# Does a car manufacturer HAVE to deal with Unions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-car-manufacturer-have-to-deal-with-unions/473687 "2008-11-20T18:45:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-car-manufacturer-have-to-deal-with-unions/473687/21 "2008-11-21T18:34:59Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > The UAW guys are idiots in this area. When they tried to make a big push recently at getting the UAW into the Nissan plant, they managed to _piss off_ the Nissan employees. It wasn’t UAW, but the union that tried to get my office to join got a bunch of people pissed off as well. A union rep went to one of my co-workers homes unannounced, twice. She was already against the idea but that just settled it. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-car-manufacturer-have-to-deal-with-unions/473687/22 "2008-11-21T18:40:43Z")
> [@Grave](#): > > Too late, actually. [Nissan](http://www.mississippi.org/content.aspx?url=/page/autoindustry&)is already here, [Toyota](http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-02-27-toyota-plant_x.htm) opening soon. > > Well, in Mississippi. Land prices are much too high in either of those cities for an auto plant. That’s awesome news, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-car-manufacturer-have-to-deal-with-unions/473687/23 "2008-11-21T18:57:20Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > $62,000 more per year? The best HMO would be a fraction of that number. I’m wondering if that is averaging in retired workers benefits. A valid number \*should \*consider what the cost will be to pay a worker’s future retirement pension and medical benefits. Not taking that into account is a big part of why today’s mess exists. As a general rule of thumb, wages/salary are about 2/3 the cost of hiring a regular employee with benefits. Some benefits packages are richer than others, some employment situations create greater worker’s comp or unemployment insurance risks. It’s not hard to picture the auto workers getting more than average on the non-cash side of the comp scale. ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-car-manufacturer-have-to-deal-with-unions/473687/24 "2008-11-21T19:51:56Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Let’s say I got together with some old friends and between us we were able to design a few simple, efficient and attractive cars. There’s the Fezzik, an SUV incorporating hybrid technology and a viable V4-6-8 engine; the Westly, a 4-door sedan sporting a 2.6 liter supercharged V6 and conservative styling; the Inigo, a sporty 2-door with lines inspired by lotus and powered by a 4 cylinder turbo; and the Vicinni, built for the commute, a lightweight 2-seater station wagon with a high-efficiency 3 cylinder hybrid powerplant and awesome sound system. I’m sorry, but this plan sounds … inconceivable. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-a-car-manufacturer-have-to-deal-with-unions/473687.md?page=1)