United Auto Workers in Claycomo approve Ford contract

[Village Idiot]

intrepid wrote:

<quoted text>
Just remember this Kansas, auto jobs in Canada are union,C.A.W., and we buy what we build, we are consumers of a hell of a lot of American product so don't lump us into the same category as some mexican living in a mud & grass hut working for 50cents a day, and sending finished product to the States while not being able to buy it himself. That's Mexico not Canada. BIG ASS DIFFERENCE!! We work, make decent livings, pay taxes, drive cars and buy houses just like you guys. We don't try to climb barbed wire to get into your country, we go over to buy groceries and party!! Just wanted to set the record straight. We are you...with a Touque on! LOL! Peace.

And peace to you, our friendly neighbor to the north. I am a big fan of The Red Green Show, which I believe eminated out of Ontario. We should also not forget to mention, the big boned girl from Alberta, with the big voice and talent, k.d.lang (lower case her choice).

[mike]

The United Auto Workers union is close to reaching an agreement with American Axle & Manufacturing that will accept company demands on every major issue, including cutting wages and closing at least two plants. More than 3,600 workers have been on strike at AAM for ten weeks.

Details of the agreement have been reported on blogs run by American Axle workers and in the media. The Detroit Free Press reported on Thursday that a framework for a settlement was near, and would include the closure of two plants, substantially lower pay for all workers, and the breaking up of the national agreement into separate plant-by-plant contracts. The newspaper cited “people briefed on the talks” as the source for its information. Talks are expected to continue throughout the weekend.

According to the Free Press, wages would be cut to $17 an hour for production workers,$14 for non-production workers, and $25.50 for skilled trades workers.

Before the strike, American Axle workers earned $28.15 an hour, with skilled trades at more than $30 an hour. The terms outlined above would mean a pay cut of between $11 and $14 an hour (or upwards of $25,000 a year) for most workers.

Prior to the strike, the UAW had agreed to substantial wage cuts that would have given workers a few dollars an hour more than what they would receive under the framework reported by the Free Press.

Two forging plants would be closed—at Tonawanda, New York, and in Detroit, Michigan. A third plant in Three Rivers, Michigan could also be closed.
Shutting down the Detroit forge plant would mean the loss of hundreds more jobs in a city that has been devastated by the decline of the US auto industry and the outsourcing of labor to cheaper locations in the US and internationally.

The closure of the Tonawnada plant would likely mean the end of American Axle’s operations in the Buffalo, New York area, further devastating a region that, like Detroit, has been hit by the destruction of its manufacturing base. Tonawanda employs about 400 workers, and a companion finishing plant, whose future existence is also questionable, employs about 110. Last year, American Axle idled a plant in Buffalo that once employed over 2,000 workers.

According to reports on blogs run by American Axle workers, the company was prepared to keep the forge plants open if the workers accepted $10-$14 an hour wages for production workers. If the forges are shut, the work there will be replaced by low-wage plants in the US and Mexico.

The closure of these plants will leave only two remaining—the manufacturing facilities in Detroit and Three Rivers, provided that the latter remains open. Extremely significant is the proposal to break up the remaining plants into separate contracts. This framework, which has been adopted by the UAW at other auto parts suppliers, would serve to pit the different plants against each other in a competition for lower wages and benefits, under the threat of closure.

AAM is reportedly threatening to close Three Rivers in one year if the concessions are not high enough. The company is insisting on a clause that would allow it to shut the plant down if the company’s financial situation worsens.

Over the past 25 years, the UAW has worked to impose concessions by blocking any mobilization of workers across the auto industry. Separate contracts are negotiated at separate companies, and concessions at one become the foundation for demanding concessions at another. This model is now being extended within each company itself, as a means of breaking up any solidarity among the rank-and-file.

READ MORE: http://futureoftheunion.com/...

[ford sucks]

all uaw deserve no more than 4.50$an hour

[mike]

www.futureoftheunion.com

THE FUTURE OF THE UAW IS IN YOUR HANDS!

[George Kingfish Stevens]

mike wrote:

The United Auto Workers union is close to reaching an agreement with American Axle & Manufacturing that will accept company demands on every major issue, including cutting wages and closing at least two plants. More than 3,600 workers have been on strike at AAM for ten weeks.
Details of the agreement have been reported on blogs run by American Axle workers and in the media. The Detroit Free Press reported on Thursday that a framework for a settlement was near, and would include the closure of two plants, substantially lower pay for all workers, and the breaking up of the national agreement into separate plant-by-plant contracts. The newspaper cited “people briefed on the talks” as the source for its information. Talks are expected to continue throughout the weekend.
According to the Free Press, wages would be cut to $17 an hour for production workers,$14 for non-production workers, and $25.50 for skilled trades workers.
Before the strike, American Axle workers earned $28.15 an hour, with skilled trades at more than $30 an hour. The terms outlined above would mean a pay cut of between $11 and $14 an hour (or upwards of $25,000 a year) for most workers.
Prior to the strike, the UAW had agreed to substantial wage cuts that would have given workers a few dollars an hour more than what they would receive under the framework reported by the Free Press.
Two forging plants would be closed—at Tonawanda, New York, and in Detroit, Michigan. A third plant in Three Rivers, Michigan could also be closed.
Shutting down the Detroit forge plant would mean the loss of hundreds more jobs in a city that has been devastated by the decline of the US auto industry and the outsourcing of labor to cheaper locations in the US and internationally.
The closure of the Tonawnada plant would likely mean the end of American Axle’s operations in the Buffalo, New York area, further devastating a region that, like Detroit, has been hit by the destruction of its manufacturing base. Tonawanda employs about 400 workers, and a companion finishing plant, whose future existence is also questionable, employs about 110. Last year, American Axle idled a plant in Buffalo that once employed over 2,000 workers.
According to reports on blogs run by American Axle workers, the company was prepared to keep the forge plants open if the workers accepted $10-$14 an hour wages for production workers. If the forges are shut, the work there will be replaced by low-wage plants in the US and Mexico.
The closure of these plants will leave only two remaining—the manufacturing facilities in Detroit and Three Rivers, provided that the latter remains open. Extremely significant is the proposal to break up the remaining plants into separate contracts. This framework, which has been adopted by the UAW at other auto parts suppliers, would serve to pit the different plants against each other in a competition for lower wages and benefits, under the threat of closure.
AAM is reportedly threatening to close Three Rivers in one year if the concessions are not high enough. The company is insisting on a clause that would allow it to shut the plant down if the company’s financial situation worsens.
Over the past 25 years, the UAW has worked to impose concessions by blocking any mobilization of workers across the auto industry. Separate contracts are negotiated at separate companies, and concessions at one become the foundation for demanding concessions at another. This model is now being extended within each company itself, as a means of breaking up any solidarity among the rank-and-file.
READ MORE: http://futureoftheunion.com/...

Thank goodnez for cut n paste! I be mighty impressed wid your computin ability and de good informashun, thanks Mr.Mike.

[George Kingfish Stevens]

By de way Mr.Mike, did you be gettin bored wid politics? I am glad you be back to posting agin, you be the greatest.