Boycott Chevy Blazer

[PoorMansCamaro]

We were really excited about the Blazer, when it was first revealed. We will not be buying the Blazer now.

[90503]

Originally Posted by PoorMansCamaro

We were really excited about the Blazer, when it was first revealed. We will not be buying the Blazer now.

Well done. More info that you made the right call. These could be made by US labor for the price they will sell for. GM pays Mexican workers $1.90 per hour. A US worker could support his family by building this car. Wait until production is moved to the US.

General Motors Now Mexico’s Top Automaker, UAW/Unifor Decidedly Annoyed
By Matt Posky on January 3, 2019


As General Motors takes aim at its own foot in the United States, it’s managed to become Mexico’s top automaker by volume. The company saw a nearly 3 percent U.S. decline in the fourth quarter of 2018, during which it announced the shuttering of several U.S. and Canadian facilities as part of a widespread restructuring program aimed at freeing capital for autonomous and electric vehicle development.
Meanwhile, large investments in its Mexican plants over the last few years — coming at the same time as rival Nissan’s scaling back of sedan production — has left GM as the top dog in the region. General Motors and Nissan have spent decades jousting for the top spot south of the border, alternating positions “depending on what has happened in their production levels,” according to Stephanie Brinley, principal analyst at IHS Markit.
The analysis comes via the Detroit Free Press, which predictably surmised that GM’s decision to focus on Mexico was a question of money:
Over the last few years, GM has created or shifted production to Mexico, including the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain SUVs and Chevrolet Silverado pickups, said UAW President Gary Jones.
In 2016, GM paid hourly workers in its Mexico plants about $1.90 an hour, according to a white paper by Alex Covarrubias, a professor at the University of Sonora in Northern Mexico. The current UAW contract pays GM hourly workers a start rate of $17 an hour and increases to about $28 an hour over an eight-year period, said a UAW spokesman.
Closing Detroit-Hamtramck, Lordstown, Oshawa and two transmission plants puts more than 6,200 jobs at stake. GM also plans to cut close to 8,000 salaried jobs this month. GM said it would save $6 billion by the end of 2020 with these moves.
That’s likely to change in the coming years, as Donald Trump’s USMCA trade deal appears to serve auto employees more directly than NAFTA did, likely resulting in pay increases and better legal protection for Mexican line workers. At the bare minimum, the new labor rules in Trump’s pact with Mexico are supposed to remove some of the incentives that keep many Mexican workers living in poverty while giving them more legal recourse during collective bargaining.

However, none of this offers much in the way of relief for the UAW or Canada’s Unifor, who have both accused GM of outright betrayal. The automaker gradually shifted production to Mexico over the last few years, including high-volume models like the Chevrolet Equinox, GMC Terrain, and HD variants of the Chevrolet Silverado.
“It is time for Americans to stand up for what we know is right for America. We must build where we sell,” UAW President Gary Jones, told union members last month. “It is time to say, ‘No,’ to corporate greed and ‘No,’ to exploiting cheap labor in a downward spiral for wages here and abroad.”
Unifor made concessions to help General Motors during its bankruptcy 10 years ago, explained Jerry Dias, Unifor president. If GM shutters its Oshawa plant, Dias he warned that Canadians will likely boycott GM cars. “They are naïve to believe that Canadians won’t betray them for their blatant disloyalty,” Dias said. “When they needed us, we were there. Mexico never gave them a dime.”
Last month, Canadian union leaders ran multiple full-page ads in the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News. Unifor has also plead with the automaker’s senior executives in hopes that they could be persuaded replace the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac XTS sedans and the 2018 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC pickups currently built in Oshawa with new product.

[Realist]

Many US folks purchased Gen5 Camaros and they were assembled in Canada. I want my vehicles made here in the US but would much prefer by non-union Americans. Yeah yeah, I understand what they did long ago. Now they just raise the cost of every single product or service we purchase and tax we must pay for the 86% of us not in a Union. Don’t really like knowing that some of the $’s spent for those products and services go toward a political party I disagree with near 90%. Also had an experience long ago with a union worker asking me for my union card. Didn’t have one so they threatened to leave a job site I was on, making me return late at night into the morning. I’m willing to work side by side with them but they won’t with me. I even purchased another car assembled by them, although the sticker on the inside of the door with their name on it, is one item I don’t like about my ZL1 or my GMC 2500HD. Have a look at many suburban police and fire departments along with school parking lots and you will see many of their own brothers and sisters don’t support their own brothers and sisters.

[BMR Sales]

I don't mind Unions, what I have a displeasure for is the CEO Salaries & their Golden Parachutes when they leave.

Did you know that when Ronald Reagan became President, GM was the leading Employer in the Country (average Hourly Wage, $25 in 1980 with Benefits). Now that Honor (?) goes to Walmart ($12/Hr, no Bennys)

[lightsOUT]

Originally Posted by BMR Sales

I don't mind Unions, what I have a displeasure for is the CEO Salaries & their Golden Parachutes when they leave.

Did you know that when Ronald Reagan became President, GM was the leading Employer in the Country (average Hourly Wage, $25 in 1980 with Benefits). Now that Honor (?) goes to Walmart ($12/Hr, no Bennys)

Yay, Merica! Proves once again that Merit shop is the best!........ for the company.

The most successful anti-labor tactic ever implemented was turning the workers against each other. People act as if it’s evil for a blue collar person to try and do well for themselves. It’s against social rules or something.

[Realist]

No comparison between a GM 1980 vehicle and a 2018. Back then the labor actually built and assembled the autos and lets face it, they were junk. Now the assemble line is higher tech. Automated machines and welders performing high quality work and welds. The worker uses a device to assist in the lifting of the item to install and then presses the button that torques the bolts to the proper spec. The same skills aren’t needed by the work force, thus no need to pay the high labor costs. $25 an hour, 401k and benefits down south built by folks with pride would be a win win for GM and so many Americans. But the UAW wouldn’t let that happen so the jobs gotta go to Mexico. And yes I’m against big CEO and management pay and compensations in Wall Street companies as well.

[90503]

Thought this was interesting.....hopefully not too political....but it seems like the only real opposition to improving conditions for workers in Mexico is their government and the auto makers....just something to consider if where it's made makes a difference to you.

It seems to be important to GM and US employees....

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-polit...-workers-labor

What's the better choice, pay US workers a decent wage and benefit the US economy, or keep Mexican workers at poverty level to avoid assembly going to China?

How you spend your money makes a difference to your neighbors and fellow citizens.

[Stealth7]

Originally Posted by Vegas Bound

We have federal laws to protect against that type of action. Unions are redundant.

+1 Many are with you. Unions were needed during the Industrial Revolution. Now = forced use of employee money for causes that most employees do not agree with and to make Unions' rich--all at the cost of the employee, company and consumer. Unions are no doubt pushing companies to automation whenever possible.

[lightsOUT]

The federal laws exist because of the unions. Not in spite of them. Do you think your employer gives you a weeks paid vacation because he’s nice? No, he does it because of competition from better conditions at other places. If he doesn’t then you’ll leave him and go where you can do better. Do you think your employer complies with safety regulations because they’re nice? No they do it cause they’re afraid of getting sued if they don’t.

Many companies spend lots of their money to push ideologies and legislation that are only good for them. It’s well documented that companies will spend loads of money to keep from having to give it to their employees weather by wages or conditions.

Unions are not redundant. They’re needed. If not please explain to me why the average annual income has dropped over the years along with union membership? If Unions were so bad then with their decline the American workers should be making money hand over fist right? If Unions were so bad then why did the southern non-union textile mills all move overseas? They were all in historically anti-union states and yet they still closed the doors and shipped the jobs.

The free market drives these things. A good example I can give is residential construction. Essentially non-union throughout the US. Employers have all the power. Should be a utopia for the American worker right? Its pretty hard to even find an “american” on a residential construction job these days. Have homes gotten cheaper? Same goes for our foreign built cars. I have a new Ram 2500 diesel. The HD’s have been built in Mexico since 2003. The sticker on mine was 75k. I wouldn’t call that cheap. From 2002 to 2003 did the price go down? Should’ve right? They should’ve passed the labor savings back to the customer, but they didn’t.

Automation or labor saving devices are just part of the free market. In Mexico they have all the same equipment building cars that they do in the states. They don’t hand weld body panels because Hector works cheap. You don’t see farmers using horses cause the labor is cheap.

No one forces anyone to do anything. You have a choice to seek employment or employees wherever you’d like. That’s what’s nice about America.

[lightsOUT]

Side note: why the push to boycott the Blazer? Why not boycott pick-ups since some of the have been built in Mexico for a long time?

[Realist]

My answers to questions asked above.

Unions are not redundant. They’re needed. If not please explain to me why the average annual income has dropped over the years along with union membership?

Because we are a nation built of immigrants that is letting in many illegal-immigrants who lower incomes, automation advancements and moving to a global economy where we compete against lower waged countries.

Unions were so bad then with their decline the American workers should be making money hand over fist right?

We have become a global economy and we must compete and automation has removed many skills.

If Unions were so bad then why did the southern non-union textile mills all move overseas? They were all in historically anti-union states and yet they still closed the doors and shipped the jobs.

Because Wall Street companies only care about the bottom line which is profits and shareholder value.

70% of business is small and the real engine of this country. Unions in both the public and private sector are what makes it so difficult for us to compete on a global level. We have huge debt and lots of unfunded pension liabilities because of Unions unwillingness to sacrifice like the 86% of their neighbors not in them. Now they only raise the cost of every single product, service, infrastructure improvement and tax we pay.

[ChevyRules]

Until businesses give their execs high fives, golden parachutes, big bonuses, etc for sending a company through bankruptcy, mismanaging businesses, etc than don't cry to me about how unions don't know how to sacrifice and they need to be broken up.



You can't expect labor to sacrifice when the top are still getting raises due to the sacrifices labor made. American Airlines still comes to mind. The company told the unions that they needed to accept these cuts or it would mean bankruptcy back in 2003 or so. The unions accepted the cuts and the execs got big fat bonuses for it. You can bet that went over well with the unions. They take the cuts because they were told without them, the company would go into bankruptcy due to their financial situation, but see management get a huge pay day for getting the unions to take those cuts. So don't give me unions don't sacrifice things or are not needed today BS. Businesses will screw you over whenever they can.

[mlee]

Originally Posted by Vegas Bound

"It’s my opinion America is with us in this fight to build here what we sell here,” Dittes wrote in part. The letter was addressed to Local Union Presidents, Shop Chairpersons, Vice Presidents, Financial Secretaries and Recording Secretaries.

This is why unions are failing, too fat. Break all unions and move employees to merit based employment.

It seems this is exactly what GM is trying to do. Union strikes and disputes are always ongoing and no doubt costs these companies millions every time a contract is up. Oshawa was set to shut down a couple years ago when an agreement was made to bring on more work and keep them alive.

Now the UAW lumps in Canada like it's one of the American companies when in fact, it's one of the Union run factories and Mexico is not. Fact is GM has been building in Mexico for years and adding a car to the line such as Blazer is common practice and they're just butt hurt it's not union run. If it was, we wouldn't be hearing any of this.

Then try and tug at the hearts of Americans by putting out this rhetoric. It's not surprising to me that a company like GM would want to get rid of this. Hopefully I haven't offended my friends who benefit from their union membership. I've never belonged to one and my industry 'oil and gas' has been through major layoffs too, so my heart goes out to the families affected. I think there is a bigger picture here and these jobs will return. It's not like GM wants to move outside the US, but more they need to for now.

[Iron Lung Jimmy]

Originally Posted by ChevyRules

Until businesses give their execs high fives, golden parachutes, big bonuses, etc for sending a company through bankruptcy, mismanaging businesses, etc than don't cry to me about how unions don't know how to sacrifice and they need to be broken up.



You can't expect labor to sacrifice when the top are still getting raises due to the sacrifices labor made. American Airlines still comes to mind. The company told the unions that they needed to accept these cuts or it would mean bankruptcy back in 2003 or so. The unions accepted the cuts and the execs got big fat bonuses for it. You can bet that went over well with the unions. They take the cuts because they were told without them, the company would go into bankruptcy due to their financial situation, but see management get a huge pay day for getting the unions to take those cuts. So don't give me unions don't sacrifice things or are not needed today BS. Businesses will screw you over whenever they can.

Top business execs live like kings on the backs of their employees. Top union execs live like kings on the backs of their members. No difference.