UAW Hermosillo

[fossil]

35 years as an auto worker, UAW, on strike 1 week. didn't even come up in the picket rotation.

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[Old Ford Guy]

people wrongly assume that assembly line work is easy . when Ford went to the now traditional assembly line method he was plagued by employee turnover resulting in high training costs and quality issues.

In January 1914, Henry Ford started paying his auto workers a remarkable $5 a day. Doubling the average wage helped ensure a stable workforce and likely boosted sales since the workers could now afford to buy the cars they were making. It laid the foundation for an economy driven by consumer demand.

As of Jul 19, 2023, the average hourly pay for an UAW in the United States is $18.54 an hour.

Assembly line work(or factory work period) is not for everyone, not then and not now. back in the early years of Ford's transition to a moving assembly line Ford main manufacturing plant (Highland Hts.) needed some 15,000 people to operate, yet the employee turnover was so severe that Ford had to hire and train some 50,000 workers a year just to have enough folks on hand to run the business.
so Ford did something that was revolutionary. they not only more than DOULBLED their workers pay they also reduced the hours per day to eight hrs per shift 5 days a wk. at the time most workers in America worked 10 hrs a day 5 days a wk and 1/2 a day on Saturday.
the result was such a MASSIVE surge in productivity that Ford actually started reducing prices while increasing BOTH market share and profit$. i often wonder what would happen if a major manufacturer did such a thing today?
BTW Ford was severely critizied at the time, the Wall Street Journal; the New York Times and just about every pundit of the day was certain that Ford had lost their D*mn mind, but Ford's move had a direct hand in creating the 'middle class' that has helped American workers enjoy a standard of living most hourly workers would love to have.

 

[Old Ford Guy]

Unions lifted the bottom of society and into the middle class. Vacations, health insurance, sick leave, pensions and child labor laws are just a tiny list of what union members fought for, and some died for. Do you think that companies sat down and drew up a list of things to shower on their employees?
Want to know what the two strongest unions are in this country? AMA and the BAR. Next strongest . . . the United States Chamber of Commerce.

if you like the idea of a 40 work wk, thank the Unions. If you think weekends off are a good idea, thank the Unions. if you like having paid days off, thank the Unions....you see where im going here? most Big Business didnt just give you these things, Unions fought tooth & nail for these and a whole lot more. there are SO many things that most folks take for granted that the Unions have won, not just for their members but for all of us. when i was still working @ Ford the salaried employees were always secretly rooting for the UAW to secure another paid holiday or bigger bonus because if we got it odds were they would too. Sure Unions have had and do have issues but Unions arnt the enemy folks.

 

[SLINGSHOT]

if you like the idea of a 40 work wk, thank the Unions. If you think weekends off are a good idea, thank the Unions. if you like having paid days off, thank the Unions....you see where im going here? most Big Business didnt just give you these things, Unions fought tooth & nail for these and a whole lot more. there are SO many things that most folks take for granted that the Unions have won, not just for their members but for all of us. when i was still working @ Ford the salaried employees were always secretly rooting for the UAW to secure another paid holiday or bigger bonus because if we got it odds were they would too. Sure Unions have had and do have issues but Unions arnt the enemy folks.

"A rising tide floats all ships" was was never truer than when unions win something and everybody else jumps on the band wagon.

 

[Mav_RICK]

Workers at UAW plants make enough money to be able to purchase the car they are assembling. Not so with Tesla.

Oh really? You all better get busy then and start buying all those F150s and the like sitting around on lots then because apparently nobody else can afford them.

 

[fossil]

Oh really? You all better get busy then and start buying all those F150s and the like sitting around on lots then because apparently nobody else can afford them.

when F series drops from #1 I suppose Ford should worry but it doesn't stop there. GM recently shuttered it's Fort Wayne truck plant for 2 weeks when inventory reached 100 day supply.
Thing is, both manage to move those trucks at the end of the day. They both can discount around 5K end of year if needed and still make a profit when most tradesmen etc not needing the latest and greatest etc buy their work trucks. prime time for folks who keep trucks 5+ yrs to buy.
the impact of the "cheap" truck formula Ford is experimenting with the Maverick remains to be seen.
there are 10 2023 trucks on the market that start at $40K

 

[fossil]

UAW needs to organize the Cybertruck plant in Austin. Line workers only make around $20/hr which has contributed to the severe shortage of affordable housing. Especially since Tesla received major tax breaks and incentives to locate there. Workers at UAW plants make enough money to be able to purchase the car they are assembling. Not so with Tesla.

Tesla, Toyota and all the other non union auto makers keep an eagle eye on UAW benefits and pay and adjust their packages to deter organizing.
Not sure what's going on with the Tesla brand lately with the on going price reductions. hoping to maintain their grip on the EV market is part of it I suppose. What escapes notice is the Tesla used car market taking a 30% hit this year. Not a feel good deal for Tesla owners I'm sure.

 

[Mav_RICK]

when F series drops from #1 I suppose Ford should worry but it doesn't stop there. GM recently shuttered it's Fort Wayne truck plant for 2 weeks when inventory reached 100 day supply.
Thing is, both manage to move those trucks at the end of the day. They both can discount around 5K end of year if needed and still make a profit when most tradesmen etc not needing the latest and greatest etc buy their work trucks. prime time for folks who keep trucks 5+ yrs to buy.
the impact of the "cheap" truck formula Ford is experimenting with the Maverick remains to be seen.
there are 10 2023 trucks on the market that start at $40K

Well I’m not going to get in to a debate here about whether unions are a good thing or not because I respect the people on this forum including you and of course many here are union or have been union employees. I’ve never been union so I don’t have the experience that you all have.

I will only say this that most of you especially in this day and age would get along just fine without a union because of your skills and work ethic. Wages should be driven by companies competing for good employees. The market should determine what they can pay these employees as well. No company can exist long without all of you regardless of whether you are Union. IMO unions today are too political and divisive which serves to keep them in power. That said I know in the past unions were instrumental in benefits and workplace conditions and I am very thankful for that.

I think for now for many reasons the auto market as well as the housing market is headed for a big dive and unions are not going to be able to save the jobs that will be lost. I hope I’m wrong.

 

[Esteban88]

Well I’m not going to get in to a debate here about whether unions are a good thing or not because I respect the people on this forum including you and of course many here are union or have been union employees. I’ve never been union so I don’t have the experience that you all have.

I will only say this that most of you especially in this day and age would get along just fine without a union because of your skills and work ethic. Wages should be driven by companies competing for good employees. The market should determine what they can pay these employees as well. No company can exist long without all of you regardless of whether you are Union. IMO unions today are too political and divisive which serves to keep them in power. That said I know in the past unions were instrumental in benefits and workplace conditions and I am very thankful for that.

I think for now for many reasons the auto market as well as the housing market is headed for a big dive and unions are not going to be able to save the jobs that will be lost. I hope I’m wrong.

Tell that to a someone working for Jeff Bezos in an Amazon warehouse. What you are saying might hold true if we had a true free market system where all the players had equal power. But in most instances that's not the case. A corporation wields much more power than an individual worker. A union levels the playing field. As the number of unionized workers dwindled since the early 80's so has the size of the middle class. We are beginning to see a reversal of that trend with the current wave of organizing that's being led by young people who aren't making enough to buy a decent house or car like their grandparents were able to do in the 1960's.

 

[fossil]

Well I’m not going to get in to a debate here about whether unions are a good thing or not because I respect the people on this forum including you and of course many here are union or have been union employees. I’ve never been union so I don’t have the experience that you all have.

I will only say this that most of you especially in this day and age would get along just fine without a union because of your skills and work ethic. Wages should be driven by companies competing for good employees. The market should determine what they can pay these employees as well. No company can exist long without all of you regardless of whether you are Union. IMO unions today are too political and divisive which serves to keep them in power. That said I know in the past unions were instrumental in benefits and workplace conditions and I am very thankful for that.

I think for now for many reasons the auto market as well as the housing market is headed for a big dive and unions are not going to be able to save the jobs that will be lost. I hope I’m wrong.

The problem with this is that greed is eternal, it doesn't expire with age or enlightenment. Despite federal and local labor laws companies continue to defy them. Whether it's rules protecting organizers, overtime rules, safe working conditions, child labor etc it's always in the news, always a battle. A good union is your attorney, fighting the battles most of us are not equipped to handle. A good union is a deterrent to those bad actors at the very least.

There are always those click bait warnings of the economic apocalypse and truth told it's always a possibility however unlikely today. Hell the Fed has been trying to drive us into a recession for 2 years but the economy has thus far defied them. Having worked in auto for many years I know it's extremely sensitive to the economy and I've always handled my finances accordingly. It's served me well.

 

[Mav_RICK]

The problem with this is that greed is eternal, it doesn't expire with age or enlightenment. Despite federal and local labor laws companies continue to defy them. Whether it's rules protecting organizers, overtime rules, safe working conditions, child labor etc it's always in the news, always a battle. A good union is your attorney, fighting the battles most of us are not equipped to handle. A good union is a deterrent to those bad actors at the very least.

There are always those click bait warnings of the economic apocalypse and truth told it's always a possibility however unlikely today. Hell the Fed has been trying to drive us into a recession for 2 years but the economy has thus far defied them. Having worked in auto for many years I know it's extremely sensitive to the economy and I've always handled my finances accordingly. It's served me well.

I think high prices are having a bigger impact on the current economy than the Fed rates. These rates are not that high historically speaking. People have over extended themselves and something has to give.

 

[grumpyunk]

UAW needs to organize the Cybertruck plant in Austin. Line workers only make around $20/hr which has contributed to the severe shortage of affordable housing. Especially since Tesla received major tax breaks and incentives to locate there. Workers at UAW plants make enough money to be able to purchase the car they are assembling. Not so with Tesla.

How does $20/hr wage rate cause a shortage of affordable housing? Tesla wage rate does not reduce or increase the affordable housing in the housing market.
As far as Tesla workers being able to afford the vehicle they build, what about Ford/GM/Stellantis workers being able to afford $100k F-150's, Chevrolet Silverados and Grand Cherokees? Tesla lowered the price of their product. The other 3 have raised theirs. Seems Tesla(not my fave brand obviously being on a Mav site) has made THEIR products closer to being affordable by their employees than the other 3 makers.

 

[grumpyunk]

I think high prices are having a bigger impact on the current economy than the Fed rates. These rates are not that high historically speaking. People have over extended themselves and something has to give.

Agree about prices. The Father/Son team on caredge YT videos calculated the pay needed to buy a F-150/Silverado/Ram. All came out over $100,000 in annual salary to stay within the 10% suggested range and make payments over $1100 monthly.
Finding an affordable model of any is a bit difficult as they chose to manufacture the high-priced models where the profit margin is greater. They left their lower-income customers out at the curb as they all lack lower priced versions on the showroom floor/dealer lot.
They will pay for their decision as the market seems to have absorbed the pent-up demand for trucks and are leaving months supply on the lots. Interesting times...
tom

 

[Mav_RICK]

How does $20/hr wage rate cause a shortage of affordable housing? Tesla wage rate does not reduce or increase the affordable housing in the housing market.
As far as Tesla workers being able to afford the vehicle they build, what about Ford/GM/Stellantis workers being able to afford $100k F-150's, Chevrolet Silverados and Grand Cherokees? Tesla lowered the price of their product. The other 3 have raised theirs. Seems Tesla(not my fave brand obviously being on a Mav site) has made THEIR products closer to being affordable by their employees than the other 3 makers.

I think what he was trying to say is that because they are only making a $20 wage Tesla workers can't afford to buy a house there. If a large plant all the sudden raises wages I'm pretty sure the housing prices will follow so not sure how that makes the houses more affordable.

 

[fossil]

Currently, the Rear-Wheel Drive trim of the Tesla Model 3 starts at an MSRP of $40,240 with zero upgrades
The base XL trim F150 starts at $33,695

The most expensive Tesla is the Model X Plaid starting at $119,990
The most expensive F150 is the Raptor R starting at $109,000

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