Your thoughts on the General Motors strike
By the time you read this, the United Auto Worker's strike against General Motors plants in the US may well be over. With GM in tenuous shape and the UAW paying each of the 73,000 striking workers $200 per week, no one wants a long walk-off. Still, the effects are being felt: GM has stopped production at a couple of Canadian and non-UAW US plants.
On the surface, the issue seems to be $51 billion worth of unfunded health-care liability for GM retirees. Retiree benefits are a huge albatross around GM's neck, and the company wants the union to take some of the burden. And they probably will -- provided General Motors agrees to limits on plant closures.
And therein lies the problem. Smaller cars tend to have lower profit margins, and if GM doesn't have the flexibility to move production out of the United States, they will have an even more difficult time competing against the imports -- who by and large either build cars in countries with lower labor costs or in non-unionized US plants.
I, for one, would prefer to see more cars built in the US. But I also don’t want to see GM go under because they can’t compete on price -- which would be especially sad since their cars have been getting so much better. GM is poised to increase market share, and more cars sold means more jobs for the people who build 'em.
What do you think — is the UAW sacrificing GM’s future, or is GM playing the poverty card to increase profits? Is the strike justified? Click the “comments” link below and share your thoughts. – Aaron Gold
Comments
I live in Canada, not far from the Oshawa GM plant. Here GM is referred to as ‘Generous Motors’ and often called the world’s largest sheltered workshop! GM, like the other 2 North American auto makers, employs thousands of semi and unskilled workers at shamefully high pay rates to perform tasks that a trained seal could easily handle. Theze people have pay and benefits which rival those earned by university graduates in professional positions. To even allow them to strike is an insult to the ordinary working man and woman. For every worker on strike, there are literally thousands who would gladly take their place. We wonder why car prices are so high? It’s a direct result of inflated wages and low performance. I say, buy import! I say, boycott North American products until these scavengers realize that they are grossly overpaid as it is. Where else could they earn $25 - $30 per hour for ramming bolts into bumpers? It’s disgusting!
Trained seals??…chuckle
It appears that this strke is just a charade to appease the union members who, if you observe and listen to them as they walk the picket line, are not very bright. I think the union knows how close to extinction the domestic car industry has become and will capitulate soon. jmo
The unions are going to kill the domestic car companies. Too many people are exploiting the system and it just does not work. It is a slow suicide.
My suggestion: get rid of the unions and hire skilled laborers outright. (I know it is not that easy) But the rest of the word does not need a union to protect their employment and benefits. And if they do, maybe they are just not qualified for the job to begin with. Go look somewhere else if you don’t like it. That’s what everyone else does.
NOT TO MENTION: how come the FOREIGN car companies can build cars on AMERICAN SOIL with AMERICAN LABOR and still do better..?
ANSWER: NO UNIONS.
The union doesn’t care about whether GM sinks or swims (I’m not particularly sympathetic to GM either; they put all their eggs into the SUV basket). However, salaries and benefits are inordinately high compared to similar industries. I agree with AndyS; the foreign companies make cars here, but sell them at a reasonable price AND they’re of better quality. The unions reward laziness and incompetence.
Bought my first ‘American’ vehicle in over 25 years last year. Now I remember why I have driven ‘imports’. The vehicle is so poorly designed and crafted, I can’t wait to get rid of it. The resale value reflects the poor quality. Many of the ‘Imports’ I have owned were built in America, but to much higher standards. It will be another 25 years before I ‘buy American’ again. They should have spent the thousands of dollars it cost to hire Union workers on the design and the product. Bye bye American auto industry. Bye bye overpaid Union jobs.
Thad, I’m curious, which domestic car did you buy? — Aaron
Farewell to the American Car, they are the poorest quality, design and resell of any vehicles. Drive a new American car, then go drive a 10-15 year old foreign, foreign wins hands down. You did it to yourself.
Close the plants shut down the lines. Why does ford rebadge the same car as a mercury? If one car is crappy does it do any good to seel the same car under a different name. Lexus and Toyota do some of this but they are both really nice versions of camary’s. Ford, Chrysler, and GM should merge and drop any crappy line it has. The Taurus, the PT crusier, they all suck. Start building cars to compete with the Mazda 3 and the VW Golf.
GM? Pathetic.
I bought a loaded Chevrolet Equinox, which I guess is actually made in Canada, but GM and GM Union nonetheless.
Horrible mileage, cheap materials, poor interior design, marginal handling, brakes that ‘pulse’, the turning radius of a school bus and a dealer network set up to cater to the lowest common denominator.
After a year, it’s my worst car purchase mistake ever. Never again.
I guess there needs to be a different voice on here. I love GM vehicles. Always have. I don’t think their quality is any less than your imports. And no, none of my GM vehicles were bought new. I have a 97 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with 177,000 miles on it and i drive it 80 miles round trip to work everyday with NO PROBLEMS. Most of the vehicle is original including the exhaust, the starter, the radiator…you get the picture. I have also driven brand new GM vehicles as a mechanic and they were very nice. I think it just boils down to you personal preference and feeling that you need to justify it in some way. As far as the strike goes I think it was very selfish to expect to get such benefits that the majority of factory workers can only dream about.
Bust the unions!!
Weed these weaklings out from our manufacturing and furthermore…take them out of the gene pool!!!
The rest of the world is long past unions… there is no reason for them except keeping substandard people paid at obscene rates that compare to those with doctorates.
Let GM go out of business, these union people need to get out of the gene pool - they are rotting away the fabric of this nation.
In my opinion,G.M. hasn’t made a credible car since the 70s.The union is the greediest in the free world.They panicked G.M.
G.M. should have bitten the bullet and shut down until the membership cried the blues to the union.G.M. would have then settled on their terms and got back some of the sweetheart settlements they surrendered when the world was bright and prosperous.Possibly, they could have started to build cars with reliability,value and character.They could have gotten away from the cookie cutter mentality.
I’m more in line with Jeremy. Can’t say I love the style of most American cars (GM/Ford/Chevy) and some need some upgrading. But overall I haven’t seen that much better from others. In Feb 2006 I went looking for a recent used car or a new one. I drove Toyotas, Hondas, Fords and Chevys. Didn’t care much for anything Nissan and as a die hard old time Mopar man, their cars stink. Style isn’t bad but they are several hundred pounds too heavy and interiors seem cheap. I ended up getting a new Aveo LT. I wasn’t very happy with the quality of the drive train but it was okay for a scoot around town car. I sold the Aveo for a used Cavalier that I’ve been driving ever since. Note the Aveo is actually Korean. I also own a Mazda Millenia and here is where a direct comparison comes in. My daughter has a 1997 Buick LeSabre with 40,000 more miles on it than the 1998 Mazda at 118K. Her car is MUCH bigger and has a lot more luxury features with a bigger engine and gets BETTER mileage than the Mazda to boot. So I haven’t seen this big difference in quality and value for the money from the foreign cars. I think the GM workers are over paid and get way too much in benefits for what they do. The rest of us don’t have guaranteed jobs so what makes them so special? When we lose our jobs, we lose our benefits. If they were underpaid or in sweat shops, I might agree with a strike. But they aren’t. They are better paid than average with MUCH better than average benefits. So why should a strike even be considered when the company they work for is bleeding red ink all over creation? GM should build all new plants with all new NON-union workers and close the union plants.
The American Union is dead. The automotive ones are just hanging on trying to strangle all they can out of GM before they turn it belly up. You know what else feeds on a healthy host until it dies, parasites and viruses. That is what the American Auto Unions are a virus, a parasite that must be stopped before they kill the host. Where elase can you show up to a job high and drunk for a week straight and all you get punished with is a month of paid leave? These people are underskilled, LAZY, and overpaid. It just doesnt make sense how they have gotten away with it for so long? Well good luck finishing off GM, you already killed Chrysler (Bought by Daimler, now owned by a bunch of rich lawyers at Cerabus) Ford is about 1 year away from closing shop. Good job you bunch of parasites you have killed your hosts.
I have sympathy for the auto workers. No one should be without the appropriate insurance. Moreover, some may work with manufacted products that have carcinogenic consequences. So, clearly, they are in need of adequate insurance.
On the other hand, I have little or no sympathy for the Automakers. They have been holding consumers hostage by raising the prices of new cars for decades now. To purchase one is as intmidating as purchasing a home. purchasing a home. Couple the high costs of owning,maintaining and fueling a new car with mediocre craftsmanship at best, and you can plainly see that it’s the consumer that comes out as the real losers here. What else is new?
It’s a management problem at GM and has been for decades.
Management gave away the store to the unions when times were good.
Management is responsible for what would made the most money for the next 90 days (SUVS, etc) instead of thinking long term.
Management is responsible for their lackluster line of products.
A fish rots from the head.
It’s time for both UAW and GM management to live in the real world that the rest of us have to live in!
You cannot pay workers who don’t or wont work to earn their pay. Like wise, you cannot pay outrageous salaries to managers who don’t have to face the consequences of giving benefits that do not make sense for the long term health of the company and workers.
If the company does well in a given year ,then give one time bonuses based on the profits, and do not give out benefits that extend out past the end of that year.
It is also time for the workers to live in the real world, and to be paid according to their contributions, with no free rides, and no outrageous work rules.If they had to be a little afraid for their jobs, then maybe they would produce a better quality car at a more reasonable price. The rest of us have to live this way,so who the hell do they think they are ?
If the company goes under ,then maybe they will come to realize how they are cutting their own throats. Not many of us will feel very sorry about their greedy behavior,or their job loss, and an end to their benefits.
As long as this trend continues, they will deserve their own demise and job loss. I have news for them: they are not indespensible, and are not worth their expense. Shape up!, and quit whining !
Next time you lose your job, eat your import? How would one consider it fair
trade when Toyota can sells 2.4 million vechicles in Japan and they are
allowed to set up shop anywhere in North America and USA car makers are
not allowed to sell a single vechile in Japan! Just think about, whether you are making widgets, toys, computers, TVs etc….. how would you
react if the same policy was Instituted in your company? Maybe Japan
will let USA car makers build plant in
their country and pay their employee 15 to 20 dollars per hour. FAT CHANCE!!!
I wonder if all the anti union people that made comments work for Wal Mart? Their heads have been filled with crap from someone. Remember you sell yourself for what you think you are worth.Being jealous of union wages and benefits,will make you old and alone.
I think the strike is a shame for GM and for their workers. Nobody is going to win here. It is unfortunate that the union folks did not stay on the line while the negotiations continued. The way I was taught it in school, it was the auto industry that pioneered paying workers a solid, middle-class wage, so that workers in the plants could afford to buy the automobiles they produced. The problem is not that union workers earn too much, but the concentration of wealth at the top, and global capital’s failure to pay decent, living wages in all countries. It would be in their long-term best interest to continue to pay workers both here and overseas good, solid wages. I hope they come to a settlement soon for everyone’s sake. I’ve had 4 Saturns since 1998, and they were all perfectly fine, trouble-free automobiles.
Paul, Paul, Paul. A union is a socialist organization. Their might at one time been a good reason for a union. Fortunately that time has passed. Now they are the reason so many companies move to other shores. A company has to stay profitable in a smaller and smaller global worldview. While the strike was on, and the minions didn’t work, did the fat cat feel any pain? (Union leaders). Of course not. They don’t care about the workerbees. They want the union dues that are stolen from each and every one of them to further their own agenda. I think all the big three are improving the quality. Its not easy, but they can compete with many of the foreign-badged rigs. My Toyota is made in the U.S. My Dodge in Mexico. (to bad). Management needs to address the salary they are being given, and the line people need to know they are overpaid for the work they do. No job is sacred. How can the union leaders expect that? What a bunch of brain dead stooges. When the big three realize that they can bust the union and bring in people that will work for a fair wage, they will be competitive. Until then, the unions will continue to bring them down.
The Chevy Equinox that Thad bought has a engine made in China and a transmision made in Japan. I like GM ptoducts. Their quality has been good. I just bought an Impala that is quiet, handles nicely and gets 31 mpg on the highway. My previous GM vehicle was a 1996 full size pick-up that I drove for 253,000 miles with only a few minor problems. It was a good truck
I just bought a new 2007 Suburban LTZ but with the union mentality not to support thier company in this ever growing global economy, why should I. I am going to trade this in for a Asian or European SUV!!!Why support employees who don’t support thier own company. I see GM being bought out by Honda or Toyota in a few years, and just wait to see where jobs and hourly rates go then..
Besides the obvious concern about retiree benefits, the “job security” issue disturbs me the most. Let’s face it, there are no secure jobs anymore. We all face getting forced out of a job due to negative cash flow, any type of employee reduction, or just on the whim of management. To demand protection from these things is a noble gesture, but in the end, it will be all for nothing. The companies can’t make money by paying existing wages and staying competitive. In the end, it’s all about the money!
Thad, based on your comments, you must have bought your car before you test drove it.
I generally look at a car before purchase, including the interior, seats, trim etc. If I like it, I buy it. If I’m unhappy with the quality of materials, the way it drives etc., I don’t buy it. It makes for a much happier ownership experience.
I also try not to pass judgement on an entire nations auto industry based on a single experience with a single vehicle from a single manufacturer. This way I am able to keep an open mind and enjoy a product when something truly great comes along…as they have been lately.
I pay 100% of my health ins.(400@mo.), only 1 week pd. vacation and my job security depends totally on the mood of the ownership on any given day…and I’m in corp. management!!! Job security is so passe in this new world of corporate greed, just hearing the words makes me laugh. Unions have to face the music that today in the face of corp belt tightning(aka corp. greed),illegal immigrants thatlower employee wages and expectations, outsourcing jobs overseas…the hayday of labor is over. Why do you think nat’l health care is so big an election issue? Corp healthcare is totally disappearing.
America is is fading, just like it’s manufacturing base, gang. We’re slipping into second woeld status and it’s evidenced by how many of our top scientists, engineers and other minds are moving abroad. Hey it was a great ride but we’re slowing down to pull into the station. It’s going to be interesting to see how many get off and move on and how many stay and keep replaying “Glory Days”. Perhaps Kruschev was right many years ago …maybe we are becoming that “paper tiger with atomic teeth”!
Corporate greed is an overused expression and frankly quite socialist.
There is corporate profitability in an environment of increased competition and shareholder demand for financial growth and performance. We are all capitalists unless someone else is making more money than we are in which case we seem to turn 180 degrees and demand handouts. That’s socialism. It doesn’t work and it retards ambition which ultimately ruins an economy. These line workers who are on strike are protecting their handouts so that they can spend their lives drilling rivets in bumpers and then retire without thought or care. So much for the betterment of our society.
I lived in Europe for some time and drove an opel omega 2.2 full options. Great car and great quality even though it was made by a GM affiliate, When I came back home I thought of my great experience in Europe and decided to buy a GM Tahoe fully loaded. Biggest Mistake ever!!! I have had it for 6 months and was so sick en tired of it and the terrible “service” of the dealership and then turned it in for a BMW X3. Never had such a crappy car as the Tahoe. So many problems so poor build quality and that all thanks to the most anarchistic and greedy Union in the world the UAW. UAW should take the example of the German Union in which by talking and by being realistic, labor contracts are made. After all the trouble they have caused and the almost communist way they behave it is time they are being dissolved before the cause the US economy even greater pain and more and more industry move out to Canada and Mexico. One thing is clear for me. As long as UAW still exists I will not buy an Union made American Car because thanks to them (and a little to greedy management) quality, reliability and design sucks… And they will never ever reach the quality and reliability of Foreign import and American built Japanese
If we american workers end up all working at walmart, because all our industries want to move to foriegn countrys, for cheap labor we wont need any cars we will be sold out. If america wants to fall flat on its face go ahead dont have a union see what happens next.I would like to know if our foriegn nieghbors are importing as many cars as they are exporting.Also think about does walmart stores in china have cases of american products to stock, like we have cases of chinas stuff. All this could be avoided if Americans would buy only US. made products. I dont think our for fathers that fought to make this country would be very proud of this situation.If we dont have unions we get more foriegners buying up our industries maybe you all like it but I dont.
UAW - ’socialist parasites’ would pretty much sum it up I suppose. Unfortunately, they are digging thier own grave. The more they rob from the system, the sooner it will shut down, and they will find themselves looking for another job… where they may have to actually work for their money.
Attn GM:
take a few pointers from the competition that has just blasted past you in the carpool lane (ie: Toyota and others are closing in).
* Get in touch with the consumer. Bring on a few designers that know style (ie: look at Acura - they did NICE!, why can’t we?) Find some engineers that can design and build a good drivetrain and work with OTHER teams to make sure it all works together! Something that can be easily maintained as well. None of this ‘hidden/inaccessible oil filter’ crap.
* Ask the customers what they want!
* Put QUALITY out. Higher grade materials and a good quality feel go a long way. Mechanical reliability and ease of maintenance will reassure your customers. ++ Kudos for offering a good standard warranty (100k)- you are on the right track!
* Get rid of the unions and any other useless overhead that is just vacuuming money out of the company.
* Maybe even join forces with other successful manufacturers to put out good vehicles - which may even help you learn a few things! (IE: joint ventures: Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe, Saturn/Opel(European GM)etc…)
* What the heck, just hire me. I would be glad to help revive GM. I would be happy to see an American brand succeed and provide a good product made by good people. There is still hope. Let’s take back the car industry!
Mary, If you are such a fine supporter of american goods only, how did you post this comment? I am sure that it was done on an Asian made computer and routed through a mexican made hub or switch. The time and need for unions have long passed. Employers now realize that to get good employees they must give good benefits and wages. The unions today are only there to keep the union officers employed. Where else can they get a job that they only have to attend monthly meetings locally, and quarterly meetings on some tropical island and get paid good money no matter if the clients that they are representing are working or not.
Ask the IBEW in Schenectady how well they are doing now that G.E. has moved the manufacturing of turbines to South Carolina where they do not have to pay a man $36/hr to sweep the floor 32 hours a week. One of the many abuses of the Union is nepotism. You always here of the presidents no good nephew that just shows up to collect his check and does no work.
Hi Aaron,
Hope you don’t mind, my thoughts on unions and the strike:
http://usconservatives.about.com/b/a/257499.htm
http://usconservatives.about.com/b/a/257500.htm
Regards,
Susan
GM made its bed and now it must lie in it. The unions too have made their’s. For decades we had been told what to drive and how long it would last by three giants. Then, someone else came along and did it better and cheaper. We Americans are stubborn and we have our pride. When the American auto-manufacturers woke up; it was too late. So this is where we find ourselves. Remember what happened to the United States steel industry? As for the product…quality is tantamount to success…and so is desirability. Is a Chevy Impala desirable? There was a time when it was.
The GM strike is a sad situation, particularly given that declining fortunes and low sales of GM products are not the fault of the autoworkers, but of GM management. Yet GM management is never held accountable in meaningful way. No matter how much sales decline, no matter how low the stock price goes, no matter how unprofitable the company becomes.
Instead, while management gets bonuses and golden parachutes, they ask the autoworkers to take wage and benefit concessions.
The situation at GM is sort of like a rotting dead fish. It stinks and rots from the head down.
The UAW does not care about the “Health” of the American Auto industry. With Blinders on, in continues to want, want, want. Bust the union!!!!!
Unions are an antiquated way of doing business from a bygone era. They have just about killed the golden goose. Nobody has job security nowadays. It’s time for union members to get into the same world as the rest of us, before they destroy great American companies that are owned by shareholders like us (through mutual funds and retirement plans etc.).
Union workers are not afraid of killing the auto makers off simply because when that job is over they can get government jobs or be politicians.
I say fire them all, and start over, many people are looking for a job.
There seems to be so much anger here. I feel all tense just reading it all. Everybody who’s not in the union says that union wages (in the auto industry) are too high, in excess of $25 an hour, and they site the reasons why they think so: unskilled and uneducated laborers. This means these people are just your average joes. Uneducated is usually understood to mean one has a high school diploma(maybe) and little or no college. Unskilled usually means that whatever job they are doing, can be learned in a month or less. In other words, anybody of average intelligence can easily learn to do it. Now, can somebody say something more positive? Can/will somebody come on here and give reasons why these auto workers should be paid $30 an hour or more and have really awesome benefits? Is there anybody who was standing out on the picket line who can give some insight here as to exactly what they think they should be paid and why?
I am pleasantly surprised by the majority of these comments calling out the unions. One never gets a good product when management and labor are always at odds. The way to succeed today is profit sharing and employee ownership. There must be incentive to do a job right and there should be trust in those that do it. Straight hourly wages just don’t cut it. Let’s let these corporate/labor relationships die off and promote the ones who will operate on the new model of pride in ownership and profit sharing.
Gm is on strike??
How did i miss that…
Union or non union, there has to be a solution to the problem, without putting GM under..
I’m with David on this. Any business that displays an adversarial relationship between the goals of the company and that of the employees is fundamentally flawed. The ideal scenario is on in which the employees recognize that their success depends of the success of the company as a whole, and work towards that goal.
In fact, in any company, this should be the case, as employees get their paycheck from the profits of the company. Small profits = small paycheck. The UAW seems to want to defy the laws of economics and work outside of this very basic relationship. The proverbial scorpion on the frogs back…
IGB…whenever anyone in this country takes a stand against “corporate greed”, conservatives,neo-cons and the Linbaugh/O’reilly/Hannity/Savage/Medved/Prager et al. group love to toss out that dirty word socialism which of course instantly equates to commies, pinky’s…not realizing how many socialistic programs they so readily accept in their own lives…public education,police,mail,fire/rescue, air traffic control, military,etc. so where do we draw the line? As to corporate greed I’ve got some examples too…Enron, big oil,big pharmacutical, major medical…Labels accomplish nothing. Finding a fair and balanced road where on can attain soaring heights, but not at the cost of another’s misery..now that’s civilization!!!
After, reading the comments here I am somewhat disgusted by what I have read. For, I would like to start out by stating that the whole unions are for lazy people is the oldest and the most inaccurate one in the book. For, the strike is about health care benefits, and I am sorry and disturbed by the fact that many of you think that there is something wrong with people striking so that they can have insurance so that they can go to the doctor and be able to afford there medications. In addition to this, one of the reasons why GM is suffering with healthcare expenses is because unlike there competitors such as Toyota based in Japan where the government provides universal healthcare for it’s citizens regardless of what there job or income is. And that because of the fact that the US does not provide healthcare for all of its citizens, companies must step in and provide it instead. Which there for makes them less competitive in the market because they must increase there prices to be able to make the same profit that there competitors do on a car. I now would like to go back to the whole unions or for lazy and stupid people topic. For, this is simply not true, union’s exists to make sure that people are not ripped of by the greedy higher ups in the companies. For, did you know that in 1950 the average CEO’S pay was 5X the average workers pay today the average CEO’S pay is 50 times the average workers pay. And yet many of you half educated self-righteous/ self obsessed people left comments on this form stating that there is no need for a union. For, the fact stated above, clearly shows that there is a need for a union in this higher effcientcy and lower pay society that we are currently livening in. And, last but defiantly not least I would like to respond, to there person above who wrote ” that the weaklings at GM should be eliminated and for that matter eliminated from the gene pool” by saying that it anyone should be eliminated from the gene pool it should be people like you. Who, are so self absorbed and selfish and could care less about anyone but there self’s. For, it is those kind of people who think that way, who I fear will lead to the downfall of the human race. .
i think this is just what gm wanted, what is sad, is general motors always had the people, resources and the ability to build the best cars in the world. they failed along the line but seem to have gotten back on track but they still have along way to go.
Final word:
One of the UAW contract points is that workers get a $3,000 signing bonus to approve the contract. At 73,000 employees, that comes to $219 million. Where I come from, that’s called BLACKMAIL!
Plus the UAW just gave away all of GM’s future product info up to 2012. If I was GM, I’d sue them big time.
It’s time for the UAW to go if this country will ever be saved.
I have owned a GM mastercard for 15 years or more now. Throughout this time I have encouraged GM through their questionairs / mailings to sell a car like the vw diesel or some other car with good gas milage. With the exception of the late 90’s Saturn (SL1 or SL2) they ignored this market. Also, when the demand for the market went up they discontinued these models of Saturns (whose milage approached that of the Honda cars - but not the vw diesel). I have not found a location to pay for and be one of the first to own a volt. The gas milage and reliability of the Honda cars have made them hot sellers.
Hospitals are grossly in need of being more efficient and less wastefull (in terms of people, peoples time and supplies). Also,a method of getting people - especially those retired (plenty of time on their hands) to exercise and practice good nutirition and preventive medication and vitamins is essential to lowering costs. Maybe the union can take the initiative in these areas. Retired nurses and doctors can quiz hospital patients and help control costs through their insight and not paying for waste (unneeded people, procedures, medicines, and various other things).
Does it really matter what the terms of the contract are? If GM, Ford, Chrysler, or for that matter any automobile manufacturer continues to produce substandard vehicles that are not trouble free they will eventually suffer the consequences. The Detroit big 3 haven’t produced on a regular basis and in all product lines a quality vehicle worthy of my hard earned dollars. They have foisted upon the American buying public such crappy vehicles that it’s amazing they hold as much of the market as they do. Since 1971 my wife and I have purchased approximately 16 cars from Japan, Germany, Sweden and have NEVER been disappointed. I’ve never had a major engine or transmission repair and rarely has there been anything but regular maintenance and replacement of wear items like brakes, batteries, wiper blades, etc. American are too smart to fall for slick advertising and will wisely vote with their wallets for quality products.
If the UAW takes charge of health benifits, you will soon see increased Union dues to cover the cost or reduced benifits. GM is one happy camper to rid their selves of health care.
As to Matthews comment #47 true gm may have to raise the price to cover health care but now that they don`t will they lower the price …also that does not explain why in canada the same car costs more and health care is free…
no one wants cheap gm and old Found On Roa Dead ford to joind with chrysler heck no our family ha been loyal chrysler owner for over 65 years plus the germans eginner ther technology int dodge veicles for xample the chrysler pt crusier’s engine was refined and desined by americans and germans aso has the steering system off the mercedes benz c class and as we know mrcedes needs chrysler . the reason say this cuss mercedes/ maybach use chryslers transmissions a couple of ther v8 engines and outher elctrical components and wen cheap old gm come running in the way with ther old crappy horrable chevy hhr’s and ther cheap bad paint squeaky suspention malib does not fit in chryslers class thats like comaring suzuki and mercedes dont thinks so chrysler/dodge/jeep/meredes/ maybach/amc/thomos better built busses/frightliner is all american with german egineering n them with the most advanced steering syetem eginnered riht from mercedes sorry u cant compare the two. also ford with ther ford explorer which is known as the ford exploader wich will leave u dead crappy old ford sorry
I am from India and owned only G and Ford cars. I have worked at a few GM facilities. What I have seen of the Union, they should have been fired a decade ago. They robbed the company. I have seen workers reading newspaper when machines are down and called the repairman when its overtime for them. I have watched people making hiding places all over the plants and doing nothing all day. I have done layout where only 5 people wpould be needed and union made it 9.
I think Gettlefinger and the rest of the union leaders should be criminally charged and brought to court for destroying the auto industry. I never enjoyed riding Japanese cars and I wish I can continue buying American cars. Before that happens, UAW needs to be totally wiped out from the face of the map.