Wow - I'm impressed that the system has been made to take so much of the art or finesse out of the process. I am equally maddened by you telling me this info because it further demonstrates how ridiculous the UAW ransom list is.

So, with your assembly line experience, what are the tougher jobs that one would expect a higher salary to do?

 

They have 'Skilled Trades' maintenance people, who DO get paid more. The fill functions such as doing maintenance (preventative and post breakdown) of the equipment. Electrical, Pipefitting, and other trades are included in this.

The regular line workers, are all doing no thought, repetitive jobs. If something does not go right in the process, they pull and overhead cord, that lets the team leader know something was not completed correctly, and either needs to be fixed further down the line, in the hold lot after the vehicle is assembled, or at the dealer prior to delivery to the customer (And we have all seen the stories that that some still sneak through).

 

We can reasonably assume that at a point in the future most of the vehicles coming off of the assembly line will be electric and almost totally assembled by robots.

Is the UAW offering training to the assembly line workers that will train them to have the skills necessary for future jobs in the auto industry? Someone will be needed to build, install and service the robots.

I hope the UAW is providing this or some kind of training to make the American worker skilled and in demand and not just demanding higher wages for less production. There is nothing competitive about that type of workforce.

 

With the things that transpired yesterday. The press release Bill Ford had, and the response by Shawn Fain to it, along with his strike at KTP, i think it's reasonable to expect a lockout on the verge of happening. From what i've been reading on social media, there's alot of UAW members, who are in favor of the contract offer Ford has put forth. But also some who are against it. The problem with it all is, Fain isn't taking the offer to the UAW to have it voted on. Fain is trying to make a name or reputation for himself, and i'm starting to think, it could backfire on him sooner rather than later. Ford has always been about family. But you can only push so much, until they say enough is enough. Where is that tipping point? None of us really know. But you take out KTP, and now you threw a rock at that pitbull. Lockouts are never good. But i think it's not far off from happening now.

 

Agreed. Fords offer was pretty good and hope they stand firm. Fain doesn't really care. He makes roughly $1350 in one day based on a 5 day work week while a striker gets paid $500 for one week.
He is out of touch with his people.

 

I'll take the EV agenda more seriously when they are completely made by anything other the fossil fuels, have a more distance then a '72 Town Car and
a way to properly recycle the batteries.

 

What schooling did he do to have huge student loans? Apparently not anything that translates into a well paying job if he is working equivalent to flipping burgers. No Sympathy from me if you took liberal arts and now have to pay the bills YOU TOOK OUT! Total loser in my book.

Anyone who considers a crane operator as unskilled is a Moron. A wrong move, or incorrect weight setup can kill people, it would take a severe act of stupidity for a line worker to kill someone or be killed on the line.

True. If all the profits were put into the pockets of the bigwigs, and not used to expand the business, the business would run dry and go away. The amount of money spent on R&D consumes the majority of profits made. To manage a business such as a car manufacturer takes a skillset that doesn't come from an assembly line. The decisions the top dogs make will either make, or break a company, they earn their keep. So what if Ford earned billions in profit, what does it cost to maintain all their plants world wide? What does it cost to come up with new vehicles and other innovations? What the CEO's make is a pittance to what is spent on the entirety of all the lines world wide.



Yes, I ran one for a few years, however, I also innovated and showed how to IMPROVE the assembly of the components that sped up the line and made a better component. IOW I went above and beyond the simple do you want fries routine. This was back in the 80's when I was young and dumb, no college, just out of high school, and guess what, that product is STILL being manufactured and in daily use today. Anyone who has been stopped by a school bus with the stop board out and the flashing lights on it would recognize it.

Only top of the line engines are hand built and by highly skilled workers. All other engines are machine built, why else do you think they are lasting many times longer than in the past? When they were built by hand they were good for 80K before they were burning oil. Machines with laser measuring now set up the shim packs for differentials so they are a perfect fit everytime. Engine and transmission assembly today is mostly done by machine, with the majority of hands on being the stacking of parts. Take the human equation out and engines and transmissions will last longer.

 

The Big 3 need to stand tough and eventually they will outlast the union. $500 per week is not going to pay the bills.

 

Exactly. Now with how entrenched the union is it depends on if they’re willing to rip the band aid off.

the truth is that union needs the automaker more than the automaker needs the union.

Without the union they can still make cars. But without the automaker the union becomes nothing.

 

https://apnews.com/article/labor-uni...a829effd514f7d

Casino workers are also on strike getting $500 a week from the UAW.

Rough math says they have 1.6 man weeks of cash to pay out.

 

You should educate yourself and stop parroting nonsense from the Internet. Wake up - it's not an "agenda". Burning oil is not sustainable forever. Electric motors are superior to ICE. Get over it. Nobody is saying they will replace our Super Duty trucks anytime soon. (Rest assured - one day they will.) However, the VAST VAST majority of people do not need a Super Duty class truck. They need a car or a SUV - and that is the market most EVs are now focused on.

An electric vehicle isn't about "going green" to everyone who buys them. 95% of Americans would find their daily driving needs easily covered by the range of a modern electric car. Average Daily Commute Stats For The USA

There are already multiple ways to recycle the batteries. Newsflash - lithium-based batteries have been used for years in items other than cars. The need for recycling was identified MANY years ago. In the quest for even better efficiency the search for better tech to recover even more of the materials never stops.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.iecr.2c03552

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/13/3/543

https://interestingengineering.com/i...tric-batteries

Also - don't act as if EV batteries are somehow unique in their need for rare, expensive materials obtained via environmentally hostile mining operations. Every ICE vehicle in the USA has a catalytic converter made of materials that cause similar impact to the environment when mined. Funny enough, there are studies that are showing the platinum, rhodium and palladium that are used to make them are being expelled into the environment and causing health issues for humans. One of the solutions proposed is fewer cars will have them because EVs will replace them. Huh - who would have thought?

Have you noticed that EVERY automaker on the planet is developing electric vehicles, and most are already selling at least one model now? List Of Electric Vehicles Sold In The US - Sorted By Range - As Of July 2023

But go ahead - ignore the reality around you and enjoy that '72 Town Car...

The UAW should be paying attention to what people like Elon Musk are doing. The Tesla build line was "over roboted". They removed automation, saying humans could do some things better. Good news for humans - but not if you are trying to sell a high school diploma holder as a PHD. Tesla Manufacturing Article

Like was mentioned the UAW is so focused on their current selfish agenda that they can't see the freight train that is EVs coming straight at them. Serves them right.

.

 

Parroting nonsense from the internet.....I just counted at least 6 links to the INTERNET in one post. Just sayin....

Separately, we just had a Waste Management truck burn up down the street from someone throwing away a lithium battery. Took two firetrucks 2 hours to put it out. I hate it when that happens....

 

You do fail to miss the underlying point in the EV hate. It's really NOT the manufacture of the EV, but the FORCING of it down our throats by this administration and the Green Wacko population with their fake Climate Change agenda. Clearly there is a place for EV vehicles, just let US decide if we want one or not, don't FORCE it upon us.

 

Why in the world would casino workers be getting strike fund money from the UAW?

 

Let’s be fair, they were forced to due to governmental and legislative pressure in US, Canada, and most Western European countries, in forms of increasingly difficult to achieve MPG and emission standards, or outright ICE ban deadlines, combined with tremendous purchases assistance paid for with tax dollars.