UAW authorized Strike. Huge Demands!

[HotdogThud]

You also being affected by the WGA and SAG strikes?

I'm more just dreading what happens when my existing batch of really good TV runs out, and all the studios double down on reality TV garbage again.

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[bikesandguitars]

Let’s face it: If it weren’t for pickup trucks - and the lack of competition from foreign makers in that category - Ford and GM would probably not exist today.

I've actually been on both sides. You're correct profits do go to all those things. When


I think this take is a bad joke, when cost of living adjustments have been in hold since 2007, THATS greed.

And I think this is an even worse take since the COLA adjustnents were forfeited in 2009 (not 2007) for periodic wage adjustments, the last one in 2019 of 6.3%. There is literally nothing factual in your statement.

 

[Nellezhar]

Let’s face it: If it weren’t for pickup trucks - and the lack of competition from foreign makers in that category - Ford and GM would probably not exist today.


And I think this is an even worse take since the COLA adjustnents were forfeited in 2009 (not 2007) for periodic wage adjustments, the last one in 2019 of 6.3%. There is literally nothing factual in your statement



Workers are are reportedly asking for cost-of-living adjustments, which were suspended in 2007 when the American public bailed out the auto giants amid the Great Recession. The “COLA” adjustments (as UAW workers refer to them) date back to the ’50s. These are guaranteed raises matching the rate of inflation in the U.S., which are meant to maintain parity between worker pay and their living expenses.

Adjusting for inflation, workers hired in 2023 make $10 less than workers who were hired in 2007, according to statistics cited by More Perfect Union

https://jalopnik.com/united-auto-workers-union-votes-to-authorize-a-strike-1850775934

 

[Emd]

I’m sorry Mr. Smith, but your position has been replaced by AI and advanced robotics. Who, may I mention, will happily work 168 hours per week with no pay, OT or DT, don’t require benefits, never call in sick, are never late, don’t take lunches, don’t file worker comp claims, and are consistent and 100% accurate all day, every day. Oh, since they’re not part of any union, our shareholders are ecstatic because our profit margins just skyrocketed. Our customers (hopefully there’s still a few who can afford our products), are celebrating as we can satisfy all orders timely and efficiently and with the highest level of quality and safety.

This is the only way manufacturing will remain in this country. And if you think the day will ever come when corporations put the interest of their employees before shareholder profits, you need to wake up.

i agree that corporations will always choose share holder value over employees, hence unions. I will tell you from experience that your idea of how robotics in assembly line work will play out, couldn't be further from reality. I just retired from Ford in May. I worked in the body shop and it has a robot for every thing it can. They are always breaking down. I mean "always". They constantly get out of sync and require electricians that are higher paid than assembly workers to keep them running. Then you need pipe fitters, and millwrights, both of which are higher paid than assemblers to assist in any work that crosses into their trade. Now add in the fact that Ford management will insist these robots work at a pace they were never designed to work at, just like they do to the humans on the assembly lines and the you get all the bad quality you ever wanted. That is my 30 years of experience in Fords largest most profitable assembly plant. That is just the reality of the business. Right or wrong, it is exactly how it is.

 

[Beach_Bum]

...

The price increases to support this lunacy is only going to strengthen the foreign makers. No one will buy a $85,000 Bronco…. May as well start the government bailouts now.

...

The irony isn't lost with that comment being that the thread is posted in the Bronco Raptor sub-forum.

 

[Blairwarlock]

i agree that corporations will always choose share holder value over employees, hence unions. I will tell you from experience that your idea of how robotics in assembly line work will play out, couldn't be further from reality. I just retired from Ford in May. I worked in the body shop and it has a robot for every thing it can. They are always breaking down. I mean "always". They constantly get out of sync and require electricians that are higher paid than assembly workers to keep them running. Then you need pipe fitters, and millwrights, both of which are higher paid than assemblers to assist in any work that crosses into their trade. Now add in the fact that Ford management will insist these robots work at a pace they were never designed to work at, just like they do to the humans on the assembly lines and the you get all the bad quality you ever wanted. That is my 30 years of experience in Fords largest most profitable assembly plant. That is just the reality of the business. Right or wrong, it is exactly how it is.

Don’t disagree but like with any new tech, with time comes more advancement and reliability. We are just at the beginning of this. Think in 10-20 years where AI and robotics will be if allowed. The AI dam has broken and the investment in this market from the big 3 is huge. Things will change it’s inevitable.

 

[Emd]

Don’t disagree but like with any new tech, with time comes more advancement and reliability. We are just at the beginning of this. Think in 10-20 years where AI and robotics will be if allowed. The AI dam has broken and the investment in this market from the big 3 is huge. Things will change it’s inevitable.

then we are all screwed regardless and may as well burn the ships. No going back now.

 

[bikesandguitars]

The irony isn't lost with that comment being that the thread is posted in the Bronco Raptor sub-forum.

Did not realize that. I’m not the OP and I’m certainly not discussing Raptors. They’re their own birds.

 

[tock13]

If it ends up a strike I wonder how hard the southern states will come courting Ford with promises of tax cuts and no union to deal with. Tax incentives were a big reason Boeing moved headquarters to Chicago. It's a different world these days. This will be interesting for sure.

 

[bikesandguitars]

Don’t disagree but like with any new tech, with time comes more advancement and reliability. We are just at the beginning of this. Think in 10-20 years where AI and robotics will be if allowed. The AI dam has broken and the investment in this market from the big 3 is huge. Things will change it’s inevitable.

I do disagree. Corporations are not some monolith focused solely on shareholder returns. Corporations, and the people in charge, have a fiduciary responsibility to their employees and the stakeholders to operate profitably with an eye to the future. They can’t do that without retaining employees.

Without profits neither the employee, the shareholder or the corporation exists. Profit is mandatory. As I pointed out earlier, the Big 3 is falling way behind in R&D investment. They are several billion dollars a year behind Volkswagen and Toyota.

The employee-employer disconnect at the Big 3 are the unions. The employer has no way to communicate directly with the employee. Because of their contract, all employment related discussions have to go through the union. In most plants, the management can’t even go on the production floor without a union steward walking alongside. Imagine that. The employer has to kowtow to the employee to tour their own plant…

By contrast, look at the non union shops in South Carolina, Texas, etc. They all report higher employee satisfaction, similar wages and better relations. And they make better cars.

The abuses and financial waste that the unions force on the Big 3 are exactly why the US makers continue to lose market share worldwide.
I don’t think anyone begrudges a new contract for the UAW but the terms seem outlandish.

 

[Sooner]

My Head Hurts !

 

[Surfnbike]

Unions would rather have 100 people employed with good salary and benefits and have 200 people unemployed and destitute than have all 300 people employed and paid a market rate.

This is exactly what minimum wage laws do. People that don't understand managerial/labor economics will vote for politicians that promote minimum wage increases, thinking that they will be better off, but in reality what happens is that businesses will hire fewer workers, invest more in automation. You can see this in the self checkout stations at Home Depot/Lowes, or all the automated equipment at McDonalds. The same is true for rent controlled districts. Thomas Sowell has a great book, Basic Economics, that thoroughly explores out this phenomenon.

That said, nothing will ever change because economics isn't taught in school and most people would rather watch twenty five seasons of South Park than read an economic text on their own time. So the end result is some people get paid more while others get to collect unemployment. Either way big government wins more fans (recipients of wage increases by government edict) and dependents (those that lose out on a job).

 

[Surfnbike]

i agree that corporations will always choose share holder value over employees, hence unions. I will tell you from experience that your idea of how robotics in assembly line work will play out, couldn't be further from reality. I just retired from Ford in May. I worked in the body shop and it has a robot for every thing it can. They are always breaking down. I mean "always". They constantly get out of sync and require electricians that are higher paid than assembly workers to keep them running. Then you need pipe fitters, and millwrights, both of which are higher paid than assemblers to assist in any work that crosses into their trade. Now add in the fact that Ford management will insist these robots work at a pace they were never designed to work at, just like they do to the humans on the assembly lines and the you get all the bad quality you ever wanted. That is my 30 years of experience in Fords largest most profitable assembly plant. That is just the reality of the business. Right or wrong, it is exactly how it is.

It's still cheaper than paying welders to do it manually, which is why all manufacturers have adopted this method of manufacture.

Eventually gigacasting will replace robotic bodyshops, as it's already doing in Austin, TX for Tesla. I believe the figure Elon quoted is that 2/3rds of the robots in the bodyshop have been eliminated.

 

[GroovyGeek]

UAW authorized a Strike. Current contract expires mid Sept. Seeking huge demands, incl 32 hour work week. Negotiations on going. No mention of which Of Big Three may Strike??

I can understand demands for higher pay but 32 hr workweek? Weaklings...

 

[Herewegoagain]

I agree on pay em and having a high quality workforce. But our dollar not getting anything is to blame on greedy companies trying to post quarterly highs which needs to be curbed. Our country needs to focus more on workers livelihood and less on investors making their next million.

Without investors making their millions there are no jobs

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