The United Auto Workers announced a renewed commitment to its strike Saturday, following news of Ford Motor Co. and General Motors possibly laying off thousands of employees.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2023/09/16/uaw-shawn-fain-strike-contract-layoffs-ford-gm/70876910007/
The strike combined with higher gas prices, record inflation, record interest rates, layoffs, a commerical real estate collapse, record consumer/government/corporate debt and geopolitical issues is a perfect storm for the American economy.
Russia just announced no gas or diesel exports; they are a global supplier.
Ch!na is moving military planes near Ta!Wan.
Student loans are due October 1.
Zelenskyy has hat in hand demanding billions more in DC.
16 thousand Illegal migrants enter each day, overwhelming cities...
Where's all this going?
Do you feel good about the state of things?
Fire all UAW. Get rid of the Union.
"Most office folks I know support laying off UAW. They're too greedy."
No, we do not, you stain.
Most office folks I know support laying off UAW. They're too greedy. unreasonable even by their own admission, and don't have a clue how business works. Where do you think the investment money to all these plants came from? Did they think Barra just fa---d it out of thin air? They can't even argue their points well. The UAW president must have been an extortionist before, because this is what it looks like. A grand extortion of the economy, playing to politics and public opinions.
I’ve got a fever, and the only cure is more stock buybacks.
Momma need a new leather jacket!
Labor costs only account for 5% of the sales price of a new vehicle.
Where's the other 95% of the money going?
Agree about stock buybacks.
It's a way to funnel money to people with stock options, who are usually executives.
If you want to return money to shareholders you give a dividend.
If a lot of workers are making 17 an hour, and the top earners are 33 an hour, how are you going to blame them for cars costing as much as a house?
Seems like most of that sales price is going to the executives, billion dollar stock buybacks, and record profits.
Stock buybacks should really be illegal. It's a total misuse of corporate funds.
Why not both?
I think the layoffs are a combination of supply chain problems and retaliation.
The article makes it sound like the automakers are laying employees off for retaliation when in reality they are laying off employees where production is impacted by not having parts from a striking location.
It makes sense that there are going to be big three layoffs in non striking locations because they won’t be able to build cars since the supply chain is being disrupted. We’ll start seeing suppliers laying off soon too.
It’s a very different style of striking this time. I see how it can be more impactful and keep the strike fund solvent for longer, but I wonder how the UAW employees feel about this different kind of strike when some will be on strike vs being laid off. From my understanding those striking get strike and those laid off end up on unemployment (not sure if layoff subsidies apply to stokes) so there won’t be similar compensation.
Who cares about the strike? If you don’t like the pay quit and get a job somewhere else. Oh wait you can’t because you don’t have a degree. But you want those that do to buy cars that cost as much as my first home. This is crazy land.
Once again, a half-baked post.
WHY won't the plan work?
WHAT plan?
I'll make sense out of this because the OP can't.
GM and Ford is trying to gain leverage by doing mass layoffs of plant workers who aren't striking. 600 at Ford, 2000 at GM this round. This will cause financial pain and stress and muck up the UAW's plan of strategic strikes. It will demoralize plant workers.
UAW's head said this: "Let's be clear: If the Big Three decide to lay people off who aren't on strike, that's them trying to put the squeeze on our members to settle for less."
"Their plan won’t work. The UAW will make sure any worker laid off in the Big Three’s latest attack will not go without an income," Fain said. "We’ll organize one day longer than they can and go the distance to win economic and social justice at the Big Three."
So here's the thing. Laying people off WILL WORK because it will drain the UAW's fund very quickly. GM and Ford have all the leverage and will continue to do so. Fain's plan was half-baked just like the OP's post. Weak sauce gets weak results. It's a shame really.
The UAW has also not been effective at illuminating the fact that many hired after 2007 make 17 dollars an hour. People hear about a 40% raise and shake their fists at it. The don't know it elevates a $17 hour rate to only $23 over the course of 4 years. That's PATHETIC. There are people working at McDonalds that make that. Only the top earners make $33/hr.