mmarshall

We already have a long-running thread on GM's shutdown of several plants and sedan-production. However, since this topic involves not only that, but some other newer issues as well, I decided to make a new thread (mods, you can merge them if you feel otherwise). Last Tuesday, UAW members voted to authorize a strike against GM, which does not actually set a firm date, but allows the union leadership to schedule one if they feel an adequate new contract-replacement cannot be reached.

The new contact will eventually affect the jobs at Ford and FCA as well, but GM is being chosen as the target company for actual contract-talks (and a strike, if one is actually called). This is traditionally the way that the UAW achieves its contracts.....it selects a target company, negotiates, and then the contract is effective across the industry wherever there are UAW jobs.



https://thehill.com/regulation/labor...general-motors





The United Auto Workers (UAW) voted Tuesday to make General Motors the target of any potential strike by the automobile workers’ union, according to The Associated Press.

The vote is not a decision to strike but means that GM, rather than Ford or Fiat Chrysler, will be the focus of negotiations between automakers and the union. Union contracts representing about 152,000 workers at the three automakers expire in mid-September.

GM is the most profitable of the “Big Three” automakers and has drawn union ire lately after announcing it will shutter four plants in Maryland, Ohio and Michigan, a move the UAW has vowed to fight.

The automakers have also worked lately to reduce hourly labor costs, which are up compared to those of Southern plants run by companies such as Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen.

“We are focused. We are prepared and we are all ready to stand up for our members, our communities and our manufacturing future,” UAW President Gary Jones said in a statement Tuesday, according to the AP.

The vote also comes amid legal woes for union leadership following an August FBI raid on both Jones’s home and that of former UAW President Dennis Williams. Nine people have been charged and eight sentenced to prison in connection with the investigation.

Jones himself has not been charged with a crime and marched in Detroit’s Labor Day parade Monday, leaving early without talking to any rank-and-file members, according to the AP.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

so besides lower productivity and corruption, the uaw's great.

i hope they go on strike for long enough that the car makers can fire the lot of them.

actually any strikes will likely push gm, ford, and fca to move more jobs away from the low-productivity rust belt to non-union plants or other countries entirely.

uaw as usual will be greedy, and lose.

mmarshall

I will point out that, on the FBI raid, at least one company exec (maybe more) were also arrested, not just union people.

In general, I'm not that terribly big a fan of unions, but this time, IMO, GM and Ford absolutely deserve a strike
(the bigger, the better). If the UAW people walk out and cost those companies big bucks in lost business, kudos to them. I have zero sympathy for either corporation, although Lincoln is, at least, trying to design better products now...and succeeding. Even the public itself, to some extent, is already firing back at GM, by shunning the new Silverados and Blazers, forcing the Silverado into third place now, behind the F-series and Ram, although some of the Silverado's loss can be attributed to the excellence of the latest Ram.

Fire the lot of them? Easier said than done. Learning a precise skill like the assembly of today's vehicles is not something that you can do overnight. It takes precise teamwork, under precise conditions, by many highly-skilled people and machines. That alone is one reason why they deserve decent money, job security, and benefits.

mmarshall

One strike is on.....though small by UAW standards, UAW Local 1311 just walked out of the Langeloth Metallurgical Plant, on Pennsylvania's western border with Ohio and West Virginia. The plant produces (as the name suggests) metallurgical products for the auto industry. It is unclear, though, if this local strike is part of (or linked to) the larger strikes that may be coming.

(click on the web-site for the video)

https://wtov9.com/news/local/union-w...because-of-pay

UAW Local 1311 union workers strike -- not because of pay

by Gage Goulding

Tuesday, September 10th 2019
AA

<p>Union workers are striking outside of an industrial plant in Washington County Pennsylvania, but not because of pay.{/p}
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Pa. — Union workers are striking outside of an industrial plant in Washington County Pennsylvania, but not because of pay.





Nearly 90 workers from the UAW Local 1311 are on strike from the Langloth Metallurgical Plant.


Workers say that recent leadership changes inside the plant are the cause for the strike that began at 12:01 a.m. on Monday.

Union officials did not want to speak to the media on camera. However, they did release the following statement:

“UAW Local 1311 have worked for decades with LMC to ensure the company’s profitability & our members job security. Today we are standing united for our workplace dignity & seniority rights.”

The message from workers is clear: They are willing to hold out as long as it takes for a compromise to be achieved.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

How is this strike related to GM? UAW represents a ton of industries not just auto and this thread will get really long and really boring if you post every minor podunk strike

mmarshall

I think it's more than just GM, but they are one of the beneficiaries of what the plant produces.

UAW contract-negotiations, coming up, are covering not just GM but other companies as well. When I opened the thread, it was not just an anti-GM thread.....the vote for a (possible) major strike could affect Ford and FCA as well.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Where do you see that GM (or Ford or FCA) is a beneficiary or client of theirs? Source?

mmarshall

I see at least some link, although it is not totally definitive, in that this is a UAW local at the plant, and that 95-96% of UAW members voted to authorize strikes affecting the Big 3 American-flag automakers....though FCA ,of course is Italian-owned. This plant apparently produces products that benefit a number of companies not just GM.

The part that I find unclear, though, is that if this is basically just a wildcat strike by a group of dissatisfied locals, or if it is part of the larger organized effort by the main UAW vote. That's why, when I posted it, I tried to be careful not to necessarily link the two too closely. We'll probably find out more by Sept. 14, when the present UAW contract runs out, and the main strike is either on or it isn't.

https://uaw.org/uaw-releases-detroit...article_inline

Each local voted independently. The aggregate totals by automakers are:

1. FCA 96%
2. Ford 95.98%
3. General Motors 96.4%

Contracts expire at midnight on Sept. 14. The UAW President is expected to announce in the coming days the first company to proceed with bargaining a final agreement that will set the pattern for 2019 Detroit Big 3 contracts.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

I’m asking specifically about the Langeloth Metallurgical Plant strike

Where is the link that says they serve the auto industry which is the topic of this thread.

MM, you might not be familiar with unions but they are opportunistic and cover tons of industries outside the core area that’s in their name. UAW covers aerospace and agricultural but also a lot of other disparate and auto-unrelated industries.

Just don't want this thread full of random UAW strikes which don’t relate or are only loosely related to the major automaker union topic getting bumped pretty much weekly. I don’t see that linkage with the first you posted so wanted to nip it in the bud.

Sulu

Mike, the your original post is not news (as you said); it is now accepted, common practise for the North American auto unions (UAW in the United States and Unifor [formerly Canadian Auto Workers] in Canada).

Every three years or so, prior to the imminent end of the collective bargaining contracts with the 3 Detroit automakers, the UAW and Unifor ready themselves for the contract negotiations that are coming. They each select one particular automaker to start with and concentrate on, in the hope that the first set of negotiations sets a precedent for the next 2 sets of negotiations to come.

Part of the negotiating process -- the initial, ceremonial cannon shot to kick start the process -- is to set a strike deadline. I do not (and I doubt anyone who seriously follows this process) see this as a serious threat; as long as both sides are at the table and negotiating, strike deadlines come and go, and then get re-scheduled. It is only when talks are seriously at an impasse and everybody refuses to talk will the workers go on strike. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes the threat of a strike to force the employer to talk.

Unfortunately, the nature of the game has become contentious rather than cooperative. Both sides can be faulted for this.

No one wants to strike. The workers do not get paid while on strike (they may get strike pay from the union but only if there is enough money in the strike fund); and if the strike drags on, they lose a lot of money. The automaker also loses money when the strike is on: It has to maintain (heat or cool, and keep clean) stopped plants, with some vehicles just about ready to be shipped (but cannot be shipped due to the work stoppage and picket lines which other unionized workers will refuse to crosss), while others are just starting on the line; unshipped vehicles cannot be delivered and sold; and if the dealers do not receive vehicles for a while, customers may jump ship to another brand.

The reason I explain this is in caution: Let's not let this become a one-sided discussion that descends into fights and personal attacks.

Och

iTrader: (3)

I dont know why any company puts up with this union nonsense. Automakers should just reform and get rid of unions, period.

mmarshall

Yes, I know that. It is more or less tradition to target one company for negotiations. Dave also clarified that some of these UAW negotiations may also be spilling into non-automotive areas.

Of course not. You and I are both being civil, as it should be.

situman

Annnnd this is why U.S. companies produce stuff overseas and Made In USA is so damn expensive. I am, was and will always forever be in the camp of unions are outdated and unnecessary. We have effective labor laws that was not in existence when unions were formed now they are just fighting to stay relevant.

joshthorsc

I'm not a fan of greedy union nor a fan of greedy corporations. Even if there was no unions, corporations will find ways to outsource peoples jobs for less. Sometimes it's not always about the pay but more about job security. And if American car companies keep moving most jobs outside the US, I'm sure over time they will get less support from the American people.

JDR76

I don't like to comment on union threads, as I belong to a union (SPEEA) and am therefore not a neutral or unbiased party.

It is interesting to read everyone's opinion on here, though. I promise, union workers aren't all greedy and bad.