My personal opinion is i think they should work on getting people jobs and stop spending billions to bail out the big car companys. I think if more people had jobs then maybe more people would be buying cars and these companys wouldnt be in as bad of shape. I know its easier said then done but thats just what i think.

 

The unions are what are draggin this country down...when you have a guy who can run electrical and plumbing...but he's not in either union...you get sued for going w/him...or letting him do any work...eff that...

As far as the old b@stards getting paid...wtf? Why didn't they put anything up for their retirement when they were rolling in the cash while they were working...but instead...we have to keep them living it up in florida...I shudder to think how many automotive dollars are spent just south of me in the Villages....I want to send all the old F**ks back up north where they belong.. bunch effing ticks.

 

Looks like Chrysler finally got the Unions to bend a little. Hope it helps them stay afloat.
Chrysler gets labor deals in fight for survival

 

This has been an interesting discussion so far, some interesting posts in here.

 

Here's GM's story this morning.

GM to cut 21,000 US factory jobs, shed Pontiac - Yahoo! Finance

 

Unions are killing the US auto maker, not hating on any union memebers, just the facts. One union worker in an earlier post said he made $30/hr, you also have to include all the benifits, 401k, health insurance so on and so forth. It is true you work for $30, but add al of that in and you are your hourlly wage by quite alot. So $75/hr average wage is not unfeesiable. The cost of your employment to the company is what they are considering.

Union have out lived thier practical controbusion to industry, and intern have become a giant middle man incurring unberable cost to industry, while protecting the lazy.

 

Seems we have a few union haters here. That's OK.

I probably don't know enough about it to argue a point, but here's my take.

I'm Non-Union, but if someone thinks they need a Union to represent them with an Employer, I'm all for him electing to do so.

I guess I prefer to let every worker decide how he or she can get the absolute most money for what he or she does. Whether as an individual, or as part of a collective bargaining team. Isn't that what "Free Enterprise" and "Capitalism" is all about?

I'm just gonna throw out a number for a wage in the below examples.

Why hate someone, or a group of people for making $30.00/hr, or even more, if that's what the market will bear? Jealousy?

I'm pretty sure Union shops have historically "Raised the bar" when it comes to everyone's (Blue Collar) wages and benefits. I don't think for one minute, a non Union shop would pay a non Union Electrician $30.00/hr if a Union Electrician wasn't making that much, or more. (All other benefits being equal...)

Even as I say this, I am also FOR a "Fair day's pay for a Fair day's work."
Maybe the wage isn't the problem, but the lack of work for the wage?

Like I said, I probably don't know enough.

Here's a few things I've been wondering:

I cant help but wonder if all the money saved taking wages and benefits from the workers, will go straight to the stock holders and managerial bonuses...

I wonder if all this will really actually lower the cost of a car, or just increase the profit margin by lowering the cost to MAKE the car...

I also wonder if they go through all this BS to "break" the unions, what is going to stop the employees from re-organizing?

 

[QUOTE=wildcat;330332]Even as I say this, I am also FOR a "Fair day's pay for a Fair day's work."
Maybe the wage isn't the problem, but the lack of work for the wage?[\QUOTE]

I think that hit the nail on the head. Again, not trrying to offend anybody at all, union or not. I have dealt with alot of union people when I was trucking, crane operators, port workers, etc. When it is break time, its break time and everybody, and I mean everybody drops off the face of the earth for 45 minutes. Most of the time they get in no hurry anyway. I had a guy in the McConnell center in Chicago one time leave a $150,000 forklift hanging 6 inches over my trailer cuz the clock struck a certain time and he cut that crane off and left. I'm just talking about some of the things I've experienced, hopefully i will not offend anybody. That is definitely not my goal.

 

Been a United Steel Worker for 15 yrs. Worked at non union shops before that. I dont make $100.00 per hour,closer to $25.00. The unions have good and bad about the. Hope i'm never non union again!

---AutoMerged DoublePost---

does the CEO and other top officers of a company,any company deserve such high pay and compensation that in a few short years they can be set for life x2 on the backs of the blue coller workers. i'm for the choice being of the individual worker, but ive been both.

 

Everyone likes to bring up what a union member's pay is, even though most aren't in a union and have no direct knowledge about ANYTHING union related. They are just going by what someone else, who also has no direct knowledge, has told them, and we all know we can trust what someone else tells us as Gospel, right?

Anyway, everyone wants to blame the unions for the "Big-3"s" problems but, to my knowledge, NO ONE has presented a breakdown of just how much impact the unions ACTUALLY have in the matter. For instance, can anyone show me what percentage of, say, a $40,000 diesel truck, the union is accountable for? I want to see a complete breakdown.

What percentage is steel costs? What percentage is paint costs? What percentage is R&D to keep the damn EPA happy? What percentage is pure Corporate Greed?

Has anyone went out and priced a Toyota Tundra? How's $35000 - $40,000 for a crew-cab gasser 1/2 ton??? But wait! Toyota isn't Union! So why is their truck as much or more than a Big-3 truck?

As I'm sure you've figured out, I'm a Union worker. Not Autoworkers, but Steelworkers. 12 years for Local 3057 in Shelby, OH. I've been laid-off for 5 weeks now, but when I was working I made $18.87 an hour (less than many of you non-union workers out there). Our benefits (insurance and such) are OK, but not great and far from free, and I pay(ed) Union dues every month to try to keep the Company from screwing us over.

I think the ones that are so quick to bash the Unions need to do a little research before jumping on the bandwagon just because it's the easiest "answer".