American Axle says UAW proposal better, still far too high

whatever wrote:

<quoted text>
GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT GENIOUS.
AMERICAN AXLE IN MICHIGAN HAS BEEN LOSING MONEY FOR THREE YEARS STRAIGHT.
american axle also has plants in mexico. one local trucking company has already gone out of business because they transported for gm. another local trucking company has laid off over half of their drivers because of this strike and the remaining people have had to take a $3/hr paycut on average (and they don't make anywhere near what AA did to begin with) and are no longer allowed to work any overtime. So the truckers are bringing up stuff from the plants in mexico.
AA strikes, closes how many GM plants now? forces a LOCAL company out of business, forces HUNDREDS of other LOCAL workers onto unemployment (sure the state needs that). these AA people should be happy that they have ANY job. if they don't like it then GET A DIFFERENT ONE.

Here's a little F.Y.I. for "WHATEVER" I hired into Gear&Axle Dec. 7th. 1970 and up till I transfered to in another plant in Oct. 1993 they been telling that same BULL***T story about losing money, now If they were losing why in sam-hell did they build that brand new headquarters, so your the one that needs to wake up, if you don't know the facts aquire them before spouting off, now crawl back under your rock.......lol

The end......

I don't know but personally I would take a 60% pay cut over a 100% pay cut anyday. But maybe that is what the greedy pricks deserve. Their jobs shipped somewhere else. Where employees aren't greedy and want the sun, moon and stars when they don't deserve it.

I am an AAM skilled trade employee who has been walking the picket line. The majority of you cannot fathom the type of work or some of the conditions we labor in. The hourly wage I'm paid is great compared to the people making minimum wage, but compare it to the salary of a lawyer, a CEO or any number of self important, under performing, overpaid managers it's a disgraceful pay rate. And AAM wants to make deep cuts.
There are none of us enjoying this strike. We're out there in snow, cold and rain, huddling by a burn barrel when not walking. Our only income is $200 a week from the UAW. With this we try to pay our bills and try to buy gas to go back to the picket line. Graduations, weddings and other occasions have to be delayed or canceled.
We all know that the middle class is in dire straits. Our jobs are being outsourced, the cost of gas and food is skyrocketing, the real estate market is plunging and the stock market is impossible to comprehend.
The rich and powerful have been assaulting us quietly for years. Their greatest success is causing the middle class to turn on each other.
We AAM strikers are trying to maintain a living wage and also set a precedent for the rest of the working class. You can be assured that you will be facing a similar situation in the future regardless if you are a blue collar, an engineer or middle management. I truly hope that you will have the courage and fortitude to stand up for your beliefs and way of life.
Greed has no boundaries. Power is the ultimate goal of the rich, and walking over the middle class is just a means to achieve that goal. IF YOU DON'T THINK YOU'RE IN THE LINE OF FIRE, THINK AGAIN!!!!

Here are some excerpts from an email I received. Read the last paragraph carefully and then thank the AAM workers for having the spines to try to maintain our middle class, a future for our children and retain the principles this country was built on.
Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from its death throes? He has a new book, and here are some excerpts.

'Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say,'Stay the course'
Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It's easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory.
So here's where we stand. We're immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We're running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We're losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle class is being squeezed every which way These are times that cry out for leadership.
Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when 'The Big Three' referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
Had Enough?
Hey, I'm not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I'm trying to light a fire. I'm speaking out because I have hope I believe in America . In my lifetime I've had the privilege of living through some of America 's greatest moments. I've also experienced some of our worst crises: the 'Great Depression','World War II', the 'Korean War', the 'Kennedy Assassination', the 'Vietnam War', the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I've learned one thing, it's this:
'You don't get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action. Whether it's building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That's the challenge I'm raising in this book. It's a call to 'Action' for people who, like me, believe in America . It's not too late, but it's getting pretty close. So let's shake off the crap and go to work. Let's tell 'em all we've had 'enough.'

AAM striker wrote:

I am an AAM skilled trade employee who has been walking the picket line. The majority of you cannot fathom the type of work or some of the conditions we labor in. The hourly wage I'm paid is great compared to the people making minimum wage, but compare it to the salary of a lawyer, a CEO or any number of self important, under performing, overpaid managers it's a disgraceful pay rate. And AAM wants to make deep cuts.
There are none of us enjoying this strike. We're out there in snow, cold and rain, huddling by a burn barrel when not walking. Our only income is $200 a week from the UAW. With this we try to pay our bills and try to buy gas to go back to the picket line. Graduations, weddings and other occasions have to be delayed or canceled.
We all know that the middle class is in dire straits. Our jobs are being outsourced, the cost of gas and food is skyrocketing, the real estate market is plunging and the stock market is impossible to comprehend.
The rich and powerful have been assaulting us quietly for years. Their greatest success is causing the middle class to turn on each other.
We AAM strikers are trying to maintain a living wage and also set a precedent for the rest of the working class. You can be assured that you will be facing a similar situation in the future regardless if you are a blue collar, an engineer or middle management. I truly hope that you will have the courage and fortitude to stand up for your beliefs and way of life.
Greed has no boundaries. Power is the ultimate goal of the rich, and walking over the middle class is just a means to achieve that goal. IF YOU DON'T THINK YOU'RE IN THE LINE OF FIRE, THINK AGAIN!!!!

No middle class no profits. They are killing themselves. But it is a free market and as Obama says we need change.

Hang in there, american axle workers! Way to stick it to the man! If they won't let you make a living, then take them down with you. We'll see how much greed monster Dauch gets for this years' bonus now! If Dauch is really worth paying $31 million in a year then he should be able to do every job there himself!

Yup keep on striking. We don't need you around if all you are going to do it complain. I wish I could get paid your salary for sitting on my butt all day long! You don't deserve the pay you are getting. It's called UNSKILLED labor for a reason. There are a million others that are just like you willing to make a much lower wage so they have a job. If you don't want yours, then quit. That is what you are basically doing anyways.

umaangel00 wrote:

Yup keep on striking. We don't need you around if all you are going to do it complain. I wish I could get paid your salary for sitting on my butt all day long! You don't deserve the pay you are getting. It's called UNSKILLED labor for a reason. There are a million others that are just like you willing to make a much lower wage so they have a job. If you don't want yours, then quit. That is what you are basically doing anyways.

What a moron. American Axle could bring in the scabs anytime they want. They don't do it because they know it won't work. Over a third of Axles' workers are skilled labor, you fool.
And of course you wish you could have their pay, that's why you write your garbage, out of jealosy.
Now go back to your "paper or plastic" job and whine about all the bad union people who have it better than you.

Pro Union -

For your information I do not have a paper and plastic job. I work customer service for a bank and make very good money for my job. I am not jealous in the least. What do you call these strikers are doing? They are whining just as you say I am. Get over yourself and realize you are only adding to the problems this country has with the unemployment rates. And again, with your statistics, 2/3 of the jobs are UNSKILLED labor and could be done by any moron (as you say I am) at a much lower rate. American Axle could and should bring in the scabs. I am sure there are plenty of skilled laborers on the unemployement line that would love to take the jobs of the whiners on the picket lines.

support the unions wrote:

Hang in there, american axle workers! Way to stick it to the man! If they won't let you make a living, then take them down with you. We'll see how much greed monster Dauch gets for this years' bonus now! If Dauch is really worth paying $31 million in a year then he should be able to do every job there himself!

The problem here is that someone who has made as much as Dauch has doesn't need to work anymore. Even if he's out of a job he'll be able to go for quite some time on the money he's got. I doubt that most of the striking workers can say that.

The situation the striking workers are in is sort of like this:

Say someone holds you up at gun point and demands 60% of all the money you have on you. You just got paid and cashed the check. You'd rather not give them a bunch of money. So what do you do? If you are a union worker you shoot yourself in the stomach and hope that scares your attacker off. Problem is, now you are slowly bleeding to death. If the attacker won't back down (and why should they? They're not shot!) then you will bleed to death. Your only hope of living is if they back down and then you get to keep your money but you've got to pay the hospital bill.

The above story has more parallels to the situation most of these workers find themselves in that you'd probably care to concede.

yeah, if it were that easy to replace workers then more companies would have done it. It's not easy. At the very least you have to replace every single unionized worker or replace none of them. You can hire temp workers for only some of them but you can't permanently hire anyone until you commit to rehire everyone. This is a very large undertaking. If a company were to want to undertake such a huge task then why wouldn't they simultaneously move the plant somewhere cheaper too?

pro union wrote:

<quoted text>
What a moron. American Axle could bring in the scabs anytime they want. They don't do it because they know it won't work. Over a third of Axles' workers are skilled labor, you fool.
And of course you wish you could have their pay, that's why you write your garbage, out of jealosy.
Now go back to your "paper or plastic" job and whine about all the bad union people who have it better than you.

i cant believe the comments made on this board.

YOU Loose = AAM win

It gives them the right to re-locate without GM Business Tranfer boundaries. They simply tell GM that they tried, thats what they are doing now....right, trying to get to a deal. But they dont really want one, they want to move the work to MEXICO with the rest of the GM Business unit. SILAO is a perfect example of American GM job losses , they build everything we do here, why not, its cheaper.....settle or let AAM win, your choice, has your union informed you. Or are you living inside the UAW bubble.
Investigate global issues, not just focus on the CEO, he will make a bonus you could never imagine if he gets cheaper parts elsewhere with less cost involved to move production.

He is a smart man, in a position for a reason.

get it or lose it wrote:

i cant believe the comments made on this board.
YOU Loose = AAM win
It gives them the right to re-locate without GM Business Tranfer boundaries. They simply tell GM that they tried, thats what they are doing now....right, trying to get to a deal. But they dont really want one, they want to move the work to MEXICO with the rest of the GM Business unit. SILAO is a perfect example of American GM job losses , they build everything we do here, why not, its cheaper.....settle or let AAM win, your choice, has your union informed you. Or are you living inside the UAW bubble.
Investigate global issues, not just focus on the CEO, he will make a bonus you could never imagine if he gets cheaper parts elsewhere with less cost involved to move production.
He is a smart man, in a position for a reason.

Today the job is only worth $12.00 an hour. Times change and there is no right to demand more than the market bares. We do not have our Grandfathers jobs anymore.

Batch 37 Pain is Good wrote:

<quoted text>
Today the job is only worth $12.00 an hour. Times change and there is no right to demand more than the market bares. We do not have our Grandfathers jobs anymore.

Who decides that a job is only worth $12 an hour? YOU? It's only worth $12 an hour cuz some exec says so? Thats BS.

No the quality of the work should dictate what they make. If I did the kind of quality work they did, you better believe I wouldn't be making squat or wouldn't have a job!

Collin K wrote:

<quoted text>
The problem here is that someone who has made as much as Dauch has doesn't need to work anymore. Even if he's out of a job he'll be able to go for quite some time on the money he's got. I doubt that most of the striking workers can say that.
The situation the striking workers are in is sort of like this:
Say someone holds you up at gun point and demands 60% of all the money you have on you. You just got paid and cashed the check. You'd rather not give them a bunch of money. So what do you do? If you are a union worker you shoot yourself in the stomach and hope that scares your attacker off. Problem is, now you are slowly bleeding to death. If the attacker won't back down (and why should they? They're not shot!) then you will bleed to death. Your only hope of living is if they back down and then you get to keep your money but you've got to pay the hospital bill.
The above story has more parallels to the situation most of these workers find themselves in that you'd probably care to concede.

The situation for anti-union whiners is something like this:
Say someone holds you up without a weapon and demands 60% of all the money you have on you. You just got paid and cashed the check. You'd rather just give them the money because you are weak and can't stand up for yourself. So then what do you do? If you are an anti-union whiner you thank the harmless attacker for taking your cash and then ask him if you can shine his boots. The problem is, there is no reason to kiss-up to him because you have already freely given him your money. If your attacker won't back down (and why should they? you are already groveling!) then you ask what else you can do for his approval. After you are done getting fleeced you wallow in self-pity for not having a pair, and then anger for realizing that essentially it is you who has psychologically castrated yourself. As you hobble away crying, you grow bitter to those who can protect themselves, and then launch feeble verbal (or written) attacks on these people out of your own jealousy.

Ahahaha... Dude, I just got a little bit of respect for you. That was pretty good!

Touche!

Of course, in my example you didn't defend yourself, you merely hurt yourself. That's what I feel the unions are doing: hurting themselves. But, I did enjoy your post!

Arctic49519 wrote:

<quoted text>
The situation for anti-union whiners is something like this:
Say someone holds you up without a weapon and demands 60% of all the money you have on you. You just got paid and cashed the check. You'd rather just give them the money because you are weak and can't stand up for yourself. So then what do you do? If you are an anti-union whiner you thank the harmless attacker for taking your cash and then ask him if you can shine his boots. The problem is, there is no reason to kiss-up to him because you have already freely given him your money. If your attacker won't back down (and why should they? you are already groveling!) then you ask what else you can do for his approval. After you are done getting fleeced you wallow in self-pity for not having a pair, and then anger for realizing that essentially it is you who has psychologically castrated yourself. As you hobble away crying, you grow bitter to those who can protect themselves, and then launch feeble verbal (or written) attacks on these people out of your own jealousy.

Collin K wrote:

Ahahaha... Dude, I just got a little bit of respect for you. That was pretty good!
Touche!
Of course, in my example you didn't defend yourself, you merely hurt yourself. That's what I feel the unions are doing: hurting themselves. But, I did enjoy your post!
<quoted text>

I'm glad you enjoyed that. This is a very polarizing issue and we have very different positions. I respect your opinion. I just don't agree with it.