Breaking News - UAW and GM Reach Tentative Agreement

Gorehamj · October 16, 2019

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
10-16-2019

It was announced this afternoon that GM and the United Auto Workers have reached a tentative contract agreement. Please pardon the brevity of this report. GM has not issued any details yet. We will update this story when the UAW and GM provide details.

j-ten-ner · October 18, 2019

On 10/16/2019 at 1:05 PM, Gorehamj said:

She still doesn't look happy, though.

so long

j-ten-ner

Penguin VII · October 18, 2019

11 hours ago, j-ten-ner said:

She still doesn't look happy, though.

so long

j-ten-ner

I wouldn't be either if I was forced to go on strike and get paid $250 a week by a union that I'm paying $100 a month to already so they can tell me I'm welcome to go back to a job that hasn't changed and that I get no additional benefit from.

It seems very clear to me that unions had their time and sad to say but automation is steadily replacing all these jobs. All unions do now is inflate the price of labor. If there were no union than every auto manufacture would surely lower their wages, which would result in people leaving and/or not caring about the work, which would lead to poor QA (which lets face it GM doesn't need any more of) which would then lead to GM folding or smartening up and paying higher wages for more skilled labor.

I feel worst for kids that are just starting work at these companies that are moving as quickly as possible to automate, they are the ones that will feel this the most as their jobs are cut halfway through their career and they are left with few options outside of learning a trade or going back to college. Rant over.

MaverickZ71 · October 18, 2019

It's about time. The democrats don't run the country anymore to ramrod everything the unions want. And their corrupt union leaders are being arrested. If you don't like the job, go somewhere else. Them that works eats. There will be no tears shed for the UAW around here, ever. The workers that REALLY got screwed were the Canadians and Mexicans who got laid off during the Americans' paid vacation. And you probably don't want to buy an American-made GM vehicle produced in the next 3+ months, until they get over their self-righteous pity-party hissy-fit.

Edited October 18, 2019 by MaverickZ71

flyingfool · October 20, 2019

since automation is the future, union workers need to look elsewhere for jobs. i guess its time to start a home business that's laybor service based in your community, these are the only jobs available for humans.

Colossus · October 21, 2019

12 hours ago, flyingfool said:

since automation is the future, union workers need to look elsewhere for jobs. i guess its time to start a home business that's laybor service based in your community, these are the only jobs available for humans.

Ditto

Penguin VII · October 21, 2019

19 hours ago, flyingfool said:

since automation is the future, union workers need to look elsewhere for jobs. i guess its time to start a home business that's laybor service based in your community, these are the only jobs available for humans.

Automation has been the future forever. Around 1900 there were over 10 million people employed in agriculture, today it's somewhere around 2 million? Prior to the 1900s there were maybe around 2? Sure the US population continued to grow which in part raised the number of ag workers but so did the fact that people stopped relying on their own local farms and bought from grocery chains. With the rise in automation those same jobs are now very low, even though we are producing more food than ever before.

Same goes for the auto workers, the rise in the automobile gave these workers jobs, yet as the car became more widespread automation helped costs go down. The numbers for pretty much every industry goes like that. The panic around automation that's happening now has been going on forever. The only difference is that technology continues to be introduced faster and faster. As the rate of innovation rises so does the likelihood that someone in a low skilled trade will be automated out. We are probably less than 10 years away from having a fast food place run itself with only a sole person there.the push for $15 (whether or not it's right) will only speed up the rate at which those workers are replaced.

The real industries to look at would be ones that are hard to automate away, or costly to do so. Auto mechanics, most construction (until 3d printed homes become a viable thing), electrical, plumbing, anything that requires a level of dexterity and some amount of creative thinking that isn't a stationary task is likely to be around here a lot longer, maybe beyond a full generation.

flyingfool · October 21, 2019

flyingfool · October 21, 2019

once you are minimized to 1 human employee, health care cost, worker insurance and less property rental cost, equates to big profits for the business owner. which means you can now exspand your locations and begin to grow exponentially. 1 employee getting paid to maintain the robot and keep the store clean, open up and close it, would be worth paying $35/hr they make more money, and have more responability, and the the owner has less variables with lame workers. its a beautiful thing

Edited October 21, 2019 by flyingfool

L86 All Terrain · October 22, 2019

On 10/21/2019 at 8:49 AM, flyingfool said:

once you are minimized to 1 human employee, health care cost, worker insurance and less property rental cost, equates to big profits for the business owner. which means you can now exspand your locations and begin to grow exponentially. 1 employee getting paid to maintain the robot and keep the store clean, open up and close it, would be worth paying $35/hr they make more money, and have more responability, and the the owner has less variables with lame workers. its a beautiful thing

Just avoid the human resources pains alone would be worth a robot that costs it's weight in gold. I have 17 people working for me now. Not so long ago I spent my time in the field making the money for myself. These days I spend most of my time dealing with employee's hurt feelings and fixing everyone's screw ups.

j-ten-ner · October 22, 2019

2 hours ago, L86 All Terrain said:

Just avoid the human resources pains alone would be worth a robot that costs it's weight in gold. I have 17 people working for me now. Not so long ago I spent my time in the field making the money for myself. These days I spend most of my time dealing with employee's hurt feelings and fixing everyone's screw ups.

And this is what blows my mind.

With 7 out of ten guys, the work ethics are down the drain , but they are asking for a raise every 12 months "to keep up with the cost of living".

Cost of living my ass. Everyone in my department has the chance to make more money. But not for free.

I'm like granite when it comes to that. And don't get me wrong, I gave a new guy two raises after not even 6 months because he earned it.

4 bucks more per hour just for showing up on time, using the brain and getting the job done. Boom. And if he keeps it up, he'll be a foreman in no-time.

so long

j-ten-ner

Teach · October 23, 2019

On 10/18/2019 at 8:06 AM, Penguin VII said:

I wouldn't be either if I was forced to go on strike and get paid $250 a week by a union that I'm paying $100 a month to already so they can tell me I'm welcome to go back to a job that hasn't changed and that I get no additional benefit from.

It seems very clear to me that unions had their time and sad to say but automation is steadily replacing all these jobs. All unions do now is inflate the price of labor. If there were no union than every auto manufacture would surely lower their wages, which would result in people leaving and/or not caring about the work, which would lead to poor QA (which lets face it GM doesn't need any more of) which would then lead to GM folding or smartening up and paying higher wages for more skilled labor.

I feel worst for kids that are just starting work at these companies that are moving as quickly as possible to automate, they are the ones that will feel this the most as their jobs are cut halfway through their career and they are left with few options outside of learning a trade or going back to college. Rant over.

Need to get your facts straight before posting

Penguin VII · October 23, 2019

56 minutes ago, Teach said:

Need to get your facts straight before posting

What facts do I need to get straight? If your intent it to tough guy intimidate me it's not working. If your intent is to school me provide something counter to my "facts", which to be clear aren't "facts" they are my opinion.

L86 All Terrain · October 25, 2019

On 10/22/2019 at 6:32 PM, j-ten-ner said:

And this is what blows my mind.

With 7 out of ten guys, the work ethics are down the drain , but they are asking for a raise every 12 months "to keep up with the cost of living".

Cost of living my ass. Everyone in my department has the chance to make more money. But not for free.

I'm like granite when it comes to that. And don't get me wrong, I gave a new guy two raises after not even 6 months because he earned it.

4 bucks more per hour just for showing up on time, using the brain and getting the job done. Boom. And if he keeps it up, he'll be a foreman in no-time.

so long

j-ten-ner

Exactly, about a month ago I had an employee quit because "he wasn't getting enough hours". This is after he turned down two full weekends of shifts in a row. He had the opportunity to make an extra 48 hours overtime on that last pay. One weekend was a "birthday weekend", this is a 50 year old man... The other he wanted to do drywall with his brother as a side job. Instead, another employee took the chance and made the money. Lots of people want the money, but don't want to work for it and the keeners end up making bank. The money or overtime is often there in almost all non-union businesses, but it doesn't fall from the sky you have to earn it and that means sacrificing some of your personal time.

CamGTP · October 26, 2019

My favorite is the people that will go home early too instead of finishing the 8 hour shift and then wonder why their check is $100+ less. I'll be damned if I just give up money like that. I don't care if my days worth of work didn't make it out to 8 hours, I will either slow my day down and not rush or I'll get back to HQ and help around until my shift is over. Like today I worked an hour extra because someone could use my help.

Tomorrow 10/26 is my first day off since the like the 11th of this month. Worked extra to fill in for someone else and gave up personal time, got a full extra day of overtime plus my overtime from the week prior. We even had a older guy quit recently because they wanted him to work a Saturday... he decided to retire early instead of stooping to that level.

Edited October 26, 2019 by CamGTP