Senior

Tell that to someone out of work.

urbexHHR

They assume that they have the power to do that..but they don't! They think they can just get another job if GM fires them, well they'll be in for a surprise!!! They probably can't even find one for minimum wage! (This article has to do with the Flint Truck and Bus Assembly, so believe me, I know what's in the Flint area....NOTHING!)

Being an unemployed person, I know that there are NO jobs out there right now, not even minimum wage. I've been looking in the Flint/Saginaw area for some time now, and there just is nothing out there! They need to understand that!!!

Senior

I wouldn't blame it all on the UAW. GM, Ford, & Chrysler all signed these contracts just like the dealer signed an agreement of the price you paid and trade in value when you bought your care. BTW was it retail or did you negotiate down?

pg318

I don't think that, at least looking at the short term effects, there was a lot of choice. In England the delivery drivers at Ford were extremely well paid, close to double the product engineering job I applied for many years ago. Why? Because a strike by this fairly small number of employees would shut a plant down in just a day or two, so it wasn't worth the fight. They were valued not by the contribution they made to the operation, but the damage they could do to it by opposing the management. Product engineers can't damage this quarter's revenues, their effects are generally a few years away, and hence not worth as much in a company driven by short term results, so with two master's degrees I can't earn near as much as a guy with a driving license and a union card in a job I couldn't get into - the driving positions were pretty well awarded by family connections and invitation.

IgottaWoody

A big company like GM could not afford to play games with the UAW for alot of reasons..the main one is money.Dont these guys still get paid even while on strike? Can't train a new crew overnite either..that is if they can safetly get across the lines. Basically they had to sign the contracts or shut down. What kind of choice is that? Makes you wonder who controlled the reins too.Between aircraft and auto, the unions sure made a mess, and are now trying to grab whatever grounds they can, before they get booted out for good.Just look what happened to the steel industry. You want ALL our autos built overseas too? Yeah..unions priced themselves right out of a job.No more triple time and the rest of those outragous perks.Anybody can slow down a production line to flaunt them.$10 hr may not be much,, but there is a ladder to climb, and that doesn't mean ALL the jobs are that price...thats just starting pay.I remember all the complaining when United Airlines shut down Indy and they had to work "STANDARD" wages. Its karma.....

urbexHHR

amen!