Posted on 11/15/2008 2:52:01 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Even as Detroit's Big Three teeter on collapse, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Saturday that workers will not make any more concessions and that getting the automakers back on their feet means figuring out a way to turn around the slumping economy.
"The focus has to be on the economy as a whole as opposed to a UAW contract," Gettelfinger told reporters on a conference call, noting the labor costs now make up 8 percent to 10 percent of the cost of a vehicle. "We have made dramatic, dramatic changes and the UAW was applauded for that," he said.
Instead, Gettelfinger blamed the problems the auto industry is suffering from on things beyond its control _ the housing slump, the credit crunch that has made financing a vehicle tough and the 1.2 million jobs that have been lost in the past year. "We're here not because of what the auto industry has done," he said. "We're here because of what has happened to the economy."
Gettelfinger also called on Congress to act quickly on a bailout plan for the auto industry, saying action is necessary before President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January. He said if one automaker were to file for bankruptcy, the others may follow. He said the automakers would find it difficult to restructure under bankruptcy laws and instead could end up out of business. "Would you buy a car from a bankrupt automaker?" he asked.
(Excerpt) Read more at napavalleyregister.com ...
“UAW leader: Workers will make no more concessions”
Well, then. Enjoy your new careers at Wal-Mart—if you’re lucky to get hired.
I’ll never buy another UAW car. Promise.
You guys have been expecting the Big 3 and their customers to take it in the shorts for th last 40 years or so, now it's your turn.
Instant karma is my favorite kind.
Earlier this year I was behind a Ford with an extra-large bumper-sticker that proclaimed that it was built, owned and driven by Americans. My immediate thought was, “So was the Honda in the next lane...what’s your point?”
“promote and support liberals over conservatives”
The unions operate on Soviet style communism. BIG Guys get money, LITTLE guys starve. Am I describing the mob?
I say okay then flise the toilet and see what happens to them then !
Republicans are going to filibuster the bill!
Posted here today.
Go repubs.
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Looks like it was $73 per hour in 2007
per Windsor Star --
[snip]
The United Auto Workers will enjoy at least a $10-an-hour wage advantage to start over their counterparts in the Canadian Auto Workers after they approve a contract with General Motors, industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers says.
The new contract will allow GM to achieve "huge cost reductions" from the $73-per-hour it currently spends on wages, benefits, pensions and retiree health benefits, DesRosiers said.
Analyst warns U.S. auto deal threatens Canadian jobs Windsor Star Published: Tuesday, October 02, 2007
GM at least might not last that long.
actually a UAW free company is a marketing POSITIVE!
Look at all the good used cars available for 8-12k.If the big 3 went under there wouldn’t be a shortage of cars for a couple of years at least.By then Toyota,Honda and others will have expanded production.
Not really. The union is all about union power, not about the union members. Once you understand this concept you understand why they would prefer that people be out of work then to give any signal of weakness.
Yes, after the $25,000,000,000 is wasted on UAW employee buyouts of about $100,000 each. Then and only then will GM petition for Chapter 11 relief.
Screw them. Unless they cut their pay, change the work rules, reduce the legacy healthcare benefits then they cannot compete with Toyo or Honda.
What is incredible is O/CRA/Fannie/Freddie did scam mortgages forcing banks to lend to people who would never repay. Banks and Wall Street tried a variety of BS securities to try to paper over the problem. Capitalist bled to detah by socialism taking on more risk to try to compensate for crushing socialism.
The management at GM and Ford have tried every possible idea to keep the automakers afloat to pay the UAW extortion. Financing, making it up on service, just about anything to keep the ship afloat.
Capitalism trying to keep it going as they get socialism (UAW/Fannie/Freddie) jammed down their throats.
I am amazed the mgmt at Ford and GM have been able to keep this going as long as they have.
Tee hee. Wait and see what happens when you no longer have a job at all, numbskull.
Even giving them 25B won’t do anything but put off the inevitable for a year or two.
The UAW leaders might be the ones facing the hatred of the members when they find they have no jobs and no pensions.
As far as bankruptcy goes I’d bet that all three companies would continue making cars uninterruptedly. Some enterprising company would buy them up and lay the facts down. The employees would show up to work then next day and accept whatever the new management offered.
Where else are such losers going to go? Who would hire a freaking UAW member who wasn’t forced to? LOL!
Eastern Airlines - perfect analogy. I sympathize with the white collar workers trying to keep dead companies alive as the unions bleed them to death. Sad.
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