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Looks like the right-to-work states are loosing jobs to Mexico and China too.
Anecdotally maybe, but some right-to-work states are actually reporting net gains in manufacturing jobs in spite of the overall economy.
Of the 22 right-to-work states, 18 currently have unemployment rates below the national average. One of the four that doesn't is Mississippi, which is a perpetual economic basket case regardless of its labor laws.
I'm wondering if this plant is union or non-union, couldn't find it online.
I don't know about this one in particular, but very few in the south are. Most union members in the south are policemen, teachers, or other government employees.
Problem with unionizing here is that you're setting yourself up for free loaders. If you unionize your plant, newcomers will get many union benefits, but won't have to pay dues. In turn, this can kill support for the union among its own members, which is one reason why right-to-work is so effective in keeping down union membership in any facility with even moderate turnover.
Unions are a bad idea and are a very big reason why Michigan is suffering so much right now. Too many people with useless jobs and very little or no education beyond HS (but yet could make 50k+ annually) affected our economy to a point where everything else became inflated and unsustainable.
Unions were good decades ago when workers had very little rights and worked in dangerous occupations where employers needed to be more responsible for their workers. Nowadays though, only the union workers prosper while the company, city and other people in the state have to make up for their unbalanced affect on the economy.
Unions are a bad idea and are a very big reason why Michigan is suffering so much right now. Too many people with useless jobs and very little or no education beyond HS (but yet could make 50k+ annually) affected our economy to a point where everything else became inflated and unsustainable.
Unions were good decades ago when workers had very little rights and worked in dangerous occupations where employers needed to be more responsible for their workers. Nowadays though, only the union workers prosper while the company, city and other people in the state have to make up for their unbalanced affect on the economy.
Gosh I know them unions are tottaly worthless-- can you believe those nurses (teamsters) at Genesys threatning to strike because of all the hours they have to work, cut in benefits that they must take and the nurse to patient ratio is rising.
How dare them freaking unions BUST THEM ALL -- GOSH THEY ARE WORTHLESS..
BLAH BLAH BLAH-- Iam sick of hearing about how there was a place for the unions years ago, but not anymore work is much safer!! Unions are needed now more than ever. Go ahead and respond with the anti union bashing.
If Unions weren't hurting Michigan's future than how come all the new auto manufacturing keeps going south? Thousands of new jobs. 10's of thousands of spin-off/supply and community associated jobs. Billions of investments in new infrastructure.
Yep, the union mentality so strong in Michigan makes the state one of the LAST that will see any new manufacturing. Companies don't want to have to deal with yet another major roadblock/headache adjusting to competitive global market conditions.
And with the USD so cheap compared to other currencies, additional manufacturing will likely come to America. I don't think Michigan will see much heading their way unfortunately. The word is out...
I'm not completely union bashing, but here is my opinion.....unions do not have much purpose anymore. Sure, nurses are working more hours, having wages and benefits cut, etc., and I don't think that's right by any means. But what about all of the non-union workers around the country that this happens to all of the time? They don't have a voice sticking up for them...if they are unhappy with their jobs, they leave and find work elsewhere....that's how it's done in most of the country. That's reality. It's not good, but that's the way it is. The big issue with many union jobs is that many of these workers feel a sense of "entitlement," almost as if they are the only ones capable of doing the job, and that it is their God-given right to have that job. Well, the truth is that many of us worked hard to get the jobs we have, and are thankful we have them. My employer is having some issues with the high cost of fuel and reative slowdown in my field. We have all made concessions to keep our jobs, such as taking reduced hours, etc., but we all still have our jobs because we agreed to do our part to cut expenses to stay employed. We didn't strongarm our way into having a job, and constantly demanding more money and threatening to strike when things don't go our way....that's life. If people are unhappy, they know where the door is, and are welcome to leave. In one respect, I don't blame the Big Three for trying to cut expenses....if they can find 50,000 workers who will work hard for a more realistic wage than what many UAW workers are paid, more power to them IF they use the savings in the right way....developing more reliable, quality, more affordable products. Unfortunately, they have shown time and time again that they misuse any savings they gain, by paying millions of dollars in bonuses to already-overpaid execs for "doing a great job cutting expenses and improving the bottom line." The Big Three have so much corporate greed and corruption down to the core, and it has shown through their poor business decisions in years past. I know I'm going to hear flack from the UAW workers, and I have 100% support for Americans having jobs and making a decent wage with respect to the type of work they do, but there are many auto workers who have been overpaid for years on end. I have never worked in an auto plant, but have talked to many people that do and/or have in the past. Of course there are more difficult jobs than others, some of which probably demand a higher skill level, and those jobs deserve higher pay. But for some I've talked with, whose sole job was to plug in a wire harness and install the right front door panel for $26.00 an hour???? Geez, I don't think it takes a lot of skill to do that particular job, and is realistically more of a $10-$15 an hour job. For years the American auto companies have been bleeding red ink due to excessive labor costs (which they nearly always blame on the line-workers/suppliers, etc) but never look at the exec's salaries, but they have spent their money in all of the wrong places. In short, I believe that the unions had their place at one time, but now have many companies (not just the Big Three) in a stranglehold over labor costs, which increases consumer costs, decreases profitability, and increases labor outsourcing to other countries, etc. It's this outsourcing that is causing rising unemployment in the blue-collar sector. Sometimes we have to give a little to keep our jobs. Maybe if many UAW workers were making a reasonable $15-$18 an hour, we could keep more jobs here, but then again, some of these workers have over-extended themselves with their lifestyles, that even a slight paycut would ruin them.
A2-- I hear what you are saying, however I am not just speaking of the UAW or Nurses, Iam in the building trades and there is an influx of hispanics coming into it. They are working for wages that are horribly low and some are working for 50-70% less than others. These are jobs that Iam able to do, been TRAINED to do spent thousands of hours training for and I enjoy doing. But, the contractors dont really care as long as they can save on the labor.
I wont turn this into an immigration thing but there is a transitioning force that this country is going through and it is called globalization-- and I truly believe that it is a horrible change.
It will affect every blue-collar (union/non-union) AMERICAN out there
-- Not one thing is being done here --
Globalization has been shoved up everyones a&% for so many years and was supposed to open up so many doors of opportunity. Yea right, all it has done is lowered our wages and raised every necessity that you need to feed a family.
My opinion stands there is no better time for union, to keep labor in this country moving in the right direction-- those folks at american axle arent asking for more money they want to keep what they have!!
To anyone bashing "foreigners" for taking "our jobs"...you want to know what would happen if we put an end to Globalization (if it were even possible)???
...We would go back in time to the 60s. Maybe even the 50s. All the neat little gadgets and gizmos and niceties of life that you have become accustomed to will no longer be easy to get, since they'd all have to be made here in America. We'd have less things to pick from as consumers and because of less competition, prices on everything would go up! Most of America's workers would be turned back to grunt-level/physical-labor workers in order to sustain our countries 300+ million citizens and that means there'd be very few tech/white-collar jobs compared to what we'd even have now. In short, our economy would be a disaster and our standards of living would go back 30-40 years. No fancy SUVs, no amazingly cheap cellphones or computers - it'd be like going back to the stone age for many people.
Don't you understand that globalization did not kill the American car industry? Other countries did not initially make cars at a loss to "steal" our car market...they made profits off their cars and it was AMERICA who was charging too much for vehicles! It's amazing how changing perspective slightly can show the truth in a situation.
The fact of the matter is this: We cannot shut the doors of a global economy now. It's happened and will never go back to the way it was. Even communist China would have a hard time keeping out foreign influences if it ever decided to try and shut itself off from the world --- because they chose to participate in trading with other countries, that's the price they have to pay.
In America, the only way people will be able to keep their jobs or find work is by making yourself more marketable than a foreign worker. If that means you being willing to take a job that pays 40k/year with partial benefits versus 50+k with full benefits, so be it. Employees are no longer in the position to pick and choose their future - they need to relaize that an adjustment of lifestyle and expected salary may be necessary if one wants to stay in a particular part of the country or in a certain industry.
Hey Joey, you are sitting in the lions dens of anti union anti worker activists. Just to set the record straight there is a national campaign afoot to discredit unions and Michigan has been targeted. This site is run by a man named Berman who has been hired to bash unions and to expect a fair appraisal. This lobbyist group pays for ads on this site as well. If you think there will be a rational discussion, the table has been all ready set to discredit anyone who trys to portary the benefits of union membership. Berman is a DC lobbyist who has been hired to target unions and bust them.
If anyone thinks they are getting unbiased opinions on this site, the readers should recognize who is paying ad fees on this site.
The naysayers who claim the UAW is at fault for the demise of the auto industry seemingly dont want to blame management or their inability to compete in a globalized economy. The decision of GM to locate a new plant in Ontario a few years ago was based on Canadas healthcare system. The difference in making that corporate decision was based on the healthcare costs that have run rampant in the USA. In the cost analysis concerning GM decision to locate in Ontario versus Michigan was based on a differential of 1500 per vehicle, a cost Ontario supporters were quick to point out to GM.
To blame the current downtrend in the US auto industry based soley on wages paid is both ridiculous and misleading.
Legacy healthcare costs and the high price of healhcare in this country made a significant impact on why that plant located in Ontario instead of Michigan.
Keep blaming the unions bashers, what execuse are you going to come up with next since new hirees are now 14.50 an hour in the auto plants.
GWBush favorite company to visit is Catepillar and he uses them as an example of a robust industry. He never tells you that new hirees at Catepillar are taking wage cuts as well to the tune of 14.50 an hour.
Let see how many non union workers and how much money is pumped into Michgian
The politicians who allowed these one sided trade deals, and 1.50 a day wages in Mexico and China have destroyed good paying jobs at home.
You want the real results from globalization and job losses, I would suggest readers start studying this site. Consistant year after year trade deficits result in more outsourcing and more loss of domestic jobs. Globalization and the race to the bottom is destroying the US manufacturing industry.
3.4 Million good paying jobs have been destroyed, if you doubt me then you havent been paying attention. This site has a complete inventory of job losses state by state and it is an unbiased source.
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