UAW declares midnight strike at American Axle, a key GM supplier
Posted by morrotuber@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 95 comments
Posted by morrotuber@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 95 comments
Hiei2k7@reddit
Supplier workers have been getting fucked for years. And the guy in the article ate a 50% pay cut and didn't walk out the second he was able? Holy fuck.
icona_@reddit
off topic but what's it like going between driving a tesla and a 30+ year old truck? seems like such a huge shift
g-4-ces@reddit
Maybe he was never able to find anything better. That’s the issue when you get a pay cut, if you don’t leave, then it’s viewed as market acceptance.
Drifty_Canadian@reddit
"The union said the current highest union wage at the plant is $22 an hour. Before 2008, the highest wage was $29 an hour"
Mary Barra is making 30 mil a year.
Easy-End-2852@reddit
I’m not worried about Mary Barra, I’d be looking at Wendy’s paying $22/hr.
Drifty_Canadian@reddit
Nuts that you can top out at $22/hr in a union job these days.
Easy-End-2852@reddit
Agreed. The CEO is an entirely different beast, the executive leadership needs to be good and $30 million is on the low end frankly. They can cause billions in losses if they mismanage so it’s not a good idea to penny pinch there I think. But compared to other hourly jobs, even pizza delivery and Walmart will pay around $22/hr. It’s obvious some of these jobs didn’t increase with the COVID PPP inflation yet so they have to strike to get it apparently. You see lots of jobs still trying to pay pre pandemic wages and then they complain about how no one wants to work lol. They’re just under market pay by 50% and wondering why they got one drug addict to apply and no one else.
CAT_MARINE-POWER@reddit
Lmaoooo 30mil is too much to run a car company
Easy-End-2852@reddit
If the business is worth hundreds of billions… you’re being foolish by hiring the second best ceo. Mary Barra isn’t even top 1000 in my view but that’s a different story.
RangerHikes@reddit
CEOs for the most part don't do anything. They're a figurehead. At a publicly traded company this size, anyone who doesn't actively try to screw things up could be put in that office and the company would keep chugging along. No one is worth 30 million a year and we need to do away with the notion that any CEO has earned that wage, they're just rich dorks that were born on 3rd base and handed the keys to a machine that was already rolling.
SlurpySandwich@reddit
You absolutely have no idea what you're talking about. They determine the direction of the entire company. In terms of GM that means: lean in on EV's? Dial back cars and focus on SUV's? Cut cost? Raise prices? What portion of the market are they targeting? Who is/will be their competition? What is the strategy to outcompetes them? Etc. they are the final day on all that. If you genuinely think they're just a mouthpiece then you're just dumb. You think because they don't work constantly that their job is meaningless. When in actuality l, they make one or two big decisions a day. But those decisions determine the trajectory of all the products and jobs associated with the company.
RangerHikes@reddit
Yawn. Every decision they make is controlled by a board and investors and a whole C suite. They make an inordinate amount of money to perform very little actual work.
SlurpySandwich@reddit
Okay. So do IT professionals then, Yes? $150k/ yr to click a few buttons and type a few lines of code every day? They're obviously overpaid by your logic. They're not physically working the entire time they're at work, so they should make less money. Their expertise and experience isn't really meaningful.
RangerHikes@reddit
Na, now you're just being obtuse or intentionally misconstruing the argument. Keep defending CEOs though, what ever makes you feel taller
SlurpySandwich@reddit
Ok sure buddy. Nevermind your obviously high school level understanding of business lol
RangerHikes@reddit
👍
CAT_MARINE-POWER@reddit
What exactly has she done besides just keep the ball rolling? The 50th best ceo could have had the same results
SlurpySandwich@reddit
Lol is that what you think CEO'S do? "Just keep the ball rolling"? Lol. It's one of the most dynamic and competitive industries out there. If you just "keep the ball rolling" your company will be in the toilet in a heartbeat. Then all those union jobs will also disappear.
Easy-End-2852@reddit
I think she’s awful and they should fire her. And hire a ceo for the same or higher salary. She’s mismanaged so many things so badly.
CAT_MARINE-POWER@reddit
They could find much better for less also
coyote_of_the_month@reddit
Who, specifically? There are probably about 40 auto-industry C-suite execs in the country, and that's probably a prerequisite for the job. With a talent pool that small, if you're going to assert that someone else would be better, I feel like you almost have to name names.
Mimical@reddit
30 will a year and their brilliant decisions have been;
GM's lifeline is government handouts.
If I was a coach in their HQ I'd be kicking a trash can screaming "This is fucking embarrassing".
Crypto556@reddit
BROTHER stop defending CEOs. You are not and never will be in their club. Shed lay you off like it was nothing.
TheDistantEnd@reddit
I mean I think that is more than plenty to run GM each year, but when you look at other companies and their CEO compensations, it's not a big check to run such a large company that has a lot of fingers in a lot of pies.
The crackhead boards at SpaceX and Tesla pay Elon hundreds of billions and those companies don't even make money, it's pure stock pumping and speculation - but that's what the shareholders care about, so...
Crypto556@reddit
Lets break $30M into a paycheck so you can understand. Is your biweekly pay $1.1M? Or will that take you over a decade of working to earn?
TheDistantEnd@reddit
Hey I'm not justifying CEO pay, I'm comparing apples to shinier apples. No temporarily embarrassed millionaire here, just that there are a lot of companies with highly paid CEOs that have to do a lot less compared to running General Motors.
Easy-End-2852@reddit
I would expect her to, that’s her job. Salary is not based on how hard you sweat it’s based on what you can do for the business. CEO of a multibillion dollar company absolutely should be getting paid. You don’t want to cheap out there.
ZeroWashu@reddit
Well then you have a major parts company who declined merit raises for all their salary staff while the CEO's compensation went up 39% from the previous year to over $12m. Look I get it, some of them create wealth but that is usually only the case for those who created the company they run, the rest just seems like an extended friends group who use board positions to keep each other employed.
ragingxtc@reddit
Eat the rich.
Easy-End-2852@reddit
Why not just move to a country that already has? DPRK and Zimbabwe are attractive options. What’s the matter, you don’t want to move there?
MaybeNext-Monday@reddit
Do you ever think about why it is that you have to pick comically disingenuous examples, or is it just autopilot?
Easy-End-2852@reddit
It’s an ideology of hatred and evil. The most pure expression of the ideology was the Khmer Rouge regime. They took all the rich, defined by ownership of glasses or ability to speak a foreign language, and beat them to death in fields. About a quarter of the entire population was massacred. My favorite part is one of your buddies, professor Malcolm Caldwell, glazed Pol Pot and other Marxist Leninists. Spent decades defending them and minimizing the reports of violence as propaganda. Finally he flew to Cambodia and met Pol Pot. Caldwell was shot to death right after the meeting.
ragingxtc@reddit
Keep sucking that rich man's cock, he'll look down and make eye contact with you one of these days.
Drzhivago138@reddit
Ick. Not sure why we need that kind of vulgarity on this sub.
MechMeister@reddit
Because a lot of unions are trash. The old folk just want their seniority and dont carr about oay raises because they paid off their mortgage already.
Easy-End-2852@reddit
The people I know who were in them hated them. Said the leadership just stole money and abused younger workers. Not saying we should get rid of them entirely just that they’re not perfect either.
koopa00@reddit
Lots of union members even in strong ones hate unions, but a lot of them can't give you a real reason why they hate them, and at the same time benefit tremendously from them. It's almost like the disdain has nothing to do with them at all, but perhaps something else...
drags_@reddit
I am in 2 unions, labour and teamsters, I hate unions. Unions protect the laziest people, the dumbest people. It is almost impossible to get rid of someone that is a major liability or someone that doesn't pull their weight compared to the rest of the crew. They get passed around from crew to crew, when they finally screw up enough to get kicked off the project then they just call the union hall to get placed on the job board for the next project. In a union there is no penalty for being a shitty worker, they make the same amount of money as the people actually doing their job.
koopa00@reddit
If you think this only happens in unions then I don't know what to tell you, plenty of non-union people experience this same phenomenon. At least the union protects good workers too.
FractalParadigm@reddit
A union is only as good as the committee elected. If people keep electing a shitty committee, then it should be no surprise that it's a "shitty union." The problem is one of two things, workplace elections are a popularity contest for the most part, and a depressing number of people don't bother voting (or even showing up for meetings) because of the same old "my vote doesn't count" bullshit you hear during actual elections.
My workplace is ~110 strong. We went through the same "shitty committee" phase before us younger/newer employees wanted to see some change. It's amazing how quickly a "shitty" union that protects and enriches a handful of highly-senior workers, can turn into an "amazing" union that's actually fair and equitable to everyone, including the newest of hires, all without the sky falling like the old timers would have you believe.
imped4now@reddit
Unions are quite literally a microcosm of the country.
Ris4racing@reddit
like HOA presidents, people bitch and vote for the same dicks.
sugarfreeeyecandy@reddit
...because in the main, only a masochist, fool, manipulator or power-hungry person thinks the abuse from below is worth it.
ZeroWashu@reddit
Nah, they don't show up to vote just like the union votes. Our last go around was a fifth of the number of homes in the subdivision and more than one attendee wasn't eligible to vote because they owe dues from more than one year.
On the union front many decades ago I worked grocery at one of the few such companies that were unionized. All it did was let the deadbeats with seniority do what they wanted and keep people from moving between departments unless you were buddy buddy with them. If you wanted to move departments you moved to a different store.
scrappybasket@reddit
All the people I know in unions love it. They all make over $45/hour with great benefits and full pension.
Some unions are stronger than others
flapsmcgee@reddit
Yeah what the hell have they been doing the last 10 years
RedditPoster05@reddit
This is the worst argument to use even if it is true which I doubt .
It’s a bad argument because plenty of guys want to work at a GM plant hardly anybody wants to work at a Wendy’s fast food restaurant. Not to mention the other benefits that Wendy’s most likely lacks in addition to the pay that they probably don’t receive.
Crypto556@reddit
Brother thats $44k a year. Thats not a lot of money.
RedditPoster05@reddit
Do you think fast food workers are highly paid ?
Crypto556@reddit
Sorry to break it to you but they make around the same.
RedditPoster05@reddit
They aren’t making 21.40 other than very specific locations… maybe some sort of shift leader management, but I find that even unlikely.
Easy-End-2852@reddit
It’s not a bad argument. If this is a small town I agree with you they’re likely not making $22/hr at fast food except for shift lead or manager. But the delta is not huge and the responsibility delta is big. Ultimately wages are determined by what you’re paying the employees not to do- I.e. what the competitors offer.
RedditPoster05@reddit
Shift lead and managers probably make 17-20. They are all equally under paid .
The big thing is fast food sucks. The work sucks dealing with the customers sucks and the pay sucks. To top it all off there’s no respect in the job. That’s why there’s such a stigma and comparing a union job to it isn’t a good one .
Also if it were true the person (potentially a sympethetic public) hearing the argument can easily say “well why don’t they go work there “.
Easy-End-2852@reddit
Fair criticism.
RedditPoster05@reddit
Don’t get me wrong you’re right about the delta . Making an integral part like that is important ! These guys need a raise. Three rivers while a lowish cost of living town 22 as top pay isn’t great . I’d be hard to buy a 200k house there with that pay and that’s what’s mostly up for sale there.
Easy-End-2852@reddit
I don’t work in this field but it seems surprisingly low to me. I think these wages haven’t changed much since 20 years ago frankly. I remember union welders making like 20-30 back then I thought. Maybe I’m off base but it seems like it’s stagnant and with the inflation it shouldn’t be. Everyone else is getting a piece they should too.
Joe_Joe-@reddit
I’m not sticking up for her but Mary Barra has nothing to do with American Axle. We (GM, as I’m an employee at GM) this is just a company we use for our axles for some vehicles. People see GM and UAW and assume it’s GM. American Axle supply to more than just GM. They are UAW.
To my brothers and sisters at American Axle, I’m in solidarity with you.
delebojr@reddit
Doesn't GM also build truck axles near Grand Rapids?
Joe_Joe-@reddit
No. Light duties are ft Wayne and Mexico. Heavy duties are flint and Canada
mcorliss3456@reddit
Unions sow the seeds of their own demise by ratcheting up labor costs. Unions are only accelerating the push towards dark factories like in China.
Lower_Kick268@reddit
What does Mary Barra have to do with this? GM doesn't own them
RedditPoster05@reddit
There’s no way that a town like Three Rivers smaller than Kalamazoo is making $22 an hour at a fast food restaurant either. Terrible argument to make basing something off of a lie. Happens almost every time unions go on strike.
It’s a bad argument and lie because it has the easiest response “why don’t they go work there then? “
Much more persuasive arguments of raising pay for these people. The fast food comparison isn’t one of them.
oralabora@reddit
My dumpy shithole town in the deep south pays $17 an hour for McDs workers. They advertise it on their scrolling sign all the time.
Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit
Do they pay $17 an hour or so they pay up to $17 an hour?
Because I bet its the latter.
RedditPoster05@reddit
Yeah probably for 5 hours a week.
Drifty_Canadian@reddit
You're right they are only a supplier for gm, American Axels CEO David Dauch makes 11 million a year.
Lower_Kick268@reddit
They supply Nissan, Ford, VW, and Stellantis among other companies too, this is an outright lie that can be solved by a basic google search.
Car-face@reddit
Based on the context of the comment above, they don't mean "only" as in "GM are the only company they supply", they mean "only" as in "they're not a part of GM proper, and are simply a company that supplies them."
Anchor_Aways@reddit
They also supply Stellantis and Nissan
Lower_Kick268@reddit
Ford and VW too, theyll be producing most of the parts for the Scout trucks
Puzzled_Seaweed_517@reddit
While I agree that Mary Barra is making more than she should, what does her salary have to do with an American Axle union? American Axle is its own company that supplies parts to GM.
ShadyDrunks@reddit
I do have to ask, why do they specify union wage? What's the highest non union wage?
skylercollins@reddit
Unions are monopolies on labor.
Fuck monopolies, all of them.
24_August_1814@reddit
🤡
willpc14@reddit
0/10 bait
Logitech4873@reddit
Unions are extremely important to prevent abuse of workers.
TenguBlade@reddit
Reddit: “American workers deserve better pay and conditions!”
Also Reddit: “China’s low wages and disregard for safety have nothing to do with why their products are cheaper!”
imped4now@reddit
The amount of folks in here misspelling AXLE as "Axel" is maddening.
Energy4Days@reddit
Late stage capitalism
Extracting the most from labor while paying as little as possible
Elections matter
Slacker_75@reddit
Both parties have been elected a lot since 2008. We’re getting fucked from both sides
FeelTall@reddit
It's crazy how many people think one side is superior to the other, are always correct no matter what/have "correct" opinions, and become fanatical.
Both sides suck. Both sides are fucking you. Both sides are looking to grab and stay in power. Both sides are looking out for their own special interests. Both sides put out propaganda to slander the other and create bubbles of reality for their voters to vilify their fellow Americans, friends, family, and neighbors.
We all have so much more in common than we think, yet we go out of our way to crucify others for saying we lean one way or the other. Even if you don't agree with everything your party is doing, you immediately get labeled a racist or a snowflake. No nuance. No learning or growing or constructive debating. Just yelling and screaming for the sake of it to "prove" you are affiliated with the "better" party.
It's become crazy sports fandom on either side and both organizations are on their downfall while no longer standing for what their party represents. Think for yourself and don't assume you're correct.
I know this is cars subreddit, but seeing you get downvotes for your comment further proves it. Thanks for removing the wool over eyes :)
IsaacM42@reddit
yeah but only one is consistenly rolling back workers protections not to mention other shenanigans to make it easier to transfer wealth from the poor to the rich
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
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Baby-girl-54321@reddit
Labor disputes are never good news, but when a key supplier stops, the ripple effects reach far beyond one company. Production delays, higher costs, and uncertainty help no one.
DistinctResult3@reddit
They help the workers, loser
drseruzawa@reddit
And here come the losers who think they could run a major corporation.
jrileyy229@reddit
About time from the sounds of it... Paid low, no more pension, one hour off for every 30 hours worked... Crazy
hundredjono@reddit
Lmao another worker's strike under Mary Barra's belt, what a clown show
KingKontinuum@reddit
I thought Mary Barra was the CEO of GM and not American Axle?
hundredjono@reddit
She needs to be CEO of nothing
KingKontinuum@reddit
Okay
SteveS117@reddit
They’re Dauch now not American Axle. Everyone laughs at them for changing their name.
ButtcheekSnorkler@reddit
The thing that really pissed everyone off at GM was the fact that CCA and GMCH got fucked contract after contract. Powertrain plants were treated like "real" plants and allowed you to max out at the real UAW top wage while GMCH and CCA were told to be thankful they had a fucking job. I fully support Local 2093. $22 an hour ain't shit for a union job.
Snazzy21@reddit
They waited a lot longer than I would have, 2008 was 18 years ago. It doesn't seem rational that the workers making the least take the pay cut, I think having a salary slashed from 10 mil to 5 mil is a lot less impactful than someone making 58k now making 44k.
I guess they need the job more than someone whose already made enough money last al lifetime