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Politics : Right Wing Extremist Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mr. Whist who wrote (3836)	1/30/2001 6:16:19 PM
From: MulhollandDrive	Respond to of 59480

Well, I asked because I was unaware if the UAW was successful. I found this old article from the Detroit News on the UAW and Daimler-Chrysler. I think it's somewhat instructive. UAW: Deal is 'good' for workers Yokich says he hopes arrangement will help him organize Ala. Mercedes plant Carlos Osorio / Associated Press UAW President Stephen Yokich, right, and UAW Vice-President Jack Laskowski say they have many questions about the merger. "But we think this is good for Chrysler workers and for the union," Yokich says. By James V. Higgins and George Hunter / The Detroit News DETROIT -- The United Auto Workers union hopes to use German labor law to influence management policy at DaimlerChrysler AG, officials said Thursday. At the same time, UAW President Stephen P. Yokich made it clear the union doesn't oppose the takeover of Chrysler Corp. by Daimler-Benz AG that will create the new auto industry giant. "We have a lot of questions," Yokich said. "But we think this is good for Chrysler workers and for the union." More immediately, Yokich said he hopes the deal will help the UAW's effort to organize workers at the new Mercedes-Benz assembly plant in Vance, Ala. "We are trying to organize the Mercedes plant in Alabama," he said. "That's one of the topics we want to talk about with (Chrysler Chairman Robert) Eaton. That plant should be under the national agreement." The larger issue, however, is whether German labor practices could work in the American union's favor. Labor experts were skeptical about that prospect, as well as the possibility that the UAW and German auto industry union might coordinate bargaining goals more closely in the future. Under German laws of co-determination, unions are given the right to sit with management on advisory boards of major public corporations. That gives them more influence over management policy, generally, than U.S. unions. For decades, the UAW's official policy was to avoid having a role in corporate management. It relied primarily on bargaining and political influence to achieve its goals. Despite the fact that UAW presidents Douglas A. Fraser and Owen Bieber served for several years on Chrysler's board, that remains the union's overall policy. Richard Block, professor of labor and industrial relations at Michigan State University, doesn't see the merger opening the door for a multinational union. "The laws in the two countries are too different," he said. "That's not to say the UAW won't attempt to do something over there. But I don't believe we're going to see a German invasion of co-determination in the United States." Yokich said UAW officials were given no advance notice of the merger talks. "If we would have known (about the merger talks), the world would have known," he said. One of the biggest objections by executives at Detroit's Big Three automakers to union representation on their boards was the fear that boardroom secrecy would be compromised. That left the UAW with many unanswered questions about the deal, Yokich said. For instance, he said, there's been no response from Daimler-Benz to the UAW's request for representation on the DaimlerChrysler supervisory board. The union's influence could be indirect, however -- UAW officials are in regular contact with German auto industry unions. That influence in the past wasn't strong enough to persuade Daimler-Benz to reach an understanding with the UAW before building its Alabama assembly plant in the traditionally anti-union Deep South. As foreign auto manufacturers moved into the United States during the past two decades, the UAW's record in organization workers has been mixed. The union successfully has represented workers in plants operated by foreign companies with ties to the Big Three -- the former Mazda Motor Corp. plant in Flat Rock and the Diamond-Star Motors plant in Normal, Ill., formerly a joint venture between Chrysler and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. In addition, UAW members build cars for Toyota Motor Corp. at a joint venture with General Motors Corp. near San Jose, Calif., and minivans for Nissan in a Ford Motor Co. factory near Cleveland. However, foreign firms that set up here independently -- including Toyota in Kentucky, Nissan Motor Co. in Tennessee, Honda Motor Co. in Ohio, BMW AG in South Carolina and Mercedes in Alabama -- have successfully resisted UAW organization so far. Copyright 1998, The Detroit News

To: Mr. Whist who wrote (3836)	1/30/2001 7:32:58 PM
From: Ish	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 59480

My crab about unions is they jack prices with no work ethic. 1. My cousin works for the state highway department. He had a back hoe operater quit digging, and never informed anyone. 3 hours of sitting there. Problem a 4" clay tile. My cousin asked him the problem and he said the tile. He was hired to dig dirt. Couldn't put a chain on it nor could my cousin as they weren't laborers. 2. A guy I know, has seniority. Operator. He gets hired every day, then they hire another person to do his job because as an operator he sucks.