So Volkswagen plants in the U.S. have the same labor benefits as those in Germany? Why did they pick a non-Union state then?
Well the plant is being built in a state that doesn't have the protectionist Union Laws that many in the Rust Belt do. Which is what the original piece was railing against. You then bring up how Volkswagen handles its workers in Germany, so to be relevant I figured you were arguing that that was how they handled them here.
On an even brighter note, if they're looking for experenced help, the GM guys will have a place to go.
So the union is like the mob, you can never get out save a pine box?!? [action=Caboose]peeks out window....[/action]
I'm somewhat surprised by this because VW sales in the US aren't that spectacular. Their reputation as a company is spotty, with many of their vehicles at or near the bottom of their class in reliability. They are expensive, they are not to most American's taste in terms of ride characteristics or style. They do make (for their price) industry leading interiors, they are stylish and they do make fine gas mileage, and they are some of the best handling cars sold in the US. I wonder how their future parent (Porsche) feels about this, and is this really their way of building one of their plants in the US as well?
If GM had put the retirement and healthcare money aside for the workers while the workers were on the job, then that would not be a millstone around their neck. Also, why close any plant where the labor is already payed for until the contract ends?? Sounds stupid as shit, I mean. Any labor at all out of those people for the money payed would be better than none.
I think there is not one single company in the world that is so deeply penetrated by unions and state interference as Volkswagen in Germany. There is even a "Volkswagen law" that guarantees the state of Lower Saxony share voting rights of 20% in the Volkswagen AG. They are, however, doing well. So maybe the cause of GM's problems is not the unions. Maybe it has something to do with their products.
Still no nosebleeds? Not even a headache? Walk with me on this: Making a car requires a number of things. It takes power to light the place and run the assembly lines. It takes raw materials--paint, sheet metal, subassemblies, parts, and it takes labor. And when you're done you wind up with a car. A car you have to store until you can sell it. If no one is buying your cars, but you keep making them, it costs to store more and more cars. And what happens in less than 5 months, when you've got a lot full of 2008s collecting dust? Do you just pretend they are 2009s and try to sell 'em anyway? What do you do with the new cars off the assembly line when you fill up all your storage? There are some things a car company is tied into, whether they are selling cars or not. They're probably stuck with payments on their land and factory. And GM is stuck paying its labor force. But if your cars aren't selling, you'd be stupid to keep making them, just because you've got people on payroll. Look at it this way: Say you've got a restaurant but it's a slow night. What do you do? Do you just start having the kitchen staff start cooking stuff? Do you have your waitstaff start putting food on empty tables? No. Your employees stand around idle. You're stuck paying them (unless you decide to close up and send them home), but they aren't doing any work, because it would be silly for them to cook up a bunch of food that no one is buying.
Holy Crap. Toyota and Mitsubishi and whatnot are doign the same thing. All that blood sweat and tears to smash those fools and now 60 years later they be invading the American car buisness by stealth! EIN VOLK EIN REICH EIN AUTOMOBILE! (intentionally self godwinned)
If they start exporting vehicles out of the US into Europe in major numbers (IIRC they do the Z and the ML, plus the X5. Other than the Z they don't sell that well.) we might end up being their Mexico after all. Which is a good thing, because Hungary and Poland really do make crap. We've got German suppliers that make stuff in all three nations, and we had to return shit made in Hungary, and demand only the German products. Lots of German companies also make stuff in Czechoslovakia, I mean the Czech Republic. Good thing I didn't get that wrong!
That works only if you assume that unions are a problem in the US, and not that unions are a problem generally. If you do, what do you think makes the US different to the rest of the world in this regard? Why are unions so much worse there than everywhere else?
Speaking of Mexicans, I heard that Eskimo is considered a pejorative in Canada. The proper term is "Ice Mexicans".
