GM/UAW Union busting about to happen?

[amicus]

From snippets on the news today, MSNBC, I think, Perhaps CNN, I gather that 173,000 auto workers are going out on strike against General Motors Corporation.

I haven't done a search as yet, still stunned by an interview I heard, comparing Caterpillar to GM, and how the heavy equipment manufacturer saved their business by breaking their Union and outsourcing plants all over the world and in the meantime greatly increased the value of the company and the stock value.

Healthcare factors into the GM story, with apparently some 350,000 retired workers and families drawing pension and health benefits from the GM pension fund. Union advocates are asking for a National Health bail out, with the government taking over the pension health fund.

Further in the interview it was stated that if the United States was to salvage any of the automobile manufacturers in the future, the Unions had to be busted and companies had to be free to compete in the global market or there would be no automobiles being made in the US in 15 years.

Dunno is this is a news blip that will fade or grow...


amicus...

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Thirty years ago all the local UAW guys crossed a picket line I was on. So I dont give a fat rats ass what happens to them.

 

[Carnevil9]

The UAW is skating on thin ice. GM has enough plants all over the world that they could close every US plant and never miss them. And they just might......Carney

 

[amicus]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20974868/site/newsweek/page/2/

“…GM pays its workers $75 an hour, when you include the cost of benefits. Toyota pays its workers $45 an hour with benefits. The biggest chunk of that cost gap comes from the fact that GM pays the health insurance for 540,344 retirees, while Toyota is on the hook for just 1,600 retirees. GM came up with a solution for that problem: turn over its retiree health-care plan to the union, which will administer the benefits through a special trust financed by the automaker….”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20961438/site/newsweek/

Striking Out
The sorry little conflict between GM and the UAW is not about the future of the American auto industry. It’s about the past.

By Daniel GrossNewsweekUpdated: 3:10 p.m. PT

Sept. 24, 2007 - What if the biggest industrial union struck the biggest American automaker—and nobody noticed? That’s what happened this morning, as the United Auto Workers launched a national strike against General Motors. They are talking about it—a little—on CNBC, but the strike is vying for airtime with a dozen other stories. And General Motors’ stock barely budged on the day.

~~~

Still trying to get a grasp on this story and my funny news bone tells be something is cooking with Democrats vying for labor votes, the national health care mania by the Dems and outsourcing and the stock market and a whole host of events.

Big story brewing or tempest in a teapot?

Amicus...

 

[amicus]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070926/ap_on_bi_ge/auto_talks


By TOM KRISHER and DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto Writers 10 minutes ago

DETROIT - The United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp. said Wednesday they have reached a tentative contract agreement that ends a two-day nationwide strike immediately.

A person briefed on the contract told The Associated Press earlier that the historic agreement would shift the burden of retiree health care from GM to the union and give workers bonuses and lump-sum payments. The person requested anonymity because the contract talks are private.

The union said the deal was reached shortly after 3 a.m.

The contract must be reviewed by local UAW presidents and will then be subject to a vote of GM's 73,000 rank-and-file members. The agreement is expected to set a pattern for contracts at Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.

The deal means UAW will tell workers to head back to their jobs at around 80 GM facilities across the nation. The union went on strike at 11 a.m. Monday when talks broke down…”

~~~

Hmmm...Looks like High Noon has been postponed...interesting...


Amicus...

 

[S-Des]

I'm glad they've come to a settlement, but I don't believe it's going to work out for a second. I don't trust the Union to be running the pension (not that I trust the company any more than them), and the bottom line is that GM gave so much in concessions in previous talks that they will never be able to honor them. If they can't figure out a way to be more competitive in the future, we'll be seeing this again in the very near future.

 

[amicus]

I'm glad they've come to a settlement, but I don't believe it's going to work out for a second. I don't trust the Union to be running the pension (not that I trust the company any more than them), and the bottom line is that GM gave so much in concessions in previous talks that they will never be able to honor them. If they can't figure out a way to be more competitive in the future, we'll be seeing this again in the very near future.

~~~

Agreed...and how they can become competitive...sighs...outsource and close down American plants is all I see.

Sad...


amicus...

 

[S-Des]

~~~

Agreed...and how they can become competitive...sighs...outsource and close down American plants is all I see.

Sad...


amicus...

Making a consistently good product would be a good start. I had to get a new car for my job (field service, which puts on about 40,000 miles a year), and had to look at which ones had the reputation of longest lasting, best mileage, fewest problems, etc... The choice was a no-brainer . . . the Toyota Corolla. Sorry to GM (or Ford, Saturn, or Dodge), but I am barely making ends meet at the moment and can't afford to pay extra for a car that won't last as long and is going to give me headaches. When they have something truly competitive, I will consider it very carefully.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

"Unions, when they began, were a wonderful boon for the American worker. But over the years they've become like a old whore - dirty, wrinkled and nobody wants them anymore."
Eric Hoffer

That's the case with the UAW. You have high school drop outs who start out making $30K+ per year and they aren't satisfied.

They are unable to see what has happened to the American Auto industry. Labor costs have driven production to Canada and Mexico (thank you NAPTA) and many plants are closed. These guys should be thankful they're still working.

 

[jeninflorida]

I’m sorry but US cars are too expensive, bought a Hyundai (more features, better gas mileage, and less expensive). My first foreign car, but since most American’s shop at Wal-Mart…no guilt