Posted on 02/10/2014 1:22:43 PM PST by don-o
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Republican lawmakers in Tennessee are threatening that the state could turn off the spigot of incentives for Volkswagen if workers at the German automaker's plant decide this week to approve union representation.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesnews.net ...
Well then, let's both you and I support the UAW and their effort to bond with VW...............
See my post #60 for more details and . . . make no mistake, I am not advocating that the state be involved in the business management decisions, be it Republican lawmakers or Democrat appointed czars.
I'm simply pointing out that such is an inevitable result of this public-private partnership stuff.
Tennessee is a right to work state and the provisions of the agreement were based upon the factory being that as well. The German model mandates membership, as far as I can tell.
“the individual workers can spend their money and their negotiating power as they see fit.”
True, but they are not entitled to handouts of taxpayer money. Taxpayer money should only be given out under very limited and special circumstances. It is better to lower taxes for everyone than to give special deals to a favored few.
If VW does not comply, then don’t give them taxpayer financed subsidies. Don’t use taxpayer money to subsidize the UAW.
I don't support the UAW, or their effort to bond with VW. I worry that approval of the union (if it happens) will lead to increasing prices and decreasing quality. (I hope that it will not - I happen to drive a vehicle that was built in the Chattanooga plant, and would happily buy another).
But, if VW wants to bond with the UAW, it has the right to do so. Let's not pretend that it doesn't know the risks involved.
The state subsidizes the net revenue of VW, how VW divides it up between profits and wages is their business. You'd think that the Tennessee legislature would be happy to have more money in the hands of Tennessee workers who will spend money at Tennessee businesses instead of in the hands of stockholders in Germany, but maybe the politicians are playing the politics of unthinking envy and resentment.
But the handout is already there and I don't see what suddenly makes it worse that the subsidies are going to fellow Tennesseans who will patronize Tennessee businesses instead of going to foreign ownership.
The state subsidizes the net revenue of VW, how VW divides it up between profits and wages is their business. You’d think that the Tennessee legislature would be happy to have more money in the hands of Tennessee workers who will spend money at Tennessee businesses instead of in the hands of stockholders in Germany, . . . . . .
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The legislators simply don’t want VW to leave. The Union says they won’t do it, ask the Hostess workers how they feel about that promise. Ask the IH how they feel about that promise from UAW. The UAW leadership said that International Harvester had too much invested to go out of business or leave, right. Chrysler was too big to fail. Right. The big cost of production is labor. They would leave just to make a point and none of the people would be rehired in the new location. Germans are tough, and can be spiteful. The VW people already had a deal.
So just what is your argument with me?????? Is it because I happen to believe that VW will be stepping into a pile of crap if it allows the UAW into their plants? Is that what it is?
Sheesh............I've got more things to worry about.
It’s called hard ball.
Union? No state meney
From the article:
Should the workers at Volkswagen choose to be represented by the United Auto Workers, any additional incentives from the citizens of the state of Tennessee for expansion or otherwise will have a very tough time passing the Tennessee Senate, he said.
He is talking about additional incentives, not incentives already committed to.
“Tennessee is a right to work state and the provisions of the agreement were based upon the factory being that as well. The German model mandates membership, as far as I can tell.”
RTW doesn’t make unions illegal. It does mean that UAW cannot force membership at the cost of the job notwithstanding any deal they cut. I think VW is wrongheaded about this, but I am not a likely customer, anyway.
Unions exist purely from the state's intervention. When that is removed, e.g., Wisconsin, the majority of union members quit.
You cannot take the state out of unionism. One way or the other.
What happened to VW Westmorland?
They closed & moved the operation to Mexico where labor was cheaper.
PS - What union DID you belong to before you started collecting that taxpayer-guaranteed pension of yours?
As Companies Seek Tax Deals, Governments Pay High Price
"...Yet across the country, companies have been doing just that. And the giveaways are adding up to a gigantic bill for taxpayers..."
So are you going to tell me that I used a right-wing source?
“I’m no fan of unions, but they seem to know what they’re doing.”
I’m not either, but based on our experiences with a VW Jetta, I hope that they go out of business by building a crappy plastic car that you had better watch when you bump a curb because everything forward of the front doors starts falling off when the plastic and sheet metal screws that hold the mess together start failing. Then there’s all the expensive parts in the drive train that you have to replace before the payments are completed. VW=Crap!
You always have so much to say about everything.
So is ThyssenKrupp, the prior owner of Budd Company, a tier one supplier of body parts to the auto industry. They sold off Budd back in 2006 and divested themselves completely from the auto parts manufacturing industry......
Why you ask? Because back in February of either 2005 or 2006, our stamping plant in Shelbyville KY went on strike just at the time of the annual board meeting in Germany. Over that weekend, our corporate offices had assembled a large number of management and non union volunteers to drive down to the plant and run limited production until the strike could be settled.
Unfortunately, Ford Motor Company, who we provided the body parts for their Kentucky truck plant stepped in and demanded that we settle the strike immediately or they would pull their dies out of the plant.
Negotiations were settled, the UAW in the plant got everything they were asking for and the TK Board of Directors decided to sell us off.......and the rest is history.
Like I have said previously, the biggest overhead cost to the auto industry is benefits and pension packages. If the ultimate endgame is going to be government provided healthcare and potentially the pensions, as the Germans expect, there is no reason for them not to allow the UAW into their plants since all they will have to negotiate is wages...........
And you have so much nothing to say about anything.
You're citing an article from the libtard press known as the New York Slimes???? LOL!
Read the article carefully Mr. Unum, it deals with govt. payouts to existing plants in hopes to keep them profitable and in business, such payouts I have never supported........In fact, I challenge you to go thru my entire posting history on this site and find one post where I have ever supported a bail out of the auto industry.
With that being said, my argument dealt with tax incentives only, not financial assistance, for any company willing to build a plant that will employ citizens in that locale..........
Stop trying to put words in my mouth.........
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