The UAW Gears Up

    This is going to be a tough fight for our sisters and brothers in the UAW (of which I am a member). The Wall Street Journal has a story previewing the bargaining convention taking place in Detroit next week:

United Auto Workers union leaders will convene in Detroit next week for a critical collective bargaining convention against the backdrop of hard times for the U.S. auto makers and suppliers that anchor the 72-year-old union's membership.

The convention, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, is a longstanding ritual for the UAW in the runup to national contract talks with Detroit's Big Three, which begin this summer. In the past, UAW leaders used the convention to rally their troops to seek improvements in job security, pay and health-care benefits.

But this year, the UAW will confront intense pressure from the auto makers to give up hard-won gains, amid the most difficult environment for the unionized U.S. auto industry since the dark years of the recession and energy shocks of the early 1980s.

    Shake your head time for this little nugget:

At the same time, GM and Ford have announced plans to give bonuses or stock awards to top management -- reflecting the diverging markets for skilled, managerial talent and UAW hourly workers who increasingly are measured against lower wage, nonunion workers in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.

    Well, sure, it may be true that UAW members are competing against lower wage workers. But, the "diverging markets" relative to pay have more to do with the unbelievable corporate greed, not some competitive issue. Executive pay abroad is not close to the outsized packages that the pigs in our corporate suites seem to believe they are entitled to.

    Yesterday, I pointed out that GM executives have no shame in their excessive greed. In today's piece, a UAW leader asks the same question:

"Why do they deem it necessary to reward these executives with exorbitant bonuses?" asked Rick Vargesko, president of UAW local 544, whose members work at a GM metal-fabrication plant in West Mifflin, Pa. Recalling the union's acceptance of buyouts in the past two years to help GM rein in costs, he added, "I thought we were in this together. Are we saving this company or not?"

    The answer is that auto executives don't really care about saving the industry if they end up with huge pay and pensions--they figure that they can land somewhere else if the company goes under (failure in the corporate suite has never been a barrier to future employment) or retire somewhere and live off the pile of money they've socked away--money that the rank-and-file workers they are about to screw made for the company. Is this a great system, or what?

Comments

[Sam Adams]

Hmmm let me think a little bit about the UAW. A great organization who employs mostly bums who think there factories owe them something. I have heard so many BS stories in my town it makes me gag and I will never buy a UAW built car. Let see here is one for you, 50 assigned to a shift, 12 show up to work, wow nice they won't get in trouble because they are UAW members. Ok, another night 30 assigned, 5 show up to work, wow great work performance there. You people want a new nice contract for what backing people who don't want to work. B.S. The UAW needs to step up and remove most the bums in these prestigious factories. I mean being a union member use to mean you built a better product, well the American eye has finally noticed this to be wrong. Why buy a $30,000 car to have the tranny break in 2 years or hell to just stop running and the warrenty not to cover the problem. So UAW step up and build the cars you use to build in the 60-70's. Maybe then you'll over take over the quality built Toyota. Toyota's last, UAW doesn't why do you think most UAW members lease them!

[John Lawson]

I have to agree with Sam on this one. I work in UAW factories and I have to say. What a bunch of losers. I walk down the alternator assembly line for instance and there is no one working, machines are running, parts are flying by, but as you walk past the line this person is reading a book, next one is eating, next one is just gone, next one on their cell talking, next ones are talking and not working. I had repair work do in the ladies restrooms and you couldn't get in them because there would be 3 or 4 female employees sleeping in there (I might add the men's RR had no one sleeping in them)
Hint, hint because their male supervisor couldn't enter the ladies restroom. I had to enter them in order to fix a problem created by vandalism from people that work there! Unbelievable! These people are making 30 dollars an hour! To sleep. NO WAY am I buying a car from you. I have a friend that works in an automotive factory in Kokomo, IN. and they look forward to playing golf on Wed. while on the clock! Making $30 an hour and he is just a regular worker. They spend there week plotting how to do as little work as possible and still get paid. UAW is for people that can't hack it in the real world and free loading female employees that will file a grievance over anything that piss them off slowing production even further and costing even more money. The UAW needs to take a hard look at its members. Most want to get paid for doing nothing, and did, and now you are paying the price. I am a manager for a large global company. I higher people all over the Mid-West. As soon as that person I'm interviewing mentions they were in the UAW, interview over, you have no chance of working for this company because we have to produce real results for the company I work for. I also service Subaru, and Toyota plants and there is a world of difference. You walk in their plants and EVERYONE is working. Place is spotless, and running like a finely tuned machine, Nothing like the mess you see in UAW plants. If you people won't work for $30 plus dollars an hour, what will you work for? You all better grab a gear and get down off your high horse, because the global market is closing in on you fast!

[mickie g]

I think placing every uaw worker under the same category is being unfair.I'v worked for meny large corporations an found that every company has similar issues, it didn't seem to matter if they had a union or not. I'v worked for teamsters and uaw and I am proud of the work we all do. You will always, in every company have bad apples and eventually they get whats comming to them,like time off with out pay up to 30 days then they are fired.
I don't consider myself a looser I am a female and a hard worker who takes pride in what I do and who I work for so calling all uaw workers loosers in ignorence on your part.
If you are stating that uaw is for people who can't hack it in the real world my question to you is have you ever worked on any prodution line? The repetitvenes and or doing the samething over and over again millions of times, day in and day out. I'm not saying that people should not be punished or fired or givin warnings, And some people deserve another chance. odviously you have to much time on your hands to be worring about what everyone else is doing. I would even give you another chance knowing that your position is not to fallow or worry about everyone else.And as far as buying a uaw vehicle that is your loss. Hope your happy supporting american jobs and don't let the sparkle of a shinny place full ya. Sometimes the best food comes out of a dummpy dive.
Proud to be a UAW GM worker 18.5 yrs

[BA]

OMG! Mickie have you ever heard of spell check?

I'v - it's I've
Ignorence - ignorance (yours)
Reptitvenes - repetitiveness
Fallow - (no idea what you meant there)
Full ya - fool you

Please don't post anymore here. You make all UAW workers look like idiots. Your post reflects about a 6th grade education. Pray you don't loose your day job.