Is This Logical?

[Whizbang]

Let me see if I understand how this works.  The UAW is threatening to strike GM because UAW health benefits are about to be "adjusted."  They decided to strike GM because they are the least likely of the three American originals to go bankrupt in a protracted "negotiation."  That really demonstrates "sincere compassion."  The logic here is that GM will cave in rather than risk a market hit and loss of customers.  The UAW knew better than to try to strike at Toyota, even though Toyota employees make about $30.00+ per hour less because Toyota employees love working and would have told them where to go.  By the logic they apparently used, GM employees make the most per hour and so GM is thus more able to pay them more in benefits; and Toyota makes a lot less and the employees are much happier because they do not have the added "burden" of all those extra taxes. 

Excuse me, but I may need to take a few more Ibuprofen before I can get this sorted out.   ???

[Whizbang]

I just realized that if I made $30.00 per hour less than what I make now, I would have to take on three 40 hour per week jobs just to get the deficit up to zero.   :o

[Ace]

Whiz... c'mon.  Have some patience, willya?  You don't go and answer your own dang poast.

You wait.  Be patient.  Hold off, till someone responds.  I know, it takes discipline.  And time.  Criminy, a lot of time.  But that's just the way of the world.

Look; If I made $30 per hour that's like $60k per year.  So, if I made $30 per hour LESS than I do, I sure would be oweing somebody. Owing.  Dang, that word does not look right.

I'd be at "Less Than Zero" as Elvis Costello would say.  And my deficit would be substantial.  Now, the whole thing about picking on GM is understandable.  Like you said, Toyota employees actually have meaning to their lives.  So, no, they're not gonna fall for some arm twisting.  And after we get this new universal health coverage based on a government run takeover of a private enterprise for profit system, the whole health coverage conundrum will probably be mute.

I know; I meant that.  I had someone use that in an email once, and I thought "huh... you may be right."  Like the dept. manager that said "we need to dot our eyes..."   I said back, "yeah.  I feel my eyes are dotted a lot of times."  Like we'd also cross our knees.. or tees.

Ace; unlike my boss who said "you need to bare with me." 

[Whizbang]

There is a reality in the UAW strike that neither side is facing; greed is stopping the company in its tracks.  Whenever money becomes the primary factor for working, it becomes the primary factor for decay.  There are millions of workers in both Arkansas and Texas who would gladly "settle" for one third of what the UAW receives from GM, and without any health benefits; and GM management also makes few concessions on their own personal portfolios.  Whenever a raise is granted in any business, whether the increase is in hourly earnings or in health/retirement benefits, the business is not the one who pays for it.  The raise is passed on to the consumer.  American car manufacturers were able to comply for years with the inflated demands of both labor and management because the American auto was cherished as the best, and people were willing to pay.  There is, however, a very strong resentment toward those who demand to be paid at the expense of others.  I have never had a new car, but it has never been a point of contention for me, just an economic reality.  I always saw to it that my wife and kids got the new or newest vehicles.  It just reduces my worry over potential breakdowns and failures of their vehicles at remote locations.

What would happen if every business in America unionized and every state adopted a closed shop policy to accommodate unions?  Imagine McDonald's employees demanding $30.00 per hour and other retail business workers following the example.  There would be almost immediate economic chaos.  There is a natural law that is inviolate, and that is that whenever someone is paid more than his job is worth on the open market, economic factors eventually will over-rule.  When a union goes on strike, it does so against the economic reality that the compensation they are demanding is more than the open-market value.  This is not a criticism nor a gripe; it is a simple law that has never been violated because it is as natural as breathing.  When one chooses to stop breathing, he can sustain the effort only until his strength fails.  Union membership has become increasingly minuscule in most of America because of the self-choking process that violates natural economic laws.  Sadly, although the same violations exist in management, the chain of command is able to "protect" its inefficiency at the expense of labor. 

When an unstable variable is inserted into any equation, it becomes an obstacle to reaching a solution.  The final answer is always dependent on the value of the variable, and the solution is thus never stable.  In order to succeed in any business, it is necessary to eliminate or minimize potential variables that hinder future goals.  You never hear of unions going on strike because the business is not being operated efficiently, and you never hear management complain that their own jobs are redundant and unnecessary.  The fact is though that I quit my first job out of college for those very reasons; the job was unnecessary, a waste of money, and an insult to me personally because there was no way I could make any important contribution to my employer.  Had I kept that job, I could have retired by now quite comfortably and could be looking back on having accomplished absolutely nothing at all for the betterment of society.  I must admit though, that I still have had a lot of trouble making dents in a workforce that has not shared my Utopian views of what labor, at any level, and its responsibility to others should be.

[query]

The strike has been brief,  but I have to wonder how many inside GM will now be looking at moving some plants - say the Lordstown, Ohio plant that builds small cars -- to Mexico or Brasil?

GM has already dropped the production of Saturns at Spring Hill Tennessee - the new Vue comes from Mexico, and the Ion replacement (Astra) is being sourced from Belgium.

[Ace]

I think I did a fine job of diverting attention for a short time, allowing Whiz to re-enter his poast and answer himself without looking too obvious about it.  You know, more than the traditional Jester role, I feel I serve well as a sort of rodeo clown here, jumping around and drawing attention from the bull while the cowboy climbs back over the fence. 
Sure, sometimes that puts me over a barrel, but that's just the hazards of the job, you know?

And now Query finally got to this thing, and that's good because he knows the auto business better than I know the ads in Car and Driver. Especially since a lot of them are about enhancement stuff and pheremones that are supposed to make you more popular. 


Anyway, just to allow Whiz and anyone else to catch their breath, I'll go on for a few minutes about some inane insight of mine and then step back out unless someone is thrown off track or about to be gored...  Then I'll come in, dance around, slap my big clown shoes and run like the dickens from the arena.

Ok; I agree that Jobs are the root of all evil.  And sure, I work for money.  Criminy, I'm a professional.  And I wish I was unionized.  Mostly, to wear the label.  I'd take the time to look for it.  I could just see the Amalgamated Antisocial Brotherhood of the Union of Federated Industrious Jester Workers.  Michiana branch.  I'd be proud to be paid the going rate.  Usually, that's how Jesters get paid; a collection is put together to offer one money to get going.

Plus, it's a mess when you factor in money for health care for non workers who've retired.  I could just see Henry Ford spinning his wheels in his grave over that one.  Geez Model-T, he didn't care if people burned out or did without potty breaks when they were on the line, so why the heck care if they're healthy when they've stopped working?!

I guess the notion of "job security" for autoworkers is kinda humorous.. I mean, let's guarantee their company will build a car anyone wants to actually own.  That might get them a little security.  I saw that the Cobalt is due to be off the market in 2009.  I hadn't seen that the Civic or Camry are due to be discontinued at any time...  Maybe they're be a new "Impala" to take its place.  Fourthly, the merit of American Cars is still seen in the fleets of Cop Cars.  You don't see any of those foreign jobbies cluttering up your local Sheriff or Metro police force machinery.  Uh uh.  Good Ol' Built in the USA (so far, maybe) American Made big ol' American cars.  Although it's too bad GM has all these big SUV and pick up truck plants across the country.  I guess there is a statue of limitations on how many of those things the US Consumer base can absorb... Maybe if the local PD bought a couple pick-up trucks and an Escalade or two it'd help keep them going.

Well, I guess that's enough stream of consciousness atonal rambling.  Let's get the next rider roped in and ready for lift-off.  And don't worry any; if you happen to be thrown off topic and mangled I'll be right here, a dancing distraction ready to get you out safely.

Ace; I just hate to be the janitor, too, after those things run around.

[Bill]

In the interests of providing a potentially life-saving distraction, you inadvertantly hightlighted a perspective that 'ole Henry probably would have endorsed.  If there is no health care coverage for retirees, they are likely to live shorter lives, ultimately saving the payment of protracted retirement benefits.  So, not only does the company save the cost of heath insurance, they also reduce pension expenses.  Sounds like a concept straight from the Walmart HR manual.

Bill; Hillary will fix it all, ha.

[Ace]

Well, Hillary WILL fix it dangit since she has EXPERIENCE in doing it horribly wrong.  So there.  And, in the words of Ebeneezer Scrooge, there's nothing wrong with eliminating the surplus population.  And maybe that's something these dang countries that have scooped up all the manufacturing and customer service jobs oughta consider, because they are sure more surplus in people than anyone else is.  I think a JIT mode would work, for population.  Get people when you need them, then terminate them when you don't.

Ace; due to HIPAA laws we'll never hear how that whole health care thing was planned, anyway.

[Whizbang]

My son just informed me that the wife of a friend was considering becoming a "scab" and applying at the Arlington, Texas GM plant.  There is a great deal of resentment in the area towards the UAW because of the disproportionate income versus education/skill requirement.  It seems too that the added perks read like a Christmas present list.  GM workers start out, even in Arlington, making more money than most senior engineers in the area.  Perks will kill an economy.  Some Swedish company employees get up to 3 months a year vacation.  Sixty days is the norm for time off, and a 35 hour work week is common in Europe.  I will have to work one year before I get one week vacation.

Regarding the health care situation, having a "good" policy is absolutely no guarantee that it is of any value.  My wife has been an insurance secretary for many years and has seen insurance companies fall to the bottom of the pit on coverage and concern.  There are now so many overlapping government-required regulations that the insurance companies are often able to hide beneath the legal jargon and simply let the patients die.  A lady at work, with "full" coverage for both her and her husband, had to take a leave of absence because she was denied any compensation for her cancer-suffering husband because he applied for Medicare.  The denial is illegal because Medicare is never the primary insurer.  Since the insurer denied compensation, Medicare will not pay a dime.  She now sits at home, alternately helping her spouse and then going to lock herself in the bathroom to bawl her head off.  This was never a problem until the government decided to "fix" the insurance "problem."

[Ace]

There's a theory that government is especially inept in managing services.  You know, I thought it telling that apparently a major piece of the UAW deal was "bonuses."  I mean, they shifted the retiree health care to the union and had some pledge to "invest in US plants" but it strikes me like an adult offering a kid some cash to shut up, and he takes it...

Let's watch to see if the small car segment shifts overseas, now...  Plus the out of proportion number of plants building the truck and SUV fleets.  Maybe when we bust into that Chinese market they'll buy a boatload of SUV's and pickup trucks.  I bet 4 wheel drive would be handy driving the Great Wall.

You know, if we do lose the US market for large American cars, I'd hate to see the police have to shift to riding bikes, instead.  I can imagine Scuzzy pedaling furiously up some Colorado mountain, chasing a perk off the side of the road.  Of course, handle bars work pretty well to hold donuts, though.

Upon further review; after actually reading what I wrote, I (as I'm sure, were others) was confused by just what "perk" Scuzzy might make chase, after...  Although it is something I could see him doing, considering the ramifications, I've decided to suggest it might be a "Perp" he is indeed chasing, as in a "perpetrator" accused of committing a crime.  Possibly in perpetuity.

Ace; moustache flapping in the wind.

[Whizbang]

I might as well say it; there is one word that would fix everything, everywhere, and for all time.  It is the little word "heart."  Where there is heart, there is no problem that cannot be resolved.  The one word that defines the problem is "greed."  Where there is greed, there is no heart.  The two are incompatible with each other.  The distinction is simply light versus darkness; one dispels the other.  No matter how much an employee makes, it is never enough if there is not a good rapport with his/her boss.  GM, Ford, and Chrysler employees should be the happiest people on the face of the earth, if money makes one happy.  Instead, they are the most spoiled, fearful, self-preserving, perk-expectant bunch I have ever seen.  Every owner should treat his employees as though they were his own family, period.  Every employee should see his employer as though he/she were his brother, sister, father,...etc.  I can see some rolling eyes here, but that is a fact.  As rare as it is to see a business operated like that, the scenario does in great measure exist.  There is one very large truck-body manufacturer in the area that is family-owned that tries to treat the employees as family.  There has never been a major controversy, threat of layoffs, contract disputes, or even irate employees being arrested that I can recall.  The owners do not live in castles on the hill while making it necessary for the employees to live in a run-down trailor park south of the railroad track.  The work is very hard; but employees are compensated; and everyone knows that he/she is being treated as well as the conditions allow.  There are no stockholders to skim off the profits and no board of directors to make decisions in their air-conditioned offices or on the golf course while the employees sweat their posterior protrusions off.  There are no racial quotas, religion accommodations, or any other roadblock to prevent efficiency.  The plan is simply this:

If you will work for us, we will pay you as much as we can to keep you if you do well, will make every effort to make you aware of the best health coverage available, and will also try to help you with a good retirement savings supplement option.  Now if being treated fairly is not the best perk there is, what more is there.   ???