Ah crap - UAW goes on strike against GM

[Jeffbx]

UAW strikes GM

By David Barkholz
7:30 am, September 24, 2007

The UAW called a strike against General Motors today after UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said he was “shocked and disappointed” by GM’s positions at the bargaining table. An official at UAW Local 652 in Lansing, Mich., confirmed the walkout at 11:06 a.m. EDT.

The UAW said it set the strike deadline over the “failure of GM to address job security and other mandatory issues of bargaining.”

At the UAW-GM training center in Detroit, cars full of UAW officials were leaving en masse after the strike call. One car had a picket sign hanging out the window. The strike against GM includes about 73,000 UAW-represented employees throughout the United States.

It is the first stoppage against GM since 1998 when a 54-day strike at parts-making operations in Flint, Mich., shut GM production nationally costing the company more than $3 billion.

Read the rest here (http://www.crainsdetroit.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070924/REG/70924001/-1/newsletter05)

I don't know what they hope to achieve here - a lot of GM's locations & departments are hanging on by a thread as it is.

[renovation]

My sister-in-law walked out on strike today at Pontiac GM shop.

[VTGreg]

Close down the US plants and move production over seas. Then GM could actually make some money.

[guiseppewv]

I think this could help GM. In the short term they are not in danger of running out of cars to sell or parts. Clear out some inventory, don't pay your workforce b/c they are on strike, and then settle the strike once you have pared down inventory.

[Napoleon54]

Greedy union bastards. This isn't about what's "fair" for workers, it's about how dry can they bleed GM without sinking them completely. Effing unions. :mad: :2far:

[uncledaddy]

Greedy union bastards. This isn't about what's "fair" for workers, it's about how dry can they bleed GM without sinking them completely. Effing unions. :mad: :2far:

:stupid: In Cali. when the grocery union went on strike it lasted so long that many lost not only jobs but homes, cars. And union leaders didn't lose a thing. Bet the same happens here. :disa:

[renovation]

I think this could help GM. In the short term they are not in danger of running out of cars to sell or parts. Clear out some inventory, don't pay your workforce b/c they are on strike, and then settle the strike once you have pared down inventory.
your 1/2 right i think.
1 - it help unload some unsold new cars on the lots.
2 - they wont be paying for there over payed under worked union empoyees.

on the other hand
1 - it will hurt the dealers and general public that need replacement parts to fix these gm cars .

2 - it will hurt the local economys that rely on these union rats for there income .

(and yes i worked for GM in 1979 some of the easyest money i ever made . all i did was push a broom around in a plant that made seat covers .21 years old single and 86 percent of the plants work force was woman . it was like being in a candy store :)

[InfiniteNothing]

Don't the workers vote to approve the strike? I think they did what they thought was in their best interest. If you think they are hurting themselves... let them hurt themselves I guess.

[Daedalus]

Unions represent a legal form of collusion and anti-trust and go against the spirit of the free market. They are a tax on operations, a slice of what economists refer to as "dead weight" in business. They were a necessary evil long ago, but with all the laws out there to protect employees they don't merit a place anymore. UAW leaders are crying about lost quality of life...duh. Look around. It's the same all over. I get to hear my boss brag about his retirement projections ($22k/month for 5 years) but 94% of my retirement comes out of my pocket. The ship is going down fast and they're moaning cause their little toes are cold and wet. Wait until GM divests itself of its remaining domestic manufacturing operations in 12 years...I'll bet the current offer will sound really good then.
The only thing I agree with them on is that GM executives as a whole do not deserve what they make. Reward the captain who struck the iceberg.

[Jeffbx]

There are about 2 months of saleable inventory at the moment across GM, but the people who are feeling the impact from this the most are the non-union workers & suppliers. Many plants employ just-in-time manufacturing, meaning they use the material that's delivered that day. When the plant stops operating, the shipments of raw materials have to stop at the same time.

If this thing drags on for more than a couple of weeks, it's going to have a pretty severe impact on the local economy. Thank goodness I don't work for anything auto related, but tons of people in my community do - I think we'd have people leaving the state even faster if only there was someone coming in to sell their house to.

It all boils down to greed. The UAW is trying to force GM to pay for benefits they can't afford, which are far above & beyond anything that the average worker elsewhere gets. What other company can you work at with not even a high school education & earn over $100k/yr with overtime? And be guaranteed to have a job for life? And by the way, who will also pay medical benefits for life, even if you only work for 5 years?

I feel bad for the workers in this, because they've been led to believe that these are all benefits that they deserve. Guess what - NO ONE deserves these types of benefits. Maybe some people can EARN them, but no one DESERVES them. They are shown a picture of the big, evil, rich corporation holding back all of the money they deserve, when in reality, the UAW is trying to bully GM into giving up $51 BILLION to fund retiree health care. I'm a little confused as to where they think GM can come up with that kind of scratch...

But at this point, if the union shows the slightest hint of weakness, it would have to grant similar agreements with Ford & Chrysler, and be rendered pretty useless. So they're willing to sacrifice the striking worker's salary (they get $200/wk while on strike), the profitability of the company, the already shaky image of domesticly manufactured cars, and the economy of every community with a large GM presence - all so they can keep their hold over the automakers & workers. Why in the heck isn't this a RICO case?

[VTGreg]

Don't the workers vote to approve the strike? I think they did what they thought was in their best interest. If you think they are hurting themselves... let them hurt themselves I guess.

They do vote to approve the strike. However, the unions typically make it known how they should vote and the workers, while not forced to vote a certain way, are definitely coaxed into voting a certain way. Public ridicule and other methods ensure that what the union leadership wants, the union leadership typically gets.

[renovation]

way i heard it - the union is picking up the employees heath care .and giving them $200 a week while on strike. don't quote me i maybe wrong .but i think this is what my ears heard .

[uncledaddy]

way i heard it - the union is picking up the employees heath care .and giving them $200 a week while on strike. don't quote me i maybe wrong .but i think this is what my ears heard .

You heard right, but how many employees? And the transmission plant in Canada had to join strike, that's an additional 100,000+. So how long will the funds last? One year. :disa:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070925/BUSINESS01/709250401/1014/BUSINESS01

[zippyjuan]

The strike authorization is typically asked for by the Union fairly early on in negotiations- to use a leverage against the employer if necessary. The problem for the workers is from that point on, things are out of their hands. They do not necessarily have the option of voting on the offer on the table at the time the union calls the strike- and they don't get to decide when to end it, unless they decide to cross the picket lines. It is all in the Union's hands from that point on. They do not get to vote on any offer until the Union says they can and presents it to them.

As I said in the other thread, a strike should be a weapon of last choice. When you feel there is no other option. If the other side is still willing to talk, stay at the table. Even if they are not moving fast enough for your artificial deadline. At least the workers are still working and being paid and earning their benefits. But the Union does not always care about the best interests of the workers. It is first and foremost about their power and position. If they give in, they are seen as weak and ineffective and employees start to wonder what they need the union for.

If the union seriously cares about job security for their members, they should work with the company to help make it strong and able to adapt to competition. To help them produce the best quality products at a price people are willing to pay for them. Work with the company, not against it. The more militant of attitude the Union tries to take, the less willing the company will be to negotiate with them. Key word. Negotiations. Not one side saying what they will and will not accept. Give and take. If you want this, we cannot afford it. What are you willing to trade for it? In my own case, we gave up wage increases for six years in exchange for maintaining our health benefits which were being squeezed by rising costs.

[guiseppewv]

Looks like the strike is over and the GM folks are going back to work.