This type of story about domestic autoworkers, assumed to be UAW, makes it hard for the Big 3 to overcome the perception of poor quality vehicles.

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news...ed_20100923_dk

 

A few rotten apples spoil the whole bunch.

 

Not sure what is so surprising here. Maybe to those sheltered from society?

 

Eh, 1. its fox, it might as well be on a tabloid. Those didn't even look like a group of dude s that worked at the same company, all in street cloths. 2. American cars have fallen behind the quality curve for so many other reasons anyhow.

 

I wish the US automakers would die off, just to see those union animals starve.

 

Right, since every other station “is the truth”. And it’s a local station, as an fyi

What do you mean worked at the same company? Half my family worked in the big 3, many of them go to work in “street cloths”

As far as quality, have you checked ratings recently or you looking at something from 1985?

 

Agreed. And look, even white collar business men/women drink at lunch sometimes at " lunch meetings." This is not something that is brand new and only associated with UAW blue collar workers in Detroit. Open your eyes folks...

 

Cannot even count how many times I sat down with execs and we had a scotch \ beer at lunch...........

 

Growing up in Detroit, I remember a favorite high school teacher telling my class about how employees of the Big 3 would go out into the parking lots at lunch to drink and get high. He also talked about how many Japanese auto workers would play volleyball and exercise at lunch. This was in the early 1980's. I can see things haven't changed much.

 

One thing, though, that is overlooked by the article is that much of what is on today's new vehicles is assembled, fitted, or painted by robots. In fact, that's one reason (among several) why so workers in the auto industry have been laid off....UAW or otherwise. Robots don't care who's drinking on their lunch hour or who's not....though, of course, you want the people who are programming and overseeing the robots to be sober.

 

Minus Ford, I agree... does the UAW now have mandatory drug screening.... if you pass, you fail? Wait, is that contradictory? Wait, who bailed out GM.... and the unions????

 

Why? At a time when many American-designed/produced vehicles, after decades, are FINALLY beginning to become competitive with the best from other countries? I agree.........get rid of alcoholics/substance-abusers on the assembly lines if they don't (or won't) rehab, BUT....... let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Many UAW members, after the pay/benefit/job-security cuts of the past few years, are also becoming more productive....perhaps too much so, as they have to earn a living/retirement for themselves and their families just like anybody else.

 

What does that even mean with the whole fox and tabloid comment? Do you think everything was just staged and made up because you have something against fox? It was a local station anyways. Do you think CBS, NBC, MSNBC, Time, CNN, etc don't have their extreme biases and agendas? The one anchor admitted being a union member for a long time and he was outraged so I don't think this was just made up story to suit an agenda.

I have worked at a GM plant and in most cases you can wear your street clothes at worked. I also knew there were several guys/gals who would drink and smoke up during their lunch break but then again every job I have had whether blue or white collar had people who drank and did drugs before work, during work, during lunch breaks. Drinking is often done very openly at meetings/lunch in many white collar jobs.

This looks terrible for Chrysler especially after getting bailed out by the government but the reality is drinking/doing drugs on the job is not limited to just union members, autoworkers, or blue collar jobs. If people don't think the same thing happens with white collar/technical workers, police officers, military, engineers, teachers, security guards, judges, etc they are incredibly naive.

Even with some autoworkers drinking/smoking up on their lunch breaks that has very little to do with the Big 3s past/present problems with design, reliability, durability, competitiveness, and quality with their vehicles.

 

... but I can no longer put Ford in this equation... they are doing phenomenal and continue to improve

 

lol... 10char