Saving the US Auto Industry

[Shawnee123]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Agreed. But I do think they need to consider that they serve at the will of the people, for the people. They can reap their bennies upon exit from the Congress where they gain their popularity and can become rich later, after service. I would suggest that all levels of government, including retirement, and the military, forgo any cost of living increases or raises until things smooth out in a few years. JMHO

I will go along with that once a worker on a GM assembly line agrees to give up some of their 70 bucks an hour as a small sacrifice for saving their own jobs and livelihood. That's approximately 145 grand a year some of them make for the responsibility of putting a nut on a bolt. And in the grand scheme, aren't the wages of lower and higher level workers at GM, the subsequent failed business model, the domino effect of all the related businesses failing a huge part of our financial crisis in the first place?

Public service perhaps shouldn't make a billion dollars an hour, but the wages shouldn't be so low as to preclude anyone from ever even considering it as a viable employment option. As it is, the responsibilities they have are not really in line with what high level executives are paid. Small sacrifice for the greater good.

Exactly what selfish GM should do. Given the choice of sacrificing a bit (and still making a wage most of us will never ever see, even those of us in professional positions) or just letting the whole thing fall apart resulting in much worse economic conditions, the choice seems to be "fuck it...let it fall apart. I won't give up NUTTIN'."

I find this attitude puke-worthy.

[Pico and ME]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

I will go along with that once a worker on a GM assembly line agrees to give up some of their 70 bucks an hour as a small sacrifice for saving their own jobs and livelihood. That's approximately 145 grand a year some of them make for the responsibility of putting a nut on a bolt. And in the grand scheme, aren't the wages of lower and higher level workers at GM, the subsequent failed business model, the domino effect of all the related businesses failing a huge part of our financial crisis in the first place?

Public service perhaps shouldn't make a billion dollars an hour, but the wages shouldn't be so low as to preclude anyone from ever even considering it as a viable employment option. As it is, the responsibilities they have are not really in line with what high level executives are paid. Small sacrifice for the greater good.

Exactly what selfish GM should do. Given the choice of sacrificing a bit (and still making a wage most of us will never ever see, even those of us in professional positions) or just letting the whole thing fall apart resulting in much worse economic conditions, the choice seems to be "fuck it...let it fall apart. I won't give up NUTTIN'."

I find this attitude puke-worthy.

You are seriously misinformed here Shawnee. The average hourly wage for an Autoworker is more like $28/hr and it only encompasses about 10% of the companies total expenses. Starting pay is actually $12 -13/hr, which is a result of the latest concessions given to the companies from the union.

The $70/hr is a total package the companies put together to represent hourly wage, overtime (which there has been little to none in the last year), vacation and health benefits, and pension and health benefits for retirees...which by the way is the main drain. The Jap companies do not have the same problem because they haven't been in business here for decades and so do not have the same retirees to deal with.

Blaming the union autoworkers for this downfall is just wrong and is really the result of the anti-union campaign that the companies have been working on and spending millions on for years now.

My husband has been a union auto worker for 12 years. We are not living high off the hog and nowhere near it. Also, he had to have neck surgery due to two herniated disks that immobilized his right arm. This injury was more than likely caused by the job...the stress of repetition is pretty hard on the body. Our doctor said that he sees most of this back and neck injuries from the autoworkers. Tell me Shawnee, is $60,000 a year worth it to you if it means your are going to suffer pain and disability for the rest of your retirement years as a result?