GM gives voice once again to its American workers with the .

[GCT]

GM gives voice once again to its American workers with the ...

GM Employee Discount , yeah the workers in that commercial sure seemed to be excited about it , I wonder how many actual GM employees are celebrating. All of this comes after thousands of GM jobs were moved from the US for the sake of reducing cost much to the celebration of thousands of non-US workers and pork and beans every night for former GM workers.

GM- quintessentially American.

 

[JasonRox]

I'm sorry but GM workers get paid a lot of money. The majority of them are spoiled workers.

Sorry, but I lost respect for GM workers and the union that represents them.

Note: I know people who worked for GM in the union and as management and both agreed that GM workers are slackers and do next to nothing for the money. I also know a guy who would go into automotive factories to install robots that caused thousands of layoffs. The funny part is that GM even offered it's employees free education to operate these robots before getting installed so that they can secure their job. The actual funny part is how the majority of the workers were resisting and now... they're out of a job. LOL!

 

[Vanadium 50]

GCT, what is your objection exactly? That GM shouldn't be cutting prices to sell more cars?

 

[GCT]

It seems that they are portraying an " American " image - "American" meaning the country folk and the working class population- the key seems to be drawing a distinction to Japan. And yet they have a reputation for mistreating this population set, aside from those examples that JasonRox mentioned.

No big objections really, I just would not be that happy if I was a GM employee, if everyone else is getting the discount then why would it be called an employee discount?

 

[Dale]

The GM workers who are out of a job have themselves and their union to blame. You cannot demand to be paid more than you are worth and expect to keep your job.

 

[Evo]

No big objections really, I just would not be that happy if I was a GM employee, if everyone else is getting the discount then why would it be called an employee discount?

That was just an advertising gimick.

The GM workers who are out of a job have themselves and their union to blame. You cannot demand to be paid more than you are worth and expect to keep your job.

Unions have long outlasted the need for them and for years have been causing workers to lose jobs because of unrealistic demands completely out of touch with the reality of the market.

 

[JasonRox]

Unions have long outlasted the need for them and for years have been causing workers to lose jobs because of unrealistic demands completely out of touch with the reality of the market.

Yes, but the GM union is basically the worst model ever for a union.

 

[Dale]

That is an interesting comment. What is so bad about the GM union in particular that makes it worse than other unions?

 

[Moonbear]

No big objections really, I just would not be that happy if I was a GM employee, if everyone else is getting the discount then why would it be called an employee discount?

It's really no different than offering a rebate that would make up the difference between the sticker price and employee price. It's better to sell some cars for less than none at all.

But, I agree with the others that the employees have nobody but themselves and their unions to blame. They've driven themselves out of the competitive market with their unreasonable expectations for higher salaries and better benefits, not to mention what the union is likely skimming off the top. Those employees probably would be extremely happy just to see all the money getting paid as union dues show up in their take-home pay instead. A company can't afford to do both though...pay the union dues and increase workers' salaries. The fat cats in the union are the ones driving the company under and jeopardizing the employees' jobs, and at the same time convincing the employees to be discontent with their jobs and pay. It doesn't cost a lot to live in the towns where these factories are, the workers make ample money to live quite comfortably, and that for simple skilled labor type jobs.

 

[JasonRox]

It's really no different than offering a rebate that would make up the difference between the sticker price and employee price. It's better to sell some cars for less than none at all.

But, I agree with the others that the employees have nobody but themselves and their unions to blame. They've driven themselves out of the competitive market with their unreasonable expectations for higher salaries and better benefits, not to mention what the union is likely skimming off the top. Those employees probably would be extremely happy just to see all the money getting paid as union dues show up in their take-home pay instead. A company can't afford to do both though...pay the union dues and increase workers' salaries. The fat cats in the union are the ones driving the company under and jeopardizing the employees' jobs, and at the same time convincing the employees to be discontent with their jobs and pay. It doesn't cost a lot to live in the towns where these factories are, the workers make ample money to live quite comfortably, and that for simple skilled labor type jobs.

It's not only the union but also GM abused there near monopoly for years! They produced garbage for years and now it's catching up to them.

Terrible company all around. Should not be represented as a model American company as it's a horrible model.

 

[russ_watters]

It seems that they are portraying an " American " image - "American" meaning the country folk and the working class population- the key seems to be drawing a distinction to Japan. And yet they have a reputation for mistreating this population set, aside from those examples that JasonRox mentioned.

This isn't about Japan, it is about the status quo of how some (edit: added that for Jason - he's right) American companies and American workers work. The Japanese car companies that come into the US turn out better and cheaper products and have happier and more productive workers.

No big objections really, I just would not be that happy if I was a GM employee, if everyone else is getting the discount then why would it be called an employee discount?

It's a marketing gimick and I'm sure GM employees are smart enough to know that.

 

[russ_watters]

That is an interesting comment. What is so bad about the GM union in particular that makes it worse than other unions?

I'm not sure I necessarily agree with the comment, but the GM union is doing a stellar job of helping the company go under. It may be tough to win the title belt, though - the steelworkers union has had that sown up for a decade now.

 

[Dale]

Yeah, I did my grad school in Cleveland, so I know a little more about steelworkers unions than auto workers unions.

 

[Vanadium 50]

It's not only the union but also GM abused there near monopoly for years! They produced garbage for years and now it's catching up to them.

Those events were 30 years ago. And it caught up with them 20 years ago.

What's new now is Korea. US and Japan used to divide up the US market, with a few percent going to Germany. GM could survive a 2-way split. It can't survive a 3-way split.

GM also recognized their quality problems and attempted to address them via Saturn, almost 20 years ago. At some level, it was a success - Saturn was profitable by 1993 and had customer satisfaction scores more typical of a Japanese company. But the UAW was bitterly opposed to the Saturn way, and in particular the compensation model - workers got a base pay, with bonuses tied to overall company sales and satisfaction scores. Ultimately the UAW won the battle. Whether they lost the war remains to be seen.

 

[FrancisZ]

I would just like to add that I find it amusing the way General Motors brags about the pseudo-fuel efficiency of their cars. 28 mpg? I was impressed by that 15 years ago. Even my brother's old Geo Metro is supposed to be comparable with a Prius.