Posted on 07/25/2022 7:56:31 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) — If the United Auto Workers union can’t organize workers at new electric-vehicle battery factories that will supply Detroit’s three automakers, the union’s future would be in serious doubt.
Ray Curry, president of the 372,000-member UAW, says union representation at the battery plants is critical, given that the major automakers are staking their futures on the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
“It’s going to be key to lock down that type of new technology,” Curry said in an interview with The Associated Press on the eve of the union’s convention in Detroit this week. “Everybody is dependent upon what happens out of that bargaining.”
General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have announced plans to build seven U.S. factories in joint ventures with battery makers. The plants are expected to employ thousands and to supply power for electric vehicles that the automakers say will account for as much as half their U.S. sales by 2030. EVs now constitute only about 5% of the market.
During the years-long transition from combustion engines to electricity, Curry said, thousands of workers who now manufacture engines and transmissions will need jobs. He argued that these workers should receive top assembly-line wages, now around $32 an hour, without any jobs lost to the technology change.
Any decision on union representation will be part of contract talks with the three automakers that will start next summer.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
That should really help bring down the cost of these golf cart cars.
Guessing, millions?
Here’s a better idea. Preserve union jobs by voting for American-first candidates such as Donald Trump. Quit voting for Globalists and green fascists.
Fidiots!..........................
Tens of millions. At VERY least.
Heck the entire China boom. All of it.
A hundred million? Two hundred million?
For real.
Yeah Lord knows those folks do not deserve a decent wage!!!
True that. Your assertion is backed up by the many cars now being made in right-to-work states like Alabama.
busting the unions and needing less labor (fewer parts they say) is why the big 3 are going electric. coupled with cafe standards that can not be achieved any other way.
Does anyone know if that 372,000-membership number includes retirees?
I read somewhere that there was 3 or 5 retirees to every UAW working member.
Be a crying shame if those jobs moved overseas. A real shame
Sure, because Unions played NO PART of the mess we are in today...
/sarc:off
It started in the 1977 when neighbors I knew south of Buffalo were making over $32/hour working at Bethlehem Steel in Lackawnna, NY. $66K/year with a high school degree. That was a lot of money in the 70s.
One of the kids down the street got a job there literally pushing a broom for $10/hour when he turned 18. He did it for one summer prior to going to college for Computer Science.
Every Friday at noon they would alternate between him and another guy how one would leave at noon and punch each other out at the end of the day.
Within a few years, those jobs were gone forever.
Don’t forget that the FJB administration has announced that Federal subsidies and and grants are limited to ‘union-made’ EVs.
The problem is actually not with unions. The problem is that it’s no longer a level playing field. State and federal laws have seen to that.
Here’s the way it should go when union demands are unreasonable:
Union rep: If we don’t get a $10 per hour raise, we’ll go on strike immediately.
Manager: Suit yourselves. We’ll start hiring replacements immediately.
Unfortunately, some states prohibit hiring replacements permanently. And then they’ll turn a blind eye when there’s union violence. The playing field has become very uneven. It’s a shame, as unions can do a lot of good as well as a lot of harm.
Those plants will likely be union per past experience with them adding conditions to their master agreements.
GM’s Texas plant is UAW, for example.
China says “Thank You”.
My numbers are off. They were making $35K/year. Not $66K.
Even $35K/year back in the mid 70s was a lot of money.
At one point 25,000 people worked at that steel mill. It was by far the largest employer in WNY.
My Dad was an owner operator truck driver. The most he EVER made was $40K in 1974. Back then you had to be a Teamster to drive a truck in the USA. He owned his on tractor, but was leased to drive for Chemical Leaman Tank Lines out of PA.
The UAW has driven jobs overseas with their unaffordable demands. As a result the union dues they receive have shrunken dramatically. Now they’re desperate to get their hands on more cash so they say its vital that they get more sheep.....uhhh I mean, members at battery plants.
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