Workers at a Lansing-area GM crossover factory go on strike [Idiots on parade]

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From: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/stories/041708/loc_20080417380.shtml

Workers at a Lansing-area GM crossover factory go on strike


Associated Press

DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) -- Hundreds of workers streamed out of a General Motors Corp. assembly plant that makes crossover vehicles on Thursday, threatening the automaker's ability to build one of its most popular products.

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United Auto Workers members at the plant in Delta Township walked off their jobs just after a 10 a.m. deadline passed. The factory near Lansing makes the Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia crossover vehicles that are selling well for GM.

The strike is the first against GM over a local contract since a lengthy walkout in Flint back in 1998, said GM spokesman Dan Flores.

UAW Local 602 official Harold Brown handed out "UAW on Strike" signs from the trunk of his car as workers left the plant. He reminded them to go to the union hall to leave telephone numbers and sign up for picket duty.

Tim Berry, 50, of Holt, one of the 2-year-old plant's 3,400 hourly workers, said the strike was justified.

"Since we've been out here, we haven't really had a local agreement," the 32-year GM quality control worker said.

Local plants negotiate their own operating agreements separate from the national contract, which was settled last year. The local contract deals with issues such as overtime and work rules.

Flores said GM was disappointed that workers left their jobs.

"We remain focused on reaching an agreement as soon as possible," he said.

Industry analysts have speculated that the strike is an effort by the union to get GM involved in a two-month UAW walkout at parts supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

Flores would not comment when asked about a possible American Axle connection and said he did not know specific issues involved in the Delta Township walkout.

The UAW has been on strike against American Axle for nearly two months, and more than 30 GM plants have been affected by that strike.

But so far, the strike has mainly hit production of GM's trucks and sport utility vehicles, which were selling slowly anyway.

The crossover plant strike could have a more serious impact. GM has only a 40-day inventory of the Buick Enclave, compared with an inventory of more than 150 days on some large trucks and SUVs when the American Axle strike began, according to Ward's AutoInfoBank. A 60-day supply is considered ideal in the industry.

The crossovers have been important for GM as buyers trade in gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles. Crossovers are built on car underpinnings and are more efficient than SUVs, yet they have nearly the same cargo and people-carrying abilities.

As strikers picketed, Steve Bramos, shop chairman for Local 602 at Delta Township, said the walkout has nothing do with American Axle.

"This is about local labor issues that impact the work force," he said.

Since the factory is so new, it was operating under a standard local agreement, he said.

"It actually needed some clarity," he said. "This is actually our first real operating agreement."

He would not get into specifics of the negotiations.

Even without the strike, the plant likely would have been shut down Thursday due to a lack of parts made by Alliance Interiors, another supply company at which the UAW is on strike.

Alliance Interiors opened in 2006 to supply carpets, acoustic insulation and other products to GM.

In addition to Delta Township, workers at metal fabricating plant near Grand Rapids and a transmission plant in Warren, Mich., also have threatened to strike.

Local unions in Arlington, Texas; Parma, Ohio; and Flint also had threatened strikes but since have withdrawn those threats.

The last local contract strikes against GM occurred at two Flint parts plants in 1998. Those strikes -- the longest lasted nearly eight weeks -- virtually halted the company's North American production.

Idiots. Complaining about getting *only* $90-125,000 per year for unskilled labor (Doctors and engineers earn less). Complaining about no local contract when they should be happy they have jobs at all in this economy and in that sector.

If I were GM, I'd close the plant, fire everyone, and start production of the Enclave in Mexico. Let's see how these idiots like NO pay for NO work because either the plant moved or GM went under.
 
wow that is kinda retarded.. makes me feel dumb reading that and being an american :(
 
Yep, I hate auto unions.
 
there're reasons why American car makers are making huge losses, they create crap products and have to worry about so many things caused by its people...
 
Complaining about getting *only* $90-125,000 per year for unskilled labor (Doctors and engineers earn less).
Seriously? :shock:

Man, what the fuck am I doing in college?! That is downright disgusting. :cry:

And after all, they're crossovers. Would you miss 'em? Huh, would'ya?
 
Yeah, it's the world's best paid unskilled labor job. Bar none.

The best part is how the UAW goes on about how they're highly skilled craftmen and that's why they deserve those high wages.

1. Judging by the product they put out, no, they're not skilled and they're not craftsmen.

2. Ever take a tour of a GM plant? At various points along the route, they let you play auto worker and they show you how to put bits on the car like they do. Well, within 10-30 minutes, you could be just as good at their job as they are.

Any job that you can teach proficiency in less than 12 hours is NOT skilled labor.
 
Damn I'd work for half that doing what they do. What the heck are they complaining about, they're making a whole lot more than a lot of people who do things far tougher. I'm really sick of auto unions.
 
i wish they would just shut up, we don't need GM to take jobs out of state anymore then they already have.
 
But so far, the strike has mainly hit production of GM's trucks and sport utility vehicles, which were selling slowly anyway.

I know truck sales have been slipping, but considering that GM sold more Silverados than Toyota sold Camrys last year, I doubt they're 'selling slowly'.

Words cannot describe how much I hate the UAW. A friend of mines father works for the UAW as a carpenter at the Fairfax, Kansas plant. What does a UAW carpenter, making $120k a year (with full benefits, cushy retirement package, etc) do each day? Well, he brings 3 newspapers and a magazine or two with him each day, and occasionally fixes a chair or window trim or whatever.

I know that GM (Ford and Dodge too) can't just drop the UAW, but they do in my dreams. Nardelli, Wagoner and Mulally all sit down and collectively say, "You know what, fuck these greedy UAW assholes."
 
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....They're striking over that pay...Honestly that's amazing money why the f*ck is my dad doing construction he could just be putting a freaking handle on a car...
 
Idiots. Complaining about getting *only* $90-125,000 per year for unskilled labor (Doctors and engineers earn less). Complaining about no local contract when they should be happy they have jobs at all in this economy and in that sector.

That sounds really crazy considering the car prices in the US. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I've gathered, you can get a car in the US for a little over 10k USD. Where else in the world does a car cost as much as the guy who nails it together earns in a month?

And after all, they're crossovers. Would you miss 'em? Huh, would'ya?

Yeah I just looked up the Buick Enclave out of interest and :puke: . The world is definitely a nicer place with less of these made.
 
And after all, they're crossovers. Would you miss 'em? Huh, would'ya?

I would. The sale of them gives GM the cash for more interesting projects and upgrades.

Yeah I just looked up the Buick Enclave out of interest and . The world is definitely a nicer place with less of these made.

It's sold fairly well so this news saddens me.
 
Complaining about getting *only* $90-125,000 per year for unskilled labor (Doctors and engineers earn less).

Source please.

I find it impossible that a person working on a manufacturing line can earn that much.

The only labourers I'm aware of that are earning that much are highly skilled and own their own business, not factory line workers...

I dunno, maybe it's different in the US, but I don't believe it.
 
I find it impossible that a person working on a manufacturing line can earn that much.

You would be surprised these days.
 
http://www.uaw.org/barg/07fact/fact02.php

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2007/07/uaw-pricing-themselves-out-of-market.html

I see big discrepancies, between $50,000 a year and over $140,000 a year.



Regardless, the fact that they're striking on behalf of others that are striking seems absurd. Add to the fact that their method of 'negotiating' consists of further striking until their demands are met...they're like freaking terrorists.

See:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/14/news/companies/bigthree_labor/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote

"The paper says that the traditional Big Three automakers estimate their labor costs at $70 to $75 an hour, while the nonunion Asian automakers have labor costs of $40 to $45 an hour."

Also, others have quoted what their UAW acquaintances and family members make. It's easily verifiable. The UAW's "publicly quoted" numbers are deliberately low and do not include all the benefits, side programs, and other compensation that their employees get.
 
Yeah, but "labour costs" are different from actual earnings. Regardless, that's still pretty high; if I were working auto assembly with no real education, I would be blissfully content with what they're making.
 
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