While I agree that Chrysler auto workers may have taken cuts over the years and management may not have taken the same I have to say that mudder50’s assertion of “a fair days pay for a fair days wage” is symptomatic of what is wrong…the union members, for the most part, don’t give a fair days WORK for their pay, relying instead on outdated and cumbersome work rules that allow them to get paid for standing around and doing as little as possible.
Both management and rank and file workers have to understand that their “business as usual” attitudes have killed the industry in the US and that they are now reaping what they have sown and will now suffer the consequences.
I will put most of the blame on stockholders. They reward management based on this month’s profit. Rather they should reward management based on the profit made over the five to ten years after current year. So they get a pay for the current year, maybe based on the average auto workers pay, and then they get more each year that the company continues to make profit over at least five years. The line workers might have some sort of similar plan but maybe on a smaller scale.
I will put most of the blame on stockholders
Being a stockholder in many companies, (not chrysler at this point) given the millions of shares and arcane proxy voting forms, even though I may choose disapprove my voice is so small that influence is minimal, so please blame the board that makes the recommendation rather than the stockolder.
I work and I pay into a pension. It’s a 401K program, and it’s all I have. My employers matched up to a point, but it’s mostly money that I paid into my pension. I’m a salaried worker, but the hourly workers at my company have to pay into their pension if they hope to have one.
They reward management based on this month’s profit. Rather they should reward management based on the profit made over the five to ten years after current year
This is the crux of why Large American companies are hurting…and why they are the only ones to blame. They themselves caused this mess. A few months ago my department was merged with another and I went from VP of engineering to Director of Software development. Yes I do get a yearly bonus…but it’s a very complicated formula…which non of it is based on quarterly profit. Yearly profit and even 5-year profit…How are products are being viewed by our customers…Number of complaints…and the list goes on. We’re a small company designing telecommunication solutions…less then 100 employees. Being this small and in a very competitive market we have to stay conservative. Our salaries and benefits are very competitive…Very little turn over rate…And we grew 5% last year (while most companies had negative growth).
I think Chryco/Ford and GM got into the mess they’re in because of the years where they had little competition…could design junk vehicles like the Vega, Pinto and Horizon and still sell THOUSANDS. Ford may NOW have seen the light and is starting to change their ways…but a HUGE company like that…it’s very very difficult to change. While a company my size can make policy changes and have them fully implemented in 30 days…It’ll take GM several YEARS to make these changes. It may be too little to late for them. And there are people in management AND the union who DON’T want things to change. Over 50% of the line workers are within 5 years of retirement…Almost the same percentage for management.
Good news for OP!! It looks like the UAW will end up owning 59% of Chrysler, the government a good chunk, Fiat 20%, and Cerberus and Daimler-Benz will wash their hands of the whole thing! GM will be 39% owned by the UAW and 50% by Uncle Sam as well.
NOW the workers can set the salaries of the bosses and the workers’ wisdom can guide Chrysler to re-birth and profitability, the way Kark Marx and Friedrich Engels said it would happen.
I must warn you that this road is fraught with failure. After British Leland was sold by BMW (which paid 1.2 billion pounds for it) for 12 pounds to the emloyees, they could not make a go of a company given to them, and it ended up being bought by the Chinese who are using the plant to built MG sports cars.
Agree Mike; business analysts call it the “tyranny of the quarterly dividend”. While Toyota does long term planning and invests for the future, Japanese shareholders seem quite happy with that. US share owners demand hefty didivdends when the company is profitable, without regard to the future.
Toyoto processes 2 sugestions per month per employee; the rank and file take an active interest in making the company a better place to work and make a better product! Toyota always has a Plan “B” as well as a Plan “C”.
Before oil prices skyrocketed last year they beat the Detroit Three at their own game with SUVs and big trucks. The moment the gas prices spiked they were ready with good small cars, and good small SUVs. Changing an assembly line over to another vehicle model can be done in less than 3 months with flexible manufacturing. The new Prius is even more frugal than the old one, and taxi service has now proven that the battery can outlast the rest of the car. They are miles ahead of their nearest competitor.
Whatever the Obama government comes up with in green technology requirements, Honda and Toyotra will have the right answer.