UAW workers launch unprecedented strike against all Big Three automakers

Oh yeah.

 

Remember this quote from Armageddon?

Rockhound: You know we're sitting on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes you feel good, doesn't it?

I think about this all the time. The bottom line is that we are all here serving different masters. The master could be yourself, your family, your stockholders and so on. And we all have the same goal - to earn as much as possible with the least amount of effort, investment, etc. 270000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. I’ve worked for the same company for 30 years. In that time I’ve been through 2 spinoffs and 3 mergers, under 9 different logos and around 20 different direct supervisors. 27 of those years have been in management and I’ve worked with unions for over 20 of those years. In that time I’ve learned that the Union is there to protect its members and to get everything they can for them. They are almost like defense attorneys - it’s their job to defend everything right or wrong and to get what they can. On the other side of the coin big corporations serve their stockholders. It’s the corporation’s job to make money and provide a return on investment. They will invest what they have to to be profitable, but nothing more than that. They will pay as little as they can and invest as little as they can in benefits, etc. there is a certain amount of loss that they will accept. Their employees are not “people” , they are assets. I’m in HR and have led several restructuring efforts and layoffs. We are assets and can be written off like a ford truck.

I know there are individual people that have a strong work ethic and strive to deliver the best for everyone. And there are employers that are amazing. I’ve had bosses that I know truly cared about their employees. But generally speaking, at least with large corporations it’s all about serving the master and being the lowest bidder. I’m not defending either side of the strike but if everything were simple they wouldn’t be there.

 

well said.

Private equity is about 25 times worse. they strip mine companies, bolt others to it, and sell to the next sucker. the employees take a beating.

 

I'll say again...

UAW is forcing the Gov hand. They are going full tilt boogie on shutdowns. to cause max pain in the economy.

Taxpayers are gonna take a beating on this one.

every aspect of this conflagration is at code red.

 

Are you sure it's the UAW forcing the Gov's hand and not the other way around???

(just spitballing a little here and playing a little devil's advocate)

 

No way. The “companies” and their leaders are always looking to do to the right things. Safety, work rules, how money is shared. Always. If the UAW went away, they would certainly take good care and of their employee base.

Before I hear that Toyota and Tesla arent unionized, I’d point out that employees don’t usually seek to be represented if they feel they are properly treated.

 

2nd no one is forcing anything. Why don't those corporations have 6 months of savings like everyone is supposed to have.

 

I represent a section of a large transmission utility here in CO.
It’s unique. Some are union and some are not. Same jobs.
The non union side has always resisted and when the company would hear there was a bit of talk they would give the non union side a dollar raise or some other small benefit to show them they are better off. It would slow any talk down as you might think.
This company is going through a leadership change. Since they can basically impose their ideas and will on the non union side without the employees having a voice, they are making changes that the non union employee base is really upset with.
Guess what that base is looking to do now?
When they have to follow a contract, they must explain themselves. They hate it. Employees like it.

 

Upcoming stringent Government requirements have indirectly forced UAW's hand. The writing is is on the wall. Huge work force reduction coming up. The union wants a piece of the $ money pie too before it dries up. A desired 36%+ increase in wages kinda sums that up. I could care less myself. More power to them. A lot of what's happened in recent years is partially self-inflicted. Corporate wants and needs those upcoming taxpayer subsidies. It's funny that the Big 3 talks about all the profits they made year over year. Yeah right. All profits made off the ICE sales. This won't end well. For all of us.

 

what about the GM stock ownership they got in 2008 - during the last auto finance bailout?

I guess that diamond got too small?

 

you know when you see those signs that say "don't feed the animals"?

this is what happens.

UAW is getting up off Frankenstein's table. and he's going to do whatever he wants.



one of y'all asked...Who's pushing the UAW? that's a damn good question.

 

Didn't care for that, just like I despise taxpayer paid subsidies, EV tax credits, and bailouts. 2008 was total cluster all around. All due to greed.

 

agreed.

our in-laws have a 2011 LS460L....100k+ miles...still does not burn a drop of oil. and that car STILL looks good.

years back I found mud flaps from Japan...made the car look even better.

 

he said tax credits!

 

EV tax credits....helps not only the buyer but also helps the evil car makers sell them. Ha!

 

I bought an ev. And did not qualify on a couple different levels.

truth be told, I did get a credit on the silly wall charger!

who pays for these credits?

did they ask us to pay for it?

I would have thought the recent SCOTUS ruling on the EPA, would render most of this crap mute. But here we are.

maybe the upcoming case on chevron will set this right. Not holding my breath

remember the new green deal? It’s in full effect and nobody notices.

how do you convert the UAW to something else? Ev production, etc

I guess we are about to find out

 

Covid relief bill gives $86 billion bailout to failing union pension plans

Wash, rinse, repeat with the unions.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cn...n-bailout-to-failing-union-pension-plans.html

 

Life is full of risks for all of us and poorly managed union pensions shouldn't be risk free either. My 8 year old grandson's generation is already getting stiffed bad enough as it is. It's a travesty and not fair.

 

Also the mandate that is forcing the manufacturers to build these things is a huge problem. The fact it takes way less labor to build them is causing two opposite forces to butt heads in a very big way here.

EDIT: oops, should have read the whole rest of the thread before making this comment. You said it. The fact they are forcing this is the real problem IMO. We shall see how it plays out. Prepare for pain. Which has been a long time coming, again, IMO. Sadly this is most likely just a distraction from the real problems on the horizon.

 

lather on that nobody wants them

most folks want trucks and suvs

raw materials for evs is quite the challenge

 

I just watched a videos that said jeep gladiators have a 543 day inventory

ponderous that they made so many

stellantis has big inventory trouble

it like we are whacking a beehive

 

That car dealer guy on twitter had the gandolf of KBB on for an interview

he said most folks want a $400 car note

those don’t exist anymore

now they are $700

pressure cooker type shit right there

 

Yep. The tech for trucks and suvs is simply not there. If they could do everything my Tundra could do and didn't cost six figures, I may be interested. Also would like them not to know everything I am doing. An, Don't want the manufacturer changing my car or how it works while I'm sleeping. Don't want the government to have the power to shut off my power at any time causing me to not be able to charge my transportation, etc, etc, ....these things are great for a city for quick trips, but the tech is not there for my use case.

 

That's another thing and I wonder if it's union driven??? They keep building vehicles no matter what the demand is. Like when they didn't have the computer chips, they just kept building them with no buyers and parked them all over the place waiting for computer chips. Makes no sense other than that they were forced to build because of the labor contracts??? I don't know, just guessing but it makes no sense to build things when the demand is not there

 

There are 17 pages in this thread nobody has been accused of being smart lol

 

I really hope he sources his brake pads from Callahan Auto Parts.

 

I’ve got a 7, because 6 was afraid of 7. 7,8,9