kapkomet Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 04:51 PM) I wonder where they will find employees willing to work for those wages? From all the GM, Ford, Chysler plants getting ready to close down, duh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 12:48 PM) From all the GM, Ford, Chysler plants getting ready to close down, duh. The county I live in actually falls in a list of the 200 poorest counties in the USA. The average wage is $27k. A job starting at $12 an hour would be a raise for lots of people here. I am guessing that they target the deep south for the exact same reasons. If you tried to pay someone in Michigan that wage they would laugh at you. In Mississippi, that is a hell of a lot of money, especially for people with no real skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilMonkey Posted September 26, 2007 Share Posted September 26, 2007 All the politicians protesting the low wages at Walmart should start picketing Toyota instead. How come the unions are not in there? You always hear stories of them trying to organize at Walmarts, but never about organizing at Toyota. Why is that? And why is the UAW not trying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 03:23 PM) The county I live in actually falls in a list of the 200 poorest counties in the USA. The average wage is $27k. A job starting at $12 an hour would be a raise for lots of people here. The counties around me, for comparison Starr 3rd poorest $7,069 12th Willacy $9,421 22nd Hidalgo $9,899 Problem is the skill set necessary to effectively run an automobile plant is not here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 03:05 AM) The counties around me, for comparison Starr 3rd poorest $7,069 12th Willacy $9,421 22nd Hidalgo $9,899 Problem is the skill set necessary to effectively run an automobile plant is not here. What is it in Webb Co.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 QUOTE(kapkomet @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 10:41 PM) What is it in Webb Co.? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowest-income...e_United_States 47 Webb $10,759 Interesting that South Dakota has so many. I assume, like here, it is all the agriculture jobs that are really seasonal. Also in Hidalgo we have most of out highest paying jobs across the river in Mexico, and most of our new investments are Mexican Nationals starting businesses here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 10:51 PM) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lowest-income...e_United_States 47 Webb $10,759 Interesting that South Dakota has so many. I assume, like here, it is all the agriculture jobs that are really seasonal. Also in Hidalgo we have most of out highest paying jobs across the river in Mexico, and most of our new investments are Mexican Nationals starting businesses here. Many of the counties listed for ND, SD, MT, NM and AZ on a per capita basis are counties with large Indian Reservations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted September 27, 2007 Author Share Posted September 27, 2007 QUOTE(Texsox @ Sep 26, 2007 -> 10:05 PM) The counties around me, for comparison Starr 3rd poorest $7,069 12th Willacy $9,421 22nd Hidalgo $9,899 Problem is the skill set necessary to effectively run an automobile plant is not here. You told me that a ton of automotive companies were located on the other side of the border. What is the difference between people on one side of the river and the other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted September 27, 2007 Share Posted September 27, 2007 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Sep 27, 2007 -> 07:53 AM) You told me that a ton of automotive companies were located on the other side of the border. What is the difference between people on one side of the river and the other? The automotive plants here all make sub assemblies. Plastic molded, radios, seat belts, windshield wipers, electric motors, wiring harnesses, etc. The economic development agencies in the area have pushed hard for an auto plant but so far have come up empty. San Antonio is the closest, IIRC. Keeping all those robots and automated equipment going takes a higher degree of sophistication. Basically this labor market, until recently, has been agriculture based. Lots of field work, packing sheds, etc. The manufacturing was very low skilled, textiles for example, running a sewing machine. To sustain an auto plant you need tool and die workers, journeymen industrial maintenance workers, engineers, and a lot of them. Interestingly the University of Texas - Pan American and the University of Texas Brownsville graduates hundreds of qualified students yearly. (Same with bi-lingual teachers). Then we watch as they accept better paying jobs "up north" with nice sign on bonuses. Tough to keep the homemade talent at home. The Department of Labor, through a H1B grant, provided millions of dollars for training in Industrial Maintenance and Tool and Die through the So Tx Manufacturers Assoc and South Texas College. Basically a company could have any of their employees trained to Journeyman status for free. All they had to do is commit to a wage plan that increases as the students skilled increased. The wage was below what most companies were already paying. We still had a hard time getting students signed up. Companies feared after their employee was "credentialed" they would leave for better paying jobs elsewhere. It was so frustrating. The path that many companies take is moving old, antiquated manufacturing lines to Mexico or across here in the United States. These are more manual type processes that do not demand higher skilled workers. Those are not in operation at an auto plant. And whether they will admit it here or not, companies relocate here to reduce their direct labor costs. So there is pressure to keep salaries low. Probably more than you wanted to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Chrysler Strikes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 10:15 AM) Chrysler Strikes Like the GM and Ford strikes, this may get the workers some relief short term, but it will end up biting them in the ass long term. Not a smart move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 QUOTE(sox4lifeinPA @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 04:18 PM) Geez, $43 an hour would be amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 11:17 AM) Like the GM and Ford strikes, this may get the workers some relief short term, but it will end up biting them in the ass long term. Not a smart move. This one could be ugly. Chrysler has new management, and they sound like they are ready to fight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 11:33 AM) This one could be ugly. Chrysler has new management, and they sound like they are ready to fight. Move down here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Kickass Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 11:17 AM) Like the GM and Ford strikes, this may get the workers some relief short term, but it will end up biting them in the ass long term. Not a smart move. There was no Ford strike, at least not yet. The GM strike actually ended up giving UAW workers some longer term job security anywhere from 5-10 years so I fail to see the long term ass biting here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 02:17 PM) Move down here I don't think you could support me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 02:43 PM) There was no Ford strike, at least not yet. The GM strike actually ended up giving UAW workers some longer term job security anywhere from 5-10 years so I fail to see the long term ass biting here. Chrysler also does not have the cash laying around that GM did to make their problems go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Kickass Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Chrysler is owned by a holding company I thought. This strike seems to be over some different sticking points. UAW is trying to shoulder the responsibility for the legacy pensions that Chrysler is actually currently responsible for. However to do that, Chrysler needs to contribute to a pension fund run by the UAW. Chrysler is balking. Chrysler is also balking at the guarantees in job security that GM agreed to. Most likely, any compromise from Chrysler will probably be to contribute significantly to the pension fund in order to get out of job security guarantees. This will be a different contract than GM got, simply because the situations are so different. The question is will the AFL-CIO led UAW realize this and act resiliently, or will they, like so many other things that AFL-CIO unions do, fail to realize changing times and wither on the vine. Chrysler wanted this strike. With a 71 day inventory, they can literally shut down for two weeks and possibly be better off. Ideally, Chrysler seeks to keep a 60 day inventory. By striking now, Chrysler sort of has an advantage. I'm not sure that this was the smartest idea on behalf of UAW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 02:48 PM) I don't think you could support me. Nice With your passion for bettering your community, we'd love to have you here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthSideSox72 Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 QUOTE(Rex Kicka** @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 01:43 PM) There was no Ford strike, at least not yet. The GM strike actually ended up giving UAW workers some longer term job security anywhere from 5-10 years so I fail to see the long term ass biting here. Yes they did - it just only lasted a day or two. Check the articles about the GM strike, just before they settled, they all said Ford plants had been struck as well. What I am saying is short term, they got more good stuff as you point out. Long run, this sort of problem is the kind of thing they will remember when they decide whether or not to keep operations in the U.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 NSS, Ford UAW was saying that they MIGHT strike in support of GM UAW, but I don't think they actually did it??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 And it's already settled. No link yet, just saw a breaking news thingy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 QUOTE(Texsox @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 03:02 PM) Nice With your passion for bettering your community, we'd love to have you here. Eh, you only have one hometown. Besides the commute to work and baseball would be a b****. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 06:09 PM) Eh, you only have one hometown. Besides the commute to work and baseball would be a b****. True. But I always believe home is where the mortgage is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Kickass Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 QUOTE(kapkomet @ Oct 10, 2007 -> 05:42 PM) And it's already settled. No link yet, just saw a breaking news thingy. Speculation is its similar to the GM deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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