will the UAW be the death of toyota?

[megaladon6]

i try and buy american but where do you find it anymore? it may be an american company but the factory is in china or mexico.
if the unions didn't demand exorbitant pay then maybe companies could afford to stay in the US.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

It's hard to loose your job to foreign competition when you deliver pizza for a living. I can't think of a way they can outsource that! 😀

Oh, and PS: My Nissan truck was built in Tennessee, not Japan.

 

[Chevyman85]

Unions only hurt the individuals. They inflate operatating costs for companies and force them to either outsource or downsize. I live in Washington State, which is not a "Right to Work State" Meaning if a company is union then you have to join.

I think right there that should be illiegal. At 16 I was working for a grocery store making minimum wage and paying $35 a month for some bullshit union, to "protect me from extortion". The only people who were extorting me was the union itself. I also thought it was outragous that I paid more union dues than my dad who works full time for the State! If thats not extortion I don't know what is.

To make it better they automatically take $1 of the $35 and donate it to the political cannidate that best supports the union. Basically it went to any and every Democratic canidate that had a hand out. In my opinion union labor is a gross violation of individual and corporate freedom. They are what hurts this country. Having to pay to "protect" your job is wrong. And being forced to pay is even worse!

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Yeah, it's no wonder the mafia was so involved with the unions for so long. Both of them run protection rackets and extort money from people who otherwise do not really need their help. I think one of the best things GM could do is open new plants in right to work states and then when the union contract comes up, don't renew the contract. Bulldoze all of the plants in union states and hire all new workers in the new plants. Exclude any former union employee from working in the new plants and pay them substantially less. Maybe $15 an hour which is really good money in a state like Florida. Offer health insurance but no retirement plan.

 

[Chevyman85]

!

Yeah, it's no wonder the mafia was so involved with the unions for so long. Both of them run protection rackets and extort money from people who otherwise do not really need their help. I think one of the best things GM could do is open new plants in right to work states and then when the union contract comes up, don't renew the contract. Bulldoze all of the plants in union states and hire all new workers in the new plants. Exclude any former union employee from working in the new plants and pay them substantially less. Maybe $15 an hour which is really good money in a state like Florida. Offer health insurance but no retirement plan.

I agree with that 100% the problem with unions is the workers are getting paid $30/hr when they are doing a $12-$15/hr job. No wonder the work gets outsourced. You have countries like India who have a surplus work force who are willing do do any and every job, how can we compete with that. In my state alone the minimum wage is over $8/hr. !

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Yeah, my state just raised it's minimum wage to $7.25/hr. This means I now make $7.25 an hour plus tips to deliver pizza, which on the surface is not bad money (If you only knew what we can make in tips in a good delivery area...). However, prices will go up to pay the extra money and that will just lower the value of the dollar for those at the bottom of the economic food chain. Liberals fail to realize that no matter where the floor is, it will always still be just a floor.

 

[KrisW]

Yeah, liberals like Uncle Charlie, our governor!!

I get what you mean about the minimum wage, what a crock. Again, it was a good idea at the time. It's time has come and gone. We need to get rid of it altogether...

 

[megaladon6]

i will be a touch hypocritical for a second. the one industry where we need a union is auto tech/mechanics. low pay, no benefits, no pension/401k, thousands of dollars a year in tools, constant re-training that you have to pay for, and a very good chance of destroying your back and knees. it's probably the only service industry that has to come in under time and has to have perfect quality.

 

[KrisW]

Use the free market solution that I did; become a heavy diesel tech.

I've got 401K, medical/dental, and all the rest...

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I know what you mean about techs not getting paid well. I had looked into it as a possible career path for me and found out the truth of what a PITA it is. I can't imagine having to pay the equipment bills to do the job. When you look at the amount of pay,the actual time you have to put in, supply costs, getting jerked around by warranty companies or insurance companies, etc. it probably doesn't pay much better than unskilled jobs. That's why I am delivering pizza again (I was a GM for a Domino's franchisee, but now I drive for Pizza Hut. More pay, available benefits, regular raises and more mileage compensation all in a high tipping compact delivery area!) and going part time to college for a Mechanical Engineering degree. That and I already have a bad back, neck, one shoulder and a medial meniscus tear in one knee from a car accident 2 years ago. It hurts to work on my own stuff every once in a while let alone doing it for a living. I figure I am great with theory and design so I might as well do that instead.

As for Crist, I held my nose and voted for the b*st*rd. I could not vote for the Democratic candidate as that would have been even worse. I for one am sick and tired of Republicans who do not stand for typical Conservative issues. I can't see any Republican who is running (Newt Gingrich we need you!) that I am happy voting for. However, I will have to vote for whoever gets it because Obama or Clinton will be an epic disaster for my country.