[mjd1001]

American Axle Makes New Offer to UAW

DETROIT - Striking United Auto Workers union members are considering a new contract offer from American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. as bargaining continued through the weekend aimed at ending a seven-week strike over company demands for deep pay cuts.

In a statement released later Sunday, American Axle said the UAW rejected its request that a federal mediator assist in the negotiations.

"AAM had hoped that the involvement of an impartial third party at the bargaining table could assist both sides. ... AAM was disappointed in the UAW's decision," the statement said.

full article here: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-american-axle,0,1930582.story

 

[Uzzy]

Of course the union won't allow outside mediation. The mediators would tell them to take the deal and be grateful you have jobs.

 

[burningsquirrel]

Of course the union won't allow outside mediation. The mediators would tell them to take the deal and be grateful you have jobs.

:lmao:

truth.

 

[gr8tfulfred]

could you just laydown and accept a 50 percent pay cut without a fight?

 

[Shawn Wuan]

Of course the union won't allow outside mediation. The mediators would tell them to take the deal and be grateful you have jobs.

Yeah, I expcected you to say something to that effect. I don't know what the big sticking point is but I think A/A should offer something like a buy down like Delphi. I do understand they have to cut cost to compete with the compatition but I still say I don't like the ideal of companies getting rich off of the backs of poor people. At $14 they can't afford to buy the trucks there making the parts for.

 

[Shawn Wuan]

could you just laydown and accept a 50 percent pay cut without a fight?

Thats what I have been saying, but maybe it's more YES MEN in this world than I thought.

 

[Uzzy]

could you just laydown and accept a 50 percent pay cut without a fight?

That is always the argument that your type poses to me and my answe is always the same. No, I would go get another job. But If I can't find another job where I utilize the same skill set, for comparable pay, then I'd say I'm getting paid too much. I would advise the American Axle, or any UAW member to do the same. Guess what, they can't. I on the other hand could. My only issue is I might not be able to find it in my area, since the job market here is rather dismal. I'd rather not move, but I moght be forced to, just to find any job in my field.

 

[Member17739]

That is always the argument that your type poses to me and my answe is always the same. No, I would go get another job. But If I can't find another job where I utilize the same skill set, for comparable pay, then I'd say I'm getting paid too much. I would advise the American Axle, or any UAW member to do the same. Guess what, they can't. I on the other hand could. My only issue is I might not be able to find it in my area, since the job market here is rather dismal. I'd rather not move, but I moght be forced to, just to find any job in my field.

Good point, if you can't go out there and get the same job for similar pay it usually means you are paid too much.

 

[hotrod1949]

There hasn't been enough bargaining yet to bring in a mediator, both parties need to sit at the table for a while before calling in a third party.

 

[johnny smallblock]

could you just laydown and accept a 50 percent pay cut without a fight?

No, I would go get another job. But If I can't find another job where I utilize the same skill set, for comparable pay, then I'd say I'm getting paid too much.

Some people instead choose to fight to protect the jobs that they and their fellow workers have, instead of leaving their jobs, giving up their seniority, possibly uprooting their families, and moving away from the community they grew up in.

Just because you would cut and run, don't blame others for staying the course to ensure victory.

 

[Member17739]

Some people instead choose to fight to protect the jobs that they and their fellow workers have, instead of leaving their jobs, giving up their seniority, possibly uprooting their families, and moving away from the community they grew up in.

Just because you would cut and run, don't blame others for staying the course to ensure victory.

You protect your job by proving to the company you are worth the money you get. Based on that it will be impossible for the workers to win.

 

[kylepo]

hmmmm take a pay cut or dont and just force the company to send my job to mexico and then I become jobless I think its a pretty simple decision to make. but hey who am I?

 

[jkennedy293]

I hope this thing ends soon. It is starting to really affect production. In 2 weeks, GM won't be able to produce any trucks. Can you imagine going to a Chevy lot and not see a Tahoe or Silverado?

 

[Shawn Wuan]

Sorry fella's but if i worked at a place for 20 plus years i think I would fight for all those years I spent making that company rich. By the way I didn't hear anything about managment getting their salaries cut in half.

 

[Member17739]

By the way I didn't hear anything about managment getting their salaries cut in half.

Every member of the management can go out there and get a job with comparable pay. It's up to you to make yourself worth what you make or want to make. If the workers were worth what they make they wouldn't even need the UAW.

 

[mjd1001]

Yeah, I expcected you to say something to that effect. I don't know what the big sticking point is but I think A/A should offer something like a buy down like Delphi. I do understand they have to cut cost to compete with the compatition but I still say I don't like the ideal of companies getting rich off of the backs of poor people. At $14 they can't afford to buy the trucks there making the parts for.

I am not totally disagreeing with your entire post, but I absolutly hate your last line (the one the UAW has used many times before.) So they won't be able to afford the trucks they make the parts for? That has nothing to do with proper compensation for their job. Should workers who make the Caddy Escalade make a lot more than the workers who make the Cobalt becuase they have to be able to afford the cars that they make the parts for? How about people on other professions who may work just as hard (or even harder) for $14 an hours...they can't afford the trucks either but they work just as hard?

 

[ByTheLake]

could you just laydown and accept a 50 percent pay cut without a fight?

Nope, not me. If that were my situation, I'd consider working my tail off to significantly improve my skills, to make myself more marketable and in-demand.

That means short-term sacrifices. Night classes, weekend classes, maybe a trade school for those not interested in college. That means time away from friends, family, barbecues and bowling.

People can't rely on any company or union to be able to take care of themselves and their families. That's each person's responsibility.

 

[ByTheLake]

By the way I didn't hear anything about managment getting their salaries cut in half.

Funny thing ... AAM's management isn't represented by any union, and AAM can cut management salaries anytime it feels like it. But it won't. Management's wages are largely market-driven, based on skill set.

If management salaries were cut in half, management would leave and go elsewhere, leaving AAM without financial/treasury staff, without IT and its automated supply chain systems, without the staff that ensures regulatory and export compliance, etc. Can't replace those positions with $14 an hour people.

 

[TruckMan]

If I had a cushy job where I was overpaid and had benefits out the yen yang, I'd be fighting for my job too. Can't blame the unions for that. They just don't seem to realize that the gravy train has run out and they need to either wake up or get off the bus. GM is trying to allign cost with production and skills to keep competitive, or else the whole company suffers. Look at the airline industry - they had to slash pay to keep their heads above water. Those that didn't went bankrupt.

Personally, I have no respect for an organization where entitlement and seniority are more important than quality and productivity. There was a time and place for unions, but now they have more of a bully & entitlement mentality and I believe it's a matter of time before they're gone forever. There's just no way to legitimately justify the expense and hastle of dealing with them any more.

 

[Uzzy]

Some people instead choose to fight to protect the jobs that they and their fellow workers have, instead of leaving their jobs, giving up their seniority, possibly uprooting their families, and moving away from the community they grew up in.

Just because you would cut and run, don't blame others for staying the course to ensure outsourcing to another country.

Don't worry, I fixed your comment for you. You're welcome.

And I don't want to cut and run, like I said. But I'm young, not long out of school, no girlfriend/wife, no house, no kids, so it's much easier for me to do so. Even if I do, I'll be back eventually, I like it here. But you missed my point anyway. They can't cut and run. There's nowhere they can run to and find the same pay for the job, it does not exist. For me it does, I'm an engineer. I can go pretty much anywhere there's industry and pull in at least, if not more than, what I'm making now. The American Axle workers cannot. Read the article, and especially at the end where it says:

The other big players in the auto parts business, including Delphi Corp., Visteon Corp. and Dana Corp., have succeeded in rolling back the more generous wages and benefits that the UAW won during the U.S. auto industry's better days, Cole said.

"This is the last of the big union contracts," he said. "Other than American Axle, all of the suppliers have competitive packages."

And also don't forget that when American Axle posted the want ads for factory jobs making the proposed $14/hr, they had so many replies they had to stop taking them. Times are tough all over. They're going to get worse before they get better.