quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I had a sneaking suspicion all along Ford would be the first to cave.

Up to $40/hour for assembly line work

Idiots.

Forces the hands of the rest, they will cave too, Fein is going to look good to the Union members, and we see more Unions nationwide now striking in other industries.

When you have falling dollar values, inflation in double digits annually, then we see employees/unions needing pay increases.

The cost of living has doubled for everyone, Union employees are bound by the contracts, so while I'm not a fan, it's not surprising and was really inevitable.

quote:

Originally posted by jed7s9b:
If you can work from home, your work can be done in India.

You're right on with this, jed7s9b. This is something that so many people miss. If you can do the job from the comfort of your home, what's to stop someone in Mumbai, India from doing your job from the comfort of their home for one-tenth your salary?

The entire accounting profession is being offshored to India and the Philippines because of this.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I had a sneaking suspicion all along Ford would be the first to cave.

Up to $40/hour for assembly line work

Idiots.

Forces the hands of the rest, they will cave too, Fein is going to look good to the Union members, and we see more Unions nationwide now striking in other industries.

When you have falling dollar values, inflation in double digits annually, then we see employees/unions needing pay increases.

The cost of living has doubled for everyone, Union employees are bound by the contracts, so while I'm not a fan, it's not surprising and was really inevitable.

Except the Ford vehicles are already backing up at the dealerships. Ford build too many $75K plus F150's and the EV's are a bust.

Congratulations, you've got a new contract. Now here's your pink slip.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:
This is something that so many people miss. If you can do the job from the comfort of your home, what's to stop someone in Mumbai, India from doing your job from the comfort of their home for one-tenth your salary?

This is nothing new, just a new angle. Back in the 1980's a lot of companies were bringing in engineers from India on work visas. I clearly recall one of the big CEOs testifying in front of Congress that they needed more visas because they needed more engineers.

Meanwhile, literally hundreds of thousands of American engineers were getting laid off. They were being replaced by the foreign engineers who were being paid substantially less. The pay must have looked really great to an Indian, as well as the high standard of living here.

Companies have always sought low cost foreign labor. It is just so much easier now that everything is being done across the internet. Heck, many MRIs, CT scans, x-rays, and lab results are being reviewed by doctors in India and elsewhere for the same reason.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:
If you can do the job from the comfort of your home, what's to stop someone in Mumbai, India from doing your job from the comfort of their home for one-tenth your salary?

.gov contracts.

I work a job where we have multiple governmental customers. For a lot of the cases for these customers, the person working the case (me) MUST be a US citizen.
This is of course the exception as not all professions have something like this.
But you asked the question so here's the answer.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I had a sneaking suspicion all along Ford would be the first to cave.
Up to $40/hour for assembly line work
Idiots.

Ford stock hits new 52-week low this morning...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news...elvidere/ar-AA1j0w8q

UAW and Stellantis reached a tentative agreement Saturday on a new contract that would end the 44-day strike against the automaker.

items in the agreement include wage increases equaling 25% over the life of the contract, a $5,000 ratification bonus and the ability for employees with at least one year of seniority to participate in a company new car lease program, according to sources. A text message to local union members indicated that 3,200 supplemental employees, formerly known as temporary employees, would be rolled over to permanent status within 90 days of ratification and that starting pay for supplemental workers would be $21 an hour.

"The lowest-paid workers at Stellantis, temporary workers, will see a raise of more than 165% over the life of the agreement. Some workers at Mopar will receive an immediate 76% increase upon ratification," the release said.

quote:

Originally posted by Broadside:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:
I had a sneaking suspicion all along Ford would be the first to cave.

Up to $40/hour for assembly line work

Idiots.

Forces the hands of the rest, they will cave too, Fein is going to look good to the Union members, and we see more Unions nationwide now striking in other industries.

When you have falling dollar values, inflation in double digits annually, then we see employees/unions needing pay increases.

The cost of living has doubled for everyone, Union employees are bound by the contracts, so while I'm not a fan, it's not surprising and was really inevitable.

Except the Ford vehicles are already backing up at the dealerships. Ford build too many $75K plus F150's and the EV's are a bust.

Congratulations, you've got a new contract. Now here's your pink slip.

Yep add to this the fact that when you go to buy a car at the dealership you get all sorts of BS dealer mark-ups as well as phantom ADM’s for cars that aren’t selling. So what may be a $50K vehicle is now 60-70K +TTL at the dealership.

As an example we were looking for a replacement for my wife’s Grand Cherokee Limited. We were really interested in the hybrid version as these thing don’t get particularly good mileage. The sticker difference between the ICE and hybrid version is $20,000 !! Contrast that to Toyota who’s difference is about $1800__
Plus all the “mandatory” extras make it just untenable.

We test drove a Model Y 2 weeks ago and we’re impressed. Decided last night to buy one. THE WHOLE PROCESS TOOK MAYBE 5 MINUTES! No BS, no dealer add ons, just a straight forward deal.

https://www.breitbart.com/econ...nefits-auto-workers/

The United Auto Workers (UAW) will end its strike against the Big Three as the labor union has reportedly reached a tentative agreement with General Motors (GM). The UAW had, in the last few days, reached similar deals with Ford and Stellantis.

On Monday morning, reports circulated that the UAW had reached a deal with GM. According to details available, the deal mimics many components of the union’s deal with Ford, where base wages will increase 25 percent through April 2028.

Likewise, the deal reinstates benefits that GM’s auto workers have not enjoyed since the Great Recession, such as cost-of-living allowances, a three-year wage progression, and an elimination of wage tiers among union workers.

Perhaps most significant is the UAW’s persistence in demanding higher wages for auto workers at GM’s Ultium Cells plant in Warren, Ohio, which produces batteries for Electric Vehicles (EVs). Union leadership had long complained that auto workers were moved to the plant and had their wages slashed almost in half, from $30 an hour to just $16.50 an hour.

As part of the deal, auto workers at Ultium Cells will see 11 percent wage hikes. Auto workers will also be able to transfer to EV battery plants or EV production plants when jobs become available.

I'm glad it's over. We don't need the drama of a long, drawn-out strike in this country.
I have no idea what the long-term consequences will be, but I would bet on continued opening of plants in non-union states and Mexico.

Long Term Consequence - Vehicles from the 'Big Three' will NO longer be able to compete with ANY of the non-union automotive manufacturers! They will bleed market share and and their business will begin a death spiral forcing them to move production elsewhere to 'save the company'!

Yeah, I can't imagine being a stockholder in any of the big 3 now. But having said that, I would bet that another bailout will happen at some point. Too much big money involved.

I think the companies can well afford it, why else would they make the offer?

^^^Sure, the companies can afford it, but can the customers afford it? Ford F150s cost $75,000.00 right now! Just imagine what the new UAW contract price will be...

As with every business, when costs are increased, that cost is passed on to the consumer. Companies will never willingly eat a loss.

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
As with every business, when costs are increased, that cost is passed on to the consumer. Companies will never willingly eat a loss.

True, until they price themselves out of the market, and their competition eats them whole.

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:
I think the companies can well afford it, why else would they make the offer?

They can't afford it. Que 2008 auto industry collapse, bankruptcy, and bail out in a few years.

You are all already bailing them out with billions in subsidies for EVs that people aren't buying.

Taxpayers bailed out the auto makers, and these people are demanding raises and benefits that caused the whole thing in the first place, all while taking more of your money in EV govt money.

This is bad long term. But they don't care. They got their shiny nickel today so screw tomorrow.

Doing some quick math, they say that labor is roughly 15% of the price of a new vehicle. Using the $75,000 price tag mentioned above for an F-150, that's $11,250.

On a previous page it states that there's a 25% base wage increase, going up to 30%, with starting wages raising by 68%.

Just using the 25% number, that would increase the labor cost on the F-150 by $2,812.50 to $14,062.50.

$93,750 would be the new price on the $75,000 truck if the labor cost remained at 15%.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:
$93,750 would be the new price on the $75,000 truck if the labor cost remained at 15%.

Thanks for that analysis! I'll stick to Toyota if it EVER becomes necessary for me to buy another vehicle. One has 196k miles and is just breaking in. The other (12+ years old) only has 76,500. Seems I have 120k more to go on that one, and I may not be driving by that time.

quote:

Originally posted by Warhorse:
I think the companies can well afford it, why else would they make the offer?

Maybe because they (figuratively) had a gun to their head?