I agree, I expected more knee-jerk union support. The lack of it is a pleasant surprise. Of course, it is early yet.
Jim
I got no sympathy for the UAW. This is a good way to kill GM if that’s what they want.
And Ford. And Chrysler. Keep in mind that the negotiations with those two are suspended pending the result of this action. Ford is in an even worse position and Chrysler is meat on the table without Daimler behind them anymore.
The UAW is looking at taking a 5 dollar an hour pay-raise, increased health care contributions, and the off-loading of GM’s retirement responsibility to a trust. Maybe that’s not enough, but they certainly aren’t arguing about how big of a raise they are getting.
No need for anything so drastic. The problem isn’t with the brand names, it’s with the lazy short-sighted UAW workers. GM will keep doing what it’s been doing for years now: move all the plants down South, where there aren’t any unions to deal with. That’s actually why the UAW is striking. They want GM to promise that they’ll stop closing down unionized rust-belt factories and opening up non-union factories in the Deep South and in Mexico.
Personally, I hope GM takes the strike and ends up breaking the UAW. Unions had their place decades ago, but in these days of globalization and cheap foreign labor, they’re little more than an anchor around the necks of the industries that remain in this country.
There isn’t a discreet “Saturn” line or anything like that they can close. The major strength and critical weakness of GM is its corporate unity. They have a bad habit of changing the shell and calling it a different car. And sometimes they take a well-engineered chassis and put in nicer interiors and make a classic. But anyway their production is all inbred and they can’t separate anything out.
Lazy? No. That’s a pretty harsh condemnation. Yes, I know the union has the whole “do this, don’t do that” thing, but the vast majority of the workers are conscientious. I’m certain of it.
Short-sighted? Absolutely. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t see the death of the UAW a long time ago. What’s worse is that even if they did, how do you walk away from something that was effective in the past? For a lot of them the die was cast.
I feel sorry for the schlubs that are going to get creamed because the union leadership doesn’t have the foresight to realize that they are bargaining from a position of such weakness that they don’t have a chance. PATCO had a better chance than these guys, and the rank-and-file had little choice but to drink the Flavor-Aid.
The problem isn’t with unions in general, it’s that the UAW is just too big. Even were GM to lay-off half it’s workers, would the UAW leadership even be directly effected? What do they have to lose if talks go bad for them?
I’m a member of a small union that covers four manufacturing plants for the same company. The leadership is all elected off the shop floor and can just as easily find themselves back there. I think it does an adequate job of negotiating contracts and, perhaps more importantly, protecting workers from management’s contrary whims.
Do some of you blasting unions honestly think that management can do no wrong? The company I work for has a lousy corporate atmosphere at the shop level from what I’ve seen. We go through managers and engineers like candy, and we’re constantly dealing with the latest, greatest idea of someone who’s trying to make a name for themselves. Managers will take shortcuts with safety to make quotas, and then blame the workers when an accident occurs. Or they’ll start yelling and making threats when a job legitimately takes longer or is more costly then estimated, and it’s at those times you want a union behind you.
Yes, there are people who take advantage of the system. Just like in the office, if you’re friends with the right people, you can get the cushy job and your laziness will be overlooked.
But maybe I’m biased. I’m currently on disability due to cancer and wouldn’t have half the health insurance or guarantee to my job if it weren’t for the union.
Seeing as how all the European and Japanese carmakers seem to do OK with their unions, I guess you better add a qualifier to that.
Ha, the Europeans are pulling out of countries where they can’t get Union agreements. Search on vw and spain.
And the Europeans are moving factories overseas and to Eastern Europe. The Union wage and benefit levels in Europe are a pretty tough nut to make.
Last I heard, Japanese unions are run by the CEO of the company. (Which probably explains why any Japanese person over 35 has nasty looking teeth.)
My personal opinion: This is a “show” strike. Gettelfinger knew this would be a hard contract to sell to the rank and file-- but the concessions, he knows, are necessary to the health of GM and all of the US automakers (and ultimately the UAW). So he leads his people out on strike, goes back to the table with his negotiation team, they do a couple minor tweaks here and there, and present the contract to the rank and file.
Now, the r & f all know he did everything he possibly could-- he even took them out on strike-- so this must be the absolute best contract they’re going to get. They ratify. Without this “show” strike, they would’ve had a chance to read it, spit on it and wipe their asses with it. But because they’ve struck, no one’s seen what’s on the table yet. But, when they finally get a chance to read what’s been negotiated, they’ll feel somewhat victorious because of the strike.
Those of you who say the UAW is short-sighted: you may be right in recent history, but Gettelfinger knows what he’s doing. He lives and breathes the industry, he understands what needs to be done-- both for his members and the industry as a whole-- and he’s doing what needs to be done on the part of the union (at the table and publically). Now it’s up to the American companies to produce and market something the public actually wants to drive.
If you are right that it will be a short strike and a cosmetic concession from GM, than I will apologize for my statements above and my thoughts about this strike. If it is a long strike, I hope you will do the same.
BTW: I really hope you are correct, I would hate to see GM close any more plants in the US.
I strongly agree with your last sentence that the design department needs to do a better job.
Jim
Happy Lendervedder: You were right and I was wrong. Excellent analysis of the situation that trumped me. I hope I can consult you the next time there a major Union Action in the US.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/26/news/companies/uaw_gm_deal/index.htm?postversion=2007092604
Aw, ‘twern’t nothin’. Lucky guess, if you will.