GM slashes top salaries by up to 50%

[OS]

Originally posted by: Squisher

Originally posted by: JLGatsby

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
Most of you have no idea how right on JLGatsby is. I have worked for <insert one of the old big 3 here> for the past 6 years in Manufacturing, including production supervision.

First off I will point out a few things that many of you will be shocked to hear.

Every single day at every UAW plant, there is about a 20-25% absenteeism rate. What exactly does that mean? Well simply each plant must carry a workforce 20-25% larger than they are required to run. This also translates into the first hour of production being VERY low while each line supervisor figures out who is missing for the day and calls for one of the people in the ?reserve? pool. Now to the crazy part, sure they do not get paid when they skip work, however their benefits are not cut, so right off the bat the entire company is paying for 25% more cost of health care, life insurance, and all other benefits the company offers. Now, say one day you only get 15% of the people in the plant not showing up for work (in a large plant with 2000 workers, you can have 300-500 people skip work in one day) you are carrying around 150 extra people that are sitting around doing nothing. What does this translate into? People getting paid $28 dollars an hour with benefits to mop a clean floor, or cut the grass outside, or simply take a nap.

Punish these people you say? Sure! However, the UAW contract states that if they bring in proof that they were late or weren?t able to show up for due to a dr. appointment, then they can?t get into trouble. And with how good the health insurance is, it doesn?t cost a dime to get a doctors note that says you had a cough. Any number of excuses can be used here. Besides, even if they are too lazy to get an excuse, nothing can happen to the worker until they are written up 7 times. Oh, and you better not dare write anyone up, because they will make your line run slower when they show up for work next time and you will not make the production numbers you need.

Did I say I was a Production Supervisor? I meant I was a Manufacturing Advisor because if I ever said I was a supervisor, the UAW would have me thrown out of the plant for stepping over my line of duty because no one supervises the UAW, we can only suggest what we think would be the best option. If they don?t agree, then they don?t do it.

I have been flat out told to my face the following words from the people I was the ?supervisor? for: ?I?m not doing a f**ing thing you say, you are too young. Get me the committeeman.?

That is just the hourly line workers, the skilled *laugh* trades are even more ridiculous. There is a skilled trades person for each type of job. If you have a mechanical failure and the guy starts fixing it and an electrical connection is in his way, he will refuse to unplug it even if it is just a simple connector. The reason is if an electrician finds out he unplugged it, he will get written up for taking someone else?s job. So the line sits down, idling up to 70-100 workers for 15-45 minutes at $28 an hour while we wait for an electrician to show up and unplug a connector that takes less than 2 seconds.

Now say a Plant goes from 2 shifts down to 1 shift because no one is buying the cars. Each one of those people on the 2nd shift now get paid 90% of their salary as long as they show up in the morning. From that point a few may be asked to grab a mob bucket and clean while the rest browse the computer in the learning center.

Believe me when I say the UAW is a disease. What I have said above isn?t even the ½ of it.

:thumbsup: You're the man Cattlegod.

MIKEMIKE = pwned again.

What a bunch of crap. Absenteeism must be below 2% for a quarter at my plant or a more stringent policy comes into effect. There are no excuses for absenteeism. You are allowed 5 personal days per year. Now if you are talking about management pre-approved vacation days then I don't see your point.

Disobeying a direct order is grounds for dismissal. If a supervisor cannot command respect in the union environment then maybe they shouldn't be a supervisor. The supervisor has all the ammunition in a test of wills. If you lose that fight then you need to rethink your career choice.

I'm a skilled tradesman and I've done plenty of jobs that weren't necessarily in my classification, but if I pull a plug that is in my way and it somehow causes some unforeseen machine downtime I'm sure you'd be the first to write me up for working out of my classification.

Yes, I've seen abuses by union members, but I've also seen such behavior when I've worked at non-union shops.

I don't know where you're working at, but I've worked for 27 years as a union die maker and I'll take any challenge from any competition to out perform me.

you are in the UAW?

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: OS
you are in the UAW?

I used to be, but when my plant closed down in '86 I was eventually picked up in '88 by one of few die rooms not represented by the UAW. I belong to the to the IAM, but the rest of the plant is represented by the UAW.

It's kinda weird actually. Same contract except we don't get SUB pay, we have money put into a 401k that we draw from when laid-off. We get to keep the money if it's never used.

 

[gotsmack]

why doesn't gm and ford just move their plants north and south of the border? We have nafta so whats the downside?

 

[dartworth]

Originally posted by: Cattlegod
Most of you have no idea how right on JLGatsby is. I have worked for <insert one of the old big 3 here> for the past 6 years in Manufacturing, including production supervision.

First off I will point out a few things that many of you will be shocked to hear.

Every single day at every UAW plant, there is about a 20-25% absenteeism rate. What exactly does that mean? Well simply each plant must carry a workforce 20-25% larger than they are required to run. This also translates into the first hour of production being VERY low while each line supervisor figures out who is missing for the day and calls for one of the people in the ?reserve? pool. Now to the crazy part, sure they do not get paid when they skip work, however their benefits are not cut, so right off the bat the entire company is paying for 25% more cost of health care, life insurance, and all other benefits the company offers. Now, say one day you only get 15% of the people in the plant not showing up for work (in a large plant with 2000 workers, you can have 300-500 people skip work in one day) you are carrying around 150 extra people that are sitting around doing nothing. What does this translate into? People getting paid $28 dollars an hour with benefits to mop a clean floor, or cut the grass outside, or simply take a nap.

Punish these people you say? Sure! However, the UAW contract states that if they bring in proof that they were late or weren?t able to show up for due to a dr. appointment, then they can?t get into trouble. And with how good the health insurance is, it doesn?t cost a dime to get a doctors note that says you had a cough. Any number of excuses can be used here. Besides, even if they are too lazy to get an excuse, nothing can happen to the worker until they are written up 7 times. Oh, and you better not dare write anyone up, because they will make your line run slower when they show up for work next time and you will not make the production numbers you need.

Did I say I was a Production Supervisor? I meant I was a Manufacturing Advisor because if I ever said I was a supervisor, the UAW would have me thrown out of the plant for stepping over my line of duty because no one supervises the UAW, we can only suggest what we think would be the best option. If they don?t agree, then they don?t do it.

I have been flat out told to my face the following words from the people I was the ?supervisor? for: ?I?m not doing a f**ing thing you say, you are too young. Get me the committeeman.?

That is just the hourly line workers, the skilled *laugh* trades are even more ridiculous. There is a skilled trades person for each type of job. If you have a mechanical failure and the guy starts fixing it and an electrical connection is in his way, he will refuse to unplug it even if it is just a simple connector. The reason is if an electrician finds out he unplugged it, he will get written up for taking someone else?s job. So the line sits down, idling up to 70-100 workers for 15-45 minutes at $28 an hour while we wait for an electrician to show up and unplug a connector that takes less than 2 seconds.

Now say a Plant goes from 2 shifts down to 1 shift because no one is buying the cars. Each one of those people on the 2nd shift now get paid 90% of their salary as long as they show up in the morning. From that point a few may be asked to grab a mob bucket and clean while the rest browse the computer in the learning center.

Believe me when I say the UAW is a disease. What I have said above isn?t even the ½ of it.

The absenteeism among hourly workers in the automotive industry runs about 10% annually, not the 20-25% claimed. Yes, this is high. It is almost 3 times higher than any other industry.

Being a supervisor just doesn't give you the right to walk up to anyone and give them orders. Working in a factory or on a construction site you must follow a chain of command. Workers have foremen, and these foremen have area foremen, and the area foremen have superintendents...So if you need a worker to get something done, you let the worker's foreman know what has to be done and the foreman will take it from there. This works the same way with the military.

As far as the tradesman that work in the auto plants. You can't fault a non-electrician for refusing to disconnect an electrical connection. If this tradesman were to do this, more than likely they would be suspended. Situations like these create very serious safety issues. You have no idea what or who is on the other end of the circuit. These plants have strict protocol for situations like this and have lock out/tag out procedures for when they arise.

Yes, these are skilled tradesman. Most of them have served a four or five year apprenticeship within their respective trade. I have worked in many auto plants installing and removing equipment. I have worked along side of these workers, and yes they are skilled workers. I firmly believe that these tradesmen are paid accordingly.

All the benefits that the UAW has are negotiated benefits. You can complain about the job banks and everything else. However, the auto makers signed a contract with the UAW. Now the contract is coming up and the UAW has recognized that it will have to make concessions. This country doesn?t want to see the Ford, DC, or GM move their plants overseas along with every other manufacturing job. The long term effects would be disastrous.