The auto industry. tell us what you think. Be polite and informative

i work in part of the country that does not have unions- i think the auto workers would be better off not paying a union rep. this would alleviate some of the cost of the overhead.on the news the broadcaster stated that one of the branches the workers make like 48.00 hr but 35.00 went to the union. well w/o the union dues that is in line with blue collar workers here.also, i think these companies that pay the ceo's crazy money for running companies into the ground and running away with bonuses is plain crazy!!! put a cap on it!!!

 

The US auto industry is a cornerstone of our economy. We have so little production in the US that we can't afford to lose what we got. The US car makers have had a lot of problems and made a lot of bad decisions, but they were providing what Americans were asking for. They've taken a lot of flak for all the SUV's and trucks they have produced that are gas guzzlers. The foreign manufacturers have done the same thing though. That's what Americans wanted. I would like to see executive salaries cut. I feel the same way with American corporations in general. There's many CEO's of mid size corporations making in excess of a million dollars a year. CEO's should be paid a much smaller salary with performance bonuses. If their company does badly they shouldn't benefit from it. A lot of people thin the workers are over paid. I wouldn't do their job for what they make. At least not as long as I have my current job. If I was unemployed I sure would. Then there's the issue of all the jobs tied to the industry. It was estimated that if the big 3 failed there could be as many as 4 million jobs affected. That's a lot of jobs. 16 billion is peanuts in today's world of 760 billion dollar financial bailouts to banks. The auto makers are looking for a loan vs a bailout. I'm glad they're getting it. We already have enough people posting about layoffs.

 

We need the auto companies. I grew up in Detroit and it was bad there 15 years ago when I left, I cannot imagine it now.


I don't appreciate the union bashing, even though I'm a non union skilled tradesman in construction this whole thing smacks of union bashing to me. Though I'm not a member of one, I can appreciate many of the things they have given us. And the construction unions are a bit different than the manufacturing ones.

Most the resistance to this loan package is coming from state representatives that are home to auto plants from foreign automakers. Those foreign automakers chose to set up shop in those states because the local governments bent over backwards to get them there. They gave away land, ran the utilities, paid for worker training, reduced the taxes the companies would have to pay and gave them contracts to purchase their products. If you add up the total amount of money that the all these southern states spent and donated to get these few plants the amounts spent are more than what this Detroit loan is for. If it's good enough for Alabama and Mississippi why isn't it good enough for the American companies.

And by the way, it's a loan that Detroit is asking for, not a bailout or a give away like I mentioned above. There is a difference.

The problems in Detroit have nothing to do with the unions or the price of labor. The difference in cost between the union labors in Detroit and the non union auto laborers in the South is minimal. Part of the problem has been the automakers fault. Failure to realize that people wanted nice small cars that got better mileage. GM would be on top of the world had they continued to work on the EV that they made and tested in California 10 years ago.

Part of it also was the fault of Washington. Giving tax breaks for Hummers and SUVs so soccer moms could think they were looking cool busting out of the minivan. Interesting that this was all going on while our countries energy policy was being crafted behind closed doors which caused the price of oil to soar?!? Also Washington kept postponing emissions standards. And as the war in Iraq started instead of buying American made Humves, they gave the contract to a foreign supplier. Funny that these didn't fair well against the IUD's on the roads and in the towns. Which brings me to my last point.

Saving the American auto industry is critical to National Security. How'd we win WW2...Who came through in Iraq and gave us Humves that were protected with armor when the stuff from Chzechoslavakia wasn't working? Who's going to build our ships, Submarines, tanks, Armored cars etc? It's bad enough that we can't build a missile or any of these things without foreign components, but to let other countres like Russia and China build our military equipment is just plain stupid and dangerous.

 

My DH works for a company that makes and supplies parts to GM. If any of the big 3 close it will result in job cuts and possibly the in the plants closing There are many jobs connected to them that also should be considered.

 

This subject certainly is a sticky one. I too, hate the union bashing and I see it almost every day in the Indianapolis Star. People blame the unions for being crybabies and making too much money. Well, this is coming from someone who is laid off from a UAW assembly line. And in July the plant will go ahead and close, leaving my husband out of work, also. In 10 years there, I had to have three shoulder surgeries due to the repetitive, overhead work. My shoulders will never be the same. We made 27 dollars an hour and the toyota plant down the road that is non-union makes about the same. The fantastic insurance everybody thinks we have cost me 65 dollars every time I went to the docs office. That was our union-negotiated benefits...65 dollar co-pay for every visit. This is the truth...I used to get refund checks from my doctor at the end of the year because the co-pay was more than the actual visit. For the work we have to do in there, the money is right.
As some of you know, I am also a photographer and able to fall back on that. I made some good money in the 10 years I worked in the factory. And I took the job for that reason alone, and the "benefits". But trust me, it's no picnic in there. Assembly work is the most mind-numbing hell you'll ever want to find yourself in. Do we need the auto industry? I think so, yes. And we need the union. But all that said, more bail-out money is a little over-the-top. Why? Where is it all going? They've laid off so many now. And how much of the bail out money will be spent on their factories in Mexico, Guatemala, India, China? (my own job went to Mexico) As long as they're spending that much on a bail-out, shouldn't they pay them to bring all the jobs back HOME?

 

Any company that cant sustain its self deserves to go under. VW an other US branches of overseas car companys are expanding as these are asking for help. Its not the market. Bad business practices ain't fixed with more money.

 

Quote:Actually even Toyota is doing badly right now. I would put some stipulations on the loan though. Like maybe higher mileage cars for the next round of gas hikes.

 

They've laid off so many now. And how much of the bail out money will be spent on their factories in Mexico, Guatemala, India, China? (my own job went to Mexico) As long as they're spending that much on a bail-out, shouldn't they pay them to bring all the jobs back HOME?

I second that! I just think my DH will be jobless soon
He works for Chrysler and it's not looking good.
Brenda​