Ehhhh... Fox News reported hourly NON-UNION get paid, UNION workers get unemployment plus union subsidies...

And when this "month" is over, all 30 will NOT be back on line... Janesville WI mayor (who was at bailout hearings) said last night he has heard plans to "encourage" workers to start planning for terminations of positions and planning to find new jobs...

 

As far as I can tell the UAW is predominantly an aging, out of touch, ignorant, arrogant, lazy, and greedy bunch. Besides that they're great.

They would obviously rather have the companies go under than change their ways. They refuse to see reality.

 

From what I saw....and I checked 3 or 4 sites, the average GM autoworker salary is $28 hour. WIth benefits the number varied on the different sites with the max being $42 hour. There was an explanation for the claim of $71 but that is not the actual average wage. The average Toyota autoworker salary is $18 hour. They don't give full retirement but I'm sure there is a 401K.
Here's what bothers me. Chrysler has sold a ton of cars. Everywhere you look, you see a 300C or a Charger or a Magnum. Everywhere! All over the place! How the heck can they be broke??!!
I saw a news report that said Toyota and GM both had about the same number of cars sold world wide but Toyota reported a profit of 11 billion while GM reported a loss. How can 2 companies sell the same number of cars yet one loses money?
In addition, the same news report said that GM and Chrysler both met their sales and financial targets the first 2 quarters of this year. Now all of a sudden they are on the verge of going out of business??!!
Popycock!
I believe they saw the money the gov't threw at wallstreet and decided to get some too. I say GIVE THEM NOTHING!
Call their bluff. Let's see what happens.

GM was really stupid to cancel the Camaro and Firebird. These cars had loyal followings despite their problems. Ford kept the Mustang with it's following and didn't ask for bailout money. That's just dumb to discontiue your icons. That's like Porsche dropping the 911. Which would be even dumber.

 

$28/hr is STILL too much. I'd say $28/hr is about the max I'd pay management and the workers would hover in the $17-$19/hr range.

 

Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/18/f...early-january/

ffpower says: GM, your turn now... Wait, did I see "Kawasaki" on those robotic arms? That is a Ford plant right? Come on UAW, how could you let that happen!!

 

Let me say it again, the reason Benz merged with Chrysler was to get access to Chrysler's cash on hand, there was no investment on Daimler's part, they used the money for research and development of their own products then gave Chrysler the abandoned and outdated platforms to affix new bodies to, when that would no longer bolster the stock price they dumped them off to an investment firm who thought they could make money in the car business.

 

I'm still confused about Chrysler. Even after Benz sucked all their cash, they have sold a ton of cars the last few years. The 300c, Magnum and Charger are all huge successes. You can't go one block without seeing one of those cars. How can they be hurting for money? I just believe they are not being honest. Don't those 3 models share the same floor plan? Basically, 3 variations of the same car and they still sell like hot cakes. Can anyone explain this? How can they be broke?

 

Yesterday was the last day for workers at the Chrysler plant in Newark Delaware. This plant primarily made the suv lines from the Dodge Durango to the Chrysler Aspen. I watched on the news as an employee says that he blames the government AND Americans for this debacle. He went on to say that Americans are not patriotic since we opt to go buy foreign cars rather than domestic models.

 

I take offense at the accusation that we Americans who buy foreign are to blame for the American auto company failures.
As an older guy who grew up with AMerican cars, it took a lot to get me away from those machines. After 2 Camaro's that were the crapiest machines I have ever seen, I gave up. No, I take that back. The 69 Plymouth Satellite I had was the crapiest car I ever saw. Wait, the 74 and 75 Caddies my mom had were the crapiest cars I ever saw. Wait.....I could go on and on.
I did have 74 and 77 Monte Carlo's that were absolute dream cars. They had their share of issues but for the most part they were reliable and powerful and very comfortable. My mom had a 72 Cutlass that was also very good. Other than those 2 cars, my experience with American has been terrible. I was pushed to Japanese cars. I was shoved by the Americans. SO I don't want to hear that junk. I consider them to be unpatriotic because they let us down. They have mismanaged their businesses so they have further let us down.

 

Trust me, you are not the only American that takes offense at this BS that if you don't buy a piece of junk from GFC that somehow you are unAmerican. About the only defense I would make for the UAW is that by no means are they the only problem with GFC. After what is going, I will certainly never even look at a GFC car again. I have personally been responsible for finally getting family members to quit buying from GFC and I was just able to once and for all stop a Corvette order. You'd think that my relative would have learned after ditching his vette and getting his first foreign car, and ES330. But his wife took that piece of junk vette in for service. This relative retires next year and I got his wife to finally put her foot down and say that if he gets the vette, he takes it in for service. That did it. I stopped a F van purchase for the co and will do whatever I can to keep people from wasting their money on these things. The UAW can get however many checks they want from Obama after he is in office, GFC aren't getting any of my money other than the tax money. Until the next elections.

 

They build trash for decades and got away with it. Now they have created an entire generation of consumers who hate their cars. The older customers have been burned repeatedly and will never go back. I have seen the total trash that american cars have been . Why would anyone buy a low quality car on purpose. In my opinion its actually unamerican to buy american cars soley because they are american. Its goes against the idea that in capitalism the companies producing the products have to compete to produce the best product at the lowest price. Thats who will gain the lions share of the market. The have to compete for your money. The americans have failed to create anything in the last 30 years that has been the best product for the lowest price. Now they want a bail out after screwing their customers for 30 years. Pathetic and wrong. I honestly dont know anyone that I grew up with in LA who would ever even dream of buying an american car. I laugh when people argue that they are good cars. Thats all subjective BS. Look it up and you will se that they have been the scum of the earth and the lowest of the low for decades now.

 

Thats so funny. I am constantly speaking out against these pieces of junk American cars. I set people straight all of the time. They build trash. Anyone who knows the objective rankings done on cars anually will know that the americans build and been building **** cars with known problems for decaeds. Its like having a friend who keeps stealing from you. After a while you have to cut his *** off. The big three can goto hell imo

 

Good comments folks! The worker I mentioned about may have been emotional at the time since it was his last day and just said that without any thought. Still, I and many others believe that its a poor excuse and something that you can take offense to because of the wrong practices of the American vehicle companies that we end up paying for. I had two American cars before I bought a Japanese car. The last one was a 01 Dodge Intrepid that did not give me any issues although I heard that many drivers had problems within a few years of ownership. I ended up totaling it to avoid hitting a deer but who knows, I may have had the same issues down the road if I still had it. But after the numerous problems my sister had with a Cavalier she had, she ended up getting a Camry. This was about four years ago. Fast forward to now, I rented a brand new Chrysler 300 just over a month ago. Engine noise and hesitation made me dislike this car very much.

Ice350, yeah its true that you see so much of the 300's, Chargers, and Magnums that it makes you wonder why Chrysler has there hand out to gov't asking for a bailout.

 

I see chrysler 300 with the standard 22" after market ghetto wheels on them and no drop ( nasty) constantly. Its a very popular car . I once heard that for chrysler to get out of trouble all of its models would have to be as popular as the 300. But I guess it would be toyota then. lol

 

We have the ghetto 300's and Chargers too but every so often, I see a few with tasteful wheels, drop and and/or kit. Done right, I'd drive either one of them. The Magnum too. I'd have to do an interior make-over though.