Who else thinks the United Auto Workers are complete idiots for going on strike?

Question

What are they going to do when/if GM goes out of business? Work for Toyota?

Answer 1

Yes, the relevence of a union is questionable, at this point. The American auto industry is in so much trouble; it's going to take more than a union to fix that. Unless they are striking to get the auto makers to produce a better, RELIABLE, long-lasting car like a Honda, they are wasting their time.

The business owners do not pay higher wages. The CONSUMER does, in the form of a higher priced product. American cars are so overpriced; I refuse to pay more and get an inferior product. If there was not a union, could it be argued that the corporations could put those monies into better product innovation, thus making better cars? American cars are inferior to Japanese makes, in reliability and longevity. Striking is totally futile. It's like complaining that your steak on the Titanic is not fresh enough. The unions cannot seem to see that they are on a sinking ship.

Answer 2

The UAW is completely wrong for striking. BTW the strike benefit is only $200 a week plus health insurance benefits. This is win win for GM, they may be losing money, but they were losing money before the strike.

They do have the possibility of replacing or breaking the union. Union membership has fallen from 1.5 million to less than 500,000 members in the last 10 years

Answer 3

In nearly all strikes there is no winner. The company lose orders and sometimes even have to close down. That means the workers then have no job. If the company do manage to carry on the workers still lose as their strike pay is always less than their regular pay. Strikes are like wars. Far better to sit down and talk than strike. That's what trade unions are meant for. Or am I wrong.?

Answer 4

I do for one. An uneducated assembly worker in the UAW makes about as much as a professional in business, something wrong with that picture.
On the news one guy was worried about how he would pay higher insurance premiums, that's crazy, look at the income he has.
I believe the auto workers are out of touch with the real world where people struggle to get by and have no insurance coverage.

Answer 5

Of course they are. GM has been losing money--they aren't going to care about being down for a while--they will save all their costs. Plus, there might be pressure from non-union workers to take the jobs. The UAW doesn't have enough goons left to bust the heads of all the potential strikebreakers.

Answer 6

There's no question that the UAW has its head in the sand if those guys think they are getting anything more from that near-bankrupt company. Of course, it's not the workers' fault that GM is dying; they are top-heavy with management and are in serious need of restructuring.

Answer 7

No.. they'll just suck every bit of blood out of the dying corpse of GM.. And move on to the next.. perhaps Toyota.

Answer 8

I confess I have not read the news, and only the headline about it. But the reason must be money raise and/or additional benefits. In reality they probably are really smart, since, working in the auto industry, they have a better understanding of many of the companies inner problems. Not wanting to be a "casualty" in these uncertain economic times, they may be risking a lot. But if they don't they will not have had opportunity to gain anything either.

Answer 9

I don't think that they are idiots but you never gain by striking; it just puts you further behind in an industry that is already drowning

Answer 10

The UAW is in a world of trouble, and are leading their members to the unemployment line.