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Why would any manufacturer relocate in a different country??

Cal

Well-known member
UAW Strikes on Missed Deadline With GM
Monday , September 24, 2007



United Auto Workers union-represented employees walked off the job and organized pickets outside General Motors Corp. (GM) plants as the union called a national strike against the top U.S. automaker after marathon contract talks failed to produce a deal.

The strike marked an unexpected twist after the negotiations seemed to have brought the two sides close to an historic deal that would allow GM to cut its $5 billion annual health-care bill.

GM shares and bonds shot higher early Monday as investors anticipated the automaker would reach an accord with the UAW and avoid a disruptive work stoppage.

News of the strike -- the first such UAW action against GM in almost a decade -- prompted GM shares to fall back from early highs. In early afternoon trading, the shares were up just 16 cents at $35.10.

"You can be pushed off a cliff and that's what happened here," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said, speaking to reporters at a news conference at the union's Detroit headquarters.

Gettelfinger said union negotiators would head back to the bargaining table Monday and remained ready to discuss one of GM's key demands of establishing a trust fund to pay for retiree health care.

GM said in a statement it was "disappointed" in the UAW's decision to strike and wanted to reach a deal with the union.

"The bargaining involves complex, difficult issues that affect the job security of our U.S. work force and the long-term viability of the company," GM said in a statement. "We are fully committed to working with the UAW to develop solutions together to address the competitive challenges facing General Motors."

The White House urged both sides to stay at the bargaining table. "We encourage both the company and the UAW to continue to work through their differences," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

INVENTORY SEEN AS CUSHION

Analysts said GM had the inventory to ride out a short work stoppage with many expressing doubt the union would push the struggling automaker to the wall with a prolonged strike.

"The interpretation that I would go with is that this is sort of a last-minute push by the unions to get GM over the hump on a couple of benefits," said David Healy, an automotive analyst at Burnham Securities.

Negotiations between GM and the UAW have hinged on a GM proposal to cut its health-care costs by establishing a trust fund for retiree-related costs.

But in setting a firm Monday strike deadline, the UAW said it was reacting to GM's reluctance to guarantee to preserve U.S. production jobs as it restructures.

Despite the tougher rhetoric from the UAW, most analysts said they believed the two sides remained close on the terms of a deal.

"My preliminary feeling is this is just really part of the negotiating posture," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer of North Star Investment Management Corp.

GM and UAW negotiators had agreed during the weekend to the broad terms of a deal that would reduce GM's annual health-care costs, people briefed on the talks said.

Under that plan, GM would shift responsibility for retiree health care to a new UAW-aligned trust fund known as a voluntary employee beneficiary association, or VEBA.

Wall Street analysts have said establishing a VEBA could cut GM's annual costs by $3 billion in exchange for a one-off payment expected to top $30 billion.

Expectations for a cost-cutting labor deal had sent GM shares up almost 14 percent this month before Monday's trading.

The outcome of the contract talks is seen as crucial to efforts by the three Detroit-based automakers -- GM, Ford Motor Co. (F) and Chrysler LLC -- to recover from combined losses of $15 billion last year and sales difficulties that have driven their share of the U.S. market below 50 percent.

GM, Ford and Chrysler are seeking concessions from the UAW to close a labor cost gap with Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) and other Japanese automakers operating in the United States that they say amounts to more than $30 per hour for the average factory worker.

'WE'RE ON STRIKE'

Union local leaders had been told to have 73,000 GM factory workers begin walking off the job Monday unless they were told by their negotiating team that an impasse in the talks had been broken.

"We're on strike. It's too late to call us back now," UAW Local President Chris "Tiny" Sherwood told Reuters as the union-imposed strike deadline passed at 11 a.m. EDT .

At the same time, workers began leaving GM factories in Michigan, Ohio and Kansas. At a GM plant in Bay City, Michigan, workers began to picket in front of the gate with signs reading "UAW on Strike."

The union's previous contract expired Sept. 14. The last UAW strike against GM was in 1998. That walkout at two GM parts plants in Flint, Michigan, shut down GM production and caused sales to plummet.

The UAW has not called a national strike during contract negotiations since 1976.
 

Mike

Well-known member
Competitive Labor Cost Comparison

2006 Average Labor Costs -- UAW represented (per hour worked)


DaimlerChrysler $75.86


Ford $70.51


General Motors $73.26



U.S. Japanese Transplants Labor Cost Comparison

2005 Average Labor Costs


*Honda $42.95


*Nissan $41.97


*Toyota $47.60
 

jigs

Well-known member
unions had thier time and place, now they are bankrupting the companies.

did no one ever tell these guys don't bite the hand that feeds you?
 

Texan

Well-known member
I saw an interview on the news last night. A couple that both worked for GM. The were telling how rough things were - how the big evil corporation was practically stealing from them and ruining their lives. And that while they are on strike, they were only making $200/week/each and might even have to resort to drastic measures - like "cooking at home." Poor bastards.

Well...not really 'poor.' They finally told how much they make when they're working - combined $170K. One hundred seventy thousand dollars a year plus benefits and they go to 'work' in shorts and tank tops - like they were on freakin' vacation. Yep, GM is sure ruining their lives. :???:
 

Cal

Well-known member
Texan said:
I saw an interview on the news last night. A couple that both worked for GM. The were telling how rough things were - how the big evil corporation was practically stealing from them and ruining their lives. And that while they are on strike, they were only making $200/week/each and might even have to resort to drastic measures - like "cooking at home." Poor bastards.

Well...not really 'poor.' They finally told how much they make when they're working - combined $170K. One hundred seventy thousand dollars a year plus benefits and they go to 'work' in shorts and tank tops - like they were on freakin' vacation. Yep, GM is sure ruining their lives. :???:
That sounds just like the union rep. wannabe thug asswipe that's married to my wife's sister. I'd like to see all of those sob's flipping burgers and mowing lawns because of this....with no damn health insurance. Kind of puts a different perspective on things when you think about some of the illegals risking their lives to come to the US to work for a pittance, while the union ranks barely give a sheist if they destroy a company. But just to be fair we must realize that they're not actually making quite as much as Mike listed, because you know there's all of those dues and mandatory donations to the Democrats.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
Years ago, when we were in Wyoming, Mr. FH guided hunters and I cooked for them. Some of those folks were UAW. And they hated the union. They said they HAD to belong and that when they were forced to strike, they could never work long enough to make up for what they lost.

They told some real horror stories. And the Union didn't stand for them when it came to working conditions. They had to negotiate with management on their own.

I saw how the Union worked when we went through the Hormel Meat Packing Plant in the 70's. They had the workers on SLOWDOWN. The union officials sat there with watches and when they reached 60 pigs (I'm not sure of that number, I just used it as illustration), the union made them stop and just sit there. They were only allowed to process so many pigs per hour. It made Hormel not be able to meet the quota they promised their customers, which cut down on profit, which in turn cut down on profit-sharing for their employees. This SLOWDOWN was over 5 pigs an hour. Management wanted to move the amount up from 60 pigs to 65 pigs an hour and the UNION wouldn't go for it. I know that the Christmas checks that year were plenty slim. It hurt the workers and their families. Sad deal.
 

Frankk

Well-known member
Cal said:
Texan said:
I saw an interview on the news last night. A couple that both worked for GM. The were telling how rough things were - how the big evil corporation was practically stealing from them and ruining their lives. And that while they are on strike, they were only making $200/week/each and might even have to resort to drastic measures - like "cooking at home." Poor bastards.

Well...not really 'poor.' They finally told how much they make when they're working - combined $170K. One hundred seventy thousand dollars a year plus benefits and they go to 'work' in shorts and tank tops - like they were on freakin' vacation. Yep, GM is sure ruining their lives. :???:
That sounds just like the union rep. wannabe thug asswipe that's married to my wife's sister. I'd like to see all of those sob's flipping burgers and mowing lawns because of this....with no damn health insurance. Kind of puts a different perspective on things when you think about some of the illegals risking their lives to come to the US to work for a pittance, while the union ranks barely give a sheist if they destroy a company. But just to be fair we must realize that they're not actually making quite as much as Mike listed, because you know there's all of those dues and mandatory donations to the Democrats.

It sounds like you may be afraid of your wife's brother in law. Did it help to sound off over the internet?
 

TSR

Well-known member
Faster horses said:
Years ago, when we were in Wyoming, Mr. FH guided hunters and I cooked for them. Some of those folks were UAW. And they hated the union. They said they HAD to belong and that when they were forced to strike, they could never work long enough to make up for what they lost.

They told some real horror stories. And the Union didn't stand for them when it came to working conditions. They had to negotiate with management on their own.

I saw how the Union worked when we went through the Hormel Meat Packing Plant in the 70's. They had the workers on SLOWDOWN. The union officials sat there with watches and when they reached 60 pigs (I'm not sure of that number, I just used it as illustration), the union made them stop and just sit there. They were only allowed to process so many pigs
per hour. It made Hormel not be able to meet the quota they promised their customers, which cut down on profit, which in turn cut down on profit-sharing for their employees. This SLOWDOWN was over 5 pigs an hour. Management wanted to move the amount up from 60 pigs to 65 pigs an hour and the UNION wouldn't go for it. I know that the Christmas checks that year were plenty slim. It hurt the workers and their families. Sad deal.

Ny experience: When I was 18 I went to work in a factory that made car seat frames for Ford cars, it was a union plant. I won't forget the day the assembly line ran really well and about 3 minutes before quitting time we made production. Everyone that worked on that line was kinda proud of themselves. The next day the company had a time study person there at our line and guess what, production was raised to an amount practically impossible to attain. Afterwards any time the union wanted to bargain for anything the company would bring up the fact production was not being made. FWIW my father retired from the same plant in the mid 70's his retirement check was something like $180 a month. I don't need anyone to tell me how good companies are, all you have to do is look at where they have concentrated their salaries, its always at the top. Look at some of the severance millions some get for doing a bad job and people want to blame a working man for trying to get the best he can get for himself and his family?? BTW I would bet that a great many of those that moved over seas weren't unionized they are just taking advantage of this administrations'corporate welfare to make more bucks for the top dogs.

I wonder if when the Christmas checks were passed out at the Hormel plant if the executives' checks were slim also??
 

TSR

Well-known member
Mike said:
Competitive Labor Cost Comparison

2006 Average Labor Costs -- UAW represented (per hour worked)


DaimlerChrysler $75.86


Ford $70.51


General Motors $73.26



U.S. Japanese Transplants Labor Cost Comparison

2005 Average Labor Costs


*Honda $42.95


*Nissan $41.97


*Toyota $47.60

A small sampling, Mike. I can tell you many manufacturers are paying starting salaries less than they did five yrs. ago especially some of the unionized plants.
 

Texan

Well-known member
I don't disagree that some corporate salaries seem excessive. But that's the business of the shareholders - not MY business and certainly not the government's.

Speaking of overpaid executives...

These union clowns don't even have any P&L responsibilities and almost no oversight. And what is it exactly that they do? Deciding who can work and who can't? Picking the pockets of working people? Funneling that money to the DNC? Extortion?

Looks like all of that 'responsibility' comes with a pretty good salary:

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress_extra/2007/08/unionsalaries0820.pdf
 

Cal

Well-known member
Frankk said:
It sounds like you may be afraid of your wife's brother in law. Did it help to sound off over the internet?
Thank you so much for your concern, there, Frankk....but it was much more satisfying to actually get in his face and raise hell with him.
 

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