The Wall Street Journal reported last week the UAW bosses are in trouble with their membership for well, trying to keep their employers in business. Read for yourself:
DETROIT—For United Auto Workers boss Bob King, the toughest adversary in ongoing talks with Detroit's auto makers may be his own rank-and-file members.
In recent weeks, factions in the union have begun calling for an end to a lower wage for entry-level workers enacted in 2007. And the dissenters threatened to fight any tentative labor deal that doesn't meet their demands.
"I have a problem with the current leadership. Bob King is not pushing the envelope. Why not ask for more, restore more with this contract?" said Alex Wassell, a 62-year-old auto worker at a Chrysler Group LLC plant in Warren, Mich.
Mr. King must make a difficult calculation as he renegotiates a labor deal that expires on Sept. 14. He has repeatedly said he doesn't want to overburden the auto makers. But in cutting new terms, he must also keep the backing of the 113,000 union members that work at Detroit's Big Three.
Over the last decade, UAW members have given up many of the perks that once made them among the most envied unionized workers in the U.S. Some of the lost benefits include generous unemployment pay for laid-off workers, and a company-run health-care system for retired workers, which is now run by an independent trust. Many outside and inside the industry say those cuts were long overdue, as evidenced by the bankruptcy filings of GM and Chrysler in 2009.
People familiar with the talks have said the union leadership and the auto makers' management have an understanding that the new contract won't include automatic wage increases and cost-of-living raises, which were fixtures of past labor deals but were suspended in 2009. More likely, any agreement will include a formula for paying workers profit-sharing bonuses and bonuses based on job performance, such as attendance, productivity and quality. The bonuses based on the broad performance of employees would be a first for the UAW.
At the same time, Mr. King has to come away from the talks with terms that the rank and file can view as a win for the union. That could take the form of one-time bonuses of a few thousand dollars for each worker, a person close to the union said. "It would be hard for a lot of workers to turn down a check for $5,000," this person said.
After a speech at the Detroit Economic Club on Monday, Mr. King said he has heard the frustration within his union but expressed faith that his members wouldn't reject a contract without wage increases if it is recommended in good faith by the UAW leadership.
"I think that the membership will make a decision on what's in front of them. But I don't know that there is any exact sacred cow," Mr. King said. "I'm confident that if we get a good contract that we'll get it ratified."
Mr. King added that he is "upbeat" about how the talks are proceeding.
But signs of dissent within the rank and file have cropped up in the last few weeks. Earlier this month, a group called Autoworker Caravan held a meeting to organize opposition to any contract that doesn't increase the entry-level wage from the current $14 an hour. The group also wants Mr. King to get the auto makers to give temporary workers permanent jobs, restore the cost-of-living wage increase and stop shutting plants and give more time than usual for workers to review a proposed contract before voting on its ratification.
A small group of Chrysler workers also demonstrated in front of union headquartersearlier this month to protest rules, agreed to by the leadership, that affect the seniority of workers who move to new plants.
Workers at some Ford Motor Co. plants have voted to authorize strikes against the auto maker, although that is considered a routine step in the negotiating process.
People close to the talks have said contract deals will come more easily at GM and Chrysler, which are partly owned by a UAW-controlled trust that covers retiree health-care costs.
The mood of union members is likely to be felt more acutely at Ford Motor Co., where bonus packages for CEO Alan Mulally and other top managers have drawn criticism from workers.
"Quite a few members are upset that management made out so well and there wasn't the kind of the shared sacrifice. We haven't had a raise since 2005, and before that the raises have been scant," said Judy Wraight, who works at Ford's River Rouge, Mich., plant. But she said she thought it was unclear whether workers at Ford would reject a contract and go on strike given how uncertain the economy remains.
Ford has said Mr. Mulally has been appropriately compensated for his turnaround of the auto maker since 2006.
Haven't had a raise since 2005? How about you've had a job since 2005.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Unions still don't get it
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20 comments:
The JFP interns should unionize. That rag would collapse without the free labor it exploits.
Clap, clap, clap. Fine analogy. Too bad some just don't get it. Kudos for your comment September 4, 2011 8:31 PM!
Kinda' makes me think. Let me exploit labor while profiting....hmmm.
Is that sometimes referred to as profiting, or worse, capitalism?
OH, if forgot, it is the evil conservatives that are responsible for this.
Allstate agencies unionized ... fine new insurance if you have allstate. Its just a matter of time!
Off topic, but important.
Say it ain't so !
First Monica Hernandez, ... now Julie Straw.
Yes , ... Ms Straw is going back home to California
We wish her well .
We'll miss ya Julie ! ! !
Julie never did master the art of reading the news on air. But she did improve some.
Actually, Julie did a great job and sure wish she wouldn't leave. There is at least one on 3 that remains and can't read a sentence, however. But, 16 does a great job and is on at 4:30 a.m.
I think we can all agree that union bosses abused their power when they had it.
But, it's pretty hard to stomach some of these executive level bonuses, especially when the money could be plowed back into the company and/or used to create jobs.
Many in the 18-30 group are working jobs once done by 2 people.
Tying compensation to performance and productivity worked. How did we get away from that?
Like I've written before, if they had followed Jerome York's (RIP) recommendations in the early 2000's, they would have avoided all of this trouble. However, it seems the workers want to go right back into the sewer when GM and Chrysler have not crawled out of it yet.
Julie Straw, cute as she is, never met a sentence she couldn't butcher. 16 seems to have upgraded in the diversity department now with the clown in the St. Louis Pimp outfits.
Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa:
"President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march. Let's take these son of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong."
Hmmm...wonder who all the recently unemployed workers and those with home foreclosures will believe?
Anybody remember what the economic conditions were when collective bargaining became legal?
Who are the " real Americans"? The CEOs and owners or the working class who are working more hours for less or have lost their jobs? Any chance they are ALL Americans?
The CEO of GE doesn't MAKE anything. If he didn't have people MAKING the appliances, there would be no appliances. The workers couldn't make appliances without the plans and tools.
Good Lord, help us stop this stupid argument where everyone loses in the end and find a fair middle road where both the workers and the executives are fairly compensated for their contribution to the process.
Compensation is only the dead horse getting beaten. Both are fairly compensated now.
Monica Hernandez is still the Best !
WWL does not realize how lucky they are to have her .
11:40 I'm shocked. You think millions in bonuses to CEOs who ran a company into the ground is fair compensation? You think paying wages for one job when the employee is now responsible for two position's work is fair?
I have a child working three positions, being paid a salary for one and working 65 hours a week without any compensation for added hours and that child's peers are experiencing the same. Also, there is a new practice of hiring two people for one position and making them both part time employees.
One could argue that 3 positions for the work was too many workers. But, 2 workers should have picked up half of two of the positions not one picking up ALL three.
Something is seriously wrong in our country . Labor leaders feather their nests and make unreasonable demands but so do some executives. The fact of the matter is there is a lack of ethics in our society, there is a lack of any sense of responsibility other than to self. And, those who are bereft of ethics and responsibility don't seem to understand that they are a part of something larger than their egos. Nor can they see their self interests reach beyond the immediate desire for money and/or power. They are not Patriots.
Blah, blah, blah, blah. You aren't worth the time.
I miss Monica.
I miss Wendy.
And now, Julie is leaving.
I'm giving up TV news.
If only Bert Case were prettier.
Bert Case is a stud upside the historic WJTV weatherman Bob Neblitt.
(That one will fly over the youngster's heads )
If they could have only seen a Jackson weatherman who appeared to be .14 on the Ridgeland DUI scale each night, babbling about a cold front, while slurping up a bowl of ice cream. (A local dairy plant was a sponsor) plus, live ads were common in the 1960's. Damn, that was better than anything SNL could have dreamed up....
Anyway, ... Bob was OK, but he was no Woody Asaff !
If I remember, Woody would also eat a bowl of Seal Lilly Ice cream on air as well.
Yep....I miss those days when Reddy Kilowatt was on the wall behind the weatherman and Augie File would read the sports.
Am reading Crash Course right now by Ingrassia. Worth reading.
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