[gardnet1]

First line supervisor at Malibu assembly plant and American Axle plant next year.

"On de Lay!, On de Lay!".

End of work shift "Bominos!".

Excuse my spelling.

The UAW and Ghetto-finger are about to be outsourced!

 

[CaptainDan]

If the dollar keeps falling and the Euro and other currencies keep gaining, why wouldn't you see a resurgence of manufacturing here?

You would IF manufacturers believe it is a long term situation. It takes years to plan for, and built a manufacturing facility. And once built, they need to operate for many years to make that investment worthwhile. If the manufacturer thinks the curency fluctuation is temporary, or that it will be more likely to be favorable to them (in the long run) in Paraguay, then THAT'S where the factory gets built.

 

[CaptainDan]

I think alot of people on this site should do there history on the UAW and the big 3 before they start all of the bashing. The UAW helped set the standard for alot of the safty rules in todays work places. Thats just 1 thing, I could go on and on

I think a lot of union members need to "do their history" too. In the late 1800s/ early 1900s, the workers role in the factory was indeed quite abysmal. Child labor, "slave wages" (that actually doesn't make sense - slaves don't HAVE wages) no benefits, dangerous working conditions, on, and on. The union "idea" (with a good deal of pushing by a popular author, Karl Marx) caught on, and quite literally saved the lives of a lot of American (and other countries') workers.

But 2008 is not 1908. The tables have turned, and the unions wield the power to destroy. Their essential "weapon", the strike, is effective because it can damage or destroy a company if they don't give in. But it is a REAL weapon of mass destruction. They can do a lot more damage to themselves, if they employ it to agressively.

Fighting for the wages (desired) today, is not the same as fighting for the ability to survive in the past. For all those decades of unions demanding (and getting) more more more, there does certainly come a time when you've got to expect the pendulum to swing to less less less sometime. The US automakers were on top, and growing tremendously in those "more" days, but they are not ascending any more. If anything they are going downward, with a very good chance of even less.

Unions can still do a very important function in today's society, but the time for militancy is well past. And we do have the unions to thank for it being past. It would be best (for their members, if not for the leaders) to spend less time fighting their employers, and more time helping them.

 

[CaptainDan]

The Government has stayed out of these situations and a a result we are entering a depression...........

That's odd. The last time the government got heavily involved in that area, it was considered one of the leading causes OF the great depression.

I do agree that the government can, and should, "help", and try to maintain a more "fair" as opposed to "free" market, but there is great danger on that road if they went too far.

But that's just crazy, when would a bunch of elected officials go too far?

 

[Neanderthal]

I think a lot of union members need to "do their history" too. In the late 1800s/ early 1900s, the workers role in the factory was indeed quite abysmal. Child labor, "slave wages" (that actually doesn't make sense - slaves don't HAVE wages) no benefits, dangerous working conditions, on, and on. The union "idea" (with a good deal of pushing by a popular author, Karl Marx) caught on, and quite literally saved the lives of a lot of American (and other countries') workers.

But 2008 is not 1908. The tables have turned, and the unions wield the power to destroy. Their essential "weapon", the strike, is effective because it can damage or destroy a company if they don't give in. But it is a REAL weapon of mass destruction. They can do a lot more damage to themselves, if they employ it to agressively.

Fighting for the wages (desired) today, is not the same as fighting for the ability to survive in the past. For all those decades of unions demanding (and getting) more more more, there does certainly come a time when you've got to expect the pendulum to swing to less less less sometime. The US automakers were on top, and growing tremendously in those "more" days, but they are not ascending any more. If anything they are going downward, with a very good chance of even less.

Unions can still do a very important function in today's society, but the time for militancy is well past. And we do have the unions to thank for it being past. It would be best (for their members, if not for the leaders) to spend less time fighting their employers, and more time helping them.

Excellent post, aka a reality check.

Unions have often become the enemy of the workers they were designed to protect and serve. They often morph into the being they were supposed to be protecting the workers against.

Human greed and corruptability are the reasons, and if Rodney King were running the world (JK) we would all just get along instead of gettin it on.