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Originally posted by JohnnyCanuck
Originally posted by sos37If you call that selfish, for me to focus on what's in the best interests of my own family first rather than the guy next door, then hell yes, I'm selfish and I wouldn't have it any other way
Time was folks looked out for each other. Now it's 'me, me, me'
Which explains why your country is tanking. Used to be "Buy American", now it's "Attention Walmart shoppers."
Originally posted by dooper
The unions helped run other industries out of our country. That's OK. This is the last bastion of big organized unions, and good riddance.
The 7 wastes
Originally posted by aava
reply to post by Sestias
Labor and legacy costs are WAY more than 10% for the big 3. Legacy costs alone (healthcare, pensions for retired workers) cost GM around $1,500 per vehicle produced. Toyota, Honda, etc are not burdened with those costs. Does THAT sound competitive? No, the big 3 are toast.
Face it, as currently structured, the automakers are doomed. With bloated(!) cost structures and overcapacity due to a precipitous drop in demand, something has to give.
[edit on 12/6/08 by aava]
Originally posted by sos37
Get this - this is astounding.
Apparently the UAW revelaed that is has a jobs bank that allows laid off workers to receive up to 95% of their pay after being laid off. In some cases workers are laid off for as long as a year while still receiving their pay. They are still required to go up to the plant, but apparently they are playing cards and reading the newspaper and receiving up to 95% of their original pay for doing it.
So here's the lightbulb. It's no wonder American cars suck big time. Big-three employees are required to belong to the UAW and with the jobs-bank around, there's no incentive o do a good job if they know they can get laid off and still receive 95% of their pay.
At this point, Congress should do something to help out the big three, but the UAW has got to go. There's no telling what else they've got going on that's bleeding the Big-three out of money and allowing workers to slack off. Simply unbelievable!