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Originally Posted by Ohio XB
I have not met any Ford workers at the plant I work at or the plant my wife works at that have a problem with what Mulally gets paid, and has been paid. Personally, I don't have a problem with it. As far as I am concerned, Ford Motor Company exists anywhere in the world today because of him.
Yes, the workers still have the right to organize and to strike. As organized labor they also have the right to bargain for most things about their job.
The Federal Government stated to GM, if they were to get the bail out money certain criteria would have to be met. There was a list for Management and there was a list for Labor. One of the things on that list was that the UAW accept suspending the right to strike for 5 (I believe) years. The UAW members approved this, along with the rest of the requested concessions.
Ford UAW members also approved all the concessions that the GM and Chrysler workers did, except for the suspension of the right to strike and one other thing, which I cannot remember at the moment. However, these concessions were given to Ford by the UAW members BEFORE GM and Chrysler we requested to do so. It was a demonstration by the UAW at Ford of the acknoweldgement of the situation in the industry, as opposed to GM and Chysler workers where it was an accepted condition of bail out money.
Over the past 10 years wages have been going down in the US. This has been a result of many factors: More workers than jobs and people taking what they can get, and employers know this. The threat of offshoring jobs to cheap labor. The numerous times labor HAS been offshored to cheap countries. NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) which was supposed to open up easier trade between Canada, the US, and Mexico, and help raise the wages and living standard in Mexico. Yeah, like that was really going to happen.
American jobs went to Mexico and then went to China as China openned to the West. Americans were making too much money, but could afford the products, then the Mexicans who replaced the Americans were making too much money (1.25 US/hr.) when China openned up so they lost their jobs and US companies went to China. Now China has so much work wages have increased to $1 US and sometimes more. Now work is leaving China, where they make too much, and going to Viet Nam.
I am sure something similar is happening in Australia.
As far as the assembly line workers, I can tell you at Ford, by the time you have been there 10 years Ford has spent another $10,000 US in training for you. These are things such as understanding continuous improvement, quality work processes, safety, error proofing, other safety classes, other quality classes and techniques, and more. These are not "trained monkeys" as some have called them here (in the US). They just make it look easy because they have done it so much.
Nobody retires from the line unscathed. People have knees replaced, vertebrea fused, carpal tunnel surgery, hips replaced, braces they will wear the rest of their lives, limps, loss of range of movement, and more. Everybody ends up with something. However, $28/hr is worth it, to most. To do this work and end up with these injuries for $14/hr? Hell no!
The UAW uses a guideline for how level pay is. Back in the 1970's or 80's the top brass on average made 30 times what an assembly line worker made. So let's say the worker made $8/hr. This would mean that top brass was compensated equal to $240.hr. Well, they are running a corporation and are probably worth that.
Today (2010) the top brass average is 300 times more than the line worker.
So is someone being paid too much or is someone being paid too little?
All I know is, changing the wage to $14/hr is going to increase that difference even more.
In the southern part of the country wages are lower. I won't speculate why, I will just state that fact. Most of the foreign car companies who have built plants here in the past 10 - 15 years have built them in the south for this reason. Their workers are paid about $14/hr.
In the northern US wages are higher, typically. Even in foreign plants that have built in the north the wages are higher; about $18 at some, $29 at others, including Toyota. Politicians like to point to the lower wage ones in the south (mostly foriegn owned plants) and say "See? They can do it a lot cheaper!" Well, most companies making anything can do it cheaper there.......but.....you also get what you pay for, which may be why US car manufacturers don't build very far south.
That's all I've got for now.
Steve
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