Bloomberg quotes:
“I resent the fact that wages are even getting any discussion because in Canada, 7 percent of the cost of a vehicle is related to wages,” the Canadian Auto Workers chief said today in a Bloomberg Television interview.The $4 billion bailout package approved by the province of Ontario and the federal government is dependant on the industry making some significant changes, in order to become competitive once again. The deadline for Canadian restructuring proposals is February 20, by which point Chrysler and GM must demonstrate "acceptable evidence" their plans will proceed by March 31.
7 comments:
I don't think the percentage figures being bandied about by the Union brass are even remotely accurate. Yes, perhaps the labour component at the assembly plant represents 7% of the list price, but what about the labour component for all the parts and materials. You can't tell me a $40,000 vehicle has $37,200 worth of metal and plastic in it.
Then again, the labour component should also be measured against the wholesale value of vehicles when they leave the floor of the factory, because dealers are going to make the same amount anyway, and transportation costs will remain about the same.
I expect the total real wage cost in a vehicle is probably closer to 50-60% of the FOB price of the vehicle.
We all know that anyone can be selective for what they want to include in their "Facts" about a claim.
The CAW is dreaming if they think people will fall for the idea that 93% of the Auto MSRP is FREE money for the dealers.
I predict that Cars will be shipped to dealers as "Incomplete"
units that will be finished off by the lower labour costs of the Dealers Staff that will afix all the Badges and trim once the car is sold.
Micro Plants will feed parts directly to dealers via the Parts Departments while each new Auto is assigned to go to a certain dealer , plus...modular cars will become the Norm so that Drive-trains and Bodies can be shipped to the Dealers and assembled when needed by dealer Mechanics that already know how to replace a Motor and transmission.
Auto theft from the dealer lots will drop to a near-Zero since the only fully complete cars will be in the showroom and have very little fuel in it and no Plates on it.
The current system to ship massive amounts of Auto parts to Oakville and Oshawa just to assemble them with Union jobs and then ship the completed car in Oshawa to Oakville and the Oakville FORD to Oshawa just makes no sense and can't continue.
The CAW and CUPE just haven't woken-up to the 21st Century where there are no longer "Jobs-4-Life" as if it is a Lottery Ticket.
If the CAW members continue to fill their Houses with Imported Electronics and Appliance built by slave labour in China and Mexico , then they have a Helluva nerve to tell us Canadians to put CAW cars in our Garages because THEIR jobs are oh so special.
Why doesn't the CBC and CTV visit the Homes and Cottages of CAW members (and Buzz Hargrove) to see if they "Buy-canadian" for anything .
It looks as if everyone involved keeps pointing the finger at the others to lay blame, but since we Taxpayers end up being stuck with the bills....I say we scap the whole lot of these clowns and dismantle the Circus for good.
The CAW is playing with the numbers , but the real issue is how the unions have essentially destroyed the Big 3 ... two articles below illustrate the real issue.
" ... At some GM plants, distinct job categories evolved for each spot on the assembly line (e.g., "headlining installer"). In Japanese auto plants, where they spend their time building cars instead of creating job categories, there is only one nonsupervisory job classification: "production." ... "
Where Do Detroit's Inefficient Work Rules Come From?
http://tinyurl.com/8kxs9v
Detroit’s Downturn: It’s the Productivity, Stupid
http://tinyurl.com/5dw4fq
Interesting video about the modern Ford plant in Bahia Brazil. Watch it to the end where they discuss how Ford has integrated the parts suppliers into the plant ... something the UAW and CAW refuse to consider ... but of course they (CAW /UAW) are not the problem.
http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189
or
http://tinyurl.com/64ozaz
To Anonymous at December 22, 2008 4:54 PM.
Holy Smokes! You must be my long lost twin brother. Your post is word for word what I'm always preaching.
Cheers.
(See you at the family reunion)
I think the auto workers and their unions have the wrong idea about things. They may feel everyone is pointing at them as the only reason for their current situation. They are not the only contributors but I would argue they do make up a significant portion of the problem.
I have never worked the auto industry but I once worked in a unionized steel mill where I crawled pipe and ground down welds in preparation for the welder. In honesty it was a rediculous wage that I earned for such a mundane and monotonous task. Doing the job at two thirds the wage would have still been a joke.
Now I'm sure there are some complex and intensive jobs in a car plant but come on... wages for US assembly line workers at $30/hr is so out of whack it's laughable. The asian auto manufacturers have their plant staff running at $20ish/ hr doing the same job. Why the diff?
If Lewenza is so concerned about the union memebers wages, what is he and the union will to giving up? Has he been able to get the CEOs and administrative staff of the Big 3 to cut back on their salaries and bonuses so the workers can continue to get their wages? I'll bet the answer to these and other question is no and no.
Nobody seems willing to budge in this situation. Unions have to scale back in their demands and cut union dues. Big 3 bigwigs have to accept salary and bonus rollbacks on a grand scale(why there is reward for failure I'll never understand), the auto and parts manufactures have to set reasonable profit margins and the autoworkers themselves have to consider 1) taking wagecuts and continuing to work, or 2) refuse to be part of the solution and lose their jobs.
So much short-term thinking with no surveying of the future.
I have always been a Chev fan, I appreciate the beauty of a Ford Mustang, and the new Challenger from Chrysler is stunning...but if the people who are part of the industry are not willing to be part of the solution by committing to what may be required, them why should I as a taxpayer be expected to open my wallet?
Perhaps the future of the North American car is the Asian automobiles. Many industrial and manufacturing empires/ dynasties have come and gone over the centuries. Is it possible that maybe it is time for the Big 3 to become part of our past instead of our future?
I guess we'll have to see how much the future means to all those involved...
I want to work online ..
There are some thin if the legitimate work as a line there. Most are sites and marketing study for the site owner rich, not you. The only thing is true legitimacy Ebay, selling things you already own
www.onlineuniversalwork.com
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