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jasonj80

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jasonj80 last won the day on April 12 2023

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  1. The issue is Fain doesn’t give a S*** about the workers or the long term health of the companies. He cares about causing the companies extreme pain (UAWs words in the leaked emails) if they go bankrupt he doesn’t care. “It’s their greedy fault they didn’t treat workers better that’s why it happened.” “Poor money management skills” It is why if some plant were to turn in the 30% of signatures at the plant to decertify it would throw everything in disarray for what the UAW has planned. Maybe after Ford and GM earnings this week they will see the pain they’re caused and be happy? (Not really sure why this is a good thing) I however can say I will not buy a UAW made product for a long time if ever. Now one of my best friends has a complete other take on this strike. His comment is - Always remember the UAW is an arm of the Democratic Party and this is their move for 2024 - they are pulling the strings behind the doors telling him what to do and want the recession. It is a big election year next year - workers rights and the right to unionize and get these votes to the polls and have votes at the non- plants - look at all the gains I got the other workers !(never mind you won’t have a job in a bit because it will move to Mexico) The UAW gives tens of millions to democratic candidates and the candidates do what the UAW tells them and the UAW does what the Democratic Party tells them to do. Plus with the recession winding down people might be doing slightly better and will vote for Biden for reelection.
  2. The leaked emails show the UAW just wants to cost pain to the companies which I’m not sure why - your just hurting yourself in the long run which shows how DUMB the people running the UAW are right now. Next year there will be little to no profit sharing as there will be little to no profit - so the signing bonus will replace profit sharing. It’s a net 0 gain in the long run. As for the argument that CEO and board pay should work for free and given to the employees that would amount to .84 cents an hour on base pay if their pay is 100million dollars for total board compensation. If that’s all the UAW wants over the life of the contract so be it. But I’m not sure the UAW members advocating this could run the company as they also fight to be paid weekly because they can’t budget their money longer than that (also why they want a pension) This is irreversible damage to perception of the companies which just leads to lower sales and you can bet billions that Ford will be building and expanding their presence in Mexico just as others have done. You have a job at 40.00 an hour you have no job at 60.00 an hour. If anyone tried to get the 30% of signatures at a plant to trigger an election for the plant to remain unionized one of two things would happen, they would end up dead or this would be settled. Also don’t really care what someone with a Prius says it’s not like he supported the UAW with his purchase. Also my friend says they say that to convince themselves they made a good purchase and says that to them. “Sounds like your just trying convince yourself it is because if it was that good sales wouldn’t have fallen as much as they have” Then follows it up with “is it though” when they try and explain and then adds goes how most Prius people have moved on to Teslas and a Prius is the number one vehicle traded in. It’s really funny to watch how angry they get.
  3. Did they or is Fain just lying to get the others on board. It’s not like he hasn’t lied about other things up to this point. Look at the whole NLRB BS as soon as the NLRB needed information he dropped the charges. Even if GM gave in they still assemble considerably fewer vehicles in the US so the costs are not as high and puts Ford at a disadvantage. Also large parts of GM battery backs are assembled at suppliers and are either nonunion or different contract.
  4. I come from a Ford family spanning 5 generations - over 30 people as I quickly count have worked/retired from Ford at some point in their life, virtually everyone can get (a/z) plan in the US and Canada and Focus and MKZ have been replaced with Civic and ES. A RAV4 plug in because you can’t get AWD on an Escape PIH and a few Tucson/CRV hybrid because the price was better and more features / availability than an Escape hybrid and a Ridgeline with hundreds of thousands of miles because there was no midsize truck in 2016. The damage being done now is virtually irreversible, the world has changed and when people feel their values have been violated the solution is not to deal with that company you might fix that in a few years but as it gets fixed and people forget you’re in another contract negotiation. The biggest issue with this battle is that the statement that buyers make on both sides of the battle is the same solution. Don’t buy the product. I agree workers need and deserve raises but starting out asking for the moon and releasing those demands then backing down and saying “oh we didn’t really want that” is stupid. This isn’t 1975 and the internet and media pickup on those unrealistic demands. The one local channel said workers on strike are demanding a 40% raise, 32 hour work weeks, expanded overtime, larger bonus, full pensions along with free healthcare.
  5. Is it possible; yes, can it be done in even a remotely reasonable way; No, the hours you need to invest; performance improvement plans, rehabilitation plans, time off schedule etc. it has to be followed perfect or you start over. Should there be some protections absolutely but what is in contracts now is insane. Its easer to stick people in a corner or desk than go though the process. Been traveling a lot the past 2 weeks and the feeling I'm getting is disastrous for this strike long term. 1/2 the people are in the companies should give them their demands for fair compensation; they work hard and deserve that you can't live on $20 a hour(I know that's not the pay most get but some some that is the perception) . F them and I'm not buying their products to send a message they should treat their employees better. The other half are F those workers they live on another planet striking for a 32 hours a week, full pension, 40% raise is BS they shouldn't make double of Teachers, Nurses and Public Safely workers. They put bolts on. I'm not buying their product let them join the unemployment line and see what a real job is like. In the end - no one buys the product and everyone is out of a job. Worse politicians are getting involved which will only enrage people to not buy products because they hate X so X = company/employee and I'm not supporting that. I have a very bad feeling that the effects from this will be felt for decades and perception of both the workers and the companies which will result in lost buyers from both sides. I was already seeing some early indications this is the beginning of another lost decade in Michigan where companies will invest elsewhere because of political and recruitment issues in the State, add labor unrest and you can be sure those companies will invest elsewhere. Real or Not.
  6. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/2023/09/25/ford-marshall-project/70964122007/ Looks like the Michigan battery plant is done.
  7. We have to be getting close with autos, the ADMs have all but evaporated on most models - yes they are listed at some dealers still but deals back right down when you say you’ll walk. You’re starting to seeing cut rate financing some rebates and incentives and lots of all manufacturers are starting to fill back in.
  8. I get 4/5mpg better than my friends with 2.7 and 5.0L F-150's, If i drive streets that have 35mph-50mph speed limits with some lights I easily get 27/28. Once you learn how to drive it to maximize the hybrid it's easy to do much better than regular f150 in mileage. If all you do is highway driving there would be little difference.
  9. The hybrid is needed for mileage and meeting CAFE so Ford can actually sell the other versions. Buyers might not care that a hybrid gets 7 mpg combined better than a regular version but to Ford that 5 mpg is huge on the CAFE calculations as the numbers go higher and higher over the next few years. I know a few Maverick hybrid owners that would trade to a Ranger hybrid for both more size and towing but also that 4WD is available.
  10. They know what the market wants, they just don't want to spend the money to make the vehicle the general public wants. They listen to the loudest people in the room not the smartest with the data. The problem is they are slowly turning their prized vehicles into commodity vehicles. The Bronco Sport is at commodity level now; they let vehicles lag way to long without small updates. (Sync 4, digital cluster, etc ) When the average lease is 36 months and your update schedule is 48-60 months you force people to shop around. I'm not going to pay $200 more for the less than same vehicle (you know because the new one will have less equipment from decontenting) They continually miss opportunity in various markets with product, they live in a bubble in Dearborn(Detroit) and look east to whom they should emulate for most product. (Part of me thinks had Fields not announced the Bronco and made a huge deal about it coming back when he did the program would have died when GM killed the Jimmy) They are in a constant state of disarray in product plans where things start and stop at a whim of some executive or program director that make snap decisions with more of the idea "I did something" than if what they did was actually good. If it's not good they get shuffled around in "rotation" to another part of the company where they mess up more stuff or get put in the corner until the next round of buyout/layoffs.
  11. That is the hill the UAW dies on all the time is protecting dead beats. Usually because they are a family member of a UAW member or Rep. It is really the reason that anyone that spends a long amount of time in the plant has issues with the way the UAW operates. Drunk, call offs, no shows, sick etc etc oh you're connected you can go sleep in the bathroom for 6 hrs. The workers that show up every day and do their job and cover those deadbeats. Prove yourself get paid, F*** Off and get fired. The biggest issue I've seen with step up pay in contracts is in a lot of industries is a small but very vocal group that went though the step-up but now are at top wage want to KEEP THE STEPS. "I went though it they should too" "we need to fight for other things as I already have this" It is BS but they can be relentless. Full pay should be after your probation period of a year or two; someone shouldn't be a temp worker for years in the hope they will get full time.
  12. He's in Canada which is drastically different conditions than what is going on in the United States with costs it is significantly worse and is increasingly very sad. - When I visit Canada to see family I can't get over how expensive most things are and that is with a 30% discount. Single family housing costis 1.4 Million in the GTA also your mortgage rate isn't set for the life of the mortgage you have to go back in and renegotiate the rate every 5 years. So the duration terms stay the same but but the payment changes over it. People are seeing their mortgage rates go UP by $1400 a month because they had a 2% rate and now their rate is 6.5%. Oakville where the Ford plant is even worse than that where you are at 2 million+ for a nice 3-4 bedroom house and rent will be close to 3K/3.5K a month for a two bedroom. Even if you get far away from the GTA houses will still be $600,000K+ and rent over $2500. Average selling price for real estate was $702,000K for all of Canada. Even at $83,000 on the Toyota top rate after taxes that is $66,000 take home after taxes, then 13% HST on most everything you buy, fuel at about $6/gallon I can see why he has the passion he does about this, if you want to get beyond paycheck to paycheck living you need to work every amount of overtime you can and still going to be driving 1-2 hours each way to work and saving everything extra to come up with the 20% down. The healthcare component is substantially cheaper for any company as it is usually a supplement plan that covers Prescriptions, Therapy, etc which might be $1,800 a year. Figure an additional $22,000-$25,000 for US healthcare cost. Canada is throwing billions at the industry to get them to invest as it is one of the last industries Canada has for political/environmental reasons they have basically killed the oil, gas, fishery, and forestry industry. Not really sure how a county that is less than about 1.4% of the population of India and China's population is going to do much, but that's what the majority(ish) voted for. International can always overrule and approve the contract. It is in there as a protection for the Union as if the contact gets voted down the company could go to the NLRB and say we negotiated in good faith but still have labor issues. Union could have to pay fines etc which could be substantially large as they can ask for lost production value.
  13. I’m not saying you don’t deserve a raise, you defiantly do. But asking for 40% and 32hrs of work plus pensions and healthcare etc is downright insane. It was the UAW that mismanaged the VEBA and now they want the companies to bail out their poor management? Pensions are gone from almost everywhere - short of some states and the military. Their cost is brutal, contributing 55¢+ for every dollar an employee makes. Sorry but an assembly line worker doesn’t deserve to earn more than a Doctor and at 300k they would make over double what the average family doctor makes. Also Canada is different than the US as healthcare is covered by the government so the roughly $20,000-$25000 that Ford spends for a single family healthcare plan is a shared cost paid by the company and individual in the way of taxes. Canada also has a lower corporate tax rate than the US. In the US the company pays that cost and the employee doesn’t pay taxes on it (when the AHCA was passed they would have but was changed) Those grants or loans are given to make sure jobs stay in the county and employee people who pay taxes, by making sure the cost becomes competitive not as a handout. They still have to pay back loans and a lot of the time they are just reduced future taxes on the modernization of the plant. It’s not a check written for 500 million dollars You can say F* Kia blah blah but that is the competition and the Chinese are coming. That’s the brutal truth; the vast majority of the car buying public could care less that a UAW members have a high paying job they are going to buy the most cost effective vehicle for their lifestyle. Members can have a great job and make $50 a hour at the end of the contract or can hold a company hostage until it goes bankrupt and have no jobs in a few year as it is moved to Mexico, India or China. Why is absenteeism so high at UAW plants but virtually nonexistent at non UAW plants? The hard truth is UAW breeds an us vs them mentality and it will sink the companies all over again.
  14. The individual plants could hold an election to decertify the union at that location, they would contact the NLRB with the required 30% of members at the location signature cards and they would schedule a vote. If ONE plant did that the UAW leadership would freak out and settle the strike. It would be settled before NLRB was finished counting the election cards. The UAW lives in a time gone by. It is why it is such a sought after job for so many and live in the echo chamber of Detroit where everyone thinks of the families that worked generations there and they still have 95% market share as that’s what they see on the road. (Though lately that is changing) You have support because you never dare say anything bad about the UAW as you’ll get screamed at or asked to leave people’s houses. It’s still the great times of the 1970’s when Detroits fall from grace started. This strike is just another winning a battle but losing the war and shows how out of touch the UAW really is with how much the county has changed. Who cares if I can’t get an Escape or Explorer, I’ll just go get a CRV, Telluride. They are cheaper anyways and also made in the USA.
  15. Didn't want to give Fain any ammo of you don't care about your workers you're presenting at a product revel when you should be at the Table BS. Also 90% simplification of ordering is going to be difficult for some customers as they are paying for features they don't want because they are now standard or in a package and they only want one thing.
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