Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRigMike
I think it should also be mentioned that a strong company can stand up better to a union. Caterpillar has a union in Peoria (UAW I think) and during a strike CAT was able to bring in temp workers and dragged negotiations out for a long enough time that the contract was more favorable to CAT.
They make it very well known that the factory will not stop with a strike. About 2 years ago during negotiations a strike was threatened and they sent office workers into the factory to learn what to do. My buddy who is an engineer spent a day learning how to do a job from a union employee in case of a strike.
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I agree completely.
However GM produces it's products on a much larger scale than CAT. and even a day's lost work is 100's of millions in revenue lost. The Union has GM in a tough spot. GM can't replace employees as fast as they'd need to in order to keep production at the appropriate levels.
Traditionally the UAW has tried to find the balance of putting GM over the edge and being just equitable enough to justify the union's existence. My opinion is they pushed GM too hard, too far, for too long. And now they won't budge on principle alone. Doesn't make sense to me.