Anti-union opinion in Carrier
Here is a link to my latest Carrier Column. It is about GM and the UAW.
The Carrier archives don't always work so here is the full text. GM is on the highway to the danger zone
Andy Johns
Staff Columnist
So the world’s largest automaker is in trouble. Big trouble. Last week, General Motors announced that it was cutting 30,000 jobs and closing nine plants, including the Doraville plant in Atlanta, in an effort to keep from breaking down and declaring bankruptcy.
Think of this as changing the oil in an engine that’s busted. It may help, but it doesn’t solve anything.
Now it’s true that part of the problem is that Chevrolet and Pontiac cars are about as popular as an Anime Club Date Auction. Without the Corvette for car nuts, SUVs for soccer moms, Escalades for rappers and Buicks for grandparents who drive slowly in the fast lane, GM really has very little to interest consumers.
This is the reason why the firm is in trouble.
However, if GM did not have to pay people $27 an hour to turn bolts or sweep floors, maybe they could funnel more money in to research and development.
Now, I know I am not an economics major (I do want a job after college don’t I?), but I can understand the way the market sets wages in the job field. Pay people what their work is worth and for how valuable their skills are.
The supply of people who can be brain surgeons is rather low. This is why they can garner the salaries they do.
The supply of people qualified to control a wrench or licensed to operate a broom is high. For this reason, they should make low wages.
If a union steps in and demands $27 an hour, like the United Auto Workers have according to www.futureoftheunion.com, why not ship your facilities overseas to a country where you can pay reasonable wages?
If it is cheaper for companies to build cars on the other side of the world and ship them here than it is to build them and ship them from Detroit, we have a problem.
The ridiculous thing is that union workers are some of the loudest voices in the “Save our jobs” choir.
Go ahead, blame George Bush — it’s your own fault.
I mean, I would rather have a job that paid $10 an hour than get fired from one that makes $27.
Imagine if the union had not forced GM to pay them so much. GM could spend less on labor. GM could either take that money saved and keep prices lower to sell more volume or allow them to keep the same prices and invest in research.
With a bigger investment in research and development, they could have kept up with the fuel-saving, performance-enhancing technologies of Japan and Europe.
The world may have never had to see the Pontiac Aztek. We might still have Camaros. They would have killed Saturn a long time ago.
This allows them to remain competitive with Honda, Toyota and Nissan and not be devastated when high gas prices cause their gas guzzling tanks-on-tires to be unpopular.
With Christmas coming near, maybe Santa will leave these union types a clue in their stockings so we can keep American jobs in America.
The Carrier archives don't always work so here is the full text. GM is on the highway to the danger zone
Andy Johns
Staff Columnist
So the world’s largest automaker is in trouble. Big trouble. Last week, General Motors announced that it was cutting 30,000 jobs and closing nine plants, including the Doraville plant in Atlanta, in an effort to keep from breaking down and declaring bankruptcy.
Think of this as changing the oil in an engine that’s busted. It may help, but it doesn’t solve anything.
Now it’s true that part of the problem is that Chevrolet and Pontiac cars are about as popular as an Anime Club Date Auction. Without the Corvette for car nuts, SUVs for soccer moms, Escalades for rappers and Buicks for grandparents who drive slowly in the fast lane, GM really has very little to interest consumers.
This is the reason why the firm is in trouble.
However, if GM did not have to pay people $27 an hour to turn bolts or sweep floors, maybe they could funnel more money in to research and development.
Now, I know I am not an economics major (I do want a job after college don’t I?), but I can understand the way the market sets wages in the job field. Pay people what their work is worth and for how valuable their skills are.
The supply of people who can be brain surgeons is rather low. This is why they can garner the salaries they do.
The supply of people qualified to control a wrench or licensed to operate a broom is high. For this reason, they should make low wages.
If a union steps in and demands $27 an hour, like the United Auto Workers have according to www.futureoftheunion.com, why not ship your facilities overseas to a country where you can pay reasonable wages?
If it is cheaper for companies to build cars on the other side of the world and ship them here than it is to build them and ship them from Detroit, we have a problem.
The ridiculous thing is that union workers are some of the loudest voices in the “Save our jobs” choir.
Go ahead, blame George Bush — it’s your own fault.
I mean, I would rather have a job that paid $10 an hour than get fired from one that makes $27.
Imagine if the union had not forced GM to pay them so much. GM could spend less on labor. GM could either take that money saved and keep prices lower to sell more volume or allow them to keep the same prices and invest in research.
With a bigger investment in research and development, they could have kept up with the fuel-saving, performance-enhancing technologies of Japan and Europe.
The world may have never had to see the Pontiac Aztek. We might still have Camaros. They would have killed Saturn a long time ago.
This allows them to remain competitive with Honda, Toyota and Nissan and not be devastated when high gas prices cause their gas guzzling tanks-on-tires to be unpopular.
With Christmas coming near, maybe Santa will leave these union types a clue in their stockings so we can keep American jobs in America.
posted by Andy at 12/08/2005 08:29:00 PM
1 Comments:
Good writing Andy Johns! Sorry it took so long to read it. You make a very good point about the dilemma that car makers are facing. They seem to be screwed either way. If they continue their current course, they will likely go bankrupt. However, if they go overseas, they are "Un-American." Thankfully, though, you do not hold such a bias and understand that the carmakers are going with the only option they seem to have. Great article!
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