Will this Strike Kill Ford/Chevy/Chrysler?

[Kurtatron]

If I was gambling man, I’d say no. A strike alone will not end these companies. An economic crisis would, but then the gov would bail them out, proclaiming themselves as savior, to garner more votes from the masses.

 

[MattPersman]

Likely won’t kill them. However I am being affected by it. The parts warehouse is strike in Chicago area and parts we would normally get the next day are not coming quickly or at all.

No parts = no fixing cars. That hurts the customer owner of the vehicle as they can’t get it back. And hurts the technician to not get paid. Hurt the parts department as they can’t sell the part. It all trickles down.

So it’s just not the factories. I’m all for a raise

My view is rather simple. The real inflation in this country is around 27%. My reference point to that is not some luxury lifestyle but rather basic. Less than a year ago in my area any size McDonald’s Coke was a 1.00 now 1.29. Dollar stores were 1.00 now 1.25. Meet in the middle you get my 27%. Real world stuff average joes are buying.

 

[pbm]

They're all BS.

 

[demarpaint]

If it does kill them, it would be because of their failure to negotiate within the realms of reality, and they will ultimately give China an even bigger slice of the pie... Sad.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

If you want to fix this, let your elected officials know you want strong banking laws. It seems we pass some paper-thin law every time we bail the banks out with eleventy billion taxpayer dollars then five years later that new law gets holes shot in it so the banks can make more profits, and, therefore, be "healthier."

Requiring a strong income-to-debt ratio will make lots of expensive things cheaper-- houses, educations, cars. But it hurts the top whatever-percent who currently control such purchases.

Not needed. All that's needed is the enforcement of existing law. Basically it's against federal law to lie on a credit application, but people do it, and the feds aren't going to prosecute because of the high cost/ low return on top of the potentially bad publicity from doing so.

 

[andrewg]

You don't get that high with book smarts. You have to be willing to do dirty things, rub elbows with awful people, and generally have a sociopathic/ narcissistic personality.

That's funny because I know lots of low totem pole hourly individuals that don't seem to get anywhere in the company.

You seriously think this is how you become a corporate leader?

 

[JeffKeryk]

That's funny because I know lots of low totem pole hourly individuals that don't seem to get anywhere in the company.

You seriously think this is how you become a corporate leader?

There is a lot of truth in that statement. At a certain level, you have to be brutal because the only thing that matters is the wealth of the shareholders.

 

[mrsilv04]

and have you been inside a car plant now....state of the art and clean.....this aint your grandfathers assembly line ...

I've been in Honda plants in Ohio, and I've been in the Corvette plant in Bowling Green.

There's little to compare between the two.... other than they both make cars.

 

[hrv]

I've been in Honda plants in Ohio, and I've been in the Corvette plant in Bowling Green.

There's little to compare between the two.... other than they both make cars.

Actually been to Bowling Green and a Honda plant in Greensburg IN...They are both clean well lite and the working area is very clean and safe...like I said not your Grandfathers assembly line...

 

[The motor guy]

I was looking the other day about what it takes to get a job with gm, ford, fiat? Anyways, it seems you need an extra tow and be gifted in 4 different ways that nobody else is to get hired on.

 

[Dave Hess]

I was looking the other day about what it takes to get a job with gm, ford, fiat? Anyways, it seems you need an extra tow and be gifted in 4 different ways that nobody else is to get hired on.

I‘m sure they get lots of applicants.

 

[JeffKeryk]

CEO Barra must be really good; she's the highest paid Detroit CEO. $29M last year, or $111,600 per day, on a 5 day work week.
Good work if you can get it...

 

[captainbeandip]

The Union protects the slackers-period. Anyone (union or non-union) working in a union shop knows this.

Not all unions are like this. I am a union HVAC technician/pipefitter. My union offers no seniority rights, which means that the employer can fire or lay off anyone they want, for pretty much any reason, just like a non-union shop would be able to.

Also, our union-set pay rate is only the minimum. If an employer wants to pay the smarter and harder working employees more, they certainly can (and often do).

These are a couple of things that I like about my union, that I believe makes us stronger.

Protecting the weak unproductive slackers does seem to be a mainstay of many unions, but not all.

 

[Gearhead Otaku]

I don't know where I stand. I mean, I am for choices, so I guess I am both pro right to work and pro union, in the sense that, it should be the employees CHOICE to join one or not, not be forced to join if they don't want to. Don't want to be union? Fine, nobody comes to your rescue. And that would be my decision. I don't want to be forced to pay fees to people who tell me how to vote.

 

[Dave Hess]

Not all unions are like this. I am a union HVAC technician/pipefitter. My union offers no seniority rights, which means that the employer can fire or lay off anyone they want, for pretty much any reason, just like a non-union shop would be able to.

Also, our union-set pay rate is only the minimum. If an employer wants to pay the smarter and harder working employees more, they certainly can (and often do).

These are a couple of things that I like about my union, that I believe makes us stronger.

Protecting the weak unproductive slackers does seem to be a mainstay of many unions, but not all.

What about your pension, how is that calculated by union ?

 

[Dave Hess]

CEO Barra must be really good; she's the highest paid Detroit CEO. $29M last year, or $111,600 per day, on a 5 day work week.
Good work if you can get it...

I wonder what the top 20 GM executives make combined per year ?

I’m in favor of UAW strike.
Even if the assembly lines have to shutdown for 3 months….. now is the time !!!

 

[captainbeandip]

What about your pension, how is that calculated by union ?

My union completely controls our pension and the rest of our benefits.

How it kind of works is that we negotiate a raise every few years, and then our union members decide how to divi up the raise.

So much goes towards health insurance, so much goes towards pension, so much goes towards our vacation accounts, so much goes towards our apprenticeship trining center, and so much goes towards our hourly wage.

I'm not a financial guy and I don't completely understand how everything works, but I do know that several years ago we voted to change our pensions from a defined benefit fund, which is considered to be the more unsustainable type, to one that's tied into the stock market and mutual funds.

 

[pbm]

CEO Barra must be really good; she's the highest paid Detroit CEO. $29M last year, or $111,600 per day, on a 5 day work week.
Good work if you can get it...

That's disgraceful considering the taxpayers bailed GM out in 2008.
Anyway...GM makes nothing that I would buy except the Corvette....

 

[PimTac]

If the strike doesn’t kill them then the upcoming recall might. Tens of millions of vehicles are up for recall due to airbags. This should be announced soon.

 

[JeffKeryk]

The strike won't kill the big 2.5. They are experiencing record profits. Strikes are a normal part of the business cycle. It's just labor-management negotiations.
IMO, the big 2.5 problem is lack of innovation. You grow or you go.
Look what Honda/Toyota/Nissan did to them in the 80's. Look what Tesla is doing to them today.

Blame the union? Please. Poor baby 2.5...