Depending on the person, just because you have been doing this for 10 years does not mean you are doing it well. All things been equal, sure, the guy worked for a year has a BETTER CHANCE of getting it right. OTOH, a 5 year man who doesn't give a crap about your burger has a higher chance of screwing it up than a guy who was taught the basics and is trying to get it right.

 

You have repeatedly said what people are worth - you did it again with the comment regarding the CEO pay. Don't be a hypocrite.

The difference you and others can't seem to comprehend is the UAW is a gang of thugs holding a company hostage. It's that simple. What you fail to realize and acknowledge is that this action by the UAW has far-reaching consequences. There are way more non-union people who manufacture components and assemblies for these vehicles that will be out of work if Ford moves their plants to another country - especially China. Idiots like Fain don't give a damn about anybody but himself - and the members are too stupid to think past their own immediate greed and the potential for a windfall if the Big 3 cave in to their demands. I wish all of these lazy-*** thugs would move to a socialist country and leave the rest of us alone. As has been proven by the 90% of the rest of the non-union workforce in America, we'd do just fine without them.

I moved to Tampa from the Space Coast in Florida for school. I originally planned to go back to that small town after school. Guess what - the big city offered more opportunity so I ended up starting my career there. 25 years later I am tired of the heat, the taxes, the high cost of living and the over-crowded big city life. I moved to east TN and stayed with my company. My pay remained the same. What I found was a better way of life, in a place that is far less crowded, where people still treat each other with respect, far lower taxes, far lower insurance costs - I basically improved my life and managed to get a $10,000 per year "raise" by escaping the big city expenses of living in Florida.

I and only I am responsible for my happiness. If I don't like where I work - I will change it. If I don't like where I live - I will change it. Nobody else is responsible for my happiness or my livelihood - that is all on me. When I was in school I worked a full time job during the day and went to classes every night. I cut grass for a landscaper on the weekends. It sucked but I made it through and have some really fond memories of that time in my life. It was a life lesson that has served me well and I would not trade the experience for anything. I ate more hot dogs cut up and mixed in with boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese than I care to count (5 boxes for $1 with a newspaper coupon was tough to beat !!!) and peanut butter sandwiches comprised an awful lot of my diet as well but I was thankful that they were available. Once I graduated I began to reap the rewards of gaining a SKILL that many a company found of value. I still worked full time at my current job during the day and at a retailer from 6:00 - 10:00 PM M-F and all day Saturday for the first three years after school so I could buy my first house - a sprawling 900 sq. ft. beauty on a 1/4 acre lot - for $35,000. It was old, ugly and small - but it was mine. I got married and we had a kid way too soon but we struggled through. That is what is wrong with so many of the youth of today - they are afraid of the struggle and of being truly on their own.

Fast forward and I am still working for the same company but in a totally different capacity. For the past 15 years I have been a higher-level "manager" with a team of people varying in size from 15 - 20 people. I hire and fire and am responsible for their performance. Their bad behavior is all on me. I get credit for their good work. That is how business is. I didn't create that paradigm - but I am smart enough to understand it and work it to my team's advantage. And, by the way, I absolutely do have a say in what they are worth. Their skillset is worth between $60K and $123K in the open market, depending upon their experience, education, certifications, etc. I interviewed them and created their offer letters - and I set their pay from that scale developed by HR. It was their choice to accept or decline my offer. My company expects me to be prudent with the money but allows me to be competitive so I can hire and retain good people. I submit budget every year and am expected to deliver quality, profitable designs for our customers. I am responsible for identifying new technologies and getting my team educated on them so we can remain relevant in the market. I am expected to understand market ebb and flow and to forecast demand so I can hire when we are gaining market share. I am responsible for their HR compliance training, for re-arranging work to accommodate their needs for time off for PTO, sick days, sick kids, etc. I am expected to counsel them to help them grow and attain higher levels of skills so they can receive higher pay. I am expected to resolve personality conflicts between the vastly different personality types that are engineers and sales people. I am expected to deal directly with customers on my team's behalf when the customer is deemed too likely to not mesh well with an engineer.

I bet you find that hard to believe, since you and most others like you believe the only people who really "work" for a living are those that have a tool in their hands. Newsflash - without people like me (and the CEO) people like UAW workers wouldn't have an employer to strike against.

Take ownership for your place in life. Get out in the market and make yourself more valuable. Don't rely on gang blackmail mentality to set what you are worth. When Ford moves production out of the USA the idiots that are the UAW will get a cold, hard reality check on what their "skillsets" are worth in the real world. They will only have themselves to blame.

 

GM's Arlington assembly plant was just added to the list. 5000 walked out this morning.

 

Estimated $10B economic losses across the three brands 5 weeks in, at $200M per week.

Shawn Fain has acknowledged some union members want to vote right now on the record high compensation offers currently on the table, but Fain has urged the membership not to give in to what he called 'fear, uncertainty, doubt and division" that he claims has been "sowed by the companies."

"No bucks, no trucks."

 

Their fears are actually tied to their mortgage payments. I's really sad to see the numbers being reported of the UAW workers taking out strike loans to try to save their homes.

 

This makes it hard to believe there are so many who blindly support Fain rather than the UAW's best interest.
Career socialist activists 'are pulling the strings' on UAW strike that's cost the economy $7.7bn and claimed 6,000 jobs: 'Eat the rich' union leader - on $350k salary - is being advised by hardcore left-wingers who 'want class warfare' | Daily Mail Online

 

Yes they do... BUT, saying these workers are monkeys and unions need to disappear, is what I object to, as you need to be careful of what you wish for/want, I do not like what happened to the working class before Unions were around and would hope most people think about that...

I am totally in favor of going to a NON-adversarial type of negotiating system rather than the simplistic solution of taking the workers "right's" away, as that would put us back to the good old days as some would seem to want... Thus my example above...

 

Some of these strikers are unaware of what wages they lose today will not be recouped for years to come. Sad their union is taking advantage of them. Some of these worked have been without a paycheck for 5-6 weeks. Strike pay aint gonna cut it when it comes time to paying the mortgage, rent, car payments, etc.
And the biggest lose....medical benefits.

 

Unions did indeed have their place... Back when there was no:

Child labor laws
40 hour work week
Healthcare benefits
Retirement benefits
OSHA to provide for worker safety
Competitive wages across companies
Overtime pay for work beyond 40 hours per week

Every single one of these issues was a valid point of contention and the unions were key in correcting the problems. Good on them. Now, please - any of you - show me which of those issues is now alive and well in the US workplace today. I'll wait...

The UAW is nothing more than a blackmail organization trying to extort money from the Big 3. 57,000 people trying to extort Ford on the backs of millions of Americans who will pay those costs via higher prices on vehicles. The UAW doesn't give a damn about Ford and they don't give a damn about you or I. They only care about their own greedy agenda. You cannot possibly present a cogent argument to the contrary.

 

the current wages they were making, if they didn't put money away in a rainy day account Shame on them. I was union for 25 years and I made damn sure I didn't overspend and always had mad money on the side.

 

So ALL workplace problems are gone forever. Got it. Perfect world acheived, time to move on.

 

No more problems in the US plants once the production moves to mexico.

 

I never said the UAW weren't greedy (or even stupidly pushing too far)... In fact I outlined what I think the real "problem" was/is, more than a few times, greed was right in there by both sides, I even proposed as solution, (changing the bargaining prosses from adversarial to NON-adversarial) ... And getting rid of unions is not the solution I suspect, as that would revert the work places back to the past work practices real quick, of which even you seem to agree were not beneficial to the worker... .

 

The only thing that would "revert back" is that the workers would be paid what they are worth - not some inflated ridiculous wage. Pull your head out of the sand and look at the other auto manufacturers here in the south that are not unionized. Notice they are paid well - free market in action. Ford will have to pay a competitive wage to hire and keep good employees. Your argument does not hold water in the real world.

 

Instead of making worthless statements how about you please list the other workplace problems the UAW is so adept at resolving for the everyday worker? We'd all love to know about them.