So, if I take my car in to a service department and it wasn't right the first time that mechanic should be fired?? I think not. He will be disciplined like we are. Most likely everyone on this board has taken a car in to be fixed and get home and it is not right. Mistakes do happen. Most problems on todays vehicles are problems with parts going bad. Recalls do not happen because something was assembled wrong but because a part was bad, faulty, cheap, etc. You said it yourself, autoworkers just do step A,B,C. We do not decide who supplies the parts we install. Most of the dead weight has been weeded out of our plant. Our work force is better than ever and we do care about quality.

I recently read how Ford dealership service departments are doing less and less warranty work and have to look for new ways to bring people into their shops. A good example would be how you now see tires advertised in dealer ads. You never use to see that. One could argue that the way mechanics get paid is wrong with flat rates. I know good mechanics who work a 40 hour week but get paid 70+ hours of flat time. That could be considered getting overpaid by those paying for the repairs but I know they work their butts off most of the time.

An article today from the AP says the new contract with GM will save the company 2-3 billion dollars a year. Most of the difference in UAW and non UAW plants is because of retirees. The big 3 have them, others do not. I would not be surprised to see the foreign manufacturers leave the US when they get X amount of retirees. With no wage increases for this contract autoworkers will have received a total of 2% over 10 years going back to the last 2 contracts. We have given up a lot but you cannot ask any employee to take a $10.00 per hour pay cut. No one could survive doing that.

People are always talking about health care costs rising but the UAW is the bad guy for wanting good health care??? Doesn't make sense to me.

 

You'll have to talk to his union rep if you want to carry on this conversation.

 

lmao...so true....so true

 

Can you stop for a second and realize how stupid this sounds?

I'm not going to post what I really want to say about this, 'cause I think I'm already treading on thin ice with management around here. Just wow.

 

So from my earlier post...

How is putting a broken valve cover on doing quality work? What about not adjusting the cables on the sunroof, or my favorite not installing the trim correctly? I can and did put the trim pieces on properly and I don't even have a union card. None of these issues were from bad parts. They were mistakes made by the guy putting the parts on the vehicle.

Still no one can answer my question. What does a company get in return for its extra cost of having union workers?

 

Forgive me. I lied. I also don't appreciate getting bagged on just because I said I wouldn't be posting in this thread any more.

Ask the company, they offer the CBA to union members.

I don't have union representation here.

As with you.

 

Okay, since this thread has veered off the course of beating up on the UAW, I'll drink the Kool-Aid, unions are great, unions are good, blah, blah, blah.

Just someone, any of you union goons, explain to me the justification behind what this guy said. Specifically, the bolded parts.

They're still taking money, but membership is voluntary. Ummm...

And union members, being great, upholding members of the community and economy that they are, will apparently take action (violent, perhaps) against a "scab" who decides to do different than the hive mind puppets and their union boss overseer wants them all to do.

Explain to me the justification behind this. It's obvious we ain't gonna get a straight answer about what benefit the unions are, explain to me why money is taken for a "voluntary" cause, and why slackjawed jackbooted union thugs who swear up and down they're the greatest, bestest people on the planet, seemingly may "take appropriate action" towards people who don't follow the whole.

The term "take appropriate action" in the history of unions sounds like someone's gonna have a terrible accident at the plant and have both their knees broken.

 

Not sure what you mean by improperly adjusted cables on a sunroof. We install the complete unit, not really sure of any cable adjustment. Most likely suppose to be done by the vendor but possibly could have been caught.

Trim piece, should have been caught either at the plant or the dealer. Like I said mistakes do happen. I understand being upset about it but doesn't really make it a poorly built truck does it??

Don't really see how a mustang had a broken valve cover from the plant but I guess it could happen. Engines come to the assembly plant completely assembled. If it was cracked it should have been caught at the engine plant, assembly plant or dealer.

Not sure if there is a lot of "extra cost" of union workers. Toyota workers only make a few dollars per hour less than UAW workers. As shown in the recent agreement by GM and the UAW, now they can be competitive with the foreign brands now that they aren't bothered by retiree costs saving them 2 to 3 BILLION per year.

 

Well, there's been a history of bad things happening to scabs, but there have been bad things happen throughout all of history as well, all have been learning experiences. I do not condone violence against scabs, that's ridiculous. They just get the scab label attached to them forever.

Appropriate action, when it used to happen decades ago, never happens at the workplace, it's always off company property, kind of like getting in a fight after school. But that doesn't happen anymore, at least not at my place of work. That activity is not condoned or sponsored union behavior, it's sheer stupidity and isn't tolerated.

 

The valve cover on the Mustang was broken at the PVC valve. About 1/2 of the mounting boss was gone and a crack ran across the top for several inches.

I also forgot about the over tightened lug nuts on the '05. I had to change out all of the wheel studs on the rear end at the first tire rotation. The lug nuts were so tight that I could barely remove then with a 36" breaker bar.

I don't mean to put you down, please don't take it that way. I just am just more than a little bit tired of the highest paid group of unskilled workers (UAW) complaining about getting screwed. What really rubs salt in the wound is the fact that they are being out done by Mexican workers making half the money.

 

The first time is excusable. The second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, hundredth, thousandth time for vehicles sent to dealers across the country, not so excusable.
I'm ignorant to this, but what kinda consequences will an assembler who ain't got his stuff together face?
In 11 pages, I don't think anyone mentioned recalls. I'll be the first to admit that parts quality ain't what it should be. But fit and finish is a direct responsibility of assembly, and thus far I think that's what some of us have been griping about. **** poor assembly and fit and finish.

 

We use computer controlled DC tools on all critical nuts and bolts. They cannot be overtorqued so not sure how that could have happened. These guns automatically stop at the proper torque. We cannot sit there and torque them tighter no matter what. Only air tools like the dealers use can do that.

I don't really hear any UAW workers "complaining about getting screwed". I haven't seen any of that on this board. I do see people who obviously have no idea what it is like to work on an automotive assembly line complaining about how much someone else makes. You can take almost any occupation and find someone who thinks they are paid too much. I guess everyone has an opinion and opinions vary.

 

I don't know how they got that way but the wheel studs had been stretched to the point that the studs had necked to about 2/3rds the original diameter. I bought the truck new. As far as I know the wheels had only been put on at the factory and never again touched. The truck still had on the factory KR wheels and the tires that matched the sticker. I have no reason to believe that thy had ever been removed, especially since both rear wheels had this problem. The fronts seemed to be tight but after several checks I could not find where the studs had been damaged. I started a thread about it in the '04+ forum when it happened.

In my opinion the concept of a union bothers me as a worker, much like Socialism. I would never bust a$$ when I know the guy nest to me will get the same raise if he jerks off most of the time. Personally I fine it enjoyable to get a 10+% annual raise when the guy next to me only gets 2%.

 

Jesus, you've guys got controlled tools and you get that much money? I don't know whats wrong with the world. I don't know why you say that you guys "build" them it seems like you manage the tools that build them.

I wonder if RP would be willing to set-up a poll of who wants to get rid of the UAW and who wants to keep it!?

 

Union membership is voluntary? It wasn't when I was in a union. I HAD to effing join or quit.