R.I.P. General Motors (1931-2006)

These greedy corporate types will soon put you out on your butt
The Unions should have made sure that changes were made so
profitability would keep the company going
It is too late to feel sorry now
The bankruptcy will happen soon
Those greedy fuckers on top will make sure of that as soon as they have
got as much out of the company and into their own pockets

 

Not really. General Electric, for example, is a very well managed
company which continues to thrive while at the same time being well
regarded by the investment community.

You have misplaced your anger.

John

 

You bring up an interesting and true point about how non-union businesses
figure how much they'll pay their help by comparing themselves to a union
business. But it's only the tip of the iceberg. Non-profits do exactly the
same thing. For example, Mercy Hospital in Springfield MA is union, and
right next door is Baystate Hospital, a non-union. Baystate looks at the
recent negotiations Mercy went through and ties it's pay raise to that of
Mercy's.
But there's also the other side of the union coin. I have yet to see union
stewards put in only the allotted hours during the business day on company
time. Recently Danaher tools closed and moved down south. They make
Craftsman ratchet wrenches. Right up to the last minute of operations the
union guys were making deals with the company totally disregarding the needs
of the low people. they were out for themselves and now I hope they're
working at a place they REALLY have to work.
I was asked to become a union steward (not at the place I just mentioned, I
just happen to know someone who worked there) because they like how I
handled things. I told them I didn't like how they handled things and how
they didn't know when to back off. I also said to stop looking for trouble
and go back to your machine and start making parts you lazy ass.
I worked there for 25 years and could get away saying that. I also told my
supervisors to go screw themselves and leave me alone so I could make money
for the company. You see, there's goofballs on both sides of the fence.

 

about the Chevy Aveo and also the Chevy HHR. They are NOT DAEWOO cars and GM
does not own Daewoo. The Aveo and the HHR are are both rebadged Suzukis just
the GEO's were. Somebody needs to quit making things up. GM has partnered
with Suzuki and Toyota in the past. I think the Geo Prizm was actually a
Toyota Corolla. I know the compact sized Chevy Novas were actually Toyota
Corollas and they weren't bad cars but not as good as a Honda of course.


-jeff

 

Why is it OK for consumers to take advantage of low wage countries but not
for the manufactures to do the same? If Americans keep buying from other
counties the only thing their kids will need to know is how to say "Do you
want fries with that? or Welcome to WalMart" Better wise up they are YOUR
jobs that are being lost


mike hunt

 

Finally somebody has said it, Prescient Bush is at fault for GMs problems.
LOL


mike hunt

 

(...)

The unions that will remain strongest are the ones that represent government
workers.

The MTA had a strike on NYC's subways and buses, the NYC teachers got a
better contract, Philadelphia's transit went on strike.

Jeff

 

Honda TRUCKS? You are kidding right? The Ridgeline can hardly be called a
truck. It is after all based on car chassis just like their minivan LOL


mike hunt


">

 

I doubt it. If the entire chain became unioned, it would either be go out of
business or work with the unions.

And with unions, they would pay decent wages and get decent benefits.

And now, they lower the standards of living both in the communities and for
their workers. Gee, what a great a thing.

And this is all the unions' fault?

I teach in a public school in NYC. Without the unions, the schools would
have teachers work before school watching the kids during breakfast and
after school, tutoring and all, for no more pay. In addition, they would
have teachers teach 6 or 7 classes a day. It would be horrible for the
students, because teachers need time to plan lesssons and prepare for class.
The administration would treat teachers horribly.

In NYC, the city appointed an acting principal to be the full-time principal
after 40+ teachers at the school signed a petition against him. The
principal had run a charter school into Philadelphia into the ground before
coming to NYC. Is that the union's fault? You can read about it here:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/403462p-341737c.html
(note: it seems that the principal didn't get to stay, because he has been
indicted for fraud concerning his actions in Philadelphia.)

Jeff

 

...and who do you think caused those big health care costs to be part
of the contracts? When US car manufacturers are saddled with well
in excess of $2,000 per car for health care and pension costs that
IS a very big problem.

Mind you, it's not the only problem -- stupid designs and poor
management are also to blame, but in my judgment, unions own the
biggest piece of the blame pie.

 

100 agree. Labor and management should be a partnership -- not an
adversarial confrontation. Labor unions are not only no longer
needed, they are dangerous. GM & Ford are prime examples.

 

Two years ago the Canadian Oshawa GM plant won a large award as the most
efficient and quality-producing automotive plant in the world.

GM then closed it down.

Would you trust these people to tighten your nuts?


Pe











..


I choose Polesoft Lockspam to fight spam, and you?
http://www.polesoft.com/refer.html

 

That's not the question. The question: will people buy them? After all, most
people don't take their trucks off road, except to park them.

Jeff

 

About a half hour ride from here is an abandon GE factory and all the ground
water is polluted for miles. Don't take it personally John, but screw you.
mark_

 

The automakers. The health costs and other benefits were started in the 40s
as a way to attrack workers because they couldn't raise wages (seems the US
was a bit busy with Germany and Japan).

Yes, it is.

The soaring cost of health care is not the fault of the unions or GM
management.

Nor kid the union or the management foresee that the cost of healthcare
would be so high nor so many members alive so long after retirement.

There is a similar problem with social security (although not nearly as bad
as Bush would have you believe - I did not say think because he does not
want people to think, because then they would question him).



Jeff

 

Actually, they were the same care as the Toyota Corolla. And a good deal,
too. You could buy one for less than the same Toyota.

They were built on the same assembly plant on the same line.

Jeff

 

One thing about almost all companies, including Walmart, Ford, GE and IBM is
that they are in business to make money for their stockbrokers. They are not
in business for their costumers, employees or the environment.

It's the American way.

That also means that we need to make protections for other stake holders.
These protections include unions and laws.

Jeff

 

Trust me, it would have the biggest going out of business sale you ever saw.

But they're doing that now in most of the places they are. They're actually
paying something like $10.00 an hour to new hires. I had to work 10 years
to get to 6.55 an hour.

Sorry, you can't prove that, that's just union propaganda.

Yes it is. By the NEA demanding more money be thrown at the problem time
and time again, while refusing any accountability on the part of their
teachers, we have made the problem a lot worse in the last 40 years. We've
been throwing money at the problem every time the NEA says to since 1965 and
our schools here in Illinois are a national embarrasment. And if you
remember, the NEA doesn't support the "No Child Left Behind" act, because it
promotes merit pay, which any union is against, including the NEA.

I see teachers working before and after school here in Illinois and they are
union. So what damn good did your union do?

Charles of Schaumburg

 

But those and the Geo Prism were built to GM specs, not Toyota specs. There
is a difference. I've seen a lot more Toyotas of that vintage than
Novas/Prisms on the road.

Charles of Schaumburg