Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - The right to work...Death of the Big Three

browna · 11-16-2008, 08:34 PM

And I've had an Acura for 2 years that I had to sink $8K into. All of my GM cars have had very few issues in my ownership...so it goes both ways.

It goes both ways, North American cars have made leaps and bounds in quality over the past 5-7 years, and some Japanese, especially Toyota, have been sinking like a stone in the quality department the last few years.

Part of the problem for GM and the big 3, that the Japanese have yet to have to really saddle them is, the UAW. They've become so bloated that GM has these workers...they're going to be getting paid whether they sit at home or make vehicles.

GM's been saddled with these contracts...some plants are truck plants, some are car plants, and they can't retool them, and some of the workers have to be doing certain tasks for thier payscale.

Buying them out has been done, but with all the UAW beneifts, its virtually like paying these guys deemed redundant about 5 years worth of wages just like that.

SO, they're making vechiles that sit in dealer lots, its cheaper then laying off a crew of workers for 4 weeks.

It takes forever to alter production of current vehicles and introduce new ones because of the UAW provisions for producing new vechiles, then making sure that thousands of parts are going to be available for new models.

Point being, GM isn't flexible to change, or downsize, now or in the past, their hands tied by its sheer size, its sheer size in large part thanks to the UAW holding them at gunpoint over the years in negotiations.

The Japanese aren't fairing much better in the automarket, although that's not as big a story here, even with the US plants, as the employee numbers dwarf what's it Oshawa, Detroit, Texas and all the other North American operations plants.

11-16-2008, 08:34 PM	#18
browna Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Calgary Exp:	And I've had an Acura for 2 years that I had to sink $8K into. All of my GM cars have had very few issues in my ownership...so it goes both ways. It goes both ways, North American cars have made leaps and bounds in quality over the past 5-7 years, and some Japanese, especially Toyota, have been sinking like a stone in the quality department the last few years. Part of the problem for GM and the big 3, that the Japanese have yet to have to really saddle them is, the UAW. They've become so bloated that GM has these workers...they're going to be getting paid whether they sit at home or make vehicles. GM's been saddled with these contracts...some plants are truck plants, some are car plants, and they can't retool them, and some of the workers have to be doing certain tasks for thier payscale. Buying them out has been done, but with all the UAW beneifts, its virtually like paying these guys deemed redundant about 5 years worth of wages just like that. SO, they're making vechiles that sit in dealer lots, its cheaper then laying off a crew of workers for 4 weeks. It takes forever to alter production of current vehicles and introduce new ones because of the UAW provisions for producing new vechiles, then making sure that thousands of parts are going to be available for new models. Point being, GM isn't flexible to change, or downsize, now or in the past, their hands tied by its sheer size, its sheer size in large part thanks to the UAW holding them at gunpoint over the years in negotiations. The Japanese aren't fairing much better in the automarket, although that's not as big a story here, even with the US plants, as the employee numbers dwarf what's it Oshawa, Detroit, Texas and all the other North American operations plants.