Posted on 08/18/2011 2:05:10 PM PDT by TonyInOhio
DETROIT–American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. dealt the United Auto Workers a second blow Thursday by announcing the closure of its New York gear-making plant after union rank-and-file members failed to ratify a new contract late last month.
The Cheektowaga plant, employing about 100 hourly and salaried workers, will be shut sometime after Feb. 25, American Axle spokesman Christopher Son said. The announcement comes a month after the company said it will close its Detroit plant after workers there failed to agree to wage cuts. That closure will throw about 300 people out of work.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Did you read the articles I posted on the other page.. Google the CEO’s name, Dick Dauch
You've got to be a troll. You argue like a liberal: vacant of facts, logic or any guiding principles other than your faux religiosity.
Don't worry, I don't call the mods on trolls; I like seeing their idiocy exposed.
Do you have a point that you can articulate beyond what you've already posted?
Because I reject all that, utterly.
No, he's not. What the going market rate for "respect?"
They made money until 2008... the strike in 08 and market crash that year is reflected in the numbers you post. Your twisting the facts to state your point.
the union guys can buy a plant and start their own company... seems there may be an opening in the market for someone wanting to work a little harder.
are those crickets i hear?
Are you really this dense? I mean this is seriously embarrassing. Although I’m not familiar with this particular company, I do know business. Even if the guy didn’t own a share of stock, the owners/shareholders hired HIM. They obviously considered his talents and paid him accordingly. He was paid for his skills/expertise at a rate that they agreed to.
If I need a master electrician, I don’t hire a helper. Additionally, I don’t pay a helper the same rate as a master electrician. Even your sainted unions agree on that.
Re EDM for gears:
Yeah, I imagine you could make a good gear that way. As long as long as you’re willing to spend 10 hours per gear.
You are the one bad mouthing the CEO. I don’t see anyone here, or anywhere in the story that the CEO badmouthed the workers. What was that part about mutual respect, again?
I don’t have to twist your words to make you look ludicrous, FRiend.
You just outed yourself. Here’s a hint...conservatives don’t refer to like minded candidates as “right wing”. We don’t consider conservatives as anything but normal, so we have no need to label them as being “right wing”.
Nice try. Run on back to DU/KOS or wherever and pass the word.
You just outed yourself. Here’s a hint...conservatives don’t refer to like minded candidates as “right wing”. We don’t consider conservatives as anything but normal, so we have no need to label them as being “right wing”.
Nice try. Run on back to DU/KOS or wherever and pass the word.
And you call me a poor sole? ROFLOL!!!
i'd imagine they'd be cut in stacks or cut one long gear and then slice gears off like bread, i don't know as i've been out of it for going on twenty years i guess i just figured technology had caught up with and replaced gear hobbers by now
still and all, i don't see operating a gear hobber as a highly skilled position
I’m sure it’s not.
And I get what you’re saying regarding “machine operator” vs. “machinist”.
Hey, I’m as anti union as anyone else here. But I think there’s a knee jerk reaction among a lot of people regarding factories closing over disputes like the one in this story.
I stand sqarely behind the right of the factory owner to move to where ever he wants and do whatever he wants.
But it’s almost as if people here hear the word union and actually root for the guys to lose their jobs. They think every factory worker in a union is making $60k with gold plated bennies, and that’s just not the case.
Some of these people losing their jobs (no doubt to foreigners, ultimately) are people who actually have at least some skill, and actually put at least some effort into it.
I’ve personally been on both sides of the issue, and I think there are more misguided white collar gas bags than blue collar... :)
Slicing them like baloney sounds reasonable. I wish I were still in the industry. Maybe they do that now.
But as recently as a decade ago, I think it was mainly still all hobbers.
And the reason was, as with so much in manufacuring, cost.
Back in the day, production equipment was made to last. As long as you’re willing to fix it occasionally, it can pretty much last forever. So it ends up being cheaper for people to just use what they have unless something comes along that is soooo much faster that it makes their current stuff obsolete.
And that doesn’t happen too often.
I used to work with screw machines (if you kow what those are) and in hte 90’s you could still buy “brand new” 1945 Acmes that have been stored in caves since WW2. Seriously. Still in the cosmoline.
The gvt bought them up after the war to prevent a crash in the machine tool business, and they would auction off lots of them every so often.
They came complete with a little metal plaque saying “Approved for war production”, etc.
Of course the American screw machine manufacturing industry is dead today. And the main reason is the old ones last forever, and the new ones aren’t better enough to justify paying $250k instead of $25k.
That, and smaller order quantities encouraged people to go to CNC lathes, which offer much quicker setup, but much longer cycle times.
yup, agreed and been on both sides also... been in three unions in my life and all by force so i know there are good people there that hate their union but still vote to slit their own throats i think i read they were making $28.00+ and benefits before the last cuts
when i left i was making $16.55 as a Class-A Machinist / Die Maker
i have no idea what they make now, but... i'll tell you it was NEVER $28.00 an hour
if the unions hadn't driven the wage up so high to begin with there prolly would be less pain and suffering now
yup... plenty of blowhards on both sides
you are right about dumb technology, it lasts forever with a minimal amount of maintenance and with most of the older machines many times you could even fabricate a broken part in house and yes job shoppers now offer much quicker setup times for small jobs by far
the first shop i worked in you had to setup and run your machine where many shops have setup men
I actually searched around a little to try to find out what they were paid.
The only articly I could find was kind of ambiguous. It said they made $15-$17 / hr, but up to $23 for some job classifications.
23 aint bad. But you have to admit 15-17 today is pretty lousy. That’s $30 something k / year.
It also said they took big cuts a few years ago, and now the company wanted more.
Lastly, American Axle is in hte black, and has made a susbstantial increase in their profits over the last few years.
Now, is this an accurate picture (just cuz I read an article on line)? Doubtful.
But maybe the company just wants to offshore it all.
It’s their right. But it’s sad nonetheless.
No good answers to this one....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.