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2008-12-20 Home Front Economy

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Posted by Fred 2008-12-20 00:00|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1 The union has already made "substantial sacrifices" to help make the Big Three automakers more competitive,
Yeah.... right....

Well if the big three start permanently shutting down factories, then the UAW (or rather their workers) will make "substantial sacrifices".

You just can't continue to lose money on every product you sell and expect to stay in business. Isn't this taught in 'Business 101' or something?

I'm sure the union bosses won't have to make any 'sacrifices'..... The Democrats will insure that.

Posted by CrazyFool 2008-12-20 00:46|| 2008-12-20 00:46|| Front Page Top

#2 I'll know the big 3 are serious when they start to move their factories South to Right To Work states. Though it seems that Ford thinks they have a handle on things at this time.

Having Congress and the UAW running the show ought to kill off GM and Chrysler in minimum time.

Posted by tipover 2008-12-20 01:06|| 2008-12-20 01:06|| Front Page Top

#3 $17.4B This is GWB's bridge to nowhere.

Posted by Muggsy Glink 2008-12-20 02:16|| 2008-12-20 02:16|| Front Page Top

#4 Doesn't Ford have factories abroad?

Posted by trailing wife">trailing wife 2008-12-20 07:48|| 2008-12-20 07:48|| Front Page Top

#5 Going on strike are they? (Waiting until after the holiday 95% paid vacation of course) Well that settles it.

Posted by Besoeker 2008-12-20 08:15|| 2008-12-20 08:15|| Front Page Top

#6 The UAW doesn't seem to grasp their dire position. When the layoffs and closings REALLY start, how long will that jobs fund hold out?

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-12-20 09:25|| 2008-12-20 09:25|| Front Page Top

#7 The UAW isn't afraid of plant closings, and the companies cant move operations south because all the current workers will just go on 'job bank'

Posted by Abu do you love">Abu do you love 2008-12-20 10:46|| 2008-12-20 10:46|| Front Page Top

#8 The UAW knows Bush is now gutless and won't let GM go BK in his last month in office. Harry and ~~Sally~~ Nancy will bail them out as soon as The Messiah is anointed.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-12-20 11:22|| 2008-12-20 11:22|| Front Page Top

#9 abu do love you they have already started too move factories south. they closed one near Atlanta about a year ago. But anyway if they moved those plants into my neighborhood most folks would readily take a paycut over what most the folks are making just too keep a job

Posted by rabid whitetail 2008-12-20 12:06|| 2008-12-20 12:06|| Front Page Top

#10 The UAW doesn't seem to grasp their dire position.

You confuse the worker with the leadership. The 'leadership' could give a rat's ass about the future of their workers. It's about power, all the way down into the bunker. Rational people saw the 'writing on the wall' a long time ago, but the leadership isn't about rational. It's about power. The lemmings are just along for the ride [like the other true believing lemmings who've dragged the rest of us along with the Donk's unsustainable socialist agenda].

Posted by P2k on holiday 2008-12-20 12:29|| 2008-12-20 12:29|| Front Page Top

#11 Two choices, gentlemen. Restructure or death.

Posted by Mike N. 2008-12-20 13:48|| 2008-12-20 13:48|| Front Page Top

#12 Love the in lines. The one you forgot is UAW members paid $75/hour are going to be sucking off the teat of people earning half that.

Posted by regular joe 2008-12-20 14:37|| 2008-12-20 14:37|| Front Page Top

#13 You just can't continue to lose money on every product you sell and expect to stay in business.

But you can always make it up on volume, right?

Posted by SteveS 2008-12-20 17:26|| 2008-12-20 17:26|| Front Page Top

#14 RJ, I'll bash the UAW with the best, but nobody is being paid $75/hour to work on the line at any car company. That figure is the total personnel cost divided by each hour of labor. It includes the pay to the employee (about $28/hour, I believe. So 56K$/year is still good pay, but not $75/hour.), benefits to the employee including employer Social Security, health care pension provision, dental, vision, and non-direct employee costs such as retiree health care, unfunded retiree pension, and job bank. It probably includes the cost of the HR organization as well.

So does it cost a lot for GM to have workers? Yes. Does it all go to the guy on the line? No.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-12-20 17:40|| 2008-12-20 17:40|| Front Page Top

#15 NS is correct, the $75/hr quote includes all compensation, including health/pension/jobs bank/union squeak/etc. That said, the Southern autoworker $48/hr often-quoted includes same. YMMV, but not your facts, UAW.

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-12-20 18:12|| 2008-12-20 18:12|| Front Page Top

#16 anyone i know here in the south that works in any kind of plant that makes anything that goes into a car would feel "lucky" too make $20 an hr so where do they pull these figures out of? Executives pay included?

Posted by rabid whitetail 2008-12-20 18:52|| 2008-12-20 18:52|| Front Page Top

#17 IIUC - they are "average pay" = total compensation (UAW positions)/number of workers (UAW positions). Please someone correct me if that's wrong. I don't believe it includes Exec (non-UAW) positions

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-12-20 19:33|| 2008-12-20 19:33|| Front Page Top

#18 I believe it's total UAW cost, active and retired, divided by UAW hours. So if they have non-union hourlies, which I doubt, they aren't in it either.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2008-12-20 19:44|| 2008-12-20 19:44|| Front Page Top

#19 thx NS

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-12-20 20:25|| 2008-12-20 20:25|| Front Page Top

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