Will UAW Strike?

[5030]

They are constantly looking for another job.

With all the 'help wanted' signs I see, that shouldn't be all that difficult and we know of no one that works in an Amazon warehouse either.

Problem is, today, new hires want to be paid top tier wages and benefits right from square one and it don't work that way in the real world and never has.

 

[ultrarunner]

It sure is, but also, they shouldn't get upset if someone calls them a scab.

Or worse... Mom was a very dedicated nurse and when a neighboring hospital went on strike her Director of Nursing friend pleaded for help in intensive care and mom said ok.

After working 12 hours she came out to the parking lot to 4 punctured tires.

She was both sad and mad... very atypical for her.

She went back inside and called home... I arrived within the hour with 4 mounted tires Dad's wrecking yard friend let us borrow.

The Strikers would not be quiet and I was 17 at the time... One said expensive lesson kid... I said more sad adding the tires are free from dad's friend who owns the auto salvage so not expensive at all.

After that I dropped mom off and dad picked her up... he said kind of like the old days when he was bodyguard for entertainers... Dad was retired heavyweight boxing title holder after all.

The union broke the hospital... it was never the same after the strike and within 5 years the township decided to close it... just a shell now.

 

[5030]

skill other than the ablity to shift some gears and steer 80,000 pound rig down the road.

In my case it was 163,000 pounds, not 80 and today, most late model road tractors have automatics in them. In fact, at least here in Michigan, if you get a CDL it's for an automatic and you have to have a special endorsement to drive a 13 or 18 speed Roadranger, or even a Super 10 for that matter.

There are a lot of 'stupid' truck drivers out there today, just tune into 'Bonehead truckers on YT to see some of them. Truck drivers today and truck drivers when I drove for a living are 2 distinctly different things and most of those 'Bonehead truckers are door slammers or 90 day wonders.

 

[5030]

You can agree or disagree with me on my stance concerning unions and union members, it is, after all a free country where you can have opinions that differ with other's opinions, at least for now that is.....

I will always maintain that the only reason auto workers get paid what they get paid is because they are unionized. I don't take a 'rocket scientist' to put bolt A in part B and then use a pre set air operated wrench to torque it down. 99% of assembly line jobs take very little skill to perform and I've been in plenty of auto plants during my working career to observe just that. Would I want to do that? Heck no because it's a mind numbing job at best.

Last time I checked, Gale's favorite automaker was not unionized....lol

 

[MoKelly]

With all the 'help wanted' signs I see, that shouldn't be all that difficult and we know of no one that works in an Amazon warehouse either.

Problem is, today, new hires want to be paid top tier wages and benefits right from square one and it don't work that way in the real world and never has.

Yes - hence the very many help wanted signs that stay up forever.

We have had restaurants here close a few days a week or open on fewer hours because of no help.

I got a message the other day from my “Club” that they were closing early due to “lack of staff”. Help wanted signs seem not to be working.

 

[paulsharvey]

Guess being in a non-union area, I dont see any issue in being a scab, working plant shut downs, embedded consultant, travel nurse, or any of that. Either A: they can't find people to do the work; or B: their too lazy to do it. You owe nothing to other workers; you owe to yourself and your family. If that means some lazy union non-workers loose their house/car, that's their choice for Choosing to not work. Socks to be them? If you choose not to work, don't complain when others choose to take your job.

 

[shooterdon]

Many people believe they need a union. Most are Democrats and that fits their view of the world.

I worked for 46 years and never felt the need to be a union member. But that does not make me better…just different.

I spent most of those years in union plants. The companies I worked for treated both union and non-union employees fairly most of the time. Was that because of the union or good management? I do not know for sure.

A “good” union is not a threat to profitability. Yet, I have seen unions do stupid things. As in many aspects of life, mob mentality can cause people to act irrationally. That, to me, is the threat some unions inflict on their members and the companies they deal with.

 

[lilranch2001]

In my case it was 163,000 pounds, not 80 and today, most late model road tractors have automatics in them. In fact, at least here in Michigan, if you get a CDL it's for an automatic and you have to have a special endorsement to drive a 13 or 18 speed Roadranger, or even a Super 10 for that matter.

There are a lot of 'stupid' truck drivers out there today, just tune into 'Bonehead truckers on YT to see some of them. Truck drivers today and truck drivers when I drove for a living are 2 distinctly different things and most of those 'Bonehead truckers are door slammers or 90 day wonders.

It’s to bad, once in a while you happen onto a insightful thought, but most of your thoughts seem to tend towards the close minded ones!

 

[ultrarunner]

Coming from farmers and self employed I believe if a person believes they can do better they should throw their hat in the ring and roll up their sleeves.

I see so many immigrants make it with little more than an idea, determination and hard work where failing is not an option.

I'm glad for my union shop experience and nothing bad to say but I did have to catch up quickly... but it was not too bad.

Quitting time is quitting time... stay within your classification... respect seniority... etc.

 

[5030]

It’s to bad, once in a while you happen onto a insightful thought, but most of your thoughts seem to tend towards the close minded ones!

I only have 2 words for you but I cannot post them on here. Use your imagination You do have one don't you?

 

[lilranch2001]

I only have 2 words for you but I cannot post them on here. Use your imagination You do have one don't you?

Probably a better one than you!

 

[Pixguy]

Coming from farmers and self employed I believe if a person believes they can do better they should throw their hat in the ring and roll up their sleeves.

I see so many immigrants make it with little more than an idea, determination and hard work where failing is not an option.

I'm glad for my union shop experience and nothing bad to say but I did have to catch up quickly... but it was not too bad.

Quitting time is quitting time... stay within your classification... respect seniority... etc.

God forbid you do someone else's job huh?

 

[5030]

A “good” union is not a threat to profitability. Yet, I have seen unions do stupid things.

YRC and the teamsters comes to mind instantly. The Teamsters somehow thought they were running YRC and then YRC closed their doors and 20,000 teamsters members lost their jobs. You have the same scenario unfolding with Fords, GM and Stellantis.

The UAW can 'dictate' all it wants to but in the end, the employer still has the upper hand. Like Kenny Rodgers sang... 'You gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em'.....

While I don't know what is transpiring with Stellantis or GM, I know Fords presented Fain with what they considered their 'best offer' an offer that still allowed them to be profitable for their stockholders and Fain blew them off. I don't see Fords sweeting that offer much if any at this point as they know full well what the break point is. Fain nor the UAW don't and from what I see, don't care either.

What I do see happening is Fords going into receivership and emerging at the other end as a non union company however and if that plays out, GM and Stellantis will follow suit.

Of course that leaves the UAW and it's members with nothing but an 'empty suit'. Conversely then, the auto makers can rehire the union workers as 'at will' employees and weed out the low hanging fruit that the union protected.

'Lean Manufacturing' does have it's advantages.

That may or may not be the end game in this. I'm only projecting.

 

[ultrarunner]

God forbid you do someone else's job huh?

Kind of but the shop steward was more of the reminding kind... never had a run in with management or on the shop floor where I worked...

The big project was Space Shuttle related and I was on the floor when Challenger exploded.

Within 10 days everything in progress was catalog... only assemblies 80% finished could we complete... in progress shop was paid for work done... some sent to scrap...

 

[aczlan]

The UAW builds more than just automobiles. They have over 600 local unions in north america with more than 400,000 active and nearly 600,000 retired members. They all pay union dues every month to cover expenses.

The CEO's at the big 3 are scratching out a bloated wage;

Barra at GM, $29 million
Farley at Ford, $21 million
Tavares at Stellantis, $24 million

IIRC, Barra's salary was $2.1 million, she got a bonus of $6.2 million for meeting metrics that were set by the board and another $14.6 Million in stock (which likely has a bunch of strings attached to be able to "cash in on") for meeting metrics.
That works out to $1 Million in stock options for every $1 Billion in company revenue.
So about the same ratio as a salesman getting a $1000 bonus from a company for making $1,000,000 in sales.
In GM's case, if you cut her pay from $30 Million to $0 and distributed it evenly it to all 167,000 GM employees, each employee would get a grand total of $179.64.

Many people believe they need a union. Most are Democrats and that fits their view of the world.

I worked for 46 years and never felt the need to be a union member. But that does not make me better…just different.

I spent most of those years in union plants. The companies I worked for treated both union and non-union employees fairly most of the time. Was that because of the union or good management? I do not know for sure.

A “good” union is not a threat to profitability. Yet, I have seen unions do stupid things. As in many aspects of life, mob mentality can cause people to act irrationally. That, to me, is the threat some unions inflict on their members and the companies they deal with.

There has been discussion of going union where I work, but when it was explained what would be lost as far as "extras" and flexibility there was no interest.
A local plant is unionized and (talking to those who work there) it seems that the union exists to protect the slugs and slowpokes who have no interest in working if they can get away with not working.
If unions would provide higher quality workers who were more productive and weed out the slugs they would actually be useful.


Aaron Z

 

[Hay Dude]

Why would gear shifting a manual transmission truck make a driver any worse than one driving an automatic?

9 out of 10 truck drivers are assigned to a company truck and have no choice.
An automatic transmission driver may be much better off safety wise for himself and the general public than a manual driver because he has one less thing to distract him from driving.

Manual transmissions are going the way of the dial-up telephone.

 

[milkman636]

Last week I was contacted by 4 different dealerships that still had a truck on the lot they originally quoted me in September. At the time each one indicated that prices would be going up during the strike as inventory got lower. Well, the opposite has happened. All 4 were offered to me anywhere from $1000 to $4000 less than before, without me asking.

Given the volume of calls I'm getting from almost every dealership I've visited over the last 3 months, I'd have to say sales are slower than before. The local dealers appear to be getting anxious for a sale.

This weekend I read an article about chinese investors divesting themselves of over $5 billion in US stock and securities over the last month, which is a huge external force driving markets down and negatively affecting fund balances. And another article spoke of multiple large banks that are reducing workforces and management by thousands of people due to reduced lending activities and the lack of prospects for increased demand. None of that sounded like an environment that an entire domestic industry should be headed into without doing the things that can make money. It's looking gloomy.

Michigan is a state where everyone knows people in the auto industry. So, basically everyone around me will know people that are hurt if resolution doesn't come soon. The only exceptions to that last statement may be 5030 and his BIL.

 

[sd455dan]

On the Strike sure seems like the union leader is faring better than the people standing out in the cold.

 

[5030]

That is a very telling video and like I said before, Fords at least is giving any more concessions.

 

[BobInSD]

... I fond that interesting in as much as our vehicles have 'hands free' cell phone usage not that I do because when I'm driving. the cell phone is turned off anyway. Nothing that important far as I'm concerned.

You never know, somebody might be calling to get their deposit back from that truck. Better pick up.