GM moving away from UAW?

[blazerdude20]

link

 

i have serious doubts that a non-uaw plant can make it without becoming uaw

[RichardJensen]

Might as well be UAW. They'll have to pay close to UAW wages & benefits to keep employees.

[mettech]

Might as well be UAW. They'll have to pay close to UAW wages & benefits to keep employees.

 

The issues are in "the contracts".

 

Inflexible contracts and strikes.

 

A company needs to pay what ever the rate is to keep good employees.

[jpd80]

Although GM will be producing the Chevy Volt at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant with the help of UAW labor, other crucial parts will be sourced from eight different facilities in the region – some of which are non-union.

I think that headline is rather misleading, most of the Volt's construction involves UAW labor. Some facilities being non-union does not justify a screaming headline. Edited February 11, 2010 by jpd80

[RichardJensen]

The issues are in "the contracts".

 

Inflexible contracts and strikes.

 

A company needs to pay what ever the rate is to keep good employees.

:snort:

 

They will have to pay UAW wages and offer UAW benefits to draw workers. In negotiating with the UAW they'll be indirectly negotiating with their non-union blue collar employees as well.

[kpc655]

link

 

i have serious doubts that a non-uaw plant can make it without becoming uaw

 

 

for the sake of detroit, i hope this trend continues

[Maislebandit]

They have been moving away from the UAW for a long time. Look no farther than the decline in hourly employees over the last few years.

 

They make it sound like the big three have used nothing but UAW labor until now. Please, they all have sourced work to non union shops for many years.

[RichardJensen]

for the sake of detroit, i hope this trend continues

Yes.

 

By eliminating UAW workers, GM will have all its problems solved.

 

---

 

Surely, the unions are the ONLY problem for a company that held a press conference @ Chicago to tout the 75th anniversary edition of the Suburban.

[Ford Jellymoulds]

Yes.

 

By eliminating UAW workers, GM will have all its problems solved.

 

---

 

 

GM will be able to mass produce everything in China on the cheap totally unapposed with just the odd plant left building a halo Volt (Which won't make GM a dime in profit) Stateside in a none union plant for US press days. All l can see here is more GM plants getting closed down slowly year on year with more American jobs for future generations of youngsters going down the tube for good, the slow rot has started.

LINK

Edited February 11, 2010 by Ford Jellymoulds

[aneekr]

The plant noted in the article is GM's Brownstown Township, Michigan facility that qualified for something like $167 million in tax breaks from the Wolverine State.

 

As jpd80 and Maislebandit stated, there's nothing new or different about the UAW's non-presence at this plant. The only thing noteworthy here (maybe) is that GM is performing battery pack assembly in house, rather than outsourcing the work to a supplier firm.

Edited February 11, 2010 by aneekr

[kpc655]

Yes.

 

By eliminating UAW workers, GM will have all its problems solved.

 

---

 

Surely, the unions are the ONLY problem for a company that held a press conference @ Chicago to tout the 75th anniversary edition of the Suburban.

 

 

you must live in a very black and white world.

[Blacksheep]

you must live in a very black and white world.

 

You might want to look up the word sarcasm, I believe that is what he was getting at.

Edited February 12, 2010 by Blacksheep

[kpc655]

You might want to look up the word sarcasm, I believe that is what he was getting at.

 

 

ah, so it was just a troll post. i expect more from "moderators"

[blazerdude20]

ah, so it was just a troll post. i expect more from "moderators"

 

 

um it doesn't seem very trollish to me... seemed more like hes trying to get people to pull their heads from their behinds and not just listen to propaganda,

[jpd80]

ah, so it was just a troll post. i expect more from "moderators"

RJ made a valid point, you didn't.

 

Call a moderator a troll anywhere else and see what happens

[kpc655]

RJ made a valid point, you didn't.

 

Call a moderator a troll anywhere else and see what happens

 

 

"By eliminating UAW workers, GM will have all its problems solved."

 

what was the "valid point"?

 

looks like a sarcastic post that brought nothing to the thread.

 

my point, which was valid, was that i hope the de-unionization of Detroit continues.

[jpd80]

"By eliminating UAW workers, GM will have all its problems solved."

 

what was the "valid point"?

 

looks like a sarcastic post that brought nothing to the thread.

 

my point, which was valid, was that i hope the de-unionization of Detroit continues.

Richard's point was that GM has more pressing issues than de-unionizing their labor.

 

 

Your point as a hope may be valid but I don't see it happening just yet because GM is not moving away from UAW, it is merely maintaining the status quo.

 

Edit,

I wish people would ask for clarification before jumping down others throats with accusations of trolling. This sort of snide adversarial banter is what's driving people away from BON and I'm saddened to see it happening all the time on forums.

Edited February 13, 2010 by jpd80

[RichardJensen]

my point, which was valid, was that i hope the de-unionization of Detroit continues.

It's not valid.

 

If the union were to blame for GM's failure, then it would certainly prevent Ford from succeeding. And yet.....

[kpc655]

It's not valid.

 

If the union were to blame for GM's failure, then it would certainly prevent Ford from succeeding. And yet.....

 

of course it's valid. and in fact, did i say the union was the sole reason? no, you did

 

if you deny the unions play a role, your ignoring reality. and ford's success is far from certain.

Edited February 14, 2010 by kpc655

[Ovaltine]

It's too bad that the dateline of the next story couldn't have read YPSILANTI, Mi or FLAT ROCK, Mi, or something like THAT.

 

Instead we here in Michigan get an article like the following one, where the Ypsi Willow Run Powertrain plant is slated for closure in 2011. Ironically these two articles were released within 9 days of each other!

 

Could unionization and "right to work" (or lack thereof) be at one factor in these decisions? I wonder......

 

-Ovaltine

 

 

http://www.cbsatlant...134/detail.html

 

Hundreds Hired For Kia Plant

 

West Point Plant Expected To Start Production In December

POSTED: 6:52 am EDT June 10, 2009

 

 

WEST POINT, Ga. -- Kia Motors hired almost 700 workers for its west Georgia factory, which is scheduled to go into production in December.

 

Kia's human resources manager, Randy Jackson, told the Troup County Coalition on Monday that the South Korea-based automaker had just added 90 more employees. The assembly plant expects to have 1,000 to 1,200 workers when it starts production and 2,500 making 300,000 cars per year by the end of 2010.

 

The new generation Sorento will be the first model in West Point, and a small number of test vehicles have been built since April.

 

Jackson said suppliers will add another 7,500 jobs, and the ripple effect will bring an additional 30,000 jobs in construction, hotels, restaurants and other businesses to the region.

 

 

 

 

http://www.mlive.com...llow_run_t.html

GM will shut down Willow Run transmission plant in Ypsilanti Township next year under bankruptcy plans

 

By Steve Pepple

 

June 01, 2009, 10:22AM

The Willow Run transmission plant in Ypsilanti Township, which employed generations of workers and has its roots as a storied bomber factory in World War II, will be shuttered at the end of next year under General Motors' bankruptcy reorganization plans.

 

The 5-million-square-foot plant, which has three different transmission lines, employs 1,364 hourly and salaried workers. One transmission line will stop production immediately; other portions of the facility will be shut down in stages through December 2010.

 

GM is the largest taxpayer in Ypsilanti Township.

 

 

Ken Figley, left, UAW bargaining chairman for the GM Powertrain Plant in Ypsilanti, and UAW Local 735 President Don Skidmore, right, stand in front of the GM Powertrain Plant last week.

Edited February 14, 2010 by Ovaltine

[RichardJensen]

if you deny the unions play a role, your ignoring reality.

How do the unions prevent the domestics from making a competitive product when their labor costs are equal to the imports?

[OAC_Sparky]

Could unionization and "right to work" (or lack thereof) be at one factor in these decisions? I wonder......

 

Might have something to do with the fact that Kia is growing and GM is shrinking.

[jpd80]

GM has been guilty of over production and high incentives for years, they know no other way out of a sales slump.

 

If GM does bite the bullet and right size itself, it will be nowhere its size today....

Edited February 14, 2010 by jpd80

[Ovaltine]

Might have something to do with the fact that Kia is growing and GM is shrinking.

 

You are correct, from the perspective of one firm will need more production capacity and the other probably will not.

 

But what still hasn't been answered is the question of why NO foreign-based vehicle manufacturers have or will put a plant up in *this* (Michigan) state.

 

-Ovaltine

[kpc655]

How do the unions prevent the domestics from making a competitive product when their labor costs are equal to the imports?

 

do you no understand that labor costs factor in to the cost structure of a company? the union cost structure is not competitive (particularly when benefits and pension costs are included). it should be rather obvious that one of the main benefits that a union offers its members is above average wages.

 

additionally companies cannot right size the labor force near as quickly as is necessary in a downturn. I'm guessing you never spend any time in a plant, because this is self evident to all of us who do.

 

additionally, the union rules prevent the level of flexibility required to compete. two tier wage system? how about 10, or 20 tiers. sub pay? inability to hire/fire at will.

 

come on, this is pretty basic stuff here. the entire point of a union in today's job market is to protect jobs and increase compensation to a level which could not be achieved individually. that presents a very basic problem for a company that needs to down size to stay in business. and needs to compete with foreign company's not hindered by unions.