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

[bluey]

Quote:
Would you buy a car from a company that is under bankruptcy? Would you want bet 25-30k that they would have parts for your car in 10 years?

People seem to trust their lives all the time with bankrupt airlines, so in the same manner I expect folks will buy cars from a company that plans to reorganize under bankruptcy...

Parts companies will make parts as long as there is a market in doing so. Also, the secondary market for parts will still be viable, no matter what happens.

 

[conradpdx]

And i wish you'd all quit talking about excessive labor costs. Labor costs are not a part of the problem. Just check out Factcheck.org and you can see where numbers come from.

http://factcheckcms.bootnetworks.com/articles/articleview.php?id=865

If you read the whole thing you'll note that on a $30,000 car only about $3,000 (labor is on average 10% of the cars cost) goes into labor with either union or non union. The real difference in pay between the two is $9.00 per hour. So the $9 an hour difference would only save you perhaps a $900 on MSRP (based on average union worker making $30.00 an hour as mentioned in the post 3,000 dollars of labor = 100 man hours, 100 man hours *21 (non union average=$2100). It's not that much of a difference, and personally I'd gladly pay an extra $900.00 dollars to keep the money in the country not Germany, Japan, or Korea.


<edit> BTW $900.00 is $15 a month on a 5 year loan.

 

[bluey]

I consider $29/hr plus health and retirement benefits for an autoworker to be an excessive compensation compared to what many other folks make in similar type jobs.

The reason why these companies are basically bankrupt is their pension plans, not straight salary.

Unions fought hard for this retirement compensation and the auto industry caved in to thier demands. Both sides are equally to blame. Well, now it's time to pay the piper and my simple argument is:

Why do taxpayers have to pay to keep both sides afloat?

If management and labor can't create a viable entity, why should the rest of us be expected to foot the bill?

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

Quote:
The new VW plant is in Chattanooga Tn an its far from on hold. There on the ball. There claiming better sales then ever before in the US. There not worried about Detroit going under, there betting the bank on it. The whole tri state is counting on the small parts factorys that are coming with them.

 

[bluey]

...and there's the rub. With the economy the way it is, there are plenty of folks in the US willing to work in the auto industry for a lot less than UAW wages.

 

[unionwirewoman]

Quote:
Being a UNION member myself ( IBEW , not UAW ) I can only speak for myself about UNIONS . I think alot of people forget that the company also has a desicion on hours , pay scale , and lets not forget....running their company based on future planning and growth . Someone mentioned the companies coming out with the "gas guzzling " SUV's.....I have to ask why anyone would blame the company entirely , since they were obviously popular and sold well . Seems to me the consumer should make an informed desicion before buying .

As far as UNIONS go , I have never heard of a UNION worker getting paid more just because of senority , unless the employer volunteers it , or they are a foreman . I pay $30.00 a month for my UNION dues , small price to pay for the bennies . I can't speak for the UAW members , but most the UNION guys around here bust a$$ because they know they have it good .

 

[G Wiz Ranch]

#1 way to save money is Payroll, from top to bottom. Cut ALL bonus' and incentives.
#2 way to save is streamline production- Ask the unions how they feel about having parts vendors work side by side on the assembly line. Increase automation (robots)
#3 cut excesive costs- race car sponsorships
#4 cut the big 3 some slack on emmision regulations from state to state, come up with a NATIONAL emmisions standard, saves on engineering and parts and processes.

You can't balme all the ceo's in the US for comanies failling, people are not buying, that is the core problem.....NO SALES. We need consumer incentives, like reduced taxes on car sales, reduced DMV fees, buy back of cars older than 20 years old to get them off the road.

 

[unionwirewoman]

Quote:
I'm sure there are alot of people out of work , desperate to make any income at all . It's a sad reality we live in now . I have to ask why anyone would not want to further their lives , though . Being UNION shouldn't be derogatory , it should mean that a person values their skills enough , recognizes that they should be paid good enough , have a contract they signed to protect themselves , and the benefits that everyone deserves , but don't get because there are too many companies out there who try to cut corners to pay there CEO's $1 mil plus a year . If you ask me , point fingers at the company , not the UNION . The UNION workers have negotiations every 2 - 4 years . The negotiations include wage and other bennies . The company always has the right to go non-UNION . What good would that do anyone ? More people working for less wage means more people with less money to spend .

I don't think we should bail out these companies . They can cut costs with lower salaries to CEO's and try to re - negotiate UNION contracts if it is possible . I wouldn't like to get a smaller paycheck.....but a smaller paycheck vs no job...... I think I'd learn to scrimp .

 

[DuckLady]

Please let's not turn this into a union vs non union debate.
Thanks.

 

[conradpdx]

Quote:
Yeah those union guys are smokin' big cigars and wiping their butts with $100.00 bills on the $60,000 dollar a year they make gross. Take out taxes were looking at about $40,000 a year. What have you got against someone making a living wage? I'm mean come on that's smack dab in the middle of a middle class wage.

And if you read the article you'd realize also that the legacy aspects of the business are diminishing for unions. And the reason it isn't such an issue with the foreign plants in the US is because the foreign plants haven't been around long enough to have a significant number of retirees. Give them another 20-30 years and the numbers will be even on the legacy benefits.

And should the big three cut the spending to it's retirees? Should all these people that spent a lifetime on the assembly line suffer.

Give me a break, this whole union argument has nothing to do with the auto industry going down in flames. The whole union issue is one that the Republicans are pushing to break them up so they can't contribute to the Democratic party anymore and the auto exec's also not wanting to deal with the unions anymore. Say what you want but the whole "union" part is just that simple, and it's got nothing to do with the bailout.