Strike!!

Strike!!

They have been showing the picket lines at our local GM plant here in Lordstown, Ohio. The strike started at about noon today.

This is an area where the unemployment rate is about 7 percent and even $8 entry level jobs are hard to find. I think they said that the UAW is out on strike in places like Michigan also.

I have a friend who was an accountant for GM who told me about 8 years ago that the average GM wage was $37 per hour. I guess they will never quit - until they run GM into bankruptcy like they did Delphi - who is struggling to get out of bankruptcy.
 
This is by no means ment to be offensive. But I don't understand why these people would ever strike. I know they make at least 25 dollars an hour at an automotive plant, and most of these workers are highschool graduates who could be replaced and have some new person trained to do their job in a week. They also won't find a job that pays that much for someone who is only a highschool graduate anywhere.

Although I don't know if money is why they're on stike, just my guess.
 
Every year union membership declines. The reason is that the unions raise the cost of doing business in this country thus forcing companies into bankruptcy or forcing them to move offshore. Union membership in the private sector has been declining over the years and is now down to about 7 percent.

Union membership in the government sector is up to about 43 percent. The reason for this is the fact that you can't put the government out of business because they operate on tax collections; and do not have any accountability to the public, nor do they have to live with real world market business conditions. If they want more money they just raise your taxes. You have no choice because they collect taxes at the end of a gun.

The cato institute did a study of Government vs private sector wages and benefits. Federal workers make double the wages of the private sector - including benefits. Between the unions and the government handing over whatever the unions want the wages in this country are getting way out of wack. When was the last time you saw a government agency out on strike? Doesn't happen.

It almost seems that the private sector has become the serfdom of the elitist government who is now the do all and end all of this Republic. This is dyslexic - it is to be just the opposite - the government is to be the servants of the people and the private sector, which is the generator of wealth. The government does not produce one cent in earnings and is total overhead. The main reason is the continual encroachment of Socialism. The voters are really taken in by the idea of an easy and guaranteed life - care from the cradle to the grave. We are putting ourselves in the care of a huge bureaucracy.
 
It's always been my opinion that everyone who strikes should be immediatley fired, and replaced by workers who are willing to work for much less ($15 an hour) and people who appreciate the value of working.
It's against Union laws to fire specific people for striking, they are protected from that. However GM could lawfully fire EVERYONE and rehire.
They should.
 
I would not go as far as JeremiahD84, those folks have families to support. We had a union grocerey chain in Louisiana- there was a strike- it went on for 2 years- the people wound up loding their jobs and the company went out of business- a no win situation. Those folks were making an average of $2.00 per hour more than anyone in the vicinty and had better benefits. Companies and employees need each other and should be willing to examine each others claims with an open mind. I fear with GM on the brink of bankruptcy it may not be the right time to squeeze their company.
 
to many laws affects business.if i was an employer give more when good less when earning less.but be fair.not an exploiter.
 
I would not go as far as JeremiahD84, those folks have families to support. We had a union grocerey chain in Louisiana- there was a strike- it went on for 2 years- the people wound up loding their jobs and the company went out of business- a no win situation. Those folks were making an average of $2.00 per hour more than anyone in the vicinty and had better benefits. Companies and employees need each other and should be willing to examine each others claims with an open mind. I fear with GM on the brink of bankruptcy it may not be the right time to squeeze their company.

Larry,
Delphi, which has a lot of operations here locally, is a sister company of GM that makes electrical equipment for cars - it has been in bankruptcy for some time now. Part of the bailout was to renegotiate a new labor contract with the unions. The wage scale (not benefits)went from about $27 per hour to $16. So I guess the Union finally saw the writing on the wall. This may also happen with GM one of these days - but probably not until they file for bankrupcy also. Unions are like leeches - they cannot exist alone but die without a host.

We lived in Cincinnati for 24 years before I left that area GM closed down two large operations - the Norwood Assembly Plant, and Fisher Body as well. It ws a big loss to the area. I expect that one or the other will happen here as well. You are right - now is not the time for Union business as usual.
 
A cut in pay would still leave them with decent paying jobs- this has got to be better than nothing. Nobody likes to go backwards but sometimes we have to consider the cost of being unyielding.
 
A cut in pay would still leave them with decent paying jobs- this has got to be better than nothing. Nobody likes to go backwards but sometimes we have to consider the cost of being unyielding.

I think I read where about 3,000,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost over the past few years. The high paying production jobs are being lost to foreign markets. Unions are costing jobs but they are only a minority. Most manufacturing jobs are moving to China.
When I was in communist China in the mid 90's the workers pay was $22 dollars per month for six days a week. There is a huge rush for foreign companies to go there and take their equipment and technology with them.

The real culprit is us - we buy foreign goods because of the pricing. If we didn't - the jobs would remain here. I think it is that simple. The taxes. wages, energy costs, and benefits are so high here that it is becoming very difficult to operate in the USA. My business went under last year and our sales was about 2 million and our last full years payroll was $525,000 or about one quarter and we were paying $8 to $13 hr. Raw materials was our greatest controllable cost. We just couldn't pass on our ever increasing costs.
 
Larry,
Delphi, which has a lot of operations here locally, is a sister company of GM that makes electrical equipment for cars - it has been in bankruptcy for some time now. Part of the bailout was to renegotiate a new labor contract with the unions. The wage scale (not benefits)went from about $27 per hour to $16. So I guess the Union finally saw the writing on the wall. This may also happen with GM one of these days - but probably not until they file for bankrupcy also. Unions are like leeches - they cannot exist alone but die without a host.

We lived in Cincinnati for 24 years before I left that area GM closed down two large operations - the Norwood Assembly Plant, and Fisher Body as well. It ws a big loss to the area. I expect that one or the other will happen here as well. You are right - now is not the time for Union business as usual.


Did you originally live in Michigan? Cause I live just outside of Flint, where there was a plant called Fisher Body. My grandpa retired from there but it was closed down. Flint is a horrible slum now because of the loss of it's automotive business. I'm pretty sure Flint is either 2nd or 3rd highest (in the nation) in violent crime. It's getting worse every day.
 
Did you originally live in Michigan? Cause I live just outside of Flint, where there was a plant called Fisher Body. My grandpa retired from there but it was closed down. Flint is a horrible slum now because of the loss of it's automotive business. I'm pretty sure Flint is either 2nd or 3rd highest (in the nation) in violent crime. It's getting worse every day.

No, but I did get up to Owosso from time to time. The company that I worked for had a factory there.

What year did they close down the Fisher Body plant?

In 2005 Youngstown beat Flint 44 to 40 - in murders (per 100,000 population). We were number one in the country in 1997. I wish we were talking about football scores - it's pretty sad the living conditions of the inner cities these days. Poverty is certainly an issue. I wish the government would wake up and start caring properly for the flocks of geese who are laying the golden eggs. (Small businesses)

My business failed (max 23 employees) a year ago after 14 years. The government keeps heaping more and more taxes and regulations on businesses to a point where they choke them to death. It was a disaster for us when the petroleum industry spiked as our raw material and fuel costs shot up nearly 300 percent in two years. (no energy policy) It is impossible to pass on this type of increase - throwing you into a long term loss situation. Government regulators shut me down in a single day with their outrageous demands for DOT pipe.
 
Wed September 26th. The strike is over. The CBS "Early Show" posted a graphic showing that The GM autoworkers make $73 per hour including benefits.
 
Only $73.00 per hour- how will these poor souls make it? :eek:
 
Only $73.00 per hour- how will these poor souls make it? :eek:

I know - It's a shame because if GM wasn't so greedy they would probably be making $120 hr. :)

No we don't have to worry about the well being of this group for sure. They have priced me out of the market for a new car I know.

Back in Wilmington, Delaware in 1963 I was offered a job at the assembly plant for $2.58 per hour - how things have changed - huh?
 
I cna remember my first job- at $1.95 per hour is was making 30 cents an hour over minimum wage- I was living large!:D
 
Wed September 26th. The strike is over. The CBS "Early Show" posted a graphic showing that The GM autoworkers make $73 per hour including benefits.

That's including benefits, so they don't actually make that right?

Businessweek said:
[FONT=arial,helvetica,univers] UAW workers aren't there yet, but the clock is ticking. It is becoming increasingly difficult to justify their outsize wages and benefits. Yes, the UAW will forgo most pay raises for the next two years, but their $25 an hour is still 50% better than what the average plant worker now makes. UAW workers still get free health care. They also have pensions; half of manufacturing workers and most employees don't. Perhaps most astounding, the $752 annual premium that their retirees will pay for family medical coverage is just one-fourth the contribution that the average working family pays in the U.S.

Just trying to get some facts here.
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Only $25 per hour- things are getting bad- LOL! Healthcare here is about $140 per week per family. Try paying that on a grocery stock clerks pay of $8.00 to $9.00 per hour- ouch - now those guys do have my sympathy.
 
I think they are striking to GET the $25. From what I could find, it seemed more like they were getting 13/15 right now. At least, that was what GM posted for their end of quarter reports.
 
That's including benefits, so they don't actually make that right?

Just trying to get some facts here.
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Here is a NYT graphic showing corrected hourly wages to 2004 dollars. The chart only goes up to the year 2000. No mention of benefits. If you project it up seven years it would be around $40 hr?

Graph

Another site said...

G M W a g e s
Total Compensation: $46.17 per hour (1998)

The total of both cash compensation and benefits provided to GM hourly workers in 1998 amounted to approximately $46.17 per active hour worked. This total is made of two main components: cash compensation ($29.15) and benefits and government required programs ($17.02).

The average annual cash compensation for hourly employees in 1998 was $29.15 per hour. Included in average earnings are straight-time pay, COLA, night-shift premiums, overtime premiums, holiday and vacation pay and performance and profit sharing. In 1996, GM workers logged 71,621 in overtime hours for an average of 435 hours per worker; in 1997, 69,037 overtime hours for an average of 435 hours per worker; and in 1998, 62,004 overtime hours for an average of 457 hours per worker.

Don't know how CBS came up with the number of $73 hr. Does overtime raise the average? Don't know - the numbers are all over the place. I guess it all depends on how the data was collected.
 
I make less then half what they make, and I'm content...ish. A bit annoyed that I did not get a raise this year.
 
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