UAW On Strike Against GM
Union Says Job Security Is Top Issue In First Nationwide Strike In 31 Years
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United Auto Worker Barbara O'Leary carries strike signs to transport to a General Motors facility outside UAW Local 174 in preparation for a possible strike in Romulus, Mich., Monday morning, Sept. 24, 2007. Thousands of United Auto Workers at General Motors Corp. factories nationwide prepared to walk off their jobs at 11 a.m. Monday if no contract deal was reached. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
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A guard closes the gate as Anthony Pesce, right, pickets in front of a General Motors plant in Parma, Ohio at the start of a nationwide strike against the auto maker, Monday, Sept. 24, 2007. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
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Hot off the assembly line: an autoworker secures a SUV onto a carrier at the General Motors Assembly Plant in Arlington, Texas, Sept. 17, 2007. (AP)
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United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger, shown here in a early 2007 file photo, says that the UAW will strike on Monday, Sept. 24, 2007 at 11am if issues resolving health care and retirement are not resolved. (AP (file))
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Play CBS Video Video GM Plant Makes Or Breaks Town If talks between GM and auto workers fail, it could close a plant that supports an entire town. Dean Reynolds reports on the importance of the auto industry.
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Photo Essay GM Workers Strike Auto workers walk off job at General Motors plants nationwide.
The couple has three children, including a college freshman, and Ahrens worried about how they would pay their bills.
"This is horrible, but we're die-hard union, so we have to," Ahrens said. "We got a mortgage, two car payments and tons of freaking bills."
Gettelfinger said he believed the UAW's leadership owed "our membership an answer as to why they're out there."
"This is as serious as anything that any of us do," he said. "There's not one person on this stage ... that wanted to see these negotiations end in a strike. Who wins in a strike? But again, you can be pushed off a cliff, and that's what we feel like happened here."
Despite the strike, GM stock rose a penny to $34.95 in midday trading.
More than a thousand UAW workers streamed out of GM's Delta Township plant near Lansing at 11 a.m. UAW members were handing out picket signs that said: "UAW On Strike."
"I don't think it's a win for either side. It's too bad it's come to this, but we have given up a lot already," said Pat Haley, 50, from Dimondale, a quality control specialist who has been with GM for 31 years.
While GM has enough cars and trucks to withstand a short strike - the automaker had about a 65-day supply of cars and trucks as September began, according to Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association - it still would be costly for the company.
"The No. 1 issue here is job security."
Ron Gettlefinger, UAW
"We remain fully committed to... develop solutions together to address the competitive challenges facing GM."
Dan Flores, GM
The negotiations came at a difficult time for both the automakers and the union. Detroit's automakers lost a collective $15 billion last year, and all say they need labor cost parity with their Asian competitors in order to turn consistent profits. GM said it pays its workers $73.26 per hour in wages, pension and health care benefits, while Toyota Motor Corp. pays an estimated $48 per hour, according to an estimate from U.S. automakers. Retiree health costs are a large part of that gap.
The Detroit automakers also face more competition than ever before in the U.S. market. The Detroit automakers' combined share of their home market has plunged from 73 percent in 1996 to 54 percent last year. In August, Detroit's Big Three controlled less than 50 percent of the U.S. market for the first time.
The union also is feeling pressure. UAW membership has fallen from a high of 1.5 million active members in 1979 to around 576,000 today, and the union already has agreed to massive buyout plans and changes to retiree health care to help the automakers.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 314 CommentsHere is an area GM falls short and after they "Killed The Electric Car" was on Hybird cars, they were one of the last one''s to enter that market so management dropped the ball on that issue not the unions. For the cheap thinking turn coats lets out source our army, China can protect us at a cheaper cost and maybe they can find Bin Laden.
He Will Eliminate the IRS! And Stop The War In Iraq Immediatley! Restore And Protect America From Illegal Immigration! http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues
He''
''s America''''s Last Hope!
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Posted by GetLoud1 at 06:55 PM : Sep 25, 2007
I ain''t joining nothing, I fell into that trap years ago. I''ll join, send me a check! Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me! Got it!
He Will Eliminate the IRS! And Stop The War In Iraq Immediatley! Restore And Protect America From Illegal Immigration! http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues
He''s America''s Last Hope!
that''s correct---Job security starts with "YOURSELF" and the job "YOU" do day in, day out. I don''t care if you work in a bakery, window factory, whatever.
If YOU crush the bread nobody is going to buy it, if YOU put in too much salt, nobody is going to buy it again. When the "bakery" goes out of business SO ARE YOU!
That''s true in any business including the assembly lines at Ford and GM maned by "I don''t give a damm, the union will protect me" greedy UAW!!
Who sets up the quality control standards ?
Posted by IOWEIGN
You conveniently left something off your post.
WHO IS THE PERSON DOING THE ACTUAL WORK ON THE ASSEMBLY LINE??! Who is on strike right now--today--for more----to do less???
The list of shiit was "endless", climate control problems, all kinds of things left lose and rattling, on and on.
Sure the quality control people missed a lot, but should that leave the UAW off the hook for shiity workmanship??
Posted by thgdriver at 11:39 AM : Sep 25, 2007
They are not asking for more !
I worked on an assembly line in an electronic company - there was a quality control in each step of manufacturing of the item.
I bet you had a checklist that you used on each vehicle. In a factory, those checklist can vary from day to day - depending on quantity over quality - try walking in someone elses shoes before you put them down.
Who sets up the quality control standards ?
Posted by IOWEIGN
You conveniently left something off your post.
WHO IS THE PERSON DOING THE ACTUAL WORK ON THE ASSEMBLY LINE??! Who is on strike right now--today--for more----to do less???
The list of shiit was "endless", climate control problems, all kinds of things left lose and rattling, on and on.
Sure the quality control people missed a lot, but should that leave the UAW off the hook for shiity workmanship??
What allows "job security" to happen in a capitalist/free-market society?
Nothing. It''s that simple.
There is NOTHING that guarantees job security in our capitalist society unless there are laws made by federal, state, or local governments that set aside "tenure" guarantees for specific jobs. Of course, those jobs are mostly government related, such as classroom teachers or military personnel for example.
So unless you''re teaching our children, or fighting for our country... your job, their job(s), as well as mine, are all subject to market forces that are beyond our control.
However, I do place most of the blame on the decision makers at GM. If they wanted a stronger, more profitable company, they could take lessons from Honda and Toyota and start building better quality cars that more Americans want to buy! A decent sized car these days cost more than $15,000. That''s no drop-in-the-bucket for Americans who make less than six-digit annual salaries! We want better quality! And if a company doesn''t make the products with better quality, then bye bye job security. (Sadly, its the job security of those who have little or no control in the decision making that ends up suffering the most).
Posted by thgdriver at 11:15 AM : Sep 25, 2007
GM management determines the degree of quality coming off the line.
Posted by IOWEIGN
You are so right, that dealership I worked at was founded in 1948 and is still going strong. As long as the UAW are building shoddily building cars/trucks, the technicians at that dealership will always have jobs.
MANY ARE OUT OF WORK (LIKE I)
FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!
WHO CARES IF GM SELLS OR DOESN''T SELL CARS.
Hey UAW worker, how about posting what you were earning in 1995 including all benefits while I had to repair, adjust, realign, and cover your screw ups and shoddy workmanship.
Posted by thgdriver at 10:52 AM : Sep 25, 2007
Who determines the price ?
Who sets up the quality control standards ?
Posted by IOWEIGN at 10:20 AM : Sep 25, 2007
Oh please....you are a true ***!
Posted by SignOf4 at 10:32 AM : Sep 25, 2007
Let''s go after an workers organization that is trying to keep the jobs in this country (job security) - you guys really need some porch lights and please get the brightest bulbs !
You should have seen the workmanship or lack of--doors that don''''t fit, trunks and hoods wont open, windows and locks that wont move, glove box that won''''t stay shut or open, wind noise, water leaks, Don''''t start, don''''t shift, bearing noise, differential noise. The list is endless.
I had to fix at "half" the hourly rate what the overpaid UAW guys and gals did not "build right" to begin with.
By the way, this is all passed on to the customer in the Manu. sug. price. They have a sliding amount that they know the dealer will have to fix by the number of cars built and delivered. What a shame!!
Hey UAW worker, how about posting what you were earning in 1995 including all benefits while I had to repair, adjust, realign, and cover your screw ups and shoddy workmanship.
If you want to look a mobsters look at the present Admin !
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Posted by IOWEIGN at 10:20 AM : Sep 25
I don''t see how your partisan comment addresses the matter at hand. The labor unions and their crime bosses are the greatest threat facing American industry today!
Posted by IOWEIGN at 10:20 AM : Sep 25, 2007
Oh please....you are a true ***!
Posted by mbcsmith at 10:13 AM : Sep 25, 2007
More fear tactics and generalizations.
If you want to look a mobsters look at the present Admin !
Why go for the oil in Iraq when you won''''t be able to buy the gas or the auto ??
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The price of your new GM is about to skyrocket BECAUSE of your labor union MOBSTER pals. If you think gas prices are high now, wait until the Iranians control the Mid east Gulf region.
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