Is anyone worried, as I am, about the looming UAW- Delphi - GM debacle?

'05 owners, get an '06 diff before you can't buy one?!


CNN reported today:
bankrupt auto-parts supplier Delphi asked a bankruptcy court to throw out its union contracts and the United Auto Workers union vowed a long and crippling strike in that event.

Such a strike would quickly halt production at GM as well, but its union contract would require it to keep paying workers, hemorrhaging up to an estimated $1 billion a week in additional losses at a company that posted a $10.6 billion net loss in 2005. Many worry an economy-rattling GM bankruptcy filing would follow.


This tough turn comes on the heels of a long list of problems that have been front and center in recent weeks:
- The recent restatement of results that raise already staggering net losses. - A criminal probe looking at its relationship with suppliers.
- A criminal probe looking at its relationship with suppliers.

- Labor costs so out of whack that it's worth it to the automaker to pay employees $140,000 just to go away.
- Negotiations to sell a majority stake of it one major profit engine, GMAC.
- Shares of GM, which have lost almost a third of their value over the past 12 months, were down Friday morning but had recovered by Friday afternoon.
"The bad news certainly isn't going to end for a while," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research.

UAW strikes, and they essentially hasten their demise with Delphi. GM will ride it out, the bankruptcy court will be sympathetic to the realities with today's world.

Score: GM =1, UAW = 0

Legal and binding contracts are contested daily in court, the UAW is past its prime and had no succession plan for it members--the world no longer revolves as the Unions would have its members think it does. Party over...

UAW strikes, and they essentially hasten their demise with Delphi. GM will ride it out, the bankruptcy court will be sympathetic to the realities with today's world.

Score: GM =1, UAW = 0

Legal and binding contracts are contested daily in court, the UAW is past its prime and had no succession plan for it members--the world no longer revolves as the Unions would have its members think it does. Party over...

Exactly... too bad this thread will be moved to the forum where we'll all quit looking at it.

Couldnt care less, UAW gets what they deserve, GM whines to the govt and will get what they want. The economy depends on the auto industry being a player.


F

I'm a union supporter and union worker and believe in unionizing I believe that without the unions in America we would not have develop quickly as a society or have the wages some of us do. That being said I do believe it's time for the UAW to step up to the plate to help GM and Delphi out by being team players cause in the end GM will be back on top again and then they will have to come up with a better plan for the workers. Believe me It works both ways it so happens, I work for a company that has avoided bankruptcy and is on the way back and are union stepped up.

Ill never forget when I worked at UPS and lost my job cause of the union stike...

Oh and they stabbed one of the non-union drivers in the leg one day at work.

Guess its a double edge sword, if you were in the union you got your job back with a raise if you were non-union your arse was fried twice, once by the angry mob and then by the company.

UPS pays top dollar though :)

oh im ranting never mind...

Florian is my bitch..

No way the government is going to let the workers strike.

FWIW, I hope the UAW gets crushed in short order.

Apparently GM is selling 51% of their company.

All the discussion about the UAW and Unions misses a major point or two;
1. The contracts that exist with Delphi (and GM) are the result of the collective bargaining process that has two parties at the table. The company and the Union failed over a long period of time to realize the fragility of the US automotive industry and particularly the vulnerability to competition of all types, including foreign.
2. I expect that it is recognized that unions are made of individuals, of people with hopes, dreams, incentive, and people who with the right leadership will be agents of the kind of change needed to permit manufacturing operations to continue in the US. From my reading of problems we've had with our vehicles, workmanship in the assembly plant or in the component plants isn't what's wrong. Our problems are coming more from the design and configuration of the car for what we intend to use it - an issue for the designers, the product planning people, the warranty administration people, the product cost/financial decision makers - but not an issue that has its roots with the implied capabilty shortcomings of (union) people.
It is time for action, but not of the kind that breaks GM or the UAW.

Yesterday morning ABC news seemed to think GM bankruptcy was very possible, almost a likely outcome.

Rob't Reich (former labor sec'y) said that less than 10% of the U.S. workforce is unionized. I dunno if I believe that. Anyway, they were saying that this would break unions once and for all.
Is that a bad thing?

Some plants and shrubs need to be cut back to the ground when they quit blooming. Most come back stronger than ever.

Some people believe that labor unions are the reason why our auto industry is in the fix that it's in. The Teamsters proved that they never had their employees' best interest at heart. It was all about having the power and the pension money.

Maybe this was all planned.

"UAW strikes, and they essentially hasten their demise with Delphi. GM will ride it out, the bankruptcy court will be sympathetic to the realities with today's world"
Guess again. Bankruptcy courts are not sympathetic, neither is the government. No one is going to bail them out. The writing is on the wall. The auto industry only need to look at the airline industry to see their future. The contracts and pensions the UAW has were agreed upon in good times when there was no foreign competition. Times have changed and unions don't give back hard earned pay and benfits until they are forced to. Been there, done that. The "global economy" is taking its toll on this country. It will take some time, just like degregulation took 25 years to bring the airline industry down. The "global economy" is bringing the rest of the worlds workers up at the expense of the US. Gone are the days when you did better than your parents and you knew your kids would do better than you. All the jobs are going overseas. Just look around, try to buy an american made TV, VCR, DVD, camera. Half the parts on our American made Caddy's are made overseas. It is a very sad situation, not only for GM, it's emplyees and retirees who gave so many years of service, but for this country as well. The playing field is uneven and GM will have no choice but to go chapter 11 to level it. Ford and Chrysler will be unable to compete and will have no choice but to follow. Just look at the airline industry. Talk about a domino effect. When you look at what is happening and project it into the future, it is not a pretty picture I am sad to say. May "God bless America". I think we are going to need it.

Ill never forget when I worked at UPS (stood for Up my Poop Shoot) and lost my job cause I blew the shop steward in front of 400 guys with cameras...cant imagine why....

Florian is my bitch..

From the above story mr.stang...I think the tables have turned...:thepan:

lol



F

I believe that without the unions in America we would not have develop quickly as a society

This is an interesting point and one that could certainly be argued, however I would contend that unions are the primary cause of the decline of American labor, which was once the backbone of the American economy and therefore an integral part of society.

American labor was a proud symbol of a young nation's drive toward global industrial dominance. American work ethic was second to none and the efficiency with which product could be built, assembled and delivered was unlike anything the world had seen. The abundance of wealth throughout these industries gave rise to a new concept, one where the workers shared in this great abundance and wealth would be distributed throughout the company. Management conceded and workers found new wealth as the middle class grew to new heights and America's standard of living became the envy of the world. But the unions couldn't stop there, they needed more to justify their existence and dues. Job security became a prime concern and concessions were given to ensure that even the laziest, most incompetent individual still had the right to a well-paying job. Work performance and compensation were no longer used in the same sentence.

Slowly over time, as more and more of these worthless people managed to infiltrate the work pool of these once great corporate giants, their sloth like work ethic and entitlement attitudes soured even the hardest working and most grateful individuals on the hourly payrolls. Efficiency dropped along with quality, despite the availability of new technologies and highly automated factories. Technology and automation meant less people to pay dues, so tasks had to be as free of automation as possible to ensure everyone had work, and those that didn't, well they should still get paid too, just in case they are needed for a hot new product, because finding someone new to screw on lug nuts can be an exhaustive process.

American labor began to look less and less lucrative as the unions grew in strength and won one concession after another. The abundance began to dry up, but the entitlement mindset was so firmly entrenched that unions could only demand more. Management threatened that union concessions had to be made or everyone would lose their job, but union concession was nothing more than an oxymoron.

When product from developed and undeveloped countries began flooding the market with comparable and oftentimes better quality than the domestic equivalent, American consumerism took over and any jingoistic notions were soon forgotten; by this time the phrase "Made in America" no longer stood for quality and workmanship but rather overpriced and inferior.

To stay in business American companies began looking for ways to cut costs in order to compete, but quality suffered even further and market share continued to tumble. American factories began to close as a result, and thousands of American jobs were lost because American labor no longer offered any advantage.

Unfortunately for all Americans, this story is not unique to the auto industry but is true of nearly any industry that used to be associated with American industrial dominance. History is simply repeating itself with the auto industry, as unions once again leave another disfiguring mark on the face of society.

"UAW strikes, and they essentially hasten their demise with Delphi. GM will ride it out, the bankruptcy court will be sympathetic to the realities with today's world"
Guess again. Bankruptcy courts are not sympathetic, neither is the government. No one is going to bail them out. The writing is on the wall. The auto industry only need to look at the airline industry to see their future. The contracts and pensions the UAW has were agreed upon in good times when there was no foreign competition. Times have changed and unions don't give back hard earned pay and benfits until they are forced to. Been there, done that. The "global economy" is taking its toll on this country. It will take some time, just like degregulation took 25 years to bring the airline industry down. The "global economy" is bringing the rest of the worlds workers up at the expense of the US. Gone are the days when you did better than your parents and you knew your kids would do better than you. All the jobs are going overseas. Just look around, try to buy an american made TV, VCR, DVD, camera. Half the parts on our American made Caddy's are made overseas. It is a very sad situation, not only for GM, it's emplyees and retirees who gave so many years of service, but for this country as well. The playing field is uneven and GM will have no choice but to go chapter 11 to level it. Ford and Chrysler will be unable to compete and will have no choice but to follow. Just look at the airline industry. Talk about a domino effect. When you look at what is happening and project it into the future, it is not a pretty picture I am sad to say. May "God bless America". I think we are going to need it.
I respectfully beg to differ, as America is simply not the only player in the world economy nor is it an island in and of itself immune to the rest of the world and world forces, it has never and never will be immune nor will any other country. I do agree that GM will go Chapter 11. In today's present US economy, with a rising war debt and many other real-life factors Americans will not be sympathetic to the Unions. Americans live by the Capitalist credo of taking every penny they can get as that's how Capitalism works--you make a buck, it doesn't mater if you make a buck at the expense of others, you simply make a buck. If it were any different we would appreciate our elderly, appreciate a solid work ethic, appreciate one another.

Yeah the big guy is in the news. DC has money right now to back them up, but it is Ford that is well underperforming GM and not getting the news. If Delphi goes on strike, look for Ford to file Chapter 11.

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C5 frame lift-off photos, frame, rolling gear....

http://www.beretta.net/board/ib3/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=9;t=261;st=165;r=1;&#entry178

Norm

Yeah the big guy is in the news. DC has money right now to back them up, but it is Ford that is well underperforming GM and not getting the news. If Delphi goes on strike, look for Ford to file Chapter 11.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

C5 frame lift-off photos, frame, rolling gear....

http://www.beretta.net/board/ib3/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=9;t=261;st=165;r=1;&#entry178

Norm

just looked at that link.i know nothing of berettas,but are you putting a beretta body on a corvette?forgive me for my ignorance

Apparently GM is selling 51% of their company.

Maybe you should smoke less of the pot and pay more attention. They aren't selling their company iteslf at all, just one of their divisions. (You want to finance that?)