UAW: Out of Touch and Irrelevant

[Clocker]

I thought this was a good brief column:

http://blogs.motortrend.com/6216958/editorial/the-uaw-irrelevant-and-out-of-touch/index.html

So the big deal isn't pensions. It isn't even health care. It's job security. UAW boss Ron Gettelfinger wants GM to guarantee not to close any more plants in North America. In other words, he wants a handful of auto workers to have something the rest of us don't have -- a job for life. That's why the UAW's on strike.

You wonder where Gettelfinger and his UAW buddies have been the past 20 years. Didn't they see what happened to this country's steel, airline, and consumer electronics industries? And why on earth would they think the auto industry would be any different? The world has changed, guys. Suddenly, it's not 1960 anymore.

Asking GM to keep plants open just to keep UAW workers employed is simply nonsense. In fact, you could argue it's one of the reasons GM kept building out-of-date and uncompetitive products for so many years -- union agreements meant it was often cheaper to keep factories building junk than shutting them down.

The UAW's attitude also reveals a stunning ignorance of the realities of 21st-century Detroit. None of Motown's automakers is in great shape at the moment. Chrysler's in post-divorce turmoil, and Ford is mortgaged to the hilt. Even GM, which seems to have turned the corner, is still very fragile. These companies are fighting for their lives, and Gettelfinger wants guaranteed jobs. Go figure.

America needs an auto industry that's fast, flexible, and efficient. The UAW -- irrelevant and out of touch -- is none of these things.

BTW: Driving through a picket line is not as bad as you'd might think it is. At least not right now. ;-)

 

[ddrueding]

I hate unions of all kinds.

 

[P5-133XL]

I am a believer in unions in some instances, but in others they are bad news. I see their point, in this case: The workers have an issue with job security and the unions have a responsibility to represent the workers. However, I see GM's point too, they have to make a profit selling cars and they can't do that if there is a $25 per hour wage discrepancy between foreign and domestic workers. Jobs are competitive, they universally go where they can be reliably done for the lowest cost.

So I suggest that there be a compromise: Give the workers what they want -- Don't close a single American plant and drop their compensation, on average $25 per hour. The single cavot should be that GM can close any plant that can not get enough employees to operate. That way the American worker stays employed, and GM remains internationally competitive. Now how can the Union complain about that deal? Whats more important, compensation or security?'

The real problem is that the Union wants it all. Unfortunately, that is the nature of the beast. In this case, they are going to drive the company out of business, if they are not very careful. How does that best represent their workers?

 

[jtr1962]

Maybe the auto workers should do what other workers in well-paid but sporadic industries do-save some of their earnings. They make upwards of $30 an hour in a depressed area where housing is fairly inexpensive. They can and should put aside something for a rainy day. This kind of reminds me of all the former stock brokers waiting tables that I read about after the dot-com boom ended. These people were making $250,000 and up annually, and for quite a few years. They should have been set for life even if they lost their jobs, but instead chose to spend every dime they made on stupid consumerist crap. While the auto workers aren't as well-paid, many live beyond their means given the state of the industry. So they expect to keep a well-paying job for life? And soon they'll be demanding jobs for their children as well. No single factor has been responsible for the downfall of the US auto industry than the UAW. Ditto for the teacher's unions and the current state of public education.

Now a little page from history. I used to work for a place repairing taximeters. At one time, before I worked there, they were the biggest taximeter factory in NYC. The union wanted and gradually got all sorts of perks, including the ability to keep a person only on one type of job, rather than move them around as the company needed, and the right to be paid for a full day, even if there was no work. Eventually, this resulted in quite a few employees not having enough work, but not being able to be moved where the company needed them. In effect, employees were paid for no work. The plant closed soon, most of the employees were laid off, and the company relocated to Virginia, where it could hire non-union labor. A few employees remained in the small shop in NYC where I worked, but this was closed in 1990. So much damage was done by the union that even what was left of the company in Virginia couldn't survive. Does any of this sounds like what has happened, and will happen, in the domestic auto industry? The union may win this battle, but in five or ten years when GM closes shop because it isn't competitive any more these "lifetime" jobs will be gone. It's a shame how unions fail to see the big picture.

 

[Clocker]

My thought is that this is the reason for the strike (I don't want to believe the UAW leaderership is as clueless as it would seem):

"In our view, the action is designed to allow UAW leaders to look vigilant in fighting to preserve benefits, members to feel concessions are not being given gratuitously, and GM management to appear to be maximizing shareholder value," Barry said in a note to investors.

I also think letting some of the simpler-minded UAW members live on $200/week strike pay is a good way to guarantee their ratification vote when a contract is actually put up for them to vote on. A man who has been starved a bit is much more likely to eat anything you put in front of him than one with a full belly. Especially when he lives paycheck-to-paycheck like some of them tend to do because of their lifestyles. Their $5K-$6K 'signing bonus' will help seal the deal as well.

 

[Stereodude]

The UAW is in the midst of pulling a murder suicide on GM. Some of you are thinking about this way too hard. The union isn't as smart and nuanced as you seem to be giving them credit for.

 

[ddrueding]

They just need to do what the farmers around here need to do; automate the process. If they can get a production line down to 100 skilled technicians, they can pay them whatever they want. The secret to higher wages is higher productivity per capita. The secret to that is automation. This used to not be practical because the robots cost too much, but if the union is going to make it that expensive anyway, screw 'em.

 

[Clocker]

Strike is over in only 2.5 days and they have a 'tentative agreement'. At least the negotiators seem to have a clue. I must say, I'm surprised but they still need to ratify the contract with a vote by the UAW members.

If robotics were even close to how good they'd have to be to replace a human, that would be a dream.

 

[Stereodude]

Strike is over in only 2.5 days and they have a 'tentative agreement'. At least the negotiators seem to have a clue. I must say, I'm surprised but they still need to ratify the contract with a vote by the UAW members.

It looks like GM figured out how to play the UAW like a Stradivarius. They appealed to the UAW leaders' greed by giving them a huge health care trust to manage. The UAW leaders can then skim tons of money from the trust in administrative fees lining their pockets making them happy. The rank and file UAW members see the word lump sum payout / bonus, and will vote for anything (no raises) at that point because they're blinded by the "bonus".

 

[e_dawg]

Wow, that was quick. Yeah, those unions are killing the US auto industry, and yes, I think they are a big reason why the Big Three are so far behind the rest of the world in competitiveness. It's like trying to play football with a ball and chain strapped to your leg. How can the other teams not beat you what you have that kind of handicap slowing you down?