Originally Posted by JDR76

It is interesting to read everyone's opinion on here, though. I promise, union workers aren't all greedy and bad.

Originally Posted by JDR76

I don't like to comment on union threads, as I belong to a union (SPEEA) and am therefore not a neutral or unbiased party.

It is interesting to read everyone's opinion on here, though. I promise, union workers aren't all greedy and bad.

Originally Posted by mmarshall

We already have a long-running thread on GM's shutdown of several plants and sedan-production. However, since this topic involves not only that, but some other newer issues as well, I decided to make a new thread (mods, you can merge them if you feel otherwise). Last Tuesday, UAW members voted to authorize a strike against GM, which does not actually set a firm date, but allows the union leadership to schedule one if they feel an adequate new contract-replacement cannot be reached.

The new contact will eventually affect the jobs at Ford and FCA as well, but GM is being chosen as the target company for actual contract-talks (and a strike, if one is actually called). This is traditionally the way that the UAW achieves its contracts.....it selects a target company, negotiates, and then the contract is effective across the industry wherever there are UAW jobs.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHX1BIkDl1I

https://thehill.com/regulation/labor...general-motors







The United Auto Workers (UAW) voted Tuesday to make General Motors the target of any potential strike by the automobile workers’ union, according to The Associated Press.

The vote is not a decision to strike but means that GM, rather than Ford or Fiat Chrysler, will be the focus of negotiations between automakers and the union. Union contracts representing about 152,000 workers at the three automakers expire in mid-September.

GM is the most profitable of the “Big Three” automakers and has drawn union ire lately after announcing it will shutter four plants in Maryland, Ohio and Michigan, a move the UAW has vowed to fight.

The automakers have also worked lately to reduce hourly labor costs, which are up compared to those of Southern plants run by companies such as Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen.

“We are focused. We are prepared and we are all ready to stand up for our members, our communities and our manufacturing future,” UAW President Gary Jones said in a statement Tuesday, according to the AP.

The vote also comes amid legal woes for union leadership following an August FBI raid on both Jones’s home and that of former UAW President Dennis Williams. Nine people have been charged and eight sentenced to prison in connection with the investigation.

Jones himself has not been charged with a crime and marched in Detroit’s Labor Day parade Monday, leaving early without talking to any rank-and-file members, according to the AP.

Originally Posted by LexsCTJill

Looks like the strike is on. 46,000 workers out, 31 plants shut down. Wow!

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Yep.....GM is reaping what it sowed.

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

gm now has huge incentive to move more production elsewhere.

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Nope.....not with the auto-import tariffs. You either keep production in this country or you pay. And GM can't pass the tariffs off to customers because customers won't pay the added price. It will be cheaper and better for them to simply treat auto workers (and some of their customers) in this country like they deserve to be treated...not like doormats.

Originally Posted by mmarshall

Nope.....not with the auto-import tariffs. You either keep production in this country or you pay. And GM can't pass the tariffs off to customers because customers won't pay the added price. It will be cheaper and better for them to simply treat auto workers (and some of their customers) in this country like they deserve to be treated...not like doormats.

Originally Posted by bitkahuna

i meant elsewhere in the u.s., like the south, out of the 19th century rust belt.

Originally Posted by oldcajun

Right! Toyota has proven that it is possible to build high quality cars without the unions by setting up their plant in Kentucky. The Honda plants do the same even in Ohio which was traditionally a union stronghold. Nissan and VW build cars in Tennessee. There are lots of options where they don't have to deal with the unions.

Originally Posted by JDR76

I don't like to comment on union threads, as I belong to a union (SPEEA) and am therefore not a neutral or unbiased party.

It is interesting to read everyone's opinion on here, though. I promise, union workers aren't all greedy and bad.

Originally Posted by LexsCTJill

GM can’t open a plant in the south US and use non UAW workers.

Originally Posted by LexsCTJill

GM can’t open a plant in the south US and use non UAW workers.

Originally Posted by bitkahuna