"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Bill Cole wrote:
It sounds like you don't like mechanics or US made cars. I suppose you
are
one of those who think US workers are inferior too. Let's ship all of
our
production to Germany and Japan where they can make quality products.
If US cars are crappy, and some of them truly are, it isn't the fault of
the workers.
Your right for once. It has much to due with the UAW tactics.
From Time.com-
Warmer Labor Relations
Contrary to popular belief, workers' wages and benefits at the transplant
factories - none of which are unionized except for joint ventures with
Detroit - are comparable to those at factories organized by the United Auto
Workers (UAW). Assembly-line workers, regardless of their location, earn
about $45,000 to $100,000 a year (depending on experience and overtime).
Bonuses are typically tied to profitability, and health-care and pension
benefits vary only slightly.
But job classifications at transplant factories are broader. Line workers
are trained in a variety of tasks - say, spot welding as well as interior
assembly - and they rotate jobs frequently. They're less susceptible to
boredom and repetitive-stress injuries. They're also trained to do
preventive maintenance. At Toyota plants, every assembly-line worker has the
authority to stop the line if he or she spots, say, a flaw in a windshield.
More important, workers are encouraged by management to do so.
The long and often bitter relationship between the Big Three and the UAW
means that their work practices are rooted not in mutual trust but in a
system of sometimes picky rules. A "skilled tradesman" may be required to
change a fuse in an assembly-line machine, a task that an assembly worker
could easily be trained to perform. Work rules differ from plant to plant
because agreements are negotiated with local union leaders. If a tradesman
notices a line worker fiddling with equipment, he may file a grievance,
claiming that his job is being undercut by a lower-paid employee.
A flexible work force is especially critical for maintaining line speed if
the model mix changes frequently. After a switch, a worker who formerly
needed two minutes to help install a wiring harness might need only 90
seconds, meaning he or she could do another job - if allowed. But at some
Big Three plants, assigning a new task to a worker requires consulting the
local union leader, who might approve the extra job but insist on a quid pro
quo - say, extra break time. Such complications can make it more costly to
adjust the vehicle mix - leading to unsold vehicles and requiring more
profit-eating 0% financing.
Since the early 1980s, the UAW has mounted campaigns to organize the
transplants' hourly workers, but they have consistently voted against
joining, in part because of strong community support for the manufacturers
and a sense of mutual loyalty. "Nissan takes care of its employees, and if
the union tries to organize us, I'll probably oppose it," says Murphy
Wilson, 27, a newly hired technician in Canton. The UAW has tried four times
to win over Nissan's Smyrna work force but was voted down 2 to 1 in its last
try in 2001. "We have not given up on the transnationals," says UAW
president Ron Gettelfinger, who claims that "fear, intimidation and threats
hold workers back" from inviting unions into transplant factories. In 2001
some organizers publicly accused Nissan managers of strong-arming employees
in Smyrna.
In the next round of national labor negotiations this summer, the Big Three
are expected to demand benefit cuts and broader job classifications. Griping
has already begun. "They want us to do more and more and offer us less and
less," says Bill Parker, president of UAW Local 1700 in Detroit and head of
a Chrysler work force. In theory, Detroit could emulate the transplants and
set up nonunionized shops in the South, but the UAW would probably bring
assembly operations to a halt.
http://www.time.com/time/globalbusin...451002,00.html