Quote:
Originally Posted by Dragoneye
It IS hard to understand unless your one of them...but for a moment, put yourself in their shoes.
Of some 300,000 UAW workers...there's 73,000 left....can you blame them for wanting some kind of job security? btw...I know my numbers are off... 
unkbd, What is it exactly the UAW and GM can't agree on? just VEBA? or is there more? |
To be perfectly honest with you, on this set of contract talks we haven't gotten much more information than the general public. I can address a few things in tags post though which might help clarify.
First, some things to keep in mind to prevent a few arguments:
1. yes times change and both company and union have to change to remain profitable.
2. The union has been more than willing to assist the company with concessions in the middle of the previous contract and at these talks.( more on this later)
3. The UAW is not interested in the demise of the auto manufacturers. The hole GM is in has been created by poor design decisions, inefficient manufacturing processes, and lack of reinvestment in the company(technology to streamline manufacturing processes)
history
In the last contract we(union members) maintained much of what we had, gained some (performance bonus in 1st year and a 3% raise in the 4th year of the 4yr contract.) lost some (retiree benefits, out sourcing some maintenance and construction jobs). There were more changes but those were the items that affected most people.
Midway through the contract a smaller version of the veba for retirees was negotiated in order to help GM. We lost the 3% raise and every quarter a portion of our COLA was taken to help fund this VEBA.
Currently
I cannot speak to the "exact" items but will
italicize what
we have been told, that may or may not have been in the news media.
The VEBA of course is a huge item. To this point the only thing holding that back is the percentage at which GM is going to fund the obligation they already have, which from tags article seems to have already been worked out. I assume the funding will be 65 to 70 cents on the dollar.
I fully expect a two tier wage system to be implimentedwhich will save GM huge amounts of money given the fact that (at my plant) they have not replaced a single worker for any that have retired, or taken the "buyout" that was offered last year. Those jobs were filled by "summer help". If the two tier wage system is passed, gm can replace
some of those jobs at a great cost savings.
Reduction of wages which has been in the media to the tune of $5 an hour. You and I know that most people live on what they make, that being said, a reduction that large would place undue financial stress on a vast majority of the employees. Some say,"$5 phhhtt that is nothing." okay, take your pay and reduce it by 20% and you figure out how to pay your bills. Could it be done? Sure, but would you be happy about it and say okay and reduce your standard of living.
How much longer would it take you to save for your new camaro if you could even afford to get it? On top of the wage reduction what they haven't told you is a
loss of COLA and a health care(medical, dental, eye coverage) deductible.
The out sourcing of jobs and construction projects is another topic near and dear to my heart in particular. This means that GM would increase the number of jobs typically done by union members. Typically these jobs have been given to people not making a "living wage" which is not good for the economy in general. The out sourcing of construction projects affects me directly by reducing the amount of overtime available to me, and allows the company to reduce the number of skilled trades people that they have to keep on the payroll(electricians, millwrights, pipefitters, carpenters etc.) These are good paying jobs, all of them. My contention is that if people are not making a living wage who does GM expect to sell their vehicles to. If you're living paycheck to paycheck/working two jobs, how in the hell can you afford a new vehicle? My point is strengthened by the current Real Estate troubles the country is experiencing.
The job security issue which has been discussed in other threads, is (IMO) largely missunderstood. The UAW is not trying to hamstring GM into staying in the United States. We want assurances that important, good paying jobs will stay in the US. In other words, don't shut down operations in the United States in order to move them to another country. If you want to build cars in China, Mexico, Brazil, etc. go ahead but don't do it at the expense of the American Worker. Building vehicles in other countries only increases GMs bottom line. It doesn't benefit the consumer.....A Tahoe built in Mexico costs the same a one built in my plant. There is no discount on that vehicle even though
everything associated with the production of that Mexican Tahoe with the exception of the parts is lower.
So far those are the "large" issues that I and some others I work with have deduced as being sticking points. If you have read this whole post I thank you and hope that you have come away with a better understanding of what is going on here. Unions are important. I feel that if not for union negotiated good paying jobs, the standard of living in America would not be where it is now.