Oaktree
Super Member
The whole seniority thing may have made sense 100 years ago when most trades were learned on the job...kind of stood to reason that (up to a point) the more experience you had the more skilled you were. Doesn't really fly today, and as you noted younger generations aren't about to take all the crap shifts, etc. for years. I've always felt that a union environment tends to punish the ambitious.The big thing the union concept gets wrong is that seniority and competence are not often coordinated. In a RTW state, the better workers get paid more. In a union shop, the guys who have managed to avoid being fired the longest get paid more. I'm sure there are some senior guys who are also competent and hard-working. The most competent, hardest working people tend to leave union jobs or never take them in the first place. Why would you bust your hump so some lazy slob who started a year earlier than you can get paid more and get 1st crack at vacation days, shifts, etc? Again, not painting all union guys with that brush, just the average ones versus the average in a RTW situation.
Unions have already made Toyota #1.
I wasn't aware that toyota was #1 in anything, but I have noticed quite a few new-looking tacomas on the road lateley (though the nearby dealership's lot seems to be full of 'most every other model). I'm attributing that to Ford & GM's limited production of their smaller trucks leaving no other choice if someone doesn't want full size.The companies may welcome a strike to a point. They will be able to save money as it drags on and many of them now have a surplus at dealerships. (Though it really seems to vary).
There is a Toyota dealership just off I30, not far from here. They have few vehicles on the lot.
I don't see any "surplus" at ANY dealership around here, regardless of make. The Chevy/GMC dealer's lot is almost empty to the point where you wonder if they're even open. Dodge/Ram/Jeep dealer seems to have quite a few full size RAMs, but not much else.
Not sure why Ford & GM don't up production on their small trucks...are they afraid they're cannibalizing full-size sales? IMHO better to keep it in the family than to give sales away to a competitor.