Comments on: Learning v. contracts http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2008/learning-v-contracts Locally owned and operated from Cleveland, OH since 2002 Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:07:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Bud Perry http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2008/learning-v-contracts/comment-page-1#comment-2835 Bud Perry Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:46:23 +0000 http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/?p=792#comment-2835 It seems to be a topic of discussion at parties and on blogs that the foreign auto makers' plants on American soil are non-union. Thank you for pointing out (obscurely) that this is simply not true. The UAW has contracts with nearly every automaker in America, foreign-born or not. The real difference came at the ridiculous stance Richard Wagoner, CEO of GM, took when asked about creating fuel efficient cars and hybrids, "we will not make them, America doesn't want them!". I don't see how the Union holds any responsibility for Wagoner's mentality. GM ended up spending millions on advertising and building large gs-guzzling SUVs despite his foreign competitors building smaller and more fuel-efficient cars. He paid little to no attention to the sales figures. Now he's in trouble..go figure! It seems to be a topic of discussion at parties and on blogs that the foreign auto makers’ plants on American soil are non-union. Thank you for pointing out (obscurely) that this is simply not true. The UAW has contracts with nearly every automaker in America, foreign-born or not. The real difference came at the ridiculous stance Richard Wagoner, CEO of GM, took when asked about creating fuel efficient cars and hybrids, “we will not make them, America doesn’t want them!”. I don’t see how the Union holds any responsibility for Wagoner’s mentality. GM ended up spending millions on advertising and building large gs-guzzling SUVs despite his foreign competitors building smaller and more fuel-efficient cars. He paid little to no attention to the sales figures. Now he’s in trouble..go figure!

]]> By: Bill Callahan http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2008/learning-v-contracts/comment-page-1#comment-2795 Bill Callahan Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:39:07 +0000 http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/?p=792#comment-2795 The UAW <a href="http://www.uaw.org/contracts/07/ford/hrly/ford_hr06.php">has been bargaining</a> for a more traditional form of insourcing -- bringing component manufacturing back into the Big 3's own plants by encouraging those plants (i.e. the union) to bid competitively against outside suppliers, with those new "insourced" jobs classified as new hires at the $14-per-hour pay level. With work forces shrinking across the board, this is probably the only way for the UAW's new-hire pay concessions to have a significant impact on the companies' total labor costs. But of course it also creates competitive pressure on outside suppliers. Also, <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070822/AUTO01/708220407/1148">here's the full Detroit News article about the Camacari Ford plant </a> which seems to have given rise to the video. Note that Camacari <i>is a union plant</i> -- not the UAW, but the Brazilian ABC Metalworkers Union, which is <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN04115020080904">not exactly a pushover.</a> The UAW has been bargaining for a more traditional form of insourcing — bringing component manufacturing back into the Big 3’s own plants by encouraging those plants (i.e. the union) to bid competitively against outside suppliers, with those new “insourced” jobs classified as new hires at the $14-per-hour pay level.

With work forces shrinking across the board, this is probably the only way for the UAW’s new-hire pay concessions to have a significant impact on the companies’ total labor costs. But of course it also creates competitive pressure on outside suppliers.

Also, here’s the full Detroit News article about the Camacari Ford plant which seems to have given rise to the video. Note that Camacari is a union plant — not the UAW, but the Brazilian ABC Metalworkers Union, which is not exactly a pushover.

]]> By: John Colm http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2008/learning-v-contracts/comment-page-1#comment-2794 John Colm Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:41:57 +0000 http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/?p=792#comment-2794 I agree that the wage differential isn't the driver for US automaker's current challenges. But US management and the UAW share responsibility for only now entering the "competitive" range (compared to the foreign transplants) in terms of time to build, quick changeover of tooling to switch from model to model, reliability, fuel economy, safety, innovative design, etc. See this clip of Ford's new plant in Brazil. These aren't being built here in the US, in part due to union opposition to "insourcing" or co-location of supplier plants with Ford's own plant: http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189 I agree that the wage differential isn’t the driver for US automaker’s current challenges. But US management and the UAW share responsibility for only now entering the “competitive” range (compared to the foreign transplants) in terms of time to build, quick changeover of tooling to switch from model to model, reliability, fuel economy, safety, innovative design, etc.

See this clip of Ford’s new plant in Brazil. These aren’t being built here in the US, in part due to union opposition to “insourcing” or co-location of supplier plants with Ford’s own plant:
http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189

]]> By: Ed Morrison http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2008/learning-v-contracts/comment-page-1#comment-2786 Ed Morrison Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:22:40 +0000 http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/?p=792#comment-2786 Vince: Thanks for the link! Vince:

Thanks for the link!

]]> By: VincentPerricelli http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2008/learning-v-contracts/comment-page-1#comment-2782 VincentPerricelli Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:29:41 +0000 http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/?p=792#comment-2782 Michael Barone has written a possibly relevant <a href="http://www.usnews.com/blogs/barone/2008/12/15/who-is-at-fault-for-the-decline-of-the-big-three.html">blog entry</a> about the historical basis ("Taylorism" versus unionism) for the current automaker-UAW relationship. Michael Barone has written a possibly relevant blog entry about the historical basis (“Taylorism” versus unionism) for the current automaker-UAW relationship.

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