As others have noted, unions were a much needed and wonderful thing a century ago. Now they have long outlived their usefulness, thanks to laws that give workers protection. The sooner we can get rid of unions in this country the better it will be.

As for the automakers, look at Honda and Toyota which do not have unions at most of thier plants--and where unions have been unsuccessful in getting in. Unions are not necessary for auto manufacturing--or much of anything else. In the case of GM, Ford and Chrysler, the companies have continued to burden themselves with costs because they didn't negotiate with unions as well as they might have. OK, hindsight is always 20/20, but they could have done better and played hardball more often by shutting down plants for a while and bringing in people who were interested in working when union guys weren't. At the same time, there are a lot of auto company executives who could have been paid a lot less. But that's all water under the bridge.

However, your point that workers cannot make up for poor design is right on. And production line pressures can make it hard to do a good job if you are working on junk. Which raises the other point that leads to GM's troubles. They have done some good engineeering at times, but in terms of turning out great products, they have consistently come up short. There have been some decent cars, but GM, more so than Ford, has refused to believe that other companies do a better job, even while the Japanese companies were eating their lunch.

Bowing to greedy unions, mediocre products, inept (and greedy) management and total corporate arrogance has all conspired to bring GM to where it is today--a giant with weak knees.

Noel

posted by 24.52.16...

• GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands, dmz789, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 13:28:49
  • Why not manufacture everything in China?, Draken, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:51:02
    • Good question., dmz789, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 18:31:14
    • Re: Why not manufacture everything in China?, compaqted, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 13:30:20
      • Re: Why not manufacture everything in China?, Draken, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 17:18:21
  • need to be lean and mean, compaqted, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:11:35
    • sounds great, TML , Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:13:58
    • Now now... I'd agree with that, but fold Saab?, NateinAA, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:31:58
  • To a certain extent they get what they deserve, Noel, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 07:26:32
    • Anti-union, eh?......, Blobakazeke, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 08:21:05
      • Re: Anti-union? Absolutely!, Noel, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:53:19 <-- Viewing This Message
        • Anti-unionism and the corporate state..., Blobakazeke, Fri, 25 Mar 2005 07:34:57
          • Re: Anti-unionism and the corporate state..., 2 9-5's, Fri, 25 Mar 2005 10:28:16
            • There are some times when you have no other option, RS , Fri, 25 Mar 2005 11:34:45
        • Re: Anti-union? Absolutely!, 2 9-5's, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 17:20:13
      • Zeke isn't totally off-base here, it is true that the, Drew in Houston, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:50:47
      • Re: Anti-union, eh?......, 2 9-5's, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 08:50:13
        • I think I should've been a diplomat ..., Urby, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 09:11:10
      • Re: Anti-union, eh?......, Urby, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 08:48:04
        • On Teachers..(and more)..>>>, PGAero , Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:31:32
  • Killing brands is just plain stupid IMHO....more, Mark, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 03:49:16
  • Things to consider REALLY LONG, Caarma , Wed, 23 Mar 2005 22:17:25
    • Re: Things to consider REALLY LONG, mac, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 16:42:08
  • Buick?, Draken, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:58:26
  • I'd kill off more than two . . ., miked, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:50:12
    • it's a good point, Scott Paterson , Wed, 23 Mar 2005 23:54:42
  • Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands, Drew in Houston, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 21:23:06
    • Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands, dmz789, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 00:27:16
      • Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands, Drew in Houston, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 04:49:42
  • Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands, 2 9-5's, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 19:27:45
    • A Caddy with 120K miles on it is, Noel, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 07:11:41
      • agreed - caddy is safe too, Scott Paterson , Fri, 25 Mar 2005 18:24:52
    • Kill the Impaler, nypb, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 20:28:51
      • Re: Kill the Impaler, Stan, Sat, 26 Mar 2005 16:27:27
  • Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands, Erik W, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 17:28:06
    • easy way to save money, Brian_in_MA, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 17:39:16
  • Buick is very strong in Red China, Sam, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 15:29:11
    • Chinese Buicks Different than American Ones?, Draken, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 22:06:46
      • Even the Chinese get better GMs then we do, Mark, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 23:29:22
  • Re: GM Says It May Kill Off One of Its Brands, dboone, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 14:58:03
  • No mention of Saab, but it's always possible. Still...., Noel, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 14:09:09
    • I like your ideas, but... (very long), MO, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:13:08
  • If they kill Pontiac, Rafe, Wed, 23 Mar 2005 13:44:21

No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.

• Prev by Date: dead of winter driver training in Canada, JohnA, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:51:39
• Next by Date: Bought a Bosch, JohnA, Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:56:38
• Main General Bulletin Board

StateOfNine.com

SaabClub.com

Jak Stoll Performance

M Car Covers

Ad Available

The content on this site may not be republished without permission. Copyright © 1988-2024 - The Saab Network - saabnet.com.
For usage guidelines, see the Mission & Privacy Notice.
[Contact | Site Map | Saabnet.com on Facebook | Saabnet.com on Twitter | Shop Amazon via TSN | Site Donations]

Random Saabnet.com Member Gallery Photos (Click Image)