I wish I had a crystal ball to see what would happen to Elon and TSLA if they unionized. My bet is Elon would not be a happy camper, prices would rise, and sales would drop. Then an even bigger push for factories in China and Mexico.
Ford CEO gets a "reality check" on the state of EV charging
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There are pluses and minuses to everything. Yes, the union labor is not as flexible. On the flip side, they can get just about any law made or changed with a phone call. GM would not have been bailed out in 2008 if they were not UAW. In 2009 with the GM restructuring, their most modern plant in the US was Spring Hill TN. It was almost abandoned (they kept the engine plant running), and they moved the vehicle it was building back to Michigan. Even though Spring Hill was a UAW plant, TN is not a Union Friendly state. Lots of people will only buy UAW made products. Non union people generally don't care one way or the other.
I am quite frankly sick of the 3 legacy auto makers blaming everything on the Union. Maybe design better cars (done by none union workers) and maybe there problems would be less. The Union workers simply assemble whatever crap their told to assemble.
As for intelligence, I have worked with many people that have multiple PHD's and more patents than I have keys, but they could hardly dress themselves in the morning or tell you what day it was. There is "smart" and street smart. Their different. Mr. Farley may lack the latter.
You can blame union labor all you want but I’d make peanuts if it wasn’t for the union. I make twice what my last non union railroad paid.
You’re right though on the union mentality. They pay us enough to do what we’re told and nothing more. Going above and beyond puts you on the radar and is a path to the unemployment line.
Unions are like poeople and laws. Some good some bad.
My sons a proud union employee working for Universal as an engineer- Im incredibly stoked for him.
Ive never been offered a better deal by one than I can put together myself.
My sons a proud union employee working for Universal as an engineer- Im incredibly stoked for him.
Ive never been offered a better deal by one than I can put together myself.
I’d love to say the same, but in my line of work the famous line came out that “labor doesn’t contribute to profits”. I’d have to switch industries to do better. Don’t get me wrong, personal responsibility is king, but if you’re in a line of work where you’re just a number you don’t get the chance to sell your worth. I am one of those above and beyond guys. I’ve never known a different work ethic and my local management knows that. They don’t get to sign my checks and I’m just a number above that.
I understand being in that position fully.
I agree unions are good and hope some didnt take my post out of context.
My response was to someone making excuses for some car companies like Tesla being behind YEARS past its annoucement of a new vehicle that still is not for sale, yet taking orders for years.
That do not have to deal with unions vs the legacies like GM. BUT always talk negative about the legacies like GM in here. I wanted to remind them that they have unions controlling the fleaxabilty of the auto production plans. I asked that poster if it was GM would they be defending them the same was they were defending Tesla.
Now let me tell you about the advantages of unions to the industry and they are a HUGE advantage to non union USA auto production. I wont mention the company but I KNOW first hand (its also just common sense) told to me face to face from a company representative of a non union USA auto production facility. Again common sense, stated to me, unions are a good thing for non union plants, this is why the employees of non union plants are treated so well, without the threat of a union being voted in, things would not be as generous.
This isnt rocket science the threat of a union keeps non union shops in-line with generous pay and benefits.
On the flip side one can see how some unions get so powerful that they stifle innovation to the point of bankrupting companies.
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It wasn't the railroads themselves that said that, and it was taken out of context, what they were actually saying is true, they credited innovation and technology among other things for their record profits, not labor, which if you work for a class 1 then you know that's partially true, it aint the conductors and engineers work ethic and speed and efficiency that's increasing their profit margin. For what they do they get paid very well, and they are paid for availability and the schedule, mid six figures with a HS diploma...
I'm glad we are union, but I also think we are a different kind of union than say public unions or the auto workers that dont endure the same schedule hardships etc the RR life forces.
There is a reason the military isn't unionized.
Not a fan of unions, but they have their place and you can thank them for the work week hours, days off and holidays we all have been enjoying for decades now.
If it weren’t for them, your 10 year old children would be working alongside you.
If it weren’t for them, your 10 year old children would be working alongside you.
But not a fan of unions though.
I get what you mean. There are some fields where it seems to be there to start a fight. I can say it feels that way, but I know I don't understand every situation. From what a see a lot of unions don't have the power they used to. Work rules have went out the window. We've got standard calling rules, days off, and that's about it. Our only bargaining chip is pay and keeping them honest on the rules we've retained. Beyond that it would be a lost cause. Rules violations are treated like a court case with union representation. That's where the desire to not be an outlier and just do the job at base expectations comes from. It makes you want to follow the rules, don't get ahead of yourself, and cash the check when it arrives. I like what I do but that last sentence is depressing when I think about it.
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I'm sorry that $170K isn't enough for people who can't read and write. I live 3 miles from the Ford plant in Claycomo (KC) and know many workers there. They care nothing about the vehicles they are building and all you hear them talk about is the Union. I am not anti-union unless they are ridiculous in their demands. The UAW president seems like a good guy if you like the IRA terrorist type. I'm just afraid the Big Three will cave to their every demand. I see this as a perfect opportunity to break the union. They are just chicken.
