UAW wins in gaming

In what is reported as the first successful union organization of dealers on the Las Vegas strip, the UAW scored a lopsided victory (233 to 70) organizing the dealers at the Flamingo Las Vegas/Margaritaville casinos.

UAW agenda

Will Canton Mississippi's Nissan plant be the next target in the UAW's drive to organize foreign automakers' plants in the U.S? This USA Today article suggests it will.

Car Wars - again

I recently received a broadcast forward of an e-mail forwarded to me. It was a great, old and sentimental advertisement for the Ford Mustang. But the feel good message was obscured by the original senders words "THANK GOD WE HAVE ONE AMERICAN CAR COMPANY LEFT. THE OTHER 2 ARE RUN BY OBAMA HENCHMEN." Yes, all caps and big, bright blue letters shouting a political message. Of course this is "Car Wars as proxy for politics, a subject we have discussed before.  Yes, many people blame unions for the troubles of the domestic automakers, and blame President Obama for anything union. But that is a simplistic blame.  The auto bailout saved the American auto industry (yes, Ford too) and resulted in restructured companies and saved jobs. I fail to see how that is a bad result, even if a collateral benefit favors the United Auto Workers or any other union.

Car Wars 2011

Ford and General Motors are expected to distribute sizable profit sharing checks to workers, a sure sign of the rebound of these two domestic automobile companies. Also of note, is the labor cost reductions which have contributed to the recovery. Money quote:

The gap in labor costs between Detroit and the foreign-owned factories in the United States has narrowed considerably. Ford’s total labor cost for a worker — a combination of wages, benefits and pensions — has been reduced more than 20 percent and is now about $59 an hour, compared to $56 at Toyota, according to the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.

This, of course, goes a long way towards explaining the UAW's promised effort to organize the domestic plants of foreign automakers.

Union member upset at UAW

One union member has vented his frustration with UAW International big wigs in this letter to the editor.

UAW gets new head

New UAW President Bob King speaking to autoworkers assembled in Detroit, set twin goals for the labor organizations future. King an attorney and political science major, wants to grow membership and repair the union's image. The linked article describes some of the things he says the union must do to achieve these goals. One of the agenda items is targeting Toyota for organizing efforts.

Car bashing

We have previously discussed the sillyness of the politicization of the GM and Chrysler bailouts. These car proxy wars were approached by anti-union bloggers as serious life or death struggles in the war against advancing socialism. Ridiculous! More after the jump

UAW meets in Detroit

The UAW is meeting in Detroit to elect officers and discuss their future. Take a look at the article to get a sense of the stater of the union, but don't miss clicking on the chart which documents the UAW over the last 75 years. Current membership is 392,166, down from its 1979 high of 1,527,858.

Off the cliff

Membership in the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) declined 18% in 2009.

More on UAW ruining Toyota's rep

In an interesting follow up to yesterday's post about bashing labor as a cause for Toyota's ills, WNOL posted the this analysis of the political players. Key point, the investigators do not include "rust belt" senators arguably more beholding to American carmakers.

Labor is the problem, huh?

Another "facts matter" example of making a anti-labor point with questionable facts and logic. This opinion piece blames General Motors and its political friends in Washington for Toyota's recent image bashing. While there may be a lot of reasons to blame the UAW for the decline of American carmakers, this connection just seems weird. Essentially the writer says the PR bloodbath Toyota has taken is fueled by tools of the UAW. The reality is Toyota made some flawed products, and as this article notes, there are plenty of deaths and lawsuits.

UAW Strike lasts 40 months

In 2006 Elkhart, Indiana was booming. It was the RV and musical instrument "jewel" of the Midwest according to this detailed article in the South Bend Tribune. With unemployment around 4% times were good. In those good times the 234 skilled craftsmen employed by the Vincent Bach factory went on strike after the company proposed wage and benefit cuts. At the time the average worker's wage was $21.00 per hour. This detailed account of the causes and effects of the 40 month UAW strike is a powerful reminder that strikes can have disastrous consequences, including decertification.

UAW sabotaged Saturn

A Detroit News editorial blames both General Motors and the United Auto Workers for the pending demise of Saturn.

Public officials enjoined from dissin' UAW

A state court in Kentucky has issued a permanent injunction barring local officials from interference in any unionization efforts that may take place in the county in the future. A mayor, another county official and the Boyle County Industrial Foundation wrote a letter encouraging employees of a company in bankruptcy to reject a United Auto Worker's [UAW] attempt to organize them. According to this news report, the culprits wrote a letter to employees claiming that unions might cause a company to be unprofitable, and employees might lose their jobs if the union made the company unprofitable. Thats pretty pedestrian stuff. Employers have defended similar comments in NLRB proceedings. The union argued the conduct violated the UAW and its supporters right to freedom of speech and association under the Kentucky Constitution. The court found the statements constituted a threat justifying an injunction. Wow! An ironic result. Hope there is a written opinion.