Nice job by the US motor unions, well done lads!

[Mr_Sukebe]

Check this story out, it's enough to make you cry:
http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Commun...log/How-the-unions-scuppered-the-US-bail-out/

In short, as part of the deal to bail out the big US car manufacturers, one of the requirements put forward is that the employees reduce their salaries so that they're inline with workers in non-union workforces working elsewhere in the US for say the Japanese manufacturers. So what do the unions do? Nope, not going to give in to that, we'd rather lose our jobs.
Just how ....ing stupid are these people? Maybe someone should have shown them what happened to the UK owned car manufacturing groups, which were partly destroyed by union intransigence.

Looks like we'll be saying goodbye shortly to GM and Chrysler. Whilst we might not miss the rebadged Daewoos, I'm sure that the loss of the Vette will be mourned. Also begs a question on what will happen to Vauxhall and Opel in Europe.

 

[Toker]

Also begs a question on what will happen to Vauxhall and Opel in Europe.

we can only pray

 

[EvilDreams]

Ha ha, they'd have been better off without a union. Those working class geniuses.

 

[Sone]

they should send the pottery union over there, basic pay was agreeded at below minimum wage! (a top up payment is made to comply with law)

 

[Crizzy]

Didn't this happen somewhere else before?

 

[Ranger07]

I cant stand unions, right now everyone should be happy just to hold on to some kind of employment and if taking a pay cut keeps you in a safe job then surely thats better than no job at all.

The union leaders probably werent getting bribed enough.

 

[Schnippzle]

Didn't this happen somewhere else before?

the uk?

 

[Entai]

This is the best thing that could have happened for GM.

If they go bankrupt and file for chapter 11 they can then rip up all the outdated employment rules and union regs and get on with restructuring the company in a good way to go forward and last another 100 years.

If they had got the bailout money it would all have been blown within six months, they would not have had time to restructure and the Unions rules and regs would not allow them to get rid of things like the job bank and other money pits.

For those of you who have not heard of the GM Job Bank have a look here, basically get paid upto $31 per hour for going to work and reading the paper all day.

The Unions are what have put GM into the predicament they are in and the sooner they can be got rid of the better.

And basically that will never happen through a bailout, only through GM filing for Chapter 11.

 

[Fr0dders]

Didn't this happen somewhere else before?

talk to BMW on why they ran a mile from rover and wanted it sold as soon as possible. Unions again, refusing to change practices and modernise.

BMW thought they could walk into longbridge, rip everything out and modernise it and bring it right up to date, and have it functionning like their german factories. Unfortunately they were sadly mistake, the unions and workers stuck their heels in and didnt want any of this german efficiency they were quite fine how they were thankyou very much

now like where they are

probably the same as where GM will be by the looks of it. Industry analysts are already questionning if they have enough capital to make it to 2009.

 

[Meridian]

I take it that the Big Three management were all taking pay cuts and drops in share options as well? Or, as usual, was the sacrifice all going to be at one end of the workforce?


M

 

[Clipsey]

I take it that the Big Three management were all taking pay cuts and drops in share options as well? Or, as usual, was the sacrifice all going to be at one end of the workforce?

I 'm pretty sure one of the big bosses stated that if they received the bailout money he would make his own salary $1 for the year Reasonable in my books.

 

[merlin]

Bailout incoming.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article5331854.ece

 

[Arc]

I 'm pretty sure one of the big bosses stated that if they received the bailout money he would make his own salary $1 for the year Reasonable in my books.

How much did they get paid last year though? I bet it doesn't affect them half as much as the workers on the shop floor .

By the sounds of it the unions, whilst protecting their members interests in the short term, are maybe not looking at the long term picture. GM seems to be desperate to file for chapter 11........

 

[Morba]

another case of the unions driving companies into the ground.

 

[MarkDavis]

Bailout incoming.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article5331854.ece

Bit of a shame really because the US car businesses - particularly GM and Chrysler - could do with learning the hard lessons that a Chapter 11 filing would teach them. As long as the European arm of Ford and the SAAB division prospers from all of this, I can't say I really care (from a purely car point of view), but I would love to see more non-US manufacturers being able to enter the US market.

 

[Wicksta]

Bailout incoming.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article5331854.ece

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17949408&page=3

^

Gotta love a good quote.

 

[Mr Jack]

talk to BMW on why they ran a mile from rover and wanted it sold as soon as possible. Unions again, refusing to change practices and modernise.

It should be noted that BMW is also heavily unionised. The problem is not Unions, per se, it's the stupid, adversarial, politicised model of trade unions in the UK and US that is the problem. In Germany, the unions have seats on the board of directors and work with the companies to get the best outcomes for both; it works much better. As BMW demonstrate.