-union made cars. Hell, my jeans came from Kohls. I can only imagine where they were made.
I have looked at New Balance shoes. If I buy a pair of running shoes that will probably be my option.
My wife took me into Kohl's last Christmas. I did not see a thing made in the USA. The kicker is Senator Herb Kohl is the Richest person in Congress. He is a DEMOCRAT that is getting filthy rich off of Chinese goods. That sounds real neighborly of him being from Wisconsin next door to the Big 3 and the UAW stronghold. I wonder how many UAW workers shop at Kohl's?
In fairness Kohl did vote against NAFTA and no longer has any direct control over the department chain.
"Should the garment workers get $25/hr? Well, that's questionable. But if they were paid a decent wage, they could be made here, we could STILL afford them, and these people who would be out of work would now be gainfully employed, and be able to purchase OUR goods and services, thus allowing the world to go 'round."
Yes, the sneaker are still $80, but it is my guess that they would be $125 or more if made here...
Using your quote above, I question your phrase "we could STILL afford them" as to whether that is accurate...
While I am not aware of exactly WHY Levi left the USA, the fact that they tried to hold on for so long, makes me think it was simply labor cost...
I continue to maintain what is to me, the obvious: if you pay a decent wage to a US worker for a product, say clothing or sneakers, that item will be priced at least 50% or more higher than it is now with the cheap Asian labor...
What this nation MUST face is that what USED to keep this country humming, unskilled labor making repetitive products on an assembly line, is rapidly disappearing...so, while the factory can move overseas in a year, the displaced workers must literally retrain their brain, and possibly 20-plus years of work habits, and change their lives just as fast...which is extremely difficult...
The skilled worker who is used to constant training and retraining has a different mindset, and can more easily adapt to another job, selling a home and moving for a better opportunity...the unskilled worker, without sounding elitist, may or may not be smart enough, or MOTIVATED enough, to make the same change, as they are stuck in habit patterns that may not easily adapt simply because the unskilled worker refuses to do so...psychology has a term for this, but I do not recall it...
I saw UAW workers in the 80s saying things like, "I can't do ANYTHING but install windshields, it's all I've done for 10 years"
Obviously, this is an immature mind speaking, since they obviously CAN do something other than windshields, but the mindset is that, quite frankly, retraining is hardly the first thing on their mind...they are stuck in this childlike trance (and childlike it is) of literally doing ONE thing for a living...
So please don't brag to me about how highly trained, and TRAINABLE, the UAW workforce is, because it simply isn't...many of them (not all) have a childlike view of the world that may take YEARS of counseling for them to open their mind to the concept of doing something new for a living...
THAT is why companies are traveling south for their factories...no union to deal with, certainly no union mindset as described above, no rotten work habits to break, and people who are probably more flexible from the get-go...former UAW workers, if you REALLY look at it, have NOTHING to offer an employer who makes cars different than the Big 3, and the Big 3 make cars that way because of the work rules of the UAW...they caused it, and now they reap what they sow...
If I was an automaker coming south, like VW, I would give simple psychological screening tests to prospective workers simply to see how flexible they are in the mind, which will make them better for cross training for ANY job in the plant...take away stupid union work rules, and the UAW will slowly melt away like ice on a hot summer day...
They had their day when they were necessary...now, those who see the union in THEIR future have no future for themselves, and they are stuck in the past that will never come back...like the dinosaur that could not adapt, the union is a dinosaur that will soon die off...too bad it will not turn into crude oil...
As the Big 3 change and shrink, nobody has actually noticed that we are not losing our automotive manufacturing base, it is simply evolving to the south with nonunion workers...as Big 3 lay off, imports are hiring, just not the same people...imports do not want the contaminated workers of the UAW, who think the worker runs the show...
It is ironic as Detroit closes plants claiming recession, yet while they scream about job loss, imports are building new plants daily...the auto business isn't leaving, it is simply changing, from the old contaminted union model, to the germ-free model of flexible workers who really want to work instead of strike...
UAW: goodbye and good riddance.....................
Garments, funny you should mention that. A group of UAW brothers and sisters went to New York. They went into Macy's and they looked at three shirts, Two were made overseas and was made in the USA. All three of these mens dress shirts were priced the same. Where are the savings being passed on to the consumer?
Then you fail to see that in the UAW, the workers are the UAW. They sit across the table with management and make the rules/contract together. Together they opt not to make the workforce/membership the jack of all trades and the master of none.
The local GM plant here in the Dallas area is UAW. They build the Tahoe, Yukon, and Escalade. Demand for these is absolutely related to the price at the pump. Lots of these SUV's are going overseas these days. If you stick to supply and demand, the true economics are apparent. The AMA (American Medical Association) has limited the amount of doctors and therefore the price, the allocation/rationing, is increased. The opposite is true about lawyer, the ABA (American Bar Association) has failed and in the near future one in seven Americans will be lawyers. However, this group is sure to create their own litigation and fuel a society which is surely in search of tort reform. So it would be possible that even the most mundane tasks in a society be well compensated due to the shortage of workers able and or willing to do these tasks. Affluent neighborhoods here in the DFW area have had problems hiring retail clerks in the mall. The transportation issue, in an area which had no mass transit, was apparent and had to be factored into the wage. Its useless to have goods for sale if there are no clerks during the mass consumption Xmas season.
The AMA, UAW, ABA, IBEW, AARP, NRA, and others are Representatives of their members. Hence, they are the membership. Union bashing reminds me of the ignorance of a society. Social scientist have seen this every time times have gotten bad. A group is picked so that all our woes can be blamed on them. As the Germans did the Jews. I'm not too sure if the aristocracy wants us to blame illegal aliens, organized labor, or any other minority. Its silly to think that Mexicans are responsible for all the jobs shipped overseas in the Carolinas, since they (hispanics) are less than 2% of the population there. However, foreign companies like BMW and Michelin bring back 3000 or so jobs to replace the hundreds of thousands and thats makes it ok.
Do times have to get so bad, before we act? We have boycott power now!!! Will we have it in the future? I sense that those who resent the UAW are ignorant to the fact that an injury to one is an injury to all. They may come for the Jew today, but tomorrow it may well be your turn. Tell them we support our own workforce as we support our troops. Don't allow the corporate owned media shape and or state your views.
So who paid you daughters health insurance, while working at Walmart? I'm assuming that she was on your policy. So is everyone working at Walmart as fortunate?
Also if you detest socialism, will you send your social security check back? Then too if you shop at Walmart, buy goods made in a communist country, are you supporting communism? The State Dept forbids your purchases of Cuban cigars. Cuba is a communist country.
Is it Nike or Reebok where the CEO makes more than his entire workforce put together? New Balance is made in the USA. Other union work forces in Europe are doing well. Why are all this countries woes blamed on the UAW?
Could be that corporations willfully and wantonly fed you tainted milk and still don't even realize it. Its possible since two Fox reporters weren't allowed to do a story, since the big chemical concern was a big advertiser on the Fox network. The product was banned in Canada and Europe. Hence, this chemical fed to dairy cows has affected your ability to reason as a sane person and or think for yourself.
a few years back, and I don't think they were made in the USA. I could be mistaken, though? Are ALL of their shoes supposed to be USA-made?
One thing I've noticed with shoes though, is that when you buy cheap knockoffs, somehow it just seems to show. For instance, I've seen these cheap knock-off Adidas looking things that they try to peddle at K-mart and such. They have 4 stripes instead of 3, but I just notice little details like the stitching doesn't seem as good, the leather parts don't fit together quite as well, etc. The cheaper shoes will usually start falling apart quicker, too.
I think Adidas used to be made in France, but now they're made in China. I've heard that the quality did go down when they made that transition. Timberland boots used to be made in the US, and now they're supposedly made elsewhere. Similarly, I've also heard people complain about that hurting their quality.
Dallas, is that the Arlington plant that built my EXCELLENT 1989 Cadillac Brougham? They sure know how to build 'em in Texas! My car has 157K miles on it and still looks, runs, and even smells like new!
My daughter worked part time at WalMart for a year. She did not get a penny from welfare. No Food Stamps or free health care. Where do I sign up? I forgot, you have to be an illegal alien. Maybe if you have a link on that $2000 claim for each WalMart employee it would help.
There was a movie that came out a year or so ago called "The High Cost of Low Prices" that definitely painted WalMart in a bad light. Now keep in mind it was a MOVIE, which means take it with a grain of salt. However, one thing I do remember is that they were saying full-time employees usually only worked 32 hours per week, and it took something like 2 years to qualify for health insurance. Even then, the premiums were so high most people couldn't afford it. Supposedly, WalMart actually tells their employees how to get gov't assistance for health needs.
But then, on "Penn & Teller's Bull****", they did an episode on WalMart and the bad myths surrounding it, and said most of it was, well, Bull****.
So I'm guessing the truth is somewhere in the middle. Probably varies from location to location, too. Now in bigger suburban areas, I don't think WalMart has so much pull. For instance, if they piss me off, I can just go to Target, Kohls, K-Mart/Sears, etc. But out in smaller locales, like the midwest, I hear they tend to throw their weight around and take advantage of things. While I can just go to the Target up the street from WalMart, in some of those more isolated areas, the nearest competitor could be 30 miles or more away. Or heck, the nearest competitor could be ANOTHER WalMart!
Not all New Balances are made in the USA by any means. If you google New Balance made in USA you'll see which ones or go over to zappos.com. It's all running and walking shoes. I have a pair of the walkers. You do pay more for the American ones.
I like New Balance a lot. Both for the fact that they still employ Americans but also because they have standards for their overseas factories so they never had an embarrassment with child labor and such like Nike. They also make an excellent shoe and don't pay athletes a fortune to wear them.
No doubt in my mind that cheap imported shoes aren't as well made as when they made them here. You won't notice the comfort difference in a shirt. You will in a shoe.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
I think the only thing I didn't like about New Balance is the way they name their shoe. They'd give it a number, but then soon come out with a replacement that was one number higher. I remember one of my friends once said her shoes were better than mine because she had 805's and I only had 803's! Whatever.
I remember they seemed uncomfortable as hell at first, until they finally broke in, and then they were one of the most comfy shoes I'd ever had. Really lightweight.
My Granddad bought a pair of New Balance once. I tried not to let that tarnish the image of the brand...my 90+ year old Granddad walking around in them! Anyway, the soles actually split on him! But then, things like that tended to happen to Granddad, it seems. This is the one who bought a '75 Dodge Dart and had it become one of the worst cars they ever owned! :sick:
You are a veteran by UAW standards. Most of the people with your number of years that were making the good money have taken the buy-out because the future doesn't look very good. I respect and support your decision to go with Boeing, and wish you nothing but the best pal !!!
I agree the choices we have aren't great but un less you want 4 more years of Bush, economics do you really have a choice ??? McCain's, stance on free-trade with further destroy manufactoring here in the U.S. and limit the job choices of our youth. I never thought in a million years I'd have trouble getting a good job but my god pal, I'm approaching 300 mark of sent resumes and applications (honestly !!) since I've moved back to Michigan, and my only job offer outside of selling credit/debit card machines for business's for some California, company I've told no now 3 times well was a job offer driving hi-lo for Steelcase, a large officer furniture company here in Grand Rapids, for $9.00 an/hr. I go thursday for some testing to be a customer service rep for a energy company called Consumer's Energy, and that will only pay $10.64 and hour and if I was bilingual, I could make $2.00 an hour more. So yeah, I would vote for Mickey Mouse, at this juncture if he were running against McCain !!!! :mad: Name me one thing McCain, has done for working people with all his years in the Senate ????? How have working people benefited ???? :mad:
The Big 3 was getting ahead due to the sale of trucks and SUVs. Most Liberals do not consider that a good thing. The Dems would outlaw SUVs if they thought they could pull it off. That was the money makers for the UAW.
gagrice,
I wouldn't consider Boxer, Pelosi, most liberals. Just because they are from California, a state with the largest population and office get the most recognition doesn't make them the majority !!! :confuse:
Just remember the unemployment was higher in the 90s.
dallasdude, exactly !!!! Some on here only like the benefits of Wal-Mart, and forget about the negatives !!! All those uninsured non-union employees must never get sick and never use hospital coverage !!!! :confuse:
I respect your POV, and agree with you pal !!! The biggest difference between the U.S. and Sweden..... is Sweden, doesn't have the sheer amount of illegal alien and immigration issues like the U.S. that sucks the system dry which goes back to your "take all you can mind set". They didn't put anything into the pot of money, but because I'm a certain race I'm entitled to it. It really chapped my [non-permissible content removed] a few years back when both legal and illegal aliens hit the street to march and riot over money and rights they or their family never sacrificed to get or deserve but feel entitled too !!!! :mad: If an american did that in Mexico, they would been showed a noose and a trap door !!!
The bottom line is manufactoring in this country will be pretty much dead. It won't matter if you are union or non-union because I was reading the other day how advanced the infrastucture in China and India, has became. India, will do the high-tech work and China, will do the low skilled jobs. We as a nation will become a serf n' elite society The Golden Eutopia Of The Capitalist !!!
Whether technology eliminates your job or the Chinese or the Bulgarians. It is each persons responsibility to get out and hustle up a new job if you cannot afford to retire. All this talk of socialism makes me sick to my stomach. What a bunch of losers the socialists are. They want big brother to tell them when to use the restroom.
Well I'd rather have big brother tell me when to use the rest room then have have Joe CEO, make slaves out of my kids like he does in China.
"Do you really think you could afford a pair of tennis shoes made in a UAW shop? Would you even want the style they are making because of Union restrictions on changes in the workplace. I am sure a $150 pair of Reeboks made in China would be $1500 with a UAW sticker on them."
You have summed up in one paragraph why industries are leaving the US and yet, why union people have no conception on why you just can't pay a shirtworker $25 an hour, plus benefits...because the retail price will reflect the overhead, and the product will be unaffordable...
All these pro-union peple act as tho the you can pay labor $30/hour, but sell the item at Walmart ( or any other store) for $9.00...they simply do not, and cannot, get it...
And the union beat, whatever is left of it, goes on...
No because we'd have to pay your pseudo-capitalist, republican, right-wing, radical Chief Executive Officer, $500 million+ plus another $500 million in retirement benefits but because he has a college degree from Yale, that's okay.....
and the mises, pseudo-capitalist, anti-union, beat goes on...... :surprise:
Nike, has $3.00 in child labor, material, advertising cost in it's average pair of sneakers I've read about 10 years ago. If they were union made they could afford to make a profit. We have several boot company's with material costs like high grade leather, and that use U.S. labor making profits and selling these boots a lot cheaper than the shoes Nike makes. How do they do it ??? Some people believe that labor is the root cause for high prices which shows pure ignorance. I see all these popular clothes made in Bangladesh, China, with high price tags and ask where does all that profit go ???? The Mises, capitalist feels that is plain okay though because the elite in their golden eutopia benefited !!! :confuse: Which is laughable is so many that preach Mises, don't have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of but want to be associated with the elites, they will speak down to those that disagree with them !!!
If the UAW had a reputation for providing a good workforce, you would not see this happening.
If the CEO's wouldn't cut engineering corners and build cars like the German's or the Japanese, the UAW parent company's might actually sell a car and make a profit. Also if the Big 3 would of invested those billions they blew on Trucks and Suv's and spent it on fuel efficient small and mid-size car program they once again might sell some cars. It blows my mind how anti-union some posters on here are including ex union members. :confuse:
Lennox Industries (made both my heat pumps for this home). Currently 15 years old approx. Yup, Union Made doesn't last. Neighbor had a friend install a Haier (China) heatpump. Lasted 2 months.
Mother Earth magazine-editorial staff union!!!
Kohler. Includes engines for John Deere (I'll never buy another product by them), Toro, and others.
Her husband's company has a policy that is partially paid by him. Most families that have both parents working one health care policy is enough. She liked part time as she was always home when my grandson was not in school. She now works in title from home and that is better and pays better. Still on her husband's insurance.
Also if you detest socialism, will you send your social security check back?
I would gladly send that piddly $1700 a month back if the Feds would return all the money I paid into SS over 46 years of work. With the interest it would have accumulated. I detested FDR for starting his Socialist programs from the time I was old enough to study our system of government. That was before I was even in High School.
How is Communism any worse than Socialism? They both take away the incentive for the people to be all they can be. If you are strictly looking at human rights, there are so-called Democracies like India that have horrible human rights.
I am not a Union basher. I believe they have had their place. I am not disillusioned into thinking they are great for this country. It would have been better if the employers had been decent folks and treated their workers with dignity. I also believe that Unions like the UAW have set a standard for wages that the Non Union companies try to match for obvious reasons. I think greed of the UAW workers has had as much to do with their demise as greed of the executives in the Big 3. Whining about how much this CEO gets paid or that executive, is NEVER going to change that dynamic. I don't care what country or system of government you live under. There are people that are rich that will always be better off than the working stiff. The sooner some people come to that reality the less stress they will suffer in life.
No doubt in my mind that cheap imported shoes aren't as well made as when they made them here. You won't notice the comfort difference in a shirt. You will in a shoe.
You are right. I tried on a pair of Dexter's made in China. They felt like plastic shoes compared to the ones I have that were made here in the USA. It is sad, but not likely to change as we have become a throw away society.
I wouldn't consider Boxer, Pelosi, most liberals. Just because they are from California
Well Obama has preached at several locations outside of Detroit that we should get rid of those gas guzzling SUVs, and buy a hybrid like the Toyota Prius. If you want someone that is on YOUR side it is Rush Limbaugh that pushes US all to drive a BIG GMC SUV. The Liberals are NOT on the side of Labor in this country. Obama is NOT going to do anything about NAFTA or the jobs going overseas.
It blows my mind how anti-union some posters on here are including ex union members.
You just don't get it, do you? There are good Union jobs left in the USA. Just not in the automotive industry. My company and the Union I was a part of cannot find qualified people to work. They had a guy from the Midwest fly to Alaska and they sent him up to work in Prudhoe. He got on the plane and headed home the next day. What a big baby. You are a part of an over privileged generation that are afraid to get your hands dirty and work hard. With the current attitude of the young people I run across you will never achieve what your parents did.
A very good example of the opportunities is our fellow poster tedebear. He has not gotten laid off and he has hustled up a new job. It will probably be better than his UAW job.
I would bet the men in the 1930s that organized the UAW were not a bunch of whiners. They were over worked and under paid far worse than todays auto workers, even under the new contracts. They did not have a big strike fund or unemployment, food stamps and all the other entitlement programs of today. They put their lives and their families lives on the table to make things better. They did not expect the government to bail them out.
I am not a Union basher. I believe they have had their place. I am not disillusioned into thinking they are great for this country. It would have been better if the employers had been decent folks and treated their workers with dignity. I also believe that Unions like the UAW have set a standard for wages that the Non Union companies try to match for obvious reasons. I think greed of the UAW workers has had as much to do with their demise as greed of the executives in the Big 3. Whining about how much this CEO gets paid or that executive, is NEVER going to change that dynamic. I don't care what country or system of government you live under. There are people that are rich that will always be better off than the working stiff. The sooner some people come to that reality the less stress they will suffer in life.
Your point here is that we envy CEOs and rich folks. Just as there are those who envy UAW wages. The misunderstanding is that, if you leave envy aside, UAW folks work for their wages. They are cost-ed into a contract and the final product. So if the design, marketing, or economic predictions don't materialize are we to look for a scapegoat? When an employer agrees to a certain wage with a union or non-union employee, they do it of their own free will and that they will receive benefit from it. Employers look at the prevailing wage when they enter into these agreements and these numbers don't just come from the sky. They do their homework and have the means compete for the best possible employees. The higher wages do attract the best possible employee, as one would assume in a capitalist society. Failure is a possibility in capitalism and often happens for many reasons. No where on the collective bargaining agreement is there a clause that assures either party euphoria. Bad agreements are those where millionaires/billionaires get something for nothing and or all the risk is assumed by others. These are those agreements which govt and or Representatives build stadiums/arenas, local govs bid for plants by forgoing tax revenue, and the many methods invented con the general public into assuming risk. The public doesn't share the profit, however, assumes the risk. The founding fathers would be appalled at the welfare for the affluent that goes on these days. There is a new science. The science of finding way to spend money other than our own and transferring risk. We have to teach ethics in schools, operate country club prisons, and a host of other programs to deal with this new type of capitalism.
I'm not against for rich folks. Thats part of capitalism and entrepreneurship. This is the American way. Just don't sell me some new way of capitalism. If you don't think that these large companies, multinational, aren't planning/plotting/conspiring with the communist in China, your just not being a realist. China has the largest consumer market in the world evolving and these multinational want a piece of the action. These multinational aren't American and or patriotic. They worship money and would sell their own mother for the right price.
Occasionally the executive envy idea is thrown out and then nullified as if someone is wrong for poiinting out the huge increases in excecutive compensation through a couple of decades relative to worker pay in their industry.
The higher wages do attract the best possible employee, as one would assume in a capitalist society.
I pretty much agree with all you have said. The above statement does not ring true. I worked that last 8 years with a very sharp guy that was born in Mayville, MI. His older brother still works for GM in the UAW. When Bob got out of trade school for electronics he applied for a GM job. He is now 52. After several interviews with all the shops in the area he was finally told he was not of the right ethnicity to be hired. He did not want to leave Michigan, but had little choice. He headed to CA and was hired right off at the Lockheed Skunk Works. When that slowed down during the Clinton years, his buddy talked him into coming to Alaska. He got a job with us. GM screwed up. I would bet he is sharper than 95% of the people in the UAW. He is very happy and is now the Teamster shop steward.
As far as over paid executives. I agree they should not get those huge wages. I think if you look at the history, most of the disparity came about in the 1990s when the money was flowing in the dot.com bubble. Huge stock incentives and competition for the talent. It is there for anyone with the drive to work 100+ hours a week and hack their way to the top. I don't believe I could sleep at night.
The IMA represents Lockheed in Palmdale and the UAW at other Lockheed plants. We/they are all union brothers and sisters, who have a common cause.
To be told that "he hasn't the right ethnic background" is illegal and I bet GM would never admit to that.
As capitalism teaches us, the cream always rises to the top. Those who are at the bottom of the barrel are inferior. Almost like an Alger's novel, where a good person of great moral character goes from rags to riches. Therefore, all the CEOs must be better than the rest of us, including the entire workforce. The aristocracy would like you to believe this and that its your own fault that your a poor and or lacking in another area. That flaws in ones moral character hinder the masses. Since way back then the masses have been conditioned and led to believe this. Brain washed in the manner a Madison Ave firm sells a product. A social Darwinism of sorts, where the weak and feeble perish and the morally superior thrive. You say it enough and it becomes gospel. Its just fecal matter.
I'm aware of CEOs racking $15,000 a year in greens fees at country clubs. I'm not quite sure how rounds and hours of golf that is? Someone please calculate that out. However, I'm not going to envy them. If someone is willing to pay them that, so be it. A shoe deal, a signing bonus, and a grill named after you, is the American dream.
By Jim Hightower People like Robert Paulk and Jerry Roy are the heart of corporations like General Motors. Paulk, 58, and Roy, 49, are longtime, highly skilled, hourly employees who've been working-class proud of being part of GM. Over the years, they've known their share of the hard labor, heavy lifting, and stress that come with being an auto worker, but they've stayed loyal, taken great pride in their work, and kept increasing their skills and productivity— doing their part to help General Motors become the largest car seller in the world and helping GM's investors pocket years of profits. The job has been good to Paulk and Roy, too. Under the contracts negotiated by the United Auto Workers, Paulk, his wife, and their two teenagers have been able to enjoy a slice of middle-class comfort. Likewise, Roy, a third-generation GM worker, has done well enough to afford a modest but pleasant house on a lake near Flint, Michigan, where his job is. The Paulks and Roys represent a common story that can be told by millions of Americans of their generation. It's the story of our country's "social contract"—an implicit agreement between working stiffs like them and corporations like GM. This is a remarkable success story, embodying our nation's egalitarian ideals and our commitment to the common good. In practice, America's historic social contract has established within our huge, diverse, and fragile society something essential: a stable middle class. While the Constitution and Bill of Rights are the legal glue of our nation, this contract is the social glue—it binds us as one people, giving tangible evidence that "we're all in this together." Those who produced this democratic advance were not the founders back in 1776 but our parents and grandparents—and doing so did not come easily for them. In the 1920s and '30s, working families in industry after industry openly rebelled against the rampant corporate greed, workplace abuses, and political corruption of the day. As they organized, marched, and held sit-ins and strikes, they were bludgeoned, shot at, and often killed by corporate bosses, Pinkerton goons, police, and even the National Guard. It was a hellacious period of bloody labor war, deep social unrest, and spreading political upheaval. Finally, fearing for the very survival of capitalism, corporate chieftains began to signal to union leaders that they were ready to negotiate for labor peace and a new social order. The ensuing bargain was straightforward: corporations would get labor, loyalty, and productivity in exchange for assuring job and retirement security. From the New Deal until the mid-1980s, unions, corporations, and government hammered out a series of explicit agreements, rules, and laws that gave legal structure to this implicit contract. The result was a new balance of power that made ordinary people like auto workers the first decently paid, decently treated working class in the world. Work was still hard and demanding, but the development of our social contract meant that, for the first time, tens of millions could find the American dream within their reach. By no means would you be a millionaire, but you could buy a modest home, have health care for your family, take a vacation, and not have to fear retirement—in other words, have the work ethic fairly rewarded. Such a contract also enabled working folks like Paulk and Roy to feel positive about America's commitment to the common good, to pride themselves as being a valued part of the economy and the larger community, and to have hope for the next generation. Such feelings are more than touchy-feely niceties—they determine whether people support the social order. This is why the feelings of workaday folks like Paulk and Roy are a crucial baromenter of America's well-being, and why today's corporate and political elite had better begin tuning in to them "We're all worried. Everybody is worried," Paulk says of GM's workers. "There are a lot of people that are really mad. They think this is the thing that revolutions are made of." The thing What has the majority of America's working families worried, angry, and in a mood to revolt is that the Powers That Be have unilaterally decided to walk away from the social contract, and in so doing, to kiss off our country's middle class. The evidence of their abandonment is everywhere: • Cut-backs, take-backs, and downsizings have become routine corporate practice, even in a time of soaring corporate profits. • Wages have been deliberately depressed (now not even keeping up with inflation), while workers have dramatically increased the productivity, profitability, and competitiveness of their corporations. • While CEOs slash wages, cut health care, and eliminate pensions for workers, they wallow in extravagant pay packages for themselves, get Cadillac health coverage for life, and grab rich pensions they haven't earned. • Not only are most manufacturing corporations shifting their investments and middle-class jobs offshore (mostly to China), but the high-tech industry is also abandoning the American middle class, shifting even its professional work to low-paid countries (mostly to India). • Corporate money has bought the White House and Congress (including too many moneysoaked Democrats), so Washington has been aggressively dismantling the framework of rules and laws that allowed labor to achieve some fairness in the workplace. • The courts and regulatory agencies have been stacked with former corporate minions who are consistently ruling against worker rights and protections. • Wall Street's powerhouse investors are now demanding that every corporation and the overall American economy be organized on the low-wage, no-benefit, antiunion model of Wal-Mart. • The media establishment (itself corporate) has obligingly adopted the corporate spin that the day of unionism is long gone, that workers must learn to accept insecurity and a lowered lifestyle, that the social contract is simply too much of a burden on corporations and governments in this age of global competitiveness, and that, for success, tomorrow's workers "must take on the responsibility" to identify and acquire—"on their own"—"the emerging skill sets" that will be "valued in the marketplace" (believe it or not, this glob of gobbledygook actually came out to the mouth of an IBM executive, quoted approvingly in the New York Times). What's good for GM The middle class is not simply "vanishing" (as some well-paid scribes of the establishment media so blithely put it)—the middle class is being vanquished! The auto industry, for example, which once took pride in its workforce and in being America's economic engine for a shared prosperity, has now launched a particularly gruesome assault. Late last year, just before the holidays, General Motors (whose president once famously declared that what's good for GM is good for America) announced that it was closing 12 of its U.
General Motors (whose president once famously declared that what's good for GM is good for America) announced that it was closing 12 of its U.S. plants, eliminating 30,000 hourly jobs, and whacking a billion dollars a year out of the health-care benefits it owes to its blue-collar workers and retirees. Two weeks later, GM announced that it was going to triple the number of cars it makes in low-wage India. At about the same time, Delphi Corporation went even farther. A division within GM until it was spun off in 1999, Delphi is the nation's largest supplier of dashboards, brakes, doors, power trains, and other components assembled by auto companies, hauling in more than $28 billion a year in sales. It announced last October that it plans to close some of its 31 U.S. plants, terminate its heath-care plan and life-insurance coverage for blue-collar retirees, reduce pension payments, and—get this—force its 34,000 hourly workers to take a two-thirds cut in their wages. Skilled workers there, who make as high as $30 an hour, would be knocked down to as low as $10 an hour. Asserting that the middle-class wages and benefits earned by auto workers are unaffordable luxuries these days, millionaire executives have begun the Wal-Martization of auto-making. This is not just another industry, and the severing of the social contract by GM and Delphi is not just another in a long string of corporate downsizings. This is one of our nation's premier industries, a symbol of America's economic vitality and can-do spirit, and a pacesetter for our entire economy. In 1914, only a year after he opened his first assembly line, Henry Ford stunned the manufacturing world by more than doubling the hourly wage of workers on the line. At $5 a day, he explained, they could afford to buy a Ford. Moreover, James Couzens, Ford's corporate treasurer at the time and the man credited with the $5-a-day idea, said: "We want those who have helped us to produce this great institution and are helping to maintain it to share our prosperity." Ninety-one years later, the managerial heirs to Ford and Couzens are disowning any corporate commitment to shared prosperity as they arbitrarily abrogate the good-faith contracts negotiated with auto workers. Today's industry executives are cutting off the top rungs of America's middle-class ladder, lowering the best-paid jobs to a level where employees will no longer have the income to buy the products they make. In the name of "competitiveness" with third-world countries, these executives are creating a poorer, less secure—and angry— working class in our country, stealing the American Dream from millions of people. Their actions raise a number of Big Questions for the future of our society: Around what shall we gather? Learning from early childhood the importance of fairness and sharing is central to our becoming social beings. Indeed, these were the basic values behind the social contract, which pledged that loyalty, productivity, cooperation, and quality work would be fairly rewarded. But these values are nowhere in sight when GM dumps 30,000 loyal workers whose productivity record, according to the very CEO who did the dumping, "has been dramatic," doubling in the past 10 years. These values are also absent when GM shuts down 12 facilities, including two that were ranked among the industry's best in quality and a third at GM's Tennessee Saturn plant, renowned as a model of labor-management cooperation. GM has now emphatically declared that those virtues are no longer to be honored. If our society can no longer gather around the shared economic values of loyalty, productivity, cooperation, quality, and fairness then, what? The only answer being offered by the elites is "Survival of the strongest"—but that's the law of the jungle, not a social ethic. Why shouldn't workers be well paid? The CEOs (and the compliant media) keep hammering auto workers as the "aristocrats" of labor, claiming that their wages and benefits are excessive and must be slashed so that U.S. auto corporations can become competitive again. A New York Timesreporter, in a tone of tongue-clucking criticism, noted that GM's American employees are earning far more than auto workers "in countries like Mexico and China." Well, gosh— I would hope so! Isn't getting ahead part of the American ethic? What's wrong with a blue-collar factory worker making $30,000 or even $60,000 a year plus health care and a good pension? That's success—for the workers and for America—and it ought to be held up as a model for a well-run economy, not a target of derision. Oh, by the way, how ludicrous is it for the pay of middle- class workers to be attacked by CEOs hauling away millions of dollars each and living in platinum cocoons? What about the abject failures in the Executive Suite? Top management has become highly creative at blaming, reducing, and stealing from its workforce. If management put a tenth of that creativity into designing cars that the buying public might actually want, there would be no need for the massive cutbacks we're getting. Contrast Detroit's performance with the competition. Toyota, for example, makes cars here in America, paying wages and benefits comparable to Detroit's. But its high-quality, goodmileage, reliable cars are selling— American consumers are snapping up Toyotas faster than the company roll them out. Far from cutting back, Toyota and other foreign competitors are opening new plants in America, while the geniuses running GM are trying to shrink their way to prosperity. U.S. auto chieftains do not keep up with market demands or design quality cars. Instead, they run top-heavy corporate structures, engage in fraud (much of Delphi's present financial troubles come from its three-year, Enronish accounting scandal that cost investors more than $1 billion), launch new "turnaround" schemes every few months, rely on money-losing discounts to move inventory, and dump money into silly advertising campaigns to try to cover up their production failures. Then, with revenues down, they demand more cutbacks for the blue-collar workers while merrily giving everyone in the executive suite promotions and raises. Doesn't this cry out for a National Health-Care Program? A constant refrain from the auto companies is that the soaring cost of health care is crushing their bottom line. For example, GM honchos wail loudly that covering their autoworkers and retirees adds $1,500 to the cost of each car. The only answer, they say, is to slash or even eliminate this protection for working families. But wait—before our country callously agrees to yank the health-care rug out from under the middle class, let's consider fundamentally reforming our bloated, bureaucratic, exorbitantly expensive, inadequate and unjust health-care system. Again, check the competition: Japan has a national health program that doesn't leave its populatio
Japan has a national health program that doesn't leave its population dependent on whether an employer wants to or can afford to cover employees. No matter what their job is (or if they even have a job), the Japanese people have the security of health coverage. Thus Toyota's workers enjoy health care without the cost being added to the price of the cars they make. With a national health program for America, not only would GM improve its competitiveness by some $1,500 per car, but our nation would also be made stronger by replacing the inefficiencies and greed of the massive corporate structure (insurance giants, HMOs, drug peddlers, etc.) separating us patients from our doctors. America spends far more per person on health care than do Japan and other countries with a national plan— and they get superior care. It's time for the auto bosses to show leadership. Rather than retreating on the social contract, they should use their political and media clout to advance a national health-care program that'll truly be good for the country and for General Motors. A dangerous betrayal Today's corporate leadership is playing with fire. The elites are so focused on enriching themselves— knocking down the workaday majority's wages and benefits in order to grab more of the nation's wealth, for example, and getting Bush to keep piling on the tax giveaways for the rich at the expense of everyone else—that they have become blind to the looming threat that their avarice poses to the social order and to their own well-being. Until recently, the Wal-Mart model has been taking advantage of lowskilled, low-income workers, but moving that model upward to autos, steel, high-tech, and other industries ensnares highly skilled, middleincome workers. There's a big difference between holding people down and knocking them down. Middleclass working families are people who've had a slice of the American pie—and for them to be told now that their slice will be taken from them and their children is not merely to shred the social contract and throw it in their faces, but to dissolve the social glue that holds our big, sprawling, brawling, country together. It's the betrayal of the middle class.
I wish my son would read this, Dallasdue1. He thinks if you want to share the wealth in a company you should buy stock in the company. Sociolism rules!!! You're awesome dallasdue1 !! CEOs are making millions based on their job positions, not on the success of the company. Nationalize them and get rid of these losers !
To be told that "he hasn't the right ethnic background" is illegal and I bet GM would never admit to that.
Well affirmative action was alive and well during that period. He blamed the UAW for pushing quotas. He was not Union at Lockheed. He did not become Union until he hired on with us. It took several years to convince him that all Unions were not as screwed up as the UAW. He got a lot of horror stories from his brother. To hear him tell it, the only good thing about GM and the UAW, was getting the family discount every couple years on a new Tahoe.
You really need to go back to Sweden. I think you have forgotten what a mess that country is. We had to bail all your automakers out. There would not be a Swedish automaker left if not for the Big 3 dumping a bunch of money into Volvo and Saab. I would have just let them go broke. I cannot think of ANYTHING about Socialism that is good. NOTHING!!!
The UAW has its own sociolist tendencies, but before you badmouth sociolism you should really take a look at our (I am a US citizen) system. The top 1 percent of taxpayers pay 40 percent of the taxes while the bottom 40 percent pay no taxes (in fact, many of them get money from the government during tax time). THIS is redistribution of wealth! This country lacks a few major things to become sociolist: nationalized health care (need to be careful about how to implement it), a candidate to declare him/herself sociolist instead of hiding under the traditional party name, and the nationalization of a few industries. Once these are accomplished (and they shall be) we will be well on our way. Most European countries are sociolist and/or have sociolist and communist parties. I think the primary reason many Americans reject sociolism/communism is that we never had a king or a one person/family rule (aside from the Bush/Clinton/Bush recent 20 year run - but they were elected). And yes, American companies purchased swedish auto manufacturers. You also gave us all our dirty words - we have no curse words of our own. TY
This is one of our nation's premier industries, a symbol of America's economic vitality and can-do spirit, and a pacesetter for our entire economy.
It was a premier industry at one time. The last decent GM I owned was my 1998 Suburban built in Mexico. I replaced it with a 2005 GMC PU that was a tinny piece of junk. I quickly sold it before it was a total loss. I am not saying it was the UAW at fault. They are just one piece of the house of cards that was once the Big 3. It is falling apart and being replaced by superior foreign products.
I will repeat. Where were the UAW workers when the other industries in this country went away? They were sucking down the overtime and buying cheap foreign TVs and Stereos. Now it is time to pay the piper. The UAW is a small insignificant percentage of the American middle class.
The UAW is .4% of the US labor force. Not even 1/2 of 1% of the total 154,603,000 civilian workers in the USA. The average hourly wage is $18.06 per hour. When the UAW workers are gone the only ones that will notice are the members themselves. The smart ones are looking elsewhere for a good job. UAW workers have had 20 years of the handwriting on the wall.
Well I guess we agree to disagree. Though you are right that we are well on our way to socialism. I think it is the beginning of the end. I don't think the EU will survive 20 more years for several good reasons and Socialism and Communism are a big part of the problem. They both go against the basic nature of man.
I don't think that you've paid much attention to western European economic developments since you left. Europe today is less socialistic than it was 40 years ago or even 20 years ago. Large corporations that were nationalized after the end of WWII have been partly or completely privatized. Most European governments today would rather leave businesses in private hands & tax their profits than try to run those businesses themselves. There are far fewer nationalized corporations today than there were 40 years ago.
Whatever Sweden is, it is certainly not a socialist state. I would say that Sweden is an example of welfare capitalism. Business stays in private hands (I don't know of any government-owned companies in Sweden) while the government charges very high taxes to pay for a wide range of generous welfare programs.
The contest between capitalism & socialism ended more than 20 years ago. Capitalism won decisively. Now the contest is between western European high-tax welfare capitalism & American-style capitalism, which is distinguished by lower taxes & a less generous welfare system.
Thank you for explaining that better than I did. I do agree with you...
It is the high taxes given to people that are lazy or unwilling to work that I am against. helping those that are unable to work is justifiable. Free health care is a mess in all countries it is practiced in.
I would hate to see the U.S. adopt a Canadian-style national health care system, but there is one feature of European & Canadian systems that I like very much: your health insurance is not tied to your job. This means that your coverage doesn't change because you've been laid off or changed jobs. I must say that I like that.
Our system of employer-based health insurance was developed during WWII. With every able-bodied man under 40 in uniform, companies were desperate for help. The unemployment rate was zero, but because of wartime wage & price controls, companies couldn't compete for workers by offering more money. So they came up with non-cash incentives, like company-paid health care.
I'd like to see us adopt a system under which we'd own our health insurance plans, just as we now own our other insurance policies. You don't lose your auto insurance when you quit your job because you don't get it through your employer. Health insurance can & should be that way. It should be portable. That would liberate employees, who would no longer have to stick with jobs they don't like just because the health benefits are good, & it would help American companies that must compete with foreign companies that don't have this burden. IMO, this would be a much more flexible system than the old-employer based approach.
Many strong Union people including those in the UAW would like government health care. The only positive I see is where lawsuits are concerned. With our justice system you cannot sue the Federal Government unless they agree to be sued. This may eliminate many frivolous lawsuits from patients that constitute a large portion of our health care costs.
I do believe the private sector could do a much better job than the government, if they were not subjected to the lawsuits with huge awards. Tort reform in my opinion is a better way to approach the health care cost. That is tough when ambulance chasers are the bulk of the Congress.
Tort reform has its ups and downs. This brings to mind the child damaged for life by an OBGYN and California tort reform. The OBGYN was at fault in this case, a jury said so. However, the cap on the settlement isn't enough to cover the lifetime of expenses and therefore the state/federal govt has to spend the millions of tax dollars in the care of this child over his/her lifetime.
Then too there is the famous Ford Pinto case. Where the Ford Motor Company knew that these cars has a good chance of going up in flames upon a rear impact. They opted to pay off lawsuits/injuries, rather than fixing the root cause of the problem. Weighing the cost over the benefit, paying suits/injuries was cheaper. No one would argue that punitive damages to send Ford a loud and clear message were in order. Internal Ford documents obtained by the plaintiff showed that greed over human injury/life, led Ford to willfully, wantonly, and with economic gain decide to not act in the interest of the general public and or their customers.
In conclusion I need to preach personal responsibility. The media want the general public to try these cases in the media itself. The fact that someone sued McDonald's for hot coffee burns is superficial, unless all the fact are heard. A jury of sane and reasonable people, our peers, sided with the plaintiff here too. You have the facts that part of the settlement included that the plaintiff not ever discuss the case again, coupled with the fact that the settlement amount is not to be put out to the public. McDonald's has a public relations department and it would be silly to think these folks weren't doing their job. Prior many others had too been burned by the McDonald's coffee. McDonald's keeps their coffee hotter than any other business of its kind. So there were a host of other circumstances which that jury, sane, reasonable, and peers were privy to. However, the media decided to try this in the headlines with only the defendants side of events. I would ask you why ever would, McDonald's pay millions if they we innocent?
"Gregg Shotwell, a UAW member and frequent union critic in Lansing, Mich., describes the labor organization’s fight against higher fuel-economy standards as “short-sighted.”
“I understand if you’re a guy on the line building a [GMC] Yukon, you’re concerned about that product selling,” the GM worker said. “But the UAW and Detroit have to be looking at the bigger picture. It was the quick buck. It was keeping people working. But that short view is really hurting us today."
Comments
You have summed up in one paragraph why industries are leaving the US and yet, why union people have no conception on why you just can't pay a shirtworker $25 an hour, plus benefits...because the retail price will reflect the overhead, and the product will be unaffordable...
All these pro-union peple act as tho the you can pay labor $30/hour, but sell the item at Walmart ( or any other store) for $9.00...they simply do not, and cannot, get it...
And the union beat, whatever is left of it, goes on...
around 1979, when the oil crisis was at full force. The little Rabbit, combined with the optional 1.5l 4 cylinder Diesel delivered superb fuel economy (45 mpg city/up to 57 mpg highway) The Rabbit had waiting lists at the dealership during that time. Production for the U.S. market moved over here to New Stanton* Pennsylvania in 1978. The first Rabbit rolled of the assembly line on April 10th 1978 with NBC news present to unveil the first foreign car to be built in the USA.
Trivia question:
Was that PA VW plant UAW or Non Union?
So Volkswagen is returning, but not to Western Pennsylvania. That was a lesson learned. Twenty years after it blew a perfectly sound strategy to make cars in the United States, Germany's biggest automaker will try again with a new U.S. assembly plant. Once a pioneer, however, it's coming back a tail-ender. And this time, its 2,000 jobs and $1 billion of investment will go to Chattanooga, Tenn.
Tennessee is a "right-to-work" state, one of 22 in the United States that give workers the choice to join -- or not to join -- the dominant labor union on the premises. Unions are weak in such places, but job growth is strong.
Nearly all the Asian and German "transplants" making cars in the United States are in right-to-work states. America's gasping "Big Three," in contrast, all unionized -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- are losing market share and rapidly turning blue. None has a common stock worth $14 anymore. GM last week warned of thousands more job cuts coming.
Detroit vented that grim news even as Wolfsburg, Volkswagen's German headquarters, said it will start building 150,000 midsized sedans a year in the United States, beginning 2011.
If the UAW had a reputation for providing a good workforce, you would not see this happening.
But how to sell $80 sneakers when the no names are $40? Lets give pro athletes free sneakers AND multi million dollar endorsement contracts. Now, all the welfare recipients take OUR tax dollars and spend them on overpriced Chinese sneakers, and the profits go to the very few (CEO's and athletes).
Should the garment workers get $25/hr? Well, that's questionable. But if they were paid a decent wage, they could be made here, we could STILL afford them, and these people who would be out of work would now be gainfully employed, and be able to purchase OUR goods and services, thus allowing the world to go 'round.
My mother and grandmother were in the garment workers union in the 1940s in LA. They all worked piece work back then. The faster you could sew the more you could make. I still have about 8 pairs of VANs from when they were made here in So CA. I would not buy a pair of Chinese made shoes unless it gets dire. I think I have enough shoes to last the rest of my life. I stocked up on Dexter's before they shut down here in the USA.
I have to wonder if all the UAW members were so worried about buying stuff made in China?
My wife took me into Kohl's last Christmas. I did not see a thing made in the USA. The kicker is Senator Herb Kohl is the Richest person in Congress. He is a DEMOCRAT that is getting filthy rich off of Chinese goods. That sounds real neighborly of him being from Wisconsin next door to the Big 3 and the UAW stronghold. I wonder how many UAW workers shop at Kohl's?
In fairness Kohl did vote against NAFTA and no longer has any direct control over the department chain.
Yes, the sneaker are still $80, but it is my guess that they would be $125 or more if made here...
Using your quote above, I question your phrase "we could STILL afford them" as to whether that is accurate...
While I am not aware of exactly WHY Levi left the USA, the fact that they tried to hold on for so long, makes me think it was simply labor cost...
I continue to maintain what is to me, the obvious: if you pay a decent wage to a US worker for a product, say clothing or sneakers, that item will be priced at least 50% or more higher than it is now with the cheap Asian labor...
What this nation MUST face is that what USED to keep this country humming, unskilled labor making repetitive products on an assembly line, is rapidly disappearing...so, while the factory can move overseas in a year, the displaced workers must literally retrain their brain, and possibly 20-plus years of work habits, and change their lives just as fast...which is extremely difficult...
The skilled worker who is used to constant training and retraining has a different mindset, and can more easily adapt to another job, selling a home and moving for a better opportunity...the unskilled worker, without sounding elitist, may or may not be smart enough, or MOTIVATED enough, to make the same change, as they are stuck in habit patterns that may not easily adapt simply because the unskilled worker refuses to do so...psychology has a term for this, but I do not recall it...
I saw UAW workers in the 80s saying things like, "I can't do ANYTHING but install windshields, it's all I've done for 10 years"
Obviously, this is an immature mind speaking, since they obviously CAN do something other than windshields, but the mindset is that, quite frankly, retraining is hardly the first thing on their mind...they are stuck in this childlike trance (and childlike it is) of literally doing ONE thing for a living...
So please don't brag to me about how highly trained, and TRAINABLE, the UAW workforce is, because it simply isn't...many of them (not all) have a childlike view of the world that may take YEARS of counseling for them to open their mind to the concept of doing something new for a living...
THAT is why companies are traveling south for their factories...no union to deal with, certainly no union mindset as described above, no rotten work habits to break, and people who are probably more flexible from the get-go...former UAW workers, if you REALLY look at it, have NOTHING to offer an employer who makes cars different than the Big 3, and the Big 3 make cars that way because of the work rules of the UAW...they caused it, and now they reap what they sow...
If I was an automaker coming south, like VW, I would give simple psychological screening tests to prospective workers simply to see how flexible they are in the mind, which will make them better for cross training for ANY job in the plant...take away stupid union work rules, and the UAW will slowly melt away like ice on a hot summer day...
They had their day when they were necessary...now, those who see the union in THEIR future have no future for themselves, and they are stuck in the past that will never come back...like the dinosaur that could not adapt, the union is a dinosaur that will soon die off...too bad it will not turn into crude oil...
As the Big 3 change and shrink, nobody has actually noticed that we are not losing our automotive manufacturing base, it is simply evolving to the south with nonunion workers...as Big 3 lay off, imports are hiring, just not the same people...imports do not want the contaminated workers of the UAW, who think the worker runs the show...
It is ironic as Detroit closes plants claiming recession, yet while they scream about job loss, imports are building new plants daily...the auto business isn't leaving, it is simply changing, from the old contaminted union model, to the germ-free model of flexible workers who really want to work instead of strike...
UAW: goodbye and good riddance.....................
Then you fail to see that in the UAW, the workers are the UAW. They sit across the table with management and make the rules/contract together. Together they opt not to make the workforce/membership the jack of all trades and the master of none.
The local GM plant here in the Dallas area is UAW. They build the Tahoe, Yukon, and Escalade. Demand for these is absolutely related to the price at the pump. Lots of these SUV's are going overseas these days. If you stick to supply and demand, the true economics are apparent. The AMA (American Medical Association) has limited the amount of doctors and therefore the price, the allocation/rationing, is increased. The opposite is true about lawyer, the ABA (American Bar Association) has failed and in the near future one in seven Americans will be lawyers. However, this group is sure to create their own litigation and fuel a society which is surely in search of tort reform. So it would be possible that even the most mundane tasks in a society be well compensated due to the shortage of workers able and or willing to do these tasks. Affluent neighborhoods here in the DFW area have had problems hiring retail clerks in the mall. The transportation issue, in an area which had no mass transit, was apparent and had to be factored into the wage. Its useless to have goods for sale if there are no clerks during the mass consumption Xmas season.
The AMA, UAW, ABA, IBEW, AARP, NRA, and others are Representatives of their members. Hence, they are the membership. Union bashing reminds me of the ignorance of a society. Social scientist have seen this every time times have gotten bad. A group is picked so that all our woes can be blamed on them. As the Germans did the Jews. I'm not too sure if the aristocracy wants us to blame illegal aliens, organized labor, or any other minority. Its silly to think that Mexicans are responsible for all the jobs shipped overseas in the Carolinas, since they (hispanics) are less than 2% of the population there. However, foreign companies like BMW and Michelin bring back 3000 or so jobs to replace the hundreds of thousands and thats makes it ok.
Do times have to get so bad, before we act? We have boycott power now!!! Will we have it in the future? I sense that those who resent the UAW are ignorant to the fact that an injury to one is an injury to all. They may come for the Jew today, but tomorrow it may well be your turn. Tell them we support our own workforce as we support our troops. Don't allow the corporate owned media shape and or state your views.
Also if you detest socialism, will you send your social security check back? Then too if you shop at Walmart, buy goods made in a communist country, are you supporting communism? The State Dept forbids your purchases of Cuban cigars. Cuba is a communist country.
Could be that corporations willfully and wantonly fed you tainted milk and still don't even realize it. Its possible since two Fox reporters weren't allowed to do a story, since the big chemical concern was a big advertiser on the Fox network. The product was banned in Canada and Europe. Hence, this chemical fed to dairy cows has affected your ability to reason as a sane person and or think for yourself.
One thing I've noticed with shoes though, is that when you buy cheap knockoffs, somehow it just seems to show. For instance, I've seen these cheap knock-off Adidas looking things that they try to peddle at K-mart and such. They have 4 stripes instead of 3, but I just notice little details like the stitching doesn't seem as good, the leather parts don't fit together quite as well, etc. The cheaper shoes will usually start falling apart quicker, too.
I think Adidas used to be made in France, but now they're made in China. I've heard that the quality did go down when they made that transition. Timberland boots used to be made in the US, and now they're supposedly made elsewhere. Similarly, I've also heard people complain about that hurting their quality.
There was a movie that came out a year or so ago called "The High Cost of Low Prices" that definitely painted WalMart in a bad light. Now keep in mind it was a MOVIE, which means take it with a grain of salt. However, one thing I do remember is that they were saying full-time employees usually only worked 32 hours per week, and it took something like 2 years to qualify for health insurance. Even then, the premiums were so high most people couldn't afford it. Supposedly, WalMart actually tells their employees how to get gov't assistance for health needs.
But then, on "Penn & Teller's Bull****", they did an episode on WalMart and the bad myths surrounding it, and said most of it was, well, Bull****.
So I'm guessing the truth is somewhere in the middle. Probably varies from location to location, too. Now in bigger suburban areas, I don't think WalMart has so much pull. For instance, if they piss me off, I can just go to Target, Kohls, K-Mart/Sears, etc. But out in smaller locales, like the midwest, I hear they tend to throw their weight around and take advantage of things. While I can just go to the Target up the street from WalMart, in some of those more isolated areas, the nearest competitor could be 30 miles or more away. Or heck, the nearest competitor could be ANOTHER WalMart!
I like New Balance a lot. Both for the fact that they still employ Americans but also because they have standards for their overseas factories so they never had an embarrassment with child labor and such like Nike. They also make an excellent shoe and don't pay athletes a fortune to wear them.
No doubt in my mind that cheap imported shoes aren't as well made as when they made them here. You won't notice the comfort difference in a shirt. You will in a shoe.
I remember they seemed uncomfortable as hell at first, until they finally broke in, and then they were one of the most comfy shoes I'd ever had. Really lightweight.
My Granddad bought a pair of New Balance once. I tried not to let that tarnish the image of the brand...my 90+ year old Granddad walking around in them! Anyway, the soles actually split on him! But then, things like that tended to happen to Granddad, it seems. This is the one who bought a '75 Dodge Dart and had it become one of the worst cars they ever owned! :sick:
They both drove Detroit iron too, but I never heard them make a reference to the UAW (or any other union).
The UAW makes other stuff besides cars btw. Hockey sticks, and cappuccino machines for example. UAW Made.
September 1-6, 2008 is Union Label Week. Go buy a Viper and celebrate.
You are a veteran by UAW standards. Most of the people with your number of years that were making the good money have taken the buy-out because the future doesn't look very good. I respect and support your decision to go with Boeing, and wish you nothing but the best pal !!!
-Rocky
I agree the choices we have aren't great but un less you want 4 more years of Bush, economics do you really have a choice ??? McCain's, stance on free-trade with further destroy manufactoring here in the U.S. and limit the job choices of our youth. I never thought in a million years I'd have trouble getting a good job but my god pal, I'm approaching 300 mark of sent resumes and applications (honestly !!) since I've moved back to Michigan, and my only job offer outside of selling credit/debit card machines for business's for some California, company I've told no now 3 times well was a job offer driving hi-lo for Steelcase, a large officer furniture company here in Grand Rapids, for $9.00 an/hr. I go thursday for some testing to be a customer service rep for a energy company called Consumer's Energy, and that will only pay $10.64 and hour and if I was bilingual, I could make $2.00 an hour more. So yeah, I would vote for Mickey Mouse, at this juncture if he were running against McCain !!!! :mad: Name me one thing McCain, has done for working people with all his years in the Senate ????? How have working people benefited ???? :mad:
-Rocky
gagrice,
I wouldn't consider Boxer, Pelosi, most liberals. Just because they are from California, a state with the largest population and office get the most recognition doesn't make them the majority !!! :confuse:
Just remember the unemployment was higher in the 90s.
It was ??? Not here in Michigan !!!!
-Rocky
-Rocky
I respect your POV, and agree with you pal !!! The biggest difference between the U.S. and Sweden..... is Sweden, doesn't have the sheer amount of illegal alien and immigration issues like the U.S. that sucks the system dry which goes back to your "take all you can mind set". They didn't put anything into the pot of money, but because I'm a certain race I'm entitled to it. It really chapped my [non-permissible content removed] a few years back when both legal and illegal aliens hit the street to march and riot over money and rights they or their family never sacrificed to get or deserve but feel entitled too !!!! :mad: If an american did that in Mexico, they would been showed a noose and a trap door !!!
The bottom line is manufactoring in this country will be pretty much dead. It won't matter if you are union or non-union because I was reading the other day how advanced the infrastucture in China and India, has became. India, will do the high-tech work and China, will do the low skilled jobs. We as a nation will become a serf n' elite society The Golden Eutopia Of The Capitalist !!!
-Rocky
Well I'd rather have big brother tell me when to use the rest room then have have Joe CEO, make slaves out of my kids like he does in China.
-Rocky
You have summed up in one paragraph why industries are leaving the US and yet, why union people have no conception on why you just can't pay a shirtworker $25 an hour, plus benefits...because the retail price will reflect the overhead, and the product will be unaffordable...
All these pro-union peple act as tho the you can pay labor $30/hour, but sell the item at Walmart ( or any other store) for $9.00...they simply do not, and cannot, get it...
And the union beat, whatever is left of it, goes on...
No because we'd have to pay your pseudo-capitalist, republican, right-wing, radical Chief Executive Officer, $500 million+ plus another $500 million in retirement benefits but because he has a college degree from Yale, that's okay.....
and the mises, pseudo-capitalist, anti-union, beat goes on...... :surprise:
-Rocky
-Rocky
If the CEO's wouldn't cut engineering corners and build cars like the German's or the Japanese, the UAW parent company's might actually sell a car and make a profit. Also if the Big 3 would of invested those billions they blew on Trucks and Suv's and spent it on fuel efficient small and mid-size car program they once again might sell some cars. It blows my mind how anti-union some posters on here are including ex union members. :confuse:
-Rocky
Lennox Industries (made both my heat pumps for this home). Currently 15 years old approx. Yup, Union Made doesn't last. Neighbor had a friend install a Haier (China) heatpump. Lasted 2 months.
Mother Earth magazine-editorial staff union!!!
Kohler. Includes engines for John Deere (I'll never buy another product by them), Toro, and others.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Her husband's company has a policy that is partially paid by him. Most families that have both parents working one health care policy is enough. She liked part time as she was always home when my grandson was not in school. She now works in title from home and that is better and pays better. Still on her husband's insurance.
Also if you detest socialism, will you send your social security check back?
I would gladly send that piddly $1700 a month back if the Feds would return all the money I paid into SS over 46 years of work. With the interest it would have accumulated. I detested FDR for starting his Socialist programs from the time I was old enough to study our system of government. That was before I was even in High School.
How is Communism any worse than Socialism? They both take away the incentive for the people to be all they can be. If you are strictly looking at human rights, there are so-called Democracies like India that have horrible human rights.
I am not a Union basher. I believe they have had their place. I am not disillusioned into thinking they are great for this country. It would have been better if the employers had been decent folks and treated their workers with dignity. I also believe that Unions like the UAW have set a standard for wages that the Non Union companies try to match for obvious reasons. I think greed of the UAW workers has had as much to do with their demise as greed of the executives in the Big 3. Whining about how much this CEO gets paid or that executive, is NEVER going to change that dynamic. I don't care what country or system of government you live under. There are people that are rich that will always be better off than the working stiff. The sooner some people come to that reality the less stress they will suffer in life.
You are right. I tried on a pair of Dexter's made in China. They felt like plastic shoes compared to the ones I have that were made here in the USA. It is sad, but not likely to change as we have become a throw away society.
Well Obama has preached at several locations outside of Detroit that we should get rid of those gas guzzling SUVs, and buy a hybrid like the Toyota Prius. If you want someone that is on YOUR side it is Rush Limbaugh that pushes US all to drive a BIG GMC SUV. The Liberals are NOT on the side of Labor in this country. Obama is NOT going to do anything about NAFTA or the jobs going overseas.
You just don't get it, do you? There are good Union jobs left in the USA. Just not in the automotive industry. My company and the Union I was a part of cannot find qualified people to work. They had a guy from the Midwest fly to Alaska and they sent him up to work in Prudhoe. He got on the plane and headed home the next day. What a big baby. You are a part of an over privileged generation that are afraid to get your hands dirty and work hard. With the current attitude of the young people I run across you will never achieve what your parents did.
A very good example of the opportunities is our fellow poster tedebear. He has not gotten laid off and he has hustled up a new job. It will probably be better than his UAW job.
I would bet the men in the 1930s that organized the UAW were not a bunch of whiners. They were over worked and under paid far worse than todays auto workers, even under the new contracts. They did not have a big strike fund or unemployment, food stamps and all the other entitlement programs of today. They put their lives and their families lives on the table to make things better. They did not expect the government to bail them out.
Your point here is that we envy CEOs and rich folks. Just as there are those who envy UAW wages. The misunderstanding is that, if you leave envy aside, UAW folks work for their wages. They are cost-ed into a contract and the final product. So if the design, marketing, or economic predictions don't materialize are we to look for a scapegoat? When an employer agrees to a certain wage with a union or non-union employee, they do it of their own free will and that they will receive benefit from it. Employers look at the prevailing wage when they enter into these agreements and these numbers don't just come from the sky. They do their homework and have the means compete for the best possible employees. The higher wages do attract the best possible employee, as one would assume in a capitalist society. Failure is a possibility in capitalism and often happens for many reasons. No where on the collective bargaining agreement is there a clause that assures either party euphoria. Bad agreements are those where millionaires/billionaires get something for nothing and or all the risk is assumed by others. These are those agreements which govt and or Representatives build stadiums/arenas, local govs bid for plants by forgoing tax revenue, and the many methods invented con the general public into assuming risk. The public doesn't share the profit, however, assumes the risk. The founding fathers would be appalled at the welfare for the affluent that goes on these days. There is a new science. The science of finding way to spend money other than our own and transferring risk. We have to teach ethics in schools, operate country club prisons, and a host of other programs to deal with this new type of capitalism.
I'm not against for rich folks. Thats part of capitalism and entrepreneurship. This is the American way. Just don't sell me some new way of capitalism. If you don't think that these large companies, multinational, aren't planning/plotting/conspiring with the communist in China, your just not being a realist. China has the largest consumer market in the world evolving and these multinational want a piece of the action. These multinational aren't American and or patriotic. They worship money and would sell their own mother for the right price.
CEO pay up 54% last year!!!--Forbes
How many people do you know who had a 54% increase?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I pretty much agree with all you have said. The above statement does not ring true. I worked that last 8 years with a very sharp guy that was born in Mayville, MI. His older brother still works for GM in the UAW. When Bob got out of trade school for electronics he applied for a GM job. He is now 52. After several interviews with all the shops in the area he was finally told he was not of the right ethnicity to be hired. He did not want to leave Michigan, but had little choice. He headed to CA and was hired right off at the Lockheed Skunk Works. When that slowed down during the Clinton years, his buddy talked him into coming to Alaska. He got a job with us. GM screwed up. I would bet he is sharper than 95% of the people in the UAW. He is very happy and is now the Teamster shop steward.
As far as over paid executives. I agree they should not get those huge wages. I think if you look at the history, most of the disparity came about in the 1990s when the money was flowing in the dot.com bubble. Huge stock incentives and competition for the talent. It is there for anyone with the drive to work 100+ hours a week and hack their way to the top. I don't believe I could sleep at night.
To be told that "he hasn't the right ethnic background" is illegal and I bet GM would never admit to that.
As capitalism teaches us, the cream always rises to the top. Those who are at the bottom of the barrel are inferior. Almost like an Alger's novel, where a good person of great moral character goes from rags to riches. Therefore, all the CEOs must be better than the rest of us, including the entire workforce. The aristocracy would like you to believe this and that its your own fault that your a poor and or lacking in another area. That flaws in ones moral character hinder the masses. Since way back then the masses have been conditioned and led to believe this. Brain washed in the manner a Madison Ave firm sells a product. A social Darwinism of sorts, where the weak and feeble perish and the morally superior thrive. You say it enough and it becomes gospel. Its just fecal matter.
I'm aware of CEOs racking $15,000 a year in greens fees at country clubs. I'm not quite sure how rounds and hours of golf that is? Someone please calculate that out. However, I'm not going to envy them. If someone is willing to pay them that, so be it. A shoe deal, a signing bonus, and a grill named after you, is the American dream.
People like Robert Paulk and Jerry Roy are the heart of corporations like General Motors. Paulk, 58, and Roy, 49, are longtime, highly skilled, hourly employees who've been working-class proud of being part of GM. Over the years, they've known their share of the hard labor, heavy lifting, and stress that come with being an auto worker, but they've stayed loyal, taken great pride in their work, and kept increasing their skills and productivity— doing their part to help General Motors become the largest car seller in the world and helping GM's investors pocket years of profits.
The job has been good to Paulk and Roy, too. Under the contracts negotiated by the United Auto Workers, Paulk, his wife, and their two teenagers have been able to enjoy a slice of middle-class comfort. Likewise, Roy, a third-generation GM worker, has done well enough to afford a modest but pleasant house on a lake near Flint, Michigan, where his job is.
The Paulks and Roys represent a common story that can be told by millions of Americans of their generation. It's the story of our country's "social contract"—an implicit agreement between working stiffs like them and corporations like GM. This is a remarkable success story, embodying our nation's egalitarian ideals and our commitment to the common good. In practice, America's historic social contract has established within our huge, diverse, and fragile society something essential: a stable middle class. While the Constitution and Bill of Rights are the legal glue of our nation, this contract is the social glue—it binds us as one people, giving tangible evidence that "we're all in this together." Those who produced this democratic advance were not the founders back in 1776 but our parents and grandparents—and doing so did not come easily for them.
In the 1920s and '30s, working families in industry after industry openly rebelled against the rampant corporate greed, workplace abuses, and political corruption of the day. As they organized, marched, and held sit-ins and strikes, they were bludgeoned, shot at, and often killed by corporate bosses, Pinkerton goons, police, and even the National Guard. It was a hellacious period of bloody labor war, deep social unrest, and spreading political upheaval. Finally, fearing for the very survival of capitalism, corporate chieftains began to signal to union leaders that they were ready to negotiate for labor peace and a new social order.
The ensuing bargain was straightforward: corporations would get labor, loyalty, and productivity in exchange for assuring job and retirement security. From the New Deal until the mid-1980s, unions, corporations, and government hammered out a series of explicit agreements, rules, and laws that gave legal structure to this implicit contract. The result was a new balance of power that made ordinary people like auto workers the first decently paid, decently treated working class in the world.
Work was still hard and demanding, but the development of our social contract meant that, for the first time, tens of millions could find the American dream within their reach. By no means would you be a millionaire, but you could buy a modest home, have health care for your family, take a vacation, and not have to fear retirement—in other words, have the work ethic fairly rewarded. Such a contract also enabled working folks like Paulk and Roy to feel positive
about America's commitment to the common good, to pride themselves as being a valued part of the economy and the larger community, and to have hope for the next generation. Such feelings are more than touchy-feely niceties—they determine whether people support the social order. This is why the feelings of workaday folks like Paulk and Roy are a crucial baromenter of America's well-being, and why today's corporate and political elite had better begin tuning in to them "We're all worried. Everybody is worried," Paulk says of GM's workers. "There are a lot of people that are really mad. They think this is the thing that revolutions are made of."
The thing
What has the majority of America's working families worried, angry, and in a mood to revolt is that the Powers That Be have unilaterally decided to walk away from the social contract, and in so doing, to kiss off our country's middle class. The evidence of their abandonment is everywhere:
• Cut-backs, take-backs, and downsizings have become routine corporate practice, even in a time of soaring corporate profits.
• Wages have been deliberately depressed (now not even keeping up with inflation), while workers have dramatically increased the productivity, profitability, and competitiveness of their corporations.
• While CEOs slash wages, cut health care, and eliminate pensions for workers, they wallow in extravagant pay packages for themselves, get Cadillac health coverage for life, and grab rich pensions they haven't earned.
• Not only are most manufacturing corporations shifting their investments and middle-class jobs offshore (mostly to China), but the high-tech industry is also abandoning the American middle class, shifting even its professional work to low-paid countries (mostly to India).
• Corporate money has bought the White House and Congress (including too many moneysoaked Democrats), so Washington has been aggressively dismantling the framework of rules and laws that allowed labor to achieve some fairness in the workplace.
• The courts and regulatory agencies have been stacked with former corporate minions who are consistently ruling against worker rights and protections.
• Wall Street's powerhouse investors are now demanding that every corporation and the overall American economy be organized on the low-wage, no-benefit, antiunion model of Wal-Mart.
• The media establishment (itself corporate) has obligingly adopted the corporate spin that the day of unionism is long gone, that workers must learn to accept insecurity and a lowered lifestyle, that the social contract is simply too much of a burden on corporations and governments in this age of global competitiveness, and that, for success, tomorrow's workers "must take on the responsibility" to identify and acquire—"on their own"—"the emerging skill sets" that will be "valued in the marketplace" (believe it or not, this glob of gobbledygook actually came out to the mouth of an IBM executive, quoted approvingly in the New York Times).
What's good for GM
The middle class is not simply "vanishing" (as some well-paid scribes of the establishment media so blithely put it)—the middle class is being vanquished! The auto industry, for example, which once took pride in its workforce and in being America's economic engine for a shared prosperity, has now launched a particularly gruesome assault. Late last year, just before the holidays, General Motors (whose president once famously declared that what's good for GM is good for America) announced that it was closing 12 of its U.
At about the same time, Delphi Corporation went even farther. A division within GM until it was spun off in 1999, Delphi is the nation's largest supplier of dashboards, brakes, doors, power trains, and other components assembled by auto companies, hauling in more than $28 billion a year in sales. It announced last October that it plans to close some of its 31 U.S. plants, terminate its heath-care plan and life-insurance coverage for blue-collar retirees, reduce pension payments, and—get this—force its 34,000 hourly workers to take a two-thirds cut in their wages. Skilled workers there, who make as high as $30 an hour, would be knocked down to as low as $10 an hour. Asserting that the middle-class wages and benefits earned by auto workers are unaffordable luxuries these days, millionaire executives have begun the Wal-Martization of auto-making. This is not just another industry, and the severing of the social contract by GM and Delphi is not just another in a long string of corporate downsizings. This is one of our nation's premier industries, a symbol of America's economic vitality and can-do spirit, and a pacesetter for our entire economy.
In 1914, only a year after he opened his first assembly line, Henry Ford stunned the manufacturing world by more than doubling the hourly wage of workers on the line. At $5 a day, he explained, they could afford to buy a Ford. Moreover, James Couzens, Ford's corporate treasurer at the time and the man credited with the $5-a-day idea, said: "We want those who have helped us to produce this great institution and are helping to maintain it to share our prosperity."
Ninety-one years later, the managerial heirs to Ford and Couzens are disowning any corporate commitment to shared prosperity as they arbitrarily abrogate the good-faith contracts negotiated with auto workers. Today's industry executives are cutting off the top rungs of America's middle-class ladder, lowering the best-paid jobs to a level where employees will no longer have the income to buy the products they make.
In the name of "competitiveness" with third-world countries, these executives are creating a poorer, less secure—and angry— working class in our country, stealing the American Dream from millions of people. Their actions raise a number of Big Questions for the future of our society:
Around what shall we gather? Learning from early childhood the importance of fairness and sharing is central to our becoming social beings. Indeed, these were the basic values behind the social contract, which pledged that loyalty, productivity, cooperation, and quality work would be fairly rewarded. But these values are nowhere in sight when GM dumps 30,000 loyal workers whose productivity record, according to the very CEO who did the dumping, "has been dramatic," doubling in the past 10 years. These values are also absent when GM shuts down 12 facilities, including two that were ranked among the industry's best in quality and a third at
GM's Tennessee Saturn plant, renowned as a model of labor-management cooperation. GM has now emphatically declared that those virtues are no longer to be honored. If our society can no longer gather around the shared economic values of loyalty, productivity, cooperation, quality, and fairness then, what? The only answer being offered by the elites is "Survival of the strongest"—but that's the law of the jungle, not a social ethic.
Why shouldn't workers be well paid? The CEOs (and the compliant media) keep hammering auto workers as the "aristocrats" of labor, claiming that their wages and benefits are excessive and must be slashed so that U.S. auto corporations can become competitive again. A New York Timesreporter, in a tone of tongue-clucking criticism, noted that GM's American employees are earning far more than auto workers "in countries like Mexico and China." Well, gosh— I would hope so! Isn't getting ahead part of the American ethic? What's wrong with a blue-collar factory worker making $30,000 or even $60,000 a year plus health care and a good pension? That's success—for the workers and for America—and it ought to be held up as a model for a well-run economy, not a target of derision. Oh, by the way, how ludicrous is it for the pay of middle- class workers to be attacked by CEOs hauling away millions of dollars each and living in platinum cocoons?
What about the abject failures in the Executive Suite? Top management has become highly creative at blaming, reducing, and stealing from its workforce. If management put a tenth of that creativity into designing cars that the buying public might actually want, there would be no need for the massive cutbacks we're getting. Contrast Detroit's performance with the competition. Toyota, for example, makes cars here in America, paying wages and benefits comparable to Detroit's. But its high-quality, goodmileage, reliable cars are selling— American consumers are snapping up Toyotas faster than the company roll them out. Far from cutting back, Toyota and other foreign competitors are opening new plants in America, while the geniuses running GM are trying to shrink their way to prosperity. U.S. auto chieftains do not keep up with market demands or design quality cars. Instead, they run top-heavy corporate structures, engage in fraud (much of Delphi's present financial troubles come from its three-year, Enronish accounting scandal that cost investors more than $1 billion), launch new "turnaround" schemes every few months, rely on money-losing discounts to move inventory, and dump money into silly advertising campaigns to try to cover up their production failures. Then, with revenues down, they demand more cutbacks for the blue-collar workers while merrily giving everyone in the executive suite promotions and raises.
Doesn't this cry out for a National Health-Care Program? A constant refrain from the auto companies is that the soaring cost of health care is crushing their bottom line. For example, GM honchos wail loudly that covering their autoworkers and retirees adds $1,500 to the cost of each car. The only answer, they say, is to slash or even eliminate this protection for working families. But wait—before our country callously agrees to yank the health-care rug out from under the middle class, let's consider fundamentally reforming our bloated, bureaucratic, exorbitantly expensive, inadequate and unjust health-care system. Again, check the competition: Japan has a national health program that doesn't leave its populatio
With a national health program for America, not only would GM improve its competitiveness by some $1,500 per car, but our nation would also be made stronger by replacing the inefficiencies and greed of the massive corporate structure (insurance giants, HMOs, drug
peddlers, etc.) separating us patients from our doctors. America spends far more per person on health care than do Japan and other countries with a national plan— and they get superior care. It's time for the auto bosses to show leadership. Rather than retreating on the social contract, they should use their political and media clout to advance a national health-care program that'll truly be good for the country and for General Motors.
A dangerous betrayal
Today's corporate leadership is playing with fire. The elites are so focused on enriching themselves— knocking down the workaday majority's wages and benefits in order to grab more of the nation's wealth, for example, and getting Bush to keep piling on the tax giveaways for the rich at the expense of everyone else—that they have become blind to the looming threat that their avarice poses to the social order and to their own well-being. Until recently, the Wal-Mart model has been taking advantage of lowskilled, low-income workers, but moving that model upward to autos, steel, high-tech, and other industries ensnares highly skilled, middleincome workers. There's a big difference between holding people down and knocking them down. Middleclass working families are people who've had a slice of the American pie—and for them to be told now that their slice will be taken from them and their children is not merely to shred the social contract and throw it in their faces, but to dissolve the social glue that holds our big, sprawling, brawling, country together. It's the betrayal of the middle class.
Well affirmative action was alive and well during that period. He blamed the UAW for pushing quotas. He was not Union at Lockheed. He did not become Union until he hired on with us. It took several years to convince him that all Unions were not as screwed up as the UAW. He got a lot of horror stories from his brother. To hear him tell it, the only good thing about GM and the UAW, was getting the family discount every couple years on a new Tahoe.
It was a premier industry at one time. The last decent GM I owned was my 1998 Suburban built in Mexico. I replaced it with a 2005 GMC PU that was a tinny piece of junk. I quickly sold it before it was a total loss. I am not saying it was the UAW at fault. They are just one piece of the house of cards that was once the Big 3. It is falling apart and being replaced by superior foreign products.
I will repeat. Where were the UAW workers when the other industries in this country went away? They were sucking down the overtime and buying cheap foreign TVs and Stereos. Now it is time to pay the piper. The UAW is a small insignificant percentage of the American middle class.
The UAW is .4% of the US labor force. Not even 1/2 of 1% of the total 154,603,000 civilian workers in the USA. The average hourly wage is $18.06 per hour. When the UAW workers are gone the only ones that will notice are the members themselves. The smart ones are looking elsewhere for a good job. UAW workers have had 20 years of the handwriting on the wall.
Whatever Sweden is, it is certainly not a socialist state. I would say that Sweden is an example of welfare capitalism. Business stays in private hands (I don't know of any government-owned companies in Sweden) while the government charges very high taxes to pay for a wide range of generous welfare programs.
The contest between capitalism & socialism ended more than 20 years ago. Capitalism won decisively. Now the contest is between western European high-tax welfare capitalism & American-style capitalism, which is distinguished by lower taxes & a less generous welfare system.
It is the high taxes given to people that are lazy or unwilling to work that I am against. helping those that are unable to work is justifiable. Free health care is a mess in all countries it is practiced in.
Our system of employer-based health insurance was developed during WWII. With every able-bodied man under 40 in uniform, companies were desperate for help. The unemployment rate was zero, but because of wartime wage & price controls, companies couldn't compete for workers by offering more money. So they came up with non-cash incentives, like company-paid health care.
I'd like to see us adopt a system under which we'd own our health insurance plans, just as we now own our other insurance policies. You don't lose your auto insurance when you quit your job because you don't get it through your employer. Health insurance can & should be that way. It should be portable. That would liberate employees, who would no longer have to stick with jobs they don't like just because the health benefits are good, & it would help American companies that must compete with foreign companies that don't have this burden. IMO, this would be a much more flexible system than the old-employer based approach.
I do believe the private sector could do a much better job than the government, if they were not subjected to the lawsuits with huge awards. Tort reform in my opinion is a better way to approach the health care cost. That is tough when ambulance chasers are the bulk of the Congress.
Then too there is the famous Ford Pinto case. Where the Ford Motor Company knew that these cars has a good chance of going up in flames upon a rear impact. They opted to pay off lawsuits/injuries, rather than fixing the root cause of the problem. Weighing the cost over the benefit, paying suits/injuries was cheaper. No one would argue that punitive damages to send Ford a loud and clear message were in order. Internal Ford documents obtained by the plaintiff showed that greed over human injury/life, led Ford to willfully, wantonly, and with economic gain decide to not act in the interest of the general public and or their customers.
In conclusion I need to preach personal responsibility. The media want the general public to try these cases in the media itself. The fact that someone sued McDonald's for hot coffee burns is superficial, unless all the fact are heard. A jury of sane and reasonable people, our peers, sided with the plaintiff here too. You have the facts that part of the settlement included that the plaintiff not ever discuss the case again, coupled with the fact that the settlement amount is not to be put out to the public. McDonald's has a public relations department and it would be silly to think these folks weren't doing their job. Prior many others had too been burned by the McDonald's coffee. McDonald's keeps their coffee hotter than any other business of its kind. So there were a host of other circumstances which that jury, sane, reasonable, and peers were privy to. However, the media decided to try this in the headlines with only the defendants side of events. I would ask you why ever would, McDonald's pay millions if they we innocent?
“I understand if you’re a guy on the line building a [GMC] Yukon, you’re concerned about that product selling,” the GM worker said. “But the UAW and Detroit have to be looking at the bigger picture. It was the quick buck. It was keeping people working. But that short view is really hurting us today."
Detroit 3 feel sting of earlier decisions (Toledo Blade)