Are UAW Union Bosses Abusing Their Positions for Pay?

[edward]

I think you would find it interesting to take a walk through a Nissan dealership and look at the U.S part content stickers on most models. Many, such as the Quest, Altima, Maxima, Frontier, Titan, Armada and Pathfinder are/were over 90%. I say were because we are losing some models back to Japan.

I can't speak about Toyota, Honda, Suzuki and all the other foreign makers. Certainly they meet similar part source challenges in similar ways.

You are right. The percentage of American parts has been increasing in the Japanese vehicles. This followed a lot of complaints by the big three back in the 90's when the Japanese got their jump start here.

There are a few options for determining a car's domestic-parts content. We went with the figure that appears alongside the window sticker of new cars as a result of the American Automobile Labeling Act, enacted in 1994. The AALA mandates that virtually every new car display the percentage, by cost, of its parts that originated in the U.S. and Canada. We deemed cars with a domestic-parts content rating of 75 percent or higher eligible for the index.

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&subject=ami&story=amMade1207&aff=chitrib

On the other hand in recent years the Big three are now using a lot of parts made in other countries.

Fewer than half of the parts on some Big Three vehicles are made in the U.S.

Looking at a Ford Fusion? It is assembled in Mexico. The Chrysler 300C is assembled in Canada, but its transmission is from Indiana; the brand's V-8 engine is made in Mexico. Engines in the Chevrolet Equinox sport utility vehicle are from China.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/12/american.cars/

 

[WhoWee]

Bailouts for banks but not car makers ?
No problem just declare your self a bank http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/business/25gmac.html?_r=1&em

I like the idea of allowing the UAW pension funds to become a specialized (vehicle loan) bank...chartered to ONLY make loans for Big 3 products...at a MUCH HIGHER rate of interest. Car loans of 15% plus will be normal in a few years when inflation kicks in anyway.

If they loan $15B at an average of $30K per vehicle = 500,000 new vehicles sold AND they'll achieve approximately $242M in cash flow per month moving forward...which could purchase an additional 8,000 vehicles per month or left to accumulate.

If all taxes are waived...$15B will fix the problem...as long as people make their payments and the cars last through the loan period.

Maybe (just maybe) everyone involved will realize that smaller, slightly less profitable - but more affordable vehicles will increase demand and reduce payback risk.

If the UAW pensions aren't willing to take this risk...why should banks?

 

[russ_watters]

After Japanese workers including auto workers retire there is no legacy system.

Well in the US, there is a legacy system, and it has already been paid for (and the money then wasted). Why should I pay for it twice?

What you are saying is all non sequitur - even foreign companies who build their cars in the US have lower costs than their American counterparts, so what happens in Japan is completely irrelevant. American car companies have wasted money that was supposed to be saved for their workers' retirement and as a result, they have had to raise the price of their cars while cutting R&D. It is a death spiral that a baliout won't fix. And bailing them out now would only encourage others to make the same mistakes and throw bad money after good.

...now let's look at the numbers.

That's also a non sequitur, but you may want to look more into what those numbers mean and how they are arrived at. A company founded on freedom would never accept such draconian price controls that risk destroying such an important industry. Whether a nationalized health care system could/would actually be cheaper (without hurting service and driving hospitals out of business) than what we have now can't be proven with numbers from other countries.

 

[OmCheeto]

On the other hand in recent years the Big three are now using a lot of parts made in other countries.

Recent years?
My '95 Chrysler LeBaron came with a Mitsubishi V6.
And I didn't find out my '93 Ford Probe was a Mazda MX6 under the skin until I bought the repair manual.

If only one of the big 3 would start putting their badge on a Subaru.

http://www.drive.subaru.com/Win06/SubaruHEV/B5PTH.jpg
http://www.drive.subaru.com/Win06_HEV.htm"​

To my knowledge, I've never owned a Subaru. Though I probably would have recognized a boxer engine.

 

[edward]

Well in the US, there is a legacy system, and it has already been paid for (and the money then wasted). Why should I pay for it twice

You shouldn't and neither should I and this was never a point of my posts.

What you are saying is all non sequitur - even foreign companies who build their cars in the US have lower costs than their American counterparts, so what happens in Japan is completely irrelevant

It was relevant when the Japanese companies moved here in the 90's and got a foothold by using Japanese parts and big tax incentives from states and local communities.

American car companies have wasted money that was supposed to be saved for their workers' retirement and as a result, they have had to raise the price of their cars while cutting R&D. It is a death spiral that a bailout won't fix.

You may be right on this part. Only time will tell

And bailing them out now would only encourage others to make the same mistakes and throw bad money after good.

What others? There are only three. And yet far fewer people are complaining about the $7 00 billion for the investment bankers than the $15 billion for the auto industry.

My concern has never been about the 250,000 auto assembly workers. It is about the parts and support jobs that go with the industry.

Even the Japanese are worried about the parts factories since they now use many of the same suppliers as the big three. They are also worried about the effect on their own vehicle sales if Detroit tanks making the economy even worse. Both Toyota and Honda are now in the red.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/...utomakers-not-celebrating-over-big-3-problems

That's also a non sequitur, but you may want to look more into what those numbers mean and how they are arrived at. A company founded on freedom would never accept such draconian price controls that risk destroying such an important industry. Whether a nationalized health care system could/would actually be cheaper (without hurting service and driving hospitals out of business) than what we have now can't be proven with numbers from other countries.

Again I was not comparing the good or bad aspects of either health care system. I was only mentioning that the Japanese system is more financially beneficial to the Japanese automakers than Our system is to the US automakers.

A large percentage of the Japanese vehicles sold here are still made in Japan. The health care plans offered to workers in Japanese factories in this country are Spartan at best.

 

[edward]

Recent years?
My '95 Chrysler LeBaron came with a Mitsubishi V6.
And I didn't find out my '93 Ford Probe was a Mazda MX6 under the skin until I bought the repair manual.

If only one of the big 3 would start putting their badge on a Subaru.

http://www.drive.subaru.com/Win06/SubaruHEV/B5PTH.jpg
http://www.drive.subaru.com/Win06_HEV.htm"​

To my knowledge, I've never owned a Subaru. Though I probably would have recognized a boxer engine.

The first years of the Chrysler minivans built on the K car platform also had the Mitsubishi V6.

I love that little Subaru boxer engine. The Subs are engineered to be mechanic friendly. I once changed the oil pan gasket on one and thought it would be a nightmare. It was easily done with the engine in place. They left holes in the front cross member for every bolt.

 

[montoyas7940]

I don't think these guys could be paid little enough.

http://www.redstate.com/warner_todd_huston/2008/12/28/uaw-union-bosses-abusing-positions-for-pay/