Find Reviews by Make:
“I don’t think people here really understood that the work we had been promised was contingent on ratification,” Sterling Axle UAW member Brian Pannebecker told the Detroit News re: the union’s rejection of a new Ford contract. As my step-daughter Sasha is wont to say, “Wow.”
19 Comments on “Quote of the Day: Oops We Did It Again Edition...”
Read all comments
37 Billion dollars. Trust these guys to “oversee” that dough?
Hecho en Mexico.
Only the UAW (closely followed by the Seattle area local Aerospace & Machinist union) would have such an entitlement complex that they are honestly unable to comprehend that any new and/or additional work would in no way be linked to their cost of labor.
It a pathology with these guys. There’s no changing them.
I don’t think people here really understood that the work we had been promised was contingent on ratification
Fair point.
Remember that a lot of the people working on the plant floor are not exactly up to the job of vetting a complex legal document. Some of them may have very serious functional literacy problems, others may just not give a shit, etc, etc.
They’ve, in theory, elected people to represent their best interests and compensate for the nature of the average joe on the floor. Except in this case, those people have no power.
And here you have the problem with direct versus representative democracy: it’s very hard to get a large group of people to vote for something that is unpleasant in the short term or for a certain group despite the long-term benefits. This is because of basic sociology: individuals can be progressive, thoughtful, merciful and intelligent (or they can be sociopathic, but hey…); people in groups tend to be conservative, impatient, mean-spirited, petty and populist.
If you read the Ford employee forum over at blue oval news, you will see that the has a terrible distrust for management and Mulally. They really don’t understand how Mulally can make millions yet ask them for a concession, however slight. They see no benefit to rewarding Mulally for the improvements at Ford, they see only the loss of jobs and plant closures. And they are really pissed at the union leadership for “selling them out.” And they don’t believe Ford will follow through on promises of new work.
This is the hazard of unions. Management isn’t allowed to talk directly with the workers and give them the real deal on the situation. They have to rely on the union leadership to transmit the info and hope for the best.
Re: psarhjinian –
I’m not sure that “new contract = new work” provision would have been tucked into the small print of any proposed contract.
I think that they (UAW/CAW) have been conditioned over the past 36 months or so, that if things getting bad, either the company will cave in to demands or a government will step in.
Just watch. GM just announced that they will be keeping Opel. German government said that this would be cause to clawback their loan to the company, causing massive layoffs. I bet they don’t do it…..
Please don’t ever post pictures of Britney again. I will give the CAW credit…they managed to swallow the bitter pill of reality. It is very unfortunate that St Thomas is closing (btw, they aren’t making money on the Crown Vic and the Town Car…how the *expletive* not?). However, the membership at least sees that, even though it sucks, some short term pain is pretty much a prerequisite for long term survival.
Of course, Ford should also be smart enough to know that Ford Canada’s sales bonanza (and a bonanza it is) might not last if they are seen to be yanking out their manufacturing base. Note the word ‘should’.
I’m not sure that “new contract = new work” provision would have been tucked into the small print of any proposed contract.
I don’t think it’s as much “tucked in” as it was the victim of populism. There is a very good reason we (where “we” is “people who live in social democracies”) put everything and anything government does up for referendum.
I think that they (UAW/CAW) have been conditioned over the past 36 months or so, that if things getting bad, either the company will cave in to demands or a government will step in.
I should note that the CAW did ratify Ford’s contract offer. Personally, I think this just indicates what I’ve thought all along: Canadians are smarter.
She’s gorgeous, but…
…what is that she’s wearing over her eyes? It doesn’t look transparent to me.
And she should stay off the phone while driving, too…especially if those glasses require that she navigate by sound!
ZoomZoom :
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:08 pm
And she should stay off the phone while driving, too…especially if those glasses require that she navigate by sound!
In the United States of America, steering wheels are on the left side of the car.
UAW = Unemployed Auto Workers.
“I look like that blind guy from that Star Trek show!”
Management isn’t allowed to talk directly with the workers and give them the real deal on the situation.
Management still owns the factories. They can put up tv sets and informational displays in the plants.
Management makes a mistake when they leave it up to the union to sell a contract. Plenty of union members distrust union leadership almost as much as they distrust the company.
If a company thinks a proposed contract is in its best interest, it should promote that with advertisements, websites, etc. If a company doesn’t put an effort into selling a deal to the employees, it has to bear some of the responsibility if the deal is voted down.
With the internet and modern communications tools there’s no reason why a company shouldn’t try to talk directly to its employees.
US presidents have a history of going over Congress’ head and speaking directly to the American people. Ford should not have left this up to UAW leadership to sell the deal to the rank and file.
After lurking for a year or so, I was compelled to register/post, following on NickR’s comment, and ask the B&B:
How can Ford not make money on the Panther platform? As a Canuckistani, it sickens me to see the gutting out of the St. Thomas skilled labour pool (NOT all unionized by a long shot). And the Panther platform, as a cop car or in livery, has no equal- cheap; reliable; strong; versatile; installed part-supply base. What gives?
Why does that phone have a cord?
Ronnie Schreiber :
If a company thinks a proposed contract is in its best interest, it should promote that with advertisements, websites, etc. If a company doesn’t put an effort into selling a deal to the employees, it has to bear some of the responsibility if the deal is voted down.
I think in many places those actions are considered ‘bargaining in bad faith’ or an ‘unfair labor practice.’
@alfred p. sloan
It’s a charger cord.
Why does that phone have a cord?
If I’m not mistaken, that is not a phone but an electric razor, plugged into the cigarette lighter. She is shaving her sideburns.
OK, I digress. But really, Britney getting a trim is hardly more disturbing than the short-sighted behavior of the UAW members.
ZoomZoom :
And she should stay off the phone while driving, too…especially if those glasses require that she navigate by sound!
Geotpf :
In the United States of America, steering wheels are on the left side of the car.
I submit to you three possibilities:
1. She is driving in England.
2. The picture was reversed. This is done more often than you might imagine; and I don’t understand why.
3. When was the last time you saw a PASSENGER on the phone? I always see the driver on the phone, never a passenger. So yes, I kind of assumed that she was the driver, but it is based on my personal observations, at least since the year 2000 or so.
And yes she does look like Geordi LaForge!