UAW makes history with pivotal win at auto plant in South

[Henry Whalley]

Volkswagen workers vote yes to unionizing, igniting UAW's push to organize the South : NPR

"Workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., have voted overwhelmingly to join the United Auto Workers, setting a new trajectory for labor unions in the American South.

"With 3,613 ballots counted, the final tally was 2,628 votes in favor of joining the UAW, and 985 votes against. Some 73% of workers voted in favor of unionizing."

[Henry Whalley]

How Everything Changed at Volkswagen in Chattanooga - The American Prospect

[Lowell]

Huge news. This has to be earth-shaking news in the automotive world. And good news for Detroit in that it portends that our UAW shops will be increasingly labor-price competitive with those companies that who try to hide in the South. Those companies will either have to raise worker wages or face unionization. Either way their costs will rise and the incentive to try end runs around the UAW will be greatly lessened.

“All we heard for years is that we can't do this in the South. And you can. Workers can do it. It's time for workers to take more control of their lives. The only way they can take control of their work lives is by forming a union.”
Shawn Fain

[Richard]

It’s more complicated then that because it was part of their incentive packages to locate in those states to remain RTW.

If their true intention is to avoid the unions,then they will just do what everybody else has been doing,going further south across the border into Mexico.

[Henry Whalley]

...going further south across the border into Mexico.

Yeah, it's why people like Henry Ford always preferred fascist dictators.

[401don]

Yeah, it's why people like Henry Ford always preferred fascist dictators.

Stupid comment and not true.

[canuck]

It’s more complicated then that because it was part of their incentive packages to locate in those states to remain RTW.

If their true intention is to avoid the unions,then they will just do what everybody else has been doing,going further south across the border into Mexico.

So, the Southern RTW states are just a stepping stone to Mexican offshoring. Not much to look forward to.

Apart from the lack of unionized labor in Mexico, the cartel situation more than makes up for the lack of organized anything and provides benefits to its adherents.

[Henry Whalley]

Stupid comment and not true.

It's true that trade unions are illegal in both right-wing and left-wing dictatorships. Workers have rights only in free polities.

Labor Under the Nazis | Foreign Affairs

Solidarity [[Polish trade union) - Wikipedia

[Richard]

So, the Southern RTW states are just a stepping stone to Mexican offshoring. Not much to look forward to.

Apart from the lack of unionized labor in Mexico, the cartel situation more than makes up for the lack of organized anything and provides benefits to its adherents.

If you think about it the cartels are no different than the politicians,unions and mob in the U.S. and Canada,just called a different name.

Anyway you look at it you have to pay to play.

I think Cuba may be the next playground,average wage is $13 per month and they are collapsing without the support of Venezuela and Russia,unless China steps in and saves the day they may have to forgo their commie inspirations in order to generate revenue.

I am starting to see parts from places like Honduras,Chech Republic and even Brazil,the quality and fit far surpasses anything else.

I think if anything in the future it will be all assembled in the U.S. and for that yohh up can use robots and go the route of modules like Tesla.

You do not change a fender,you change the whole front end as a module,which is why it’s $30,000 for a fender bender.

The body,drive system and battery are all modules,you do not fix them,you pull them and replace them as a module,like they have been doing with tanks and ships for a long time.

When you look at the technology advancements,the future is not going to be factories as we know them today.

Mercedes and BMW is already implementing humanoid robots in their Hungary factories,due to labor shortages of course.

They are also testing cross platform implementation across all the factories,where they can produce multiple platforms at one factory with the flip of the switch without having to re-tool.

So sooner then we think it’s going to be techies in lab coats and robots.

The unions might just as well be representing buggy whip makers at this point,if I was in my 20s factory floor is not where it will be at in the near future,unless you are bringing some kind of technology skills to the table,the days of non skilled labor finding any job are numbered.

Places like Starbucks and the burger joints already have the fully automated systems tested,so you ain’t going to be flipping burgers for $25 per hour.

[Henry Whalley]

If you think about it...

Please stop thinking, Richard. Take a pill.

[Henry Whalley]

Huge news...

Harvard Law’s Labor and Worklife Program releases major report aimed at reforming American labor law - Harvard Law School | Harvard Law School

And Sharon Block of the Labor and Worklife Program is on Biden's short list for SCOTUS.

https://youtu.be/oI5VfVAMyEI?t=14

[Richard]

Please stop thinking, Richard. Take a pill.

You should stop taking pills and try thinking with a clearer mind.

You are quoting Harvard,an institution where you can buy good grades so you have all day to hate on Jews,instead of getting a legitimate education.

What’s next,how to better your life in 10 easy steps - written by Karl Marx?

[Henry Whalley]

Mercedes-Benz plants in Vance and Woodstock, Alabama, vote on May 13-17 on unionization.

UAW's Fain braces for fight with politicians to win at Mercedes plants [[freep.com)

https://youtu.be/gwUzHyevpsc

[Honky Tonk]

You should stop taking pills and try thinking with a clearer mind.

You are quoting Harvard,an institution where you can buy good grades so you have all day to hate on Jews,instead of getting a legitimate education.

What’s next,how to better your life in 10 easy steps - written by Karl Marx?

You forgot to add and that Uncle Joe will reimburse you for doing all that!

[JBMcB]

The biggest prize would be Tesla and Toyota, whom are currently building out completely automated factories. The technology is there, and has been for about a decade now. The only hurdle has been industrial parts shortages as of late, and those supply chains are starting to loosen up.

[313WX]

The biggest prize would be Tesla and Toyota, whom are currently building out completely automated factories. The technology is there, and has been for about a decade now. The only hurdle has been industrial parts shortages as of late, and those supply chains are starting to loosen up.

Indeed.

As big of a win as VW is from an optics standpoint, they're a fairly small player in the US compared to most other foreign automakers

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Indeed.

As big of a win as VW is from an optics standpoint, they're a fairly small player in the US compared to most other foreign automakers

A win is a win regardless. VW won't be the last one. Of course these companies want to go to automation instead of doing the right thing and pay the workers their worth for slaving on the line to stuff more money in their pockets. They know automation will eliminate jobs, thus they keep their average 7.25 million salary per year which will grow even more if they don't have to pay line workers just the technicians that repair the automation.

[Richard]

They had already done the “right” thing during the strike on the big 3 - they raised the pay rate and benefits packages without being unionized,so what exactly did they accomplish by becoming union other then to drop their pay rate by now having to pay dues ?

The unions won already if it was about the workers during the strike,so what is it,the workers are not allowed to gain unless they give their kickback to the unions?

The union is no different then the evil companies,profiting off the backs of the workers.

Why did they need to spend $40 million hard earned workers dollars to accomplish something they had already accomplished?

How long before Taft-Hartley act kicks in?

The manufacturers in the south actually have RTW imbedded into their incentive package when they located there originally,you are talking about states that put up 100s of millions ,it’s not going to be a walk in the park or cheap for the unions to try and unionize those factories.

The union is a business no different then any other business,expecting a ROI,but they make millions in profit without actually building anything,their product is brokering people.

We’re all fed up with seeing the rich get richer,” Mr. Fain declared recently.

His salary jumped from $160k a year to $347k a year which puts him in the top 5% of earners in Indiana ,that does not include the perks ,so if the rich are not supposed to get richer based on performance,why was he exempt from that formula ?

Should he not make the salary equal to those he represents?

[JBMcB]

They know automation will eliminate jobs, thus they keep their average 7.25 million salary per year which will grow even more if they don't have to pay line workers just the technicians that repair the automation.

I love playing this game. Let's say Ford fired the executive board and gave all of their salaries to the hourly workers. That would be a yearly pay increase of, roughly, $1,100. If you extended that out to the VPs, it might add another few hundred on top of that.

Now let's take the base salary increase the UAW negotiated with Ford last year. It's roughly $18 an hour for starting salaries. Multiplied out by 57,000 workers, that's $2 billion dollars in higher labor costs, conservatively [[40 hour work week, a couple weeks of unpaid vacation) That's *just* taking in to account the hourly wage, and not the additional benefit costs [[supplemental unemployment, short work week, counseling services, etc...)

[Satiricalivory]

A win is a win regardless. VW won't be the last one. Of course these companies want to go to automation instead of doing the right thing and pay the workers their worth for slaving on the line to stuff more money in their pockets. They know automation will eliminate jobs, thus they keep their average 7.25 million salary per year which will grow even more if they don't have to pay line workers just the technicians that repair the automation.

Automation whenever possible would happen regardless if the wage is 11 dollars or 20 dollars. You think they'll keep paying more for workers if they just get payed a little less? No they'll eliminate you union or not.

But the fact remains, the world runs on human labor and that isn't changing probably ever. 100% automation is sci-fi fantasy.

[Richard]

The world dues run in labor,but there is an endless labor supply in many countries where they are a bit more hungry.

2000 to 2008 the auto manufacturers shed 150,000 jobs.

From 1998 to 2018 vehicle manufacturing employment declined 17 % while production increased by 13%.

It does not sound like much but considering Michigan has 380,000 workers in the manufacturing sector take away 17% of those jobs ,you will feel the impact.

[JBMcB]

But the fact remains, the world runs on human labor and that isn't changing probably ever. 100% automation is sci-fi fantasy.

Depends on what you mean by automation. LEGO just opened a 1.7 million square foot factory in Virginia that runs 24/7. It employs 1700 staff. So that's a bit over 500 per shift. Nearly all the jobs are technicians and janitors, with a handful of loaders and truck drivers. The technicians are mainly molding machine maintenance workers. The only actual manufacturing work humans do are loading plastic pellets into one side of the factory, and loading pallets of boxes into trucks on the other.

Tesla and Toyota are currently building the equivalent for cars. Humans will load steel coils and parts into one end of the factory, and the cars will self-drive out the other end. They'll be a few maintenance workers and QC inspectors, and that's it.

[Henry Whalley]

Tesla and Toyota are currently building the equivalent for cars. ...

AFAIK it's an urban myth.

[mwilbert]

AFAIK it's an urban myth.

Tesla is currently in the early stages of building a plant in Mexico which is expected to employ about 6000 people, which doesn't sound 100% automated to me. I wouldn't doubt that at some point there will be car factories that are much more highly automated than today, but as far as I can tell 100% automated is beyond the current state-of-the-art.

[Richard]

The DAILY wage in a Mexican auto factory is $33.25,13% of that is in food coupons.

It does not pay to automate those factories when labor is cheap.