Paying autoworkers in DTW $50 an hour is like paying someone in Podunk, Iowa $3.25 an hour. It's BARELY a liveable wage. We have pilots complaining they can't possibly afford to live on a measely $175,000 a YEAR, let alone $45,000 a year!!! Well, try getting furloughed and collect unemployment. I find it interesting that the government sure was hellbent on giving the BANKS money (CEO's get the life raft, workers get the anchor), which they are now hoarding, thereby hurting those needing it most. Then they charge you up to 29% to give you back YOUR money!!! Amazing! Many seem ready to let another 2-3 million end up on the unemployment rolls (auto industry). Think things are bad now? Let a couple motor companies fail and we'll ALL be on the street. SCORE: Iraq $800+ BILLION, Banks: $350+ BILLION, Automakers: unemployment. Seems fair to me.

 

Well, since you seem to think it's the WORKERS who did this, then maybe YOU helped cause your furlough, right? Pretty ironic isn't it???

 

Sounds to me that you are Gloating on the fact that you still have crew meals. Remember, gloating is not allowed on APC. If you persist in your gloating, I will report you to your esteemed moderator/colleague for infliction of your infraction.

 

It may barely be a "livable wage", but what else does one expect for unskilled labor? And yes, the vast majority of these jobs are unskilled in nature. A person can either take a job at Taco Bell for $5.00 an hour or throw hubcaps on cars for $50.00 an hour.

They have already failed.

 

I am definitely pro unions however, unions can do as much hurt to a company as they can do good for the workers they were built to protect. I am one of those that believe that the UAW asked too much of there companies for what they were bringing to the table. On the other hand the bad management that clearly exists there accepted the terms so they're just as much to blame.
While our industry is not doing too well right now I think it's safe to say that the auto industry is doing much worse. If you look at the 2 unions UAW workers while they might make less then pilots are probably on a whole receiving better retirement and health care than ALPA members for a far less "skilled" (as a whole) field of work than we are. The concessions they have made have been far less than those made in our industry and while the auto industry is crumbling around them they still don't want to budge.
I think that ALPA and UAW are on 2 different ends of the specturm for showing what unions can do to an industry. While I sometimes want to see our union do more for us I would rather be an ALPA member right now than a UAW(and my card says "status: furloughed").
In the end I don't think that anythings going to happen to organized labor just because of what's going on in the auto industy. So I'm not going to listen to panic enducers on CNN and FOX but I also think that the UAW might want to pull there heads out of their A$$'$

 

Is bashing the GOP considered a political discussion? Well, since no moderator has stepped in telling us we can't discuss politics on this forum I am going to respond to this.

The Democrats, and specifically liberals are to blame for all of this. They impose high taxes on corporations while supporting labor unions in their quest to earn the highest wages and benefits for the least amount of work.

Because the foreign automakers have their act together. The big 3 build junk and then overprice it.

 

Don't forget to include the millions of tax dollars wasted on welfare and social security. But of course you already knew that.

 

Political bashing. Thread closed.