Are the Unions Killing the American Car Industry?

#26
#26
The Big 3 did not have to agree to the contracts that they are now saddled with. They agreed to this. Is it hurting them? Probably so. But it's their own fault.
 
#28
#28
VolunteerHillbilly said:
The Big 3 did not have to agree to the contracts that they are now saddled with. They agreed to this. Is it hurting them? Probably so. But it's their own fault.
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Agreed. The decision makers knew they were mortgaging the future making shortsighted decisions then. "what the hell, some poor sap 30 years from now can deal with it."
 
#29
#29
joevol320 said:
i don't care if someone makes 75.00 if the company is doing well and that amount is warranted. but if it's killing the company, then they need to make some serious changes.
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Well Said. I have long talked about the UAW being the real problem in Detroit, not the products being put into the showroom.

I live and work in a union state, and, as a non union worker, i am living a good life now, as the union trades have been laying alot of guys off for an extended period of time, as the cost of having your work "Union Made" is exponentially higher than having a non union contractor do it.

The concept of Unions is good, but they need to realize that life is not as it was when the huge labor movement occurred, in the days of 14 hour shifts, chemical inhalation, and company stores.

They have nothing to complain about, yet they are spoiled and they complain anyhow. We had the Sikorsky Helicopter plant strike maybe a year ago, not because they were working 100 hours a week, but because the company wanted them to have a $5 copay for doctor visits as opposed to free. Seriously.

It got settleed, bit sure if the result, but the whole time I was hoping Sikorsky would pull roots and move south, where they could make skilled manufacturing types happy with $25 an hour, while they also would happily bear the burden of $5 to go see a Physician who charges the insurance company $100 an hour.

Mindless rant, but i think Unions have served their purpose and need to go.
 
#30
#30
VolunteerHillbilly said:
The Big 3 did not have to agree to the contracts that they are now saddled with. They agreed to this. Is it hurting them? Probably so. But it's their own fault.
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True, they played nice, when they should have fought it out. The money they would have lost from no production then, until they starved and foreclosed the Mafia ....err UAW to the table, is nothing like they've lost now.
 
#31
#31
It's their health care benefits. Every vehicle GM sells, 8k goes to their employess health care costs.
 
#33
#33
if uaw's pay and benefits were in line with nissan and toyota's plants, i wonder how much lower the prices would be on the vehicles.
 
#35
#35
joevol320 said:
if uaw's pay and benefits were in line with nissan and toyota's plants, i wonder how much lower the prices would be on the vehicles.
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Not much if any. The American big 3 have been selling cars at a loss for a while. The real change would be in the Big 3's P&L and their ability to invest in technology and tooling required to make their vehicles more appealing to the average car buyer.
 
#36
#36
truefan said:
Not much if any. The American big 3 have been selling cars at a loss for a while. The real change would be in the Big 3's P&L and their ability to invest in technology and tooling required to make their vehicles more appealing to the average car buyer.
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While I agree with this, they also would likely need to reduce production or at least capacity investment.
 
#37
#37
JTrainDavis said:
I live and work in a union state, and, as a non union worker, i am living a good life now, as the union trades have been laying alot of guys off for an extended period of time, as the cost of having your work "Union Made" is exponentially higher than having a non union contractor do it.

Mindless rant, but i think Unions have served their purpose and need to go.
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For some reason I had the urge to buy my kids some toys and clothes made in the US for Christmas. So I googled these terms and found a bunch of websites with the "union made" products for sell. I said "screw it". rather buy my kids some foreign made stuff.
 
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#39
#39
truefan said:
Not much if any. The American big 3 have been selling cars at a loss for a while. The real change would be in the Big 3's P&L and their ability to invest in technology and tooling required to make their vehicles more appealing to the average car buyer.
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I guess this could be proclaimed as true if one ignores the financial facts of the matter. That, of course, would take some actual effort and independent research into the matter, though.

The comparison of the Debt to Equity Ratio's alone, between the Big 3 and the profiting imports, are quite shocking. If you check the specifics of the held long term debt for the Big 3...pensions. Oops.
 
#41
#41
therealUT said:
The comparison of the Debt to Equity Ratio's alone, between the Big 3 and the profiting imports, are quite shocking. If you check the specifics of the held long term debt for the Big 3...pensions. Oops.
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This confused me.
 
#49
#49
Kill the Unions so the head honchos must get real jobs and quit living off of the myth of protecting the weak. while a promise to protect has been made, all the union is doing raping and taking advantage of them.
 
#50
#50
Unions will always have their place, It's cyclical. Working folks vs white collar...theres a need for both and at one time or another each has the upper hand. When one gets an upper hand longer the other gets to swing for the fence, its the american way.
 
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