GM Workers on Strike

[427TJ]

GM workers walked out today at noon. Any bets on how long it will be until GM moves its remaining US plants to China? (Or Canada, Mexico, etc.) Radio said that it's the first GM strike since the '70s.

[scuncio]

I think it's only the first nationwide strike since the 70s. There was a strike in Flint in the late 90s. Still a big deal over here.

[Fast67VelleN2O]

GM workers are going to be screwing themselves in the long run. GM is still in trouble, and only a matter of time before GM moves to Mexico or Canada and NO ONE will have a job

[SmallHurst]

[ QUOTE ]
GM workers are going to be screwing themselves in the long run. GM is still in trouble, and only a matter of time before GM moves to Mexico or Canada and NO ONE will have a job

[/ QUOTE ]

GM plants were the target plants this year for the contract this year. I will be interested to see if Ford and Chrysler UAW brothers and sisters will be walking out as well. (Just because I am a supplier at a Ford Plant!)

[nuch_ss396]

[ QUOTE ]
GM workers are going to be screwing themselves in the long run. GM is still in trouble, and only a matter of time before GM moves to Mexico or Canada and NO ONE will have a job

[/ QUOTE ]

Matt, thanks for saying that! My thoughts exactly!!

US automaker sales are down across the board and these folks
are striking. Perhaps they should consider the - out of line
wages they get for the level of work they perform. I know
this is going to pi$$ some members off here, but it needs to
be said. We don't live in the same world anymore and no one
( including US car buyers evidently ) wants to pay a premium for
those wages. I'd rather be employed at a somewhat realistic
wage than unemployed with a former high wage. World wide
competition is very tight right now and all automakers have
their sights clearly set on the USA. Wonder why that is?
We're so busy fighting amongst ourselves and the ailing US
automaker situation that we don't see them coming. Look at
some of these Asian automakers. 100,000 mile warranty! If
you daughter wants her first car and I can find a descent
one with a 100,000 mile warranty, guess which way I'm going.

Where the hell is Lee Iacocca when we need him.....

On a similar note, I just heard that Chrysler is offering a
"LIFE TIME WARRANTY" on new vehicles!
Now, that will get them back on the radar. Perhaps we just
found Lee Iacocca afterall.......

[Chevy454]

ChryCo/FoMoCo workers won't be striking, at least not in the near future...GM still runs Detroit, and the other Big 2 see this as their chance to make up some ground on the General. And, UAW has already verbally agreed to extend contracts with ChryCo/FoMoCo, but decided to try their leverage against GM. As y'all mentioned above, my gut says the UAW is shooting themselves in the foot, as this may be the final excuse for GM to *totally* cut & run and push everything across the border, or off the continent for that matter...

[Rusty: I read an *excellent* article about this upcoming UAW/GM battle at breakfast in Ionia, had I been thinking I'd have kept the paper and passed it along!]

[1969z280]

It's impossible to attribute all of GM's wage woes to current payroll. The real cause of the problem is retiree benefits. GM, unlike most of their foreign competitors building cars with American Workers, is required to pay health benefits for life. This includes workers that theoretically retired 10, 20 maybe thirty years ago.

I live near the Fort Wayne Silverado plant and this morning's news said that GM was willing to move the $51 Billion Dollar retiree benefit program over to UAW in an effort to save $3 Billion per year.

The issues facing GM and the UAW are for more complex than 100,000 mile waranties. Many of the problems today are the result of the strong automotive economy of the 1960's and the bargaining practices of the past.

GM's competitors are relatively new in the game (building cars in the USA) and in many cases are non-union or at worst case, union with modern bargaining practices that don't offer things like retiree benefits.

It's a sad day in Northeast Indiana because nobody wins in a strike.

Just an experienced outsider's look in,
Ed

[Hylton]

[ QUOTE ]
GM workers are going to be screwing themselves in the long run. GM is still in trouble, and only a matter of time before GM moves to Mexico or Canada and NO ONE will have a job

[/ QUOTE ]

Why would they move uphere? The Canadian dollar is now at par with the US dollar and the strike in the US will force our plants to shut down due to the just-in-time inventory process. Oshawa will will be shutting down the Impala plant on tonights midnight shift as a result of the strike.

I think GM will take this opportunity to shut down a few plants and move them to China. Low wages, no pension, safety or health concerns to worry about.

[427king]

Im not too smart when it comes to unions, but what happens to the workers here when GM moves thier plants to China. Does the union then pick up thier salaries and give them benefits etc that they no loinger get when thier jobs are gone???

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

[ QUOTE ]
Im not too smart when it comes to unions, but what happens to the workers here when GM moves thier plants to China. Does the union then pick up thier salaries and give them benefits etc that they no loinger get when thier jobs are gone???

[/ QUOTE ]

No, they are SOL.

We had a union strike here about 2 years ago. The union workers at the other plants wore an arm band or two for a few days to show support. Several hundred union workers walked off the job, quietly, peacefully, and followed the proper shutdown procedures (important at a chemical plant). They picketed almost every day, sitting on their lawn chairs with coolers full of drinks and snacks, while the two sides negotiated. The company used existing employees to keep production going. When the announcement came that replacement workers (still union!!!) were being brought in - there was mayhem to say the least! Lots of picketers, police, media, helicopters - 5 union guys on the hood of my car with 3 guards trying to block them (they thought I was a replacement worker), totally nuts!

Why? The union had their way in previous bargaining sessions, but this time they were up against China, ie; no more concessions - and for the first time they would have to pay a % of the health insurance premiums (always 100% paid for the union members).

The result? The strike ended when the union realized they were done, they took a small lump sum payout, and were out of a job - only 5 were brought back, and the replacement workers were quite happy with the new contract.

Where are they now? I just ran into one working at the local hardware store a few weeks ago. Sad.