WHY are the CAFE standards and The UAW workers taking the heat for the Auto Manufacturers situation ?
Add commentsI’ve worked within the Auto Industry for over 20 years,..I’ve worked for all three of the Domestic co,s .. I’ve also worked for Honda and Mercedes…
Trust me when I tell you , Back in 1993 Ford was busy Building absolute Crap and telling their dealers to sell cost and price vs. Benefit, Quality..etc…
Also when GM began closing Plants in the Late 70’s it wasn’t Legacy Costs that motivated them, they were seeking out the cheapest labor they could, never considering what it would do to their “Homeland” base… because they aren’t American Companies..so why should American Tax Payers Bail Them out ? >>>>>>>>>
But to now turn around and Blame it On Labor and Americans making a decent wage boggles my mind.. I thought America was the land of Opportunity and free market ????
Apparently that only Applies to the upper ranks ? Because all this talk about forced reduction in wages sounds like wealth redistribution to me ? ..why is Socialism only uttered when there’s a benefit for the little guy.. but when it comes to the top 5% it’s called a free market ?
Priced themselves out of a job ??? Again, the average American Car co employee makes 62k annually ? is that too much ? Since when do we decide what people should make in America ?
You can’t have it both ways..
February 18th, 2011 at 7:54 pm
That’s called Republicanism. They don’t give a damn about bankers with their million dollar golden parachutes but they can’t stand the fact that a union worker earns $55 an hour rather than $45.
February 18th, 2011 at 7:56 pm
One thing the Republicans have always stood for is union busting. In their fear mongering ways, if they can convince the public of this they will be able to get rid of the unions. I am dismayed by this attitude. And being a child of Michigan, hope the people don’t fall for this.
February 18th, 2011 at 8:27 pm
it’s all part of the mix.
February 18th, 2011 at 9:19 pm
they just priced themselves right out of a job..
it’s called “GREED”
February 18th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
Pretty soon everyone will be happy when the America cars are made in China and exported to us .
Speaking of having it both ways , if labor is a tiny fraction and Cafe standards meaningless why are they moving to China ?
They can turn a $1200 loss into a $2,000 profit.
Just because someone sold used cars for a few years doesn’t make them an expert on business .
Don’t worry , we will get the bailout . Key Democrats Biden , Kennedy and 6 others didn’t vote for it last time .
I guess the journalist didn’t do their research because the Southern and red states of MO , TX , KY , TN and GA all have GM plants so that A.P. story needs to be revoked .
February 18th, 2011 at 10:19 pm
The Republican congressmen who bailed out on the bail out are all southerners with foreign car companies located in their states.
I truly think Republicans would kill themselves to kill unions, they absolutely hate the idea that unlettered people aren’t all working for minimum wage and tugging their forelocks when their betters ride by.
When I think of the time they spent in the last election calling Dems elitist, and the brown nosing they did to Joe the Plumber types, its almost funny, when it came to showing their true colors, Main St has seen it happen, they hate the working man and want him subjugated.
February 18th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
Because the UAW will not agree to the terms proposed by the senate. And for all idiots blaming it on southern politicians with foreign auto makers in their state wise up. They may be foreign owed but still made by americans who don’t have, want, or need the UAW to come take money out of pockets to to keep union leaders living a comfortable life.62,000a year that’s for a floor sweeper spot welders make about 165.00 an hour
February 18th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
Somebody’s catching on…yes, it does apply only to the upper ranks.
The Revolution is coming.
February 18th, 2011 at 11:38 pm
If the bail out fails, and the ‘big three’ go belly up, Congress and auto executives will be able to blame it on the UAW and its ‘greedy’ workers. If the government appoints a ‘car czar’ and the ‘big three’ still go bankrupt, Congress and auto executives will be able to blame it on the ‘car czar’.
We’ve given away $8.5 TRILLION is ‘bail outs’ to incompetent bankers, arrogant investment brokers, greedy hedge fund speculators and swindling mortgage lenders - NONE of which will be paid back in full (it’s a mathematical impossibility) and NONE of which will ever be accounted for. It’s common knowledge that the ‘big three’ automakers need $125 BILLION to survive, so this $15 BILLION is only a first installment; by March, they’ll be back begging for more - and our nincompoops in Congress will give it to them!
This entire ‘bail out’ program is designed to allow the wealthy elitists, industrialists, oil barons and power brokers in this country come in for a soft landing while the the rest of America suffers through the worst economic depression in U.S. history [which I personally believe will strike by October, 2009].
Follow the trail and see what’s happened since 2000:
* The Bush administration has squandered $10.5 TRILLION on an unconstitutional, immoral, illegal ‘war’ just so that the fat cats in the oil industry can keep getting fatter;
* Just like in 1929, the champagne kept flowing right up until the very last day before the crash, when banks failed, markets collapsed, and there weren’t enough ledges for people to jump from;
* The Bush administration gave a ‘wink, wink’ smile to big business, allowing it to do whatever it wanted: fix prices, gouge customers, manipulate markets, and cook the books;
* Now the fat cats are in trouble, and they’re looking to taxpayers to write them unfettered corporate welfare checks.
This auto industry problem can’t be blamed on the UAW workers. It’s only human nature to assume that if the CEO of your company deserves 600 - 800 times what the average assembly-line worker earns, then the average assembly-line worker should get his fair share of that lavish profit pie. Leaders lead by example. Had the CEOs not practiced such gluttony, perhaps auto workers would have been willing to make some sacrifices, too.
Avarice, arrogance, ignorance, selfishness, egoism and hubris have set in. There is NOT ONE VIABLE REASON WHY ANY CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER SHOULD EARN MILLIONS while there are millions of Americans who are poor, elderly, underprivileged, sick, unemployed, disabled, disadvantaged, homeless or hungry. While these fat bas*ards are gorging themselves on caviar and champagne in five-star restaurants, there are kids going to bed hungry every night - and that’s not moral, ethical, or decent.
Let the ‘big three’ go bankrupt (as well as AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and all the rest of the greedhead corporations). Yes, it would be hard times for millions of Americans. But we’d survive; we always have. Then, let small groups of investors buy up the bankrupt Buick Division, get a government loan, and create a car that runs on compressed air. Perhaps another group of investors can buy Ford’s Lincoln-Mercury Division at a bargain-basement price, get a loan from the government, and build a commuter car than can actually ‘hook up’ to mass transportation. Let the government provide a low cost loan to another small group of investors who might buy Chrysler’s Dodge truck division and build a pick-up truck that gets 250 mpg and lasts for 500,000 miles.
The ‘planned obsolescence’ culture of the ‘big three’ is outmoded, outdated, and crooked. For too many years, they’ve convinced American motorists that we need a new car everytime the ashtrays are full. The ‘big three’ automakers’ idea of ‘innovation’ is new plastic, glow-in-the-dark hood ornament. It’s time for these cretins to go away- and it’s time for our bungling bureaucrats and elected officials to tell them to fend for themselves. They never wanted government intervention before; their lobbyists fought for legislation favorable to their profit motives; there’s no reason why the ‘big three’ should come begging to the American taxpayer after decades of cheating them with overpriced cars and killing them with unsafe cars.
The ‘big three’ needs to go away, and let forty or fifty “small” auto manufacturers supply the marketplace with cars that are efficient, affordable, and durable. America doesn’t need 15 million new cars each year; American motorists should only have to trade cars every 10 -15 years, and ’small’ auto competitors could easily supply that need without the gluttony of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.
Let them eat cake!! -RKO- 12/14/08
February 19th, 2011 at 12:13 am
They aren’t taking the heat from me. I agree with you. And of course socialism does benefit the little guy - though we have no socialists to speak of in the U.S. - and an unregulated free market benefits the big guys. I agree it’s contradictory for the same people who don’t want us to reduce the incomes of people making a quarter million or more a year by having them pay taxes think we’re ruining the country unless we reduce the incomes of blue-collar workers.