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Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards

detroitnews.com

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Re: Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards

#11
post #6

[flagged]

Because unionized workers consistently have higher pay, better benefits and more rights. Next time you see the headline about some company laying off thousands of people while simultaneously making record profits and paying their CEO some number of hundreds of millions of dollars per year, ask yourself why that never seems to happen to unionized workers. Next time you see the headline about the "working poor" that ha…

But you also hear of the people who work their butt off and can’t get promoted because union rules say promotions happen on tenure not tenure.

And of unions where the ceo and union president are golf buddies and they negotiate oh so very hard to get raises that don’t even match inflation.

There’s good and bad in both worlds. Ultimately the best defense you can have as a worker is to have in-demand skills and to think of employment as a business contract.

Re: Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards

#13

[flagged]

They don't care if they kill the cow, as long as they can extract a bit more milk from it. I don't have a problem with unions in general except for the rule against being able to fire and replace them all as a block. Let them negotiate jointly, fine, but employers should have the right to find alternatives.

Re: Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards

#14
post #8
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because unionized workers consistently have higher pay, better benefits and more rights. Next time you see the headline about some company laying off thousands of people while simultaneously making record profits and paying their CEO some number of hundreds of millions of dollars per year, ask yourself why that never seems to happen to unionized workers. Next time you see the headline about the "working poor" that ha…

Worked great for Detroit! Like rent control, unions often protect existing workers at the expense of everyone else. And that protection can extend into retaining bad workers, punishing highly productive workers. Not that all unions are a net negative but many are.

It's vastly easier to find a bad employer than it is to find a bad union when it comes to employee benefits and wages.

Re: Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards

#15
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because unionized workers consistently have higher pay, better benefits and more rights. Next time you see the headline about some company laying off thousands of people while simultaneously making record profits and paying their CEO some number of hundreds of millions of dollars per year, ask yourself why that never seems to happen to unionized workers. Next time you see the headline about the "working poor" that ha…

Adding a union might net workers who join it higher pay in the short term, but who's to say that they aren't missing out on significant wage increases in the long term? You'll never see that counterfactual, and as a union gains momentum, it becomes increasingly unlikely we'll ever know how the workers might have performed without the union.

Interesting apprach, This makes sense and I wonder why people aren't talking more about it. I have a suspiction that companies would be paying people way more money if it wasn't for the pesky unions. This is also the reason why companies fight tooth-and-nail against unions. They do it out of kindness for the workers, so they are able to pay the workers more in the long run. People need to talk more about this, it's called corporate kindheartedness.

Re: Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards

#16
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because unionized workers consistently have higher pay, better benefits and more rights. Next time you see the headline about some company laying off thousands of people while simultaneously making record profits and paying their CEO some number of hundreds of millions of dollars per year, ask yourself why that never seems to happen to unionized workers. Next time you see the headline about the "working poor" that ha…

No problem, the manufacturing will move to Mexico.

Exactly. It’s a medium timeline win. They won’t move prod there overnight, but eventually they will shift prod there and then it will become another brownfield company town like they have in the rust belt.

Re: Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards

#17

[flagged]

How is it a trap? Seems pretty obvious for a worker to why this makes sense.

It’s good in the medium term, but in the longer term production will be moved to Mexico. No reason not to and a union of a reason to move.

Re: Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards

#18

[flagged]

I'm skeptical of unions as well, but the auto workers in the US are getting absolutely shafted. I see no other way to deal with this corporate greed.

What is the difference between corporate greed and regular greed?

Re: Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards

#19
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it a trap? Seems pretty obvious for a worker to why this makes sense.

It’s good in the medium term, but in the longer term production will be moved to Mexico. No reason not to and a union of a reason to move.

Hopefully politicians can punish the move to mexico. Voters should support that.

Re: Majority of workers at Mercedes plant in Alabama sign UAW authorization cards

#20
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because unionized workers consistently have higher pay, better benefits and more rights. Next time you see the headline about some company laying off thousands of people while simultaneously making record profits and paying their CEO some number of hundreds of millions of dollars per year, ask yourself why that never seems to happen to unionized workers. Next time you see the headline about the "working poor" that ha…

No problem, the manufacturing will move to Mexico.

So politicians should put tariffs on cars from mexico to make it more expensive.
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