Explain something to me please..

[lvpets2002]

The only soap box I have to get on is == In all of this wanting bailouts I have not once heard anything of lets cut some of the pay back.. Come on I heard some of the workers get anywhere from $47.00 to $76.00 An Hour.. Come on dont you think thats a bit much & could use some trimming there??

[RICHARD]

I have to post this for a point of reference.


The best "employer" ever never paid a salary, overtime, benefits. They never pitched in for a retirement fund or gave paid holidays.

They never visited the office, never asked for any extra work and never made you mad by being your boss.

The old U.S.S.R. was one of the greatest assest to American industry in the last half of the 1900's.

Auto plants with government/military contracts were the main employers throughout the Southern California area. Aerospace manufacturingplantes were HUGE out here. Boeing, Lockheed, Martin Marietta, Raytheon. The Los Angeles Harbor-as a major inlet for products used in the 'cold war effort' was and to some extent- still is a huge employer.

We have no major enemy or conflict that requires us to tool up or ramp up the production of materials used to fight a conflict or war.

Some of our current problems are partially to blame for the monetary hassles we have at the moment. Historically we have to be challenged, as a nation, to be our very best.

The gas crunch of the last year was a very good rallying point. We did just enough parking to show that we can be responsible for our oil usage.

As with everything else, it impacts the rest of our lives-lower expectations of the Christmas spending sprees, fewer of us traveling, credit freezes. The housing crash.

We will get thru all this. The world will not stop spinning because of fewer dollars being spent. It will spin no matter what. All it takes is the adjustment of lifestyle and a little hard work in our lives.

More home cooked meals?
Less TV time?
More walking on errands?
Less driving around for one errand?

WHen we take the extra dollars and stop spending them haphazardly - investing in the basic purchases for living, we will see that base get stronger and prepare us for the future.

I have faith-it's cheap, non polluting and has given me 10 gazillion miles-worry free.

[ramanth]

Both my dad and FIL are GM retiree's. My dad only recently retired and may not have a pension for much longer.

Sad to hear some here hope for the demise of the american auto industry.

[Twisterdog]

The only soap box I have to get on is == In all of this wanting bailouts I have not once heard anything of lets cut some of the pay back.. Come on I heard some of the workers get anywhere from $47.00 to $76.00 An Hour.. Come on dont you think thats a bit much & could use some trimming there??

When I lived in the mid-west in the late 80's, the auto manufacturers were THE place to work. This was because membership in the UAW union pretty much guaranteed you a job for life, no matter what one's skills or motivation were. And the wages were a LOT higher than other jobs in the area, three or four times the amount. It was certainly an artificially inflated and maintained work force.

I remember in one of my management classes in college watching some footage from hidden cameras placed on the assembly lines of the big three American car manufacturers. A large percentage of the workers were talking with each other, reading a magazine, sleeping, eating, etc. while the parts that they were supposed to be working on rolled by them untouched. It was SCARY, and made me vow to never buy an American car again. Then we were told the wages those people were making per hour, and it was doubly shocking.

I'm not saying this is the way it is or isn't today, I don't know.

[RICHARD]

I remember in one of my management classes in college watching some footage from hidden cameras placed on the assembly lines of the big three American car manufacturers. A large percentage of the workers were talking with each other, reading a magazine, sleeping, eating, etc. while the parts that they were supposed to be working on rolled by them untouched. .

What happened to the marbles that they would drop into the door panels?

Unions are a good/bad thing. They encourage people to work in industries that were thought to be 'for life' jobs. It also breeds crass behavior by workers who abuse the system and the companies who abuse the workers.

I was a 'union man' for years. Slowly, the companies started to bring in management who earned a position by going to night school and never ever stepping into the work arena.

Now you have 20 something year olds-No offense meant to them, some are way more mature than their counterparts-who have barely learned to wash and wipe their rear ends that are put into positions where they think they know more that a 20-25-30 year employees.

Instead of putting the new hires thru a probationary/introductory period with the company, they allow them the power and position of a "little tyrants" who learned how to lead from an online class on management.

I think the airlines should hire pilots based on people who learn to fly on PCs and Nintendo games.

[Grace]

The only soap box I have to get on is == In all of this wanting bailouts I have not once heard anything of lets cut some of the pay back.. Come on I heard some of the workers get anywhere from $47.00 to $76.00 An Hour.. Come on dont you think thats a bit much & could use some trimming there??

Those amounts also include all benefits packages - health insurance and prescription meds. The lower amount is consistent with what Toyota and Honda workers make. The higher amount is what UAW members get.

I think that the UAW contracts need to be re-visited. As does my husband, who is UAW.