UAW contract negotiations

[Tin]

If I haven't mentioned it already, everything that the UAW guys spew is in the literature. It's almost religious in nature - indoctrinating. I have a UAW new hire welcome folder that was left in my desk when I started here and read through it.

I immediately knew where these arguments come from. You will usually only see eye to eye with them if you are with them. Nobody on the outside is going to buy into it, same as most of you wouldn't buy into the Mormon religion.

When I hired into GM, the first 2 weeks of training was UAW propaganda, the other 2 weeks was actually job related. I'll admit, I don't have a dog in this fight because I'm indifferent about the UAW, but their indoctrination process was something else. Many here know I lean center left politically, and even I thought it was a little nuts.

[hangemhigh]

I just don't think that the private sector buys into the strong-arm tactics. If I tell my boss to fuck, or walk, you can bet that I'll be the one doing the walking. From what I hear down here, most reasonably intelligent folks thought it was a pretty fair contract, and that's from some tier 2 folks. If there's a valid argument, I'd love to hear it.

[chunkybs]

When I was a contractor at Ford, I felt I was underpaid. I truly believed I was worth more.

I sent my resume out and am now making over 50% more per year not including bonuses and amazing benefits.

Do the same and stop crying. If you think you are underpaid or deserve more and are not happy with your pay, go find another job.

You won't because you cannot.

End of story.

Your company owes you nothing but the pay and benefits that you agreed to.

Bingo.

[Jasper302]

And for you to say that the union is no longer needed to protect the employee is useless, is an asinine comment. This year alone, I've already had to file 4 grievances against the company for violation of our contract. Guess what? Everyone paid out. This year alone, I've had the company try to pull some stuff that is illegal, and I've had the union step in to protect me. Even though it's illegal, if I refused to do it, they could have fired me for it. That's the great thing that people forget about an at will employment status. I've also known others that have made mistakes (we all make mistakes, but we learn from them) who could also be fired, but had union protection. Now are there people that the union protects that they shouldn't? Of course, and I don't agree with it, but it's a two way street as management does the exact same thing. Our government does the exact same thing. I wish it wasn't this way, but it's a by product of being human I guess.


I'd also like to address this comment:

So your saying that companies can do illegal stuff and only the union will protect you?

That it should be ok to break the rules because we all make mistakes?

That i the exact mentality of the pro union work force.

The NON UNION company I work for is great to us. The only complaint I have is the benefits, and I really blame Obama care.

You don't need the union to have a good solid place to work at. The workers don't get to fight with the company every fours years for stuff that most of the workers probably don't deserve.

[Tin]

Not everyone has the option for OT like others that are forced into mandatory OT. So basing an assumption of 60 hour work weeks, it flawed as well.

I'll say this, most of the membership at my place of employment comprises of GM employees. Many of those guys base their lifestyles around working overtime. If they aren't getting OT, they start sweating because they chose to rely on it in order to have what they do. It's not uncommon for those guys to file for bankruptcy, face bill collectors, or even have their vehicles repossessed. Many of them are habitual bankruptcies. I seldom see those guys basing their lifestyles around a 40 hour work week and saving or investing the rest to ensure they have the funds to fall back on in the event of a serious situation cropping up. They think nothing of overextending themselves as long as that OT stays consistent. Many have to work OT out of necessity because they put themselves in a financial jam.

[WhiteHawk]

I find it amazing that people on here continue to bitch that UAW workers shouldn't make this much, they are unskilled, people with degrees make less, etc. Once again, it sounds jealousy to me. Instead of people complaining how much someone else makes, and saying that they should make less, maybe you shold be complaining that other fields should make more?

Working the line is a physically tough job. It must have affected your sanity, too, if you think jealosy is at the root of these posts. People are just in disbelief that the UAW would walk away from such a good offer. I have never imagined such an entitled group of people. And the worst part is, there is no one reason why they are striking! They are just all pissed off.

If there is a strike, I bet it will end up taking money out of peoples pockets over the four years of the contract. So lets say you get another $1 per hour - so $2000 per year ROUGHLY. You normally make about $1150 per week and now you are making $200. So in two weeks (losing $950 per week striking), you have to make another $ 0.25 per hour over four years just to be as good as the last offer that was turned down. You go out for two months, and you need $1 per hour to break even. And that doesn't include the fact that if you strike that long this year, you probably won't get profit sharing because FCA will lose money for the year.

So good luck with that strike!

-Geoff

[raroz28]

Working the line is a physically tough job. It must have affected your sanity, too, if you think jealosy is at the root of these posts. People are just in disbelief that the UAW would walk away from such a good offer. I have never imagined such an entitled group of people. And the worst part is, there is no one reason why they are striking! They are just all pissed off.

If there is a strike, I bet it will end up taking money out of peoples pockets over the four years of the contract. So lets say you get another $1 per hour - so $2000 per year ROUGHLY. You normally make about $1150 per week and now you are making $200. So in two weeks (losing $950 per week striking), you have to make another $ 0.25 per hour over four years just to be as good as the last offer that was turned down. You go out for two months, and you need $1 per hour to break even. And that doesn't include the fact that if you strike that long this year, you probably won't get profit sharing because FCA will lose money for the year.

So good luck with that strike!

-Geoff

You always hear that. It is the only conclusion that they can come up with in their lunch break conversation.

Trust me - I am not at all jealous of any of you.

[89-LX]

So your saying that companies can do illegal stuff and only the union will protect you?

That it should be ok to break the rules because we all make mistakes?

That i the exact mentality of the pro union work force.

The NON UNION company I work for is great to us. The only complaint I have is the benefits, and I really blame Obama care.

You don't need the union to have a good solid place to work at. The workers don't get to fight with the company every fours years for stuff that most of the workers probably don't deserve.

Illegal as breaking the CBA. Sometimes illegal per federal regulations, but then I'd have to fight it against the company when I get reprehended by the company. There are stories of people losing their jobs as well for refusing to do the job because they felt it was a safety issue.

And who said break the rules? Sometime they have the wrong number written down, or the person didn't like what they think of a situation and get in trouble for it. Union protects them. It's not about breaking the rules, it's about making a mistake and being a human. I was actually threatened to be fired at my job, because when I called the scheduling department to inform them I was sick, they put me on hold for 5 minutes. Then called me, said they have an assignment and to report. When I said I'm sick and can't, they marked me as unable to work, because I was told that I was given an assignment before I said I was sick. The union kept my job and argued for me.

I'll say this, most of the membership at my place of employment comprises of GM employees. Many of those guys base their lifestyles around working overtime. If they aren't getting OT, they start sweating because they chose to rely on it in order to have what they do. It's not uncommon for those guys to file for bankruptcy, face bill collectors, or even have their vehicles repossessed. Many of them are habitual bankruptcies. I seldom see those guys basing their lifestyles around a 40 hour work week and saving or investing the rest to ensure they have the funds to fall back on in the event of a serious situation cropping up. They think nothing of overextending themselves as long as that OT stays consistent. Many have to work OT out of necessity because they put themselves in a financial jam.

They are lucky for their OT. Not all the plants get that. I know a few people that get a ton, even when they don't want it but are forced to, as well as others who want some, but cannot get any. You can't blame someone or say they are overpaid for making $80k a year, as they are working their ass off for that money.

Working the line is a physically tough job. It must have affected your sanity, too, if you think jealosy is at the root of these posts. People are just in disbelief that the UAW would walk away from such a good offer. I have never imagined such an entitled group of people. And the worst part is, there is no one reason why they are striking! They are just all pissed off.

So good luck with that strike!

-Geoff

I don't work for the UAW, I work for another union type. I'm not even in the automotive field, just the transportation industry. I'm classified as a professional blue collar worker. And I cannot even legally strike, I can only do informal picketing on my off days. Our contract never expires, as we are working under a 8 year old contract right now. Our company has been in negotiations for over almost 4 years now on a contract. We had 1 TA that we voted a resounding no on.

[BrainFearGone]

You always hear that. It is the only conclusion that they can come up with in their lunch break conversation.

Trust me - I am not at all jealous of any of you.

Let me take take a guess. You are a bul or wcm specialist just out of school? Go around and ask all of your co workers how long they have been employed. They don't keep you around long.

[Tin]

You can't blame someone or say they are overpaid for making $80k a year, as they are working their ass off for that money.

I never said anybody was overpaid. I stated that a Tier 2 working consistent OT earns in the ballpark as some salaried people with degrees working the same sort of hours. The $15.xx new Tier 2 hires make is by all means a livable wage. It'll pay the bills and it'll put food on the table. Sure, it won't get you a vacation home, a boat, and a couple of brand new cars in the driveway, but somebody that's smart with their money can live a decent lifestyle on that wage. Being financially responsible and making your money work for you goes a much longer way than simply earning more money. A person financially inept will face the same issues regardless if they make $15 per hour or $50 per hour. Even on a 40 hour work week, new Tier 2 hires will bring home about $2000 per month.