The UAW's Ridiculous Demands (Connecting the Dots: The United Auto Workers (UAW), General Motors, The Ford Motor Company & Soros Funding, All Networking)
By
Michael BuslerFriday, 15 September 2023 10:22 AM
https://www.newsmax.com/finance/michaelbusler/uaw-united-auto-workers-strike/2023/09/15/id/1134623/
The
United Auto Workers have begun to strike all three of the major domestic
automobile producers. They are seeking a 40% wage increase and other increases
in benefits as well as a 32-hour work week. This is not only ridiculous, but it
will severely hurt consumers and much of the rest of the economy.
If
granted, the labor cost would increase by 60% by the fourth year. This would
considerably drive up the price of cars. It will also hurt the workers since
the high labor cost would encourage manufacturers to switch production to a
more capital-intensive process by further automating.
The
United Auto Workers (UAW) argues that inflation is up significantly.
Although the inflation rate has fallen, last year it peaked at 9.1% Union
members say inflation could increase in the future, so a cost-of-living
increase is needed.
The
auto manufacturers have been very profitable. The latest available industry
figures show car makers earned $32 billion in
the first nine months of last year. Although there were struggles mostly due to
supply chain issues, consumer demand was so high that, at one point, cars were
selling for thousands above manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP).
Shawn
Fain, president of the UAW said, “Record profits mean record contracts.”
According to the UAW web page here
are members' demands:
ELIMINATE
TIERS – It’s
wrong to make any worker second class. Teamsters ended tiers at UPS.
SUBSTANTIAL
WAGE INCREASES – 40
percent over the next four years.
RESTORE
COLA – Cost
of Living Adjustments (COLA)
DEFINED
BENEFIT PENSION FOR ALL WORKERS – All workers deserve the retirement
security.
RE-ESTABLISH
RETIREE MEDICAL BENEFITS – That’s just as essential as a solid pension.
RIGHT
TO STRIKE OVER PLANT CLOSURES – Big Three closed 65 plants over the
last 20 years.
WORKING
FAMILY PROTECTION PROGRAM – keeps UAW members on the job.
END
ABUSE OF TEMP WORKERS – We are going to end the abuse of temps.
MORE
PAID TIME OFF TO BE WITH FAMILIES – Our members are working 60, 70, even
80 hours a week and it needs to stop.
SIGNIFICANTLY
INCREASE RETIREE PAY – We owe our retirees everything. They built these
companies, and they built our union. We will not forget them in these
negotiations.
This
list is ridiculous.
The
UAW’s logic is like the logic used by the UPS workers and the Screen Actors
Guild. Those workers believe that they are entitled to some of the company
profits, especially when those profits are large.
In
a free-market economy, though, they are not entitled to any profit. Nor, of
course, are they expected to give some of their salary back if the company
should have losses.
And
that explains the difference in profit distribution between stockholders and
workers. The difference is based on risk.
As
long as the company is manufacturing cars, the workers are contractually
guaranteed their wages. If the demand for cars is low, then the company must
drop the price to sell the cars. They could incur losses.
Although
the wage is guaranteed to the worker, the profit is not guaranteed to the
stockholder who has invested capital in the corporation. The stockholder only
gets a return when there are profits.
If
there is no profit, there is no return. If the company has large losses, then
it is possible they file bankruptcy (General Motors in 2009). In that
case, the stockholder not only doesn’t get any return, but the value of the
stock becomes zero, so they lost their entire investment.
The
stockholders take all the risk. Some years profits are high, other years not,
yet the workers continue to receive their contracted wage. The workers take
very little, if any, risk.
Successful
corporations know that for any business to achieve long-term success, having a
strong mutually beneficial relationship with their employees is critical.
Successful corporations also know that they must be profitable, or they will
not be able to attract new capital for expansion.
Somewhere
between that, the UAW and the car companies will find a compromise position,
where labor is paid a wage that reflects their value to the production process
and allows a fair long-term profit for stockholders.
The
UAW’s current demands read like a three-year old’s Christmas list to Santa. “I
want everything. Everything that’s in your big, big bag.”
Connecting
the Dots:
Demos was a funder
for the United Auto Workers (UAW).
Bob King is the
president for the United Auto Workers (UAW) and a director at
the Economic Policy Institute.
Ron Gettelfinger was
the president for the United Auto Workers (UAW) and a
director at the Economic Policy Institute.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for Demos, the Economic
Policy Institute and the Aspen Institute (think tank).
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote
Open Society.
Irvine O.
Hockaday Jr. was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen
Institute (think tank) and a director at the Ford Motor Company.
Gerald Greenwald is
a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank),
a trustee at the Committee for Economic
Development and was the president of Ford of Venezuela for the Ford
Motor Company.
Patricia F. Russo is
a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development and a director
at General Motors.
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the
Committee for Economic Development.
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society.
Donna S. Morea was
a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development and the EVP for
the CGI Group Inc.
CGI Group Inc. was
the Obamacare contractor that developed Healthcare.gov
web site.
Obamacare is Barack
Obama’s signature policy initiative.
Barack Obama’s
signature policy initiative is Obamacare, was an intern at Sidley
Austin LLP and the candidate for the 2012 Barack Obama presidential
campaign.
Michelle Obama was
a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Sidley Austin
LLP was the lobby firm for General Motors.
Priorities
USA Action was a super PAC supporting the 2012 Barack Obama
presidential campaign.
United Auto
Workers (UAW) was a contributor for Priorities USA
Action.
Bob King is the
president for the United Auto Workers (UAW) and a director at
the Economic Policy Institute.
Ron Gettelfinger was
the president for the United Auto Workers (UAW) and a director at
the Economic Policy Institute.
Demos was a funder
for the United Auto Workers (UAW).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for
the Economic Policy Institute, Demos and the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society.
Irvine O.
Hockaday Jr. was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute
(think tank) and a director at the Ford Motor Company.
Thomas R.
Pickering was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think
tank) and the chairman of review board that investigated the 2012
attack on U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya in 2013.
Michael G. Mullen was
vice chairman of review board that investigated the 2012 attack on U.S.
consulate in Benghazi, Libya in 2013 and is a director at General
Motors.
Sidley Austin
LLP was the lobby firm for General Motors.
Cameron F. Kerry is
a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP, John F. Kerry’s brother
and a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for
the Brookings Institution (think tank).
George Soros was the chairman
for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Resources:
Past Research
Auto
Workers on Obamacare: 'We're Pissed Off' (Past
Research on the United Auto Workers)
TUESDAY,
DECEMBER 31, 2013
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2013/12/auto-workers-on-obamacare-were-pissed.html
Joe
Biden To Ford Executive: 'Thank You For Saving Our Ass' (Past Research on the Ford Motor Company)
FRIDAY,
JANUARY 17, 2014
https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2014/01/joe-biden-to-ford-executive-thank-you.html
General
Motors Funds Effort to Embed Pro-Transgender Books in Classrooms (Connecting
the Dots: General Motors (GM), Sidley Austin LLP, Obama & Soros Funding,
All Networking) (Past Research on General Motors)
MONDAY,
JANUARY 2, 2023
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