Wow, I thought that was due to low sales, and not the strike by the "trying to get blood from a stone" UAW union.

 

Palmer,

The Saab 9-7x is outselling the 9-5 and is second in sales in the U.S. to the Saab 9-3.

 

Huh, that's good news I guess. The profits on SUV's are pretty good.


Still though, that strike is stupid.

 

Still though, that strike is stupid.

Most modern day strikes are.

 

I never really thought that a union could piss me off, but it seems like all they want to do is suck the profits from the company with pensions, and insane overtime pay.

I'm sorta left on most things, but I think the age of the union is coming to an end.

*flame suit on*

 

But. . . but. . . . but if I can't retire after 5 years of working 25 hours a week at 180% of salary and full health benefits, I'm gonna go tell my mommy! And I want a sign on bonus and a free education and a $5 million lawsuit for the time I stubbed my toe because your lighting wasn't up to OSHA standards!

 

sorry to double posts - but I saw this gem right after I posted..

Um yeah - you have NO clue about unions do you.

Ah Jeebus Cries't. Now I see all sorts of little gems in this thread. have ANY of you ever worked with/in a union before?? Not to sound like a shitass, but everything thats being posted is pretty ridiculous. If you have something solid to say, go for it - but dont waste time reiterating what stupid shit you heard on the local news.

And by the way - the 9-7 sucks. yeah, great, a Saab SUV - that's keepin' the dream alive..

 

The unions where invented in general to fight unfit labor conditions. I am fairly sure that has been mostly eradicated here in the USA and there are better systems in place to prosecute those companies that don't comply. They have over stayed there welcome and put an unneeded drain on our economy.

*joining flame suit wearing brigade*

 

The unions where invented in general to fight unfit labor conditions. I am fairly sure that has been mostly eradicated here in the USA and there are better systems in place to prosecute those companies that don't comply. They have over stayed there welcome and put an unneeded drain on our economy.

*joining flame suit wearing brigade*

+1

I think I said this before but here is my union story.

My dad had recently started at a new job (he is a finance guy), the labor union was striking. My dad casually went to the picket line (they had no idea who he was). He asked why they were picketing, they said for greater pay. My dad casually hinted that a competing company just down the street was hiring. "Yeah, but no one pay's as high as where we are currently working."

What leverage power do you have when you are the highest paid laborers at a firm in that given city?

Seems like a dumb reason to strike to me. I can't remember how it ended. I think after a couple days, they ended up hiring in scabs and temps to work for less pay. Pretty sure they put their signs down sometime shortly after...

 

exactly... driver found hit it on the nose

The UAW consists of hicks who make enough money to buy their muscle car for cheap. emphasis in the "hicks" part

 

You obviously missed CNN this morning, the people they were interviewing this morning were straight thuggish. (NO that does imply a particular race, there were white and black people interviewed).

 

Topher your fathers recommendation and assessment are bang on! They are often wining over pay and benefits non-union people would kill there own mother for!

I did see some interviews with some seemingly intelligent/normal strikers for this union yesterday on the local news that sourced it from national affiliate I am sure.

 

Oh, and wanna talk about the sickening effects of unions? I was listening to a financial call-in show on the radio a few weeks ago, and a young man called in who was an employee for an auto manufacturing plant in the US that was going to be downsized within the next few years. He was basically an entry level grunt on the factory floor, bottom of the food chain.

Since the manufacturer knew they were essentially going to have to lay off the majority of the plant within the next few years, they were offering packages to people who would leave now voluntarily. This low-level grunt was being offered $100,000 to walk away now, vs waiting around for a year or two before likely getting fired with a less desirable package.

(Yep, they were going to PAY HIM ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS if he QUIT HIS JOB. Read that again if you have to.)

Anyways, he had called in to the show because he wasn't sure if it was worth it (???), since he was worried about not having a job. The $100k check was "several times" his annual salary. HELLO? You're gonna get canned in two years ANYWAYS. Take the $100k, put it in the bank, pay off all your debt, buy a house, whatever. Sit on your ass for the next two years if you want, and you'll STILL be better off than if you stay with your job. Work in a bloody fast food chain until you get another good job. If you've got the skills to add 2 + 2, you CAN get a good job in America. I don't care what people say, that's the truth. If you don't think so, compare our labor market to Poland's or something. We have it easy.

This is what unions have done to America. Created the sort of person who is so freakin' scared about unemployment and losing their cushy job that they'll walk away from a hundred thousand dollar check.

 

 

Who is that photo of with the "At first I was like...But then.. I serious'd"? Also what does "serious'd"? mean? A quick search on dictionary.com shows up nothing.

 

crystilaq waterlog.

actually, the.

pronz?

 

Judging my his uniform, I would say he's a Chief in the navy.


LOL.

 

crystilaq waterlog. actually, the. pronz?

This is cryptic to me here. You might as well be saying *%^$%$*%_$(%_$%$ as it has the same interpretation to me here. Sorry.

 

@%@*^%@*(&%(*@&@)(*&)(@*&^(@&^


on the serious, unions are dumb, but so is the 97x. it all comes out int eh wash.


no more trollblazer.

 

@%@*^%@*(&%(*@&@)(*&)(@*&^(@&^

on the serious, unions are dumb, but so is the 97x. it all comes out int eh wash.

no more trollblazer.

The 9-7 combines american heritage with saab sophistication.... bascically.... banging your sister while drinking a grande non-fat mocha with light whip @ starbucks.... and you know thats every mans dream. we need it

 

Thread of the year.



Yep.

 

.

 

Folks, do you realize we're posting at 12:30am? Let's all get some sleep here.

well then how bout, you come into my room (wearing pants plz.) and remove the whiskey from my hand. then we'll tlak about sleep.

now - we havn'et recieved any 97x aeros at work so, i guess they'll just become a pipe dream now......humf

 

My parents are both union members (mom is an educator, dad was a fireman). I remember being carried along the picket line with my dad. Thanks to the IAFF, I had mostly uninterrupted health insurance from birth to my next birthday, a livable income after my dad retired (at 36), and a shitload more. When he was hurt at work, his union rep got him what he needed to keep his family fed, clothed and housed.

My mom's hours were cut nearly in half last year. (My mom is an educated, qualified person, yet the district planned to hire a less-qualified support person to cover her hours at half her salary). The union wouldn't have that. Otherwise, she could have lost her house.

Unions might not make sense for large, consistently performing companies. The UAW is greedy, I will give you that. But most unions are not and in this age where the future of companies like GM, and even the futures of municipal employees are uncertain, unions are still necessary.

 

I recommend to anyone speculating about unions to read Marx. This being said, in general, (with some exception) I am mostly opposed to the contemporary "union".

 

Anyone found to be participating in any activity that could be construed as a union should be arrested and jailed.

 

?

 

Oh boy!

DETROIT - The United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp. said Wednesday they have reached a tentative contract agreement that ends a two-day nationwide strike immediately.
A person briefed on the contract told The Associated Press earlier that the historic agreement would shift the burden of retiree health care from GM to the union and give workers bonuses and lump-sum payments. The person requested anonymity because the contract talks are private.
The union said the deal was reached shortly after 3 a.m.
The contract must be reviewed by local UAW presidents and will then be subject to a vote of GM's 73,000 rank-and-file members. The agreement is expected to set a pattern for contracts at Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC.
The deal means UAW will tell workers to head back to their jobs at around 80 GM facilities across the nation. The union went on strike at 11 a.m. Monday when talks broke down.
The agreement includes GM's top priority in the negotiations - shifting most of its $51 billion unfunded retiree health care obligation to a UAW-run trust. The company would pay about 70 percent of the obligation into the trust, called a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association, or VEBA.
The union would then invest the money and take over health care responsibilities for about 340,000 GM hourly retirees and spouses.
"I'm pleased to say that we have a VEBA in place that will secure the benefits of our retirees,'' UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said at an early morning news conference inside the union's Detroit headquarters.
Gettelfinger said he's confident of ratification and that voting likely will start as soon as this weekend.
Union leaders will be briefed on Thursday and Friday, he said.
The UAW also expects to decide Thursday what automaker it will negotiate with next.
"There's no question this was one of the most complex and difficult bargaining sessions in the history of the GM-UAW relationship,'' Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
The strike also affected GM plants and suppliers at locations where workers are not represented by UAW.
On Tuesday, GM idled two car assembly lines employing about 5,600 people at its plant in Oshawa, Ontario. On Monday, it idled a transmission plant in Windsor, Ontario, that employs 1,300. Workers at both plants are represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union.
Parts shortages forced GM to cancel one shift Tuesday at a Moraine, Ohio, assembly plant that makes sport utility vehicles. The plant's 2,300 workers are represented by the International Union of Electronic Workers-Communication Workers.
Delphi Corp., GM's largest supplier, said Tuesday it was temporarily laying off workers. Spokesman Lindsey Williams wouldn't give numbers because the situation was in flux. Delphi has about 25 U.S. plants that supply parts for GM.

Wow, that's lots of money.

 

Honestly the ONLY place I think unions are still applicable is in SOME publicly funded institutions ie. fire fighters and cops. I have a BIG BUT to that one teachers unions have LONG since screwed out kids out of good education! What you say? Take a watch:

 

This makes me sick, peoples priorities are so far up their asses.

Agreeing with EG, take a look at the annual salary of an NYPD officer: starting salary is $25,100, and that is after a decrease that took place about 2 years ago. I make the same amount, and have no family to really take care of. Some of these officers have families and bigger bills to pay, and other costs-of-living, and not to mention they themselves (officers) are responsible for the purchase, upkeep and replacement of their uniform and various other items. Not to mention the risk that these officers take, and the PTSD many suffer, especially after the events of September 11th. And I'm sure its not just the NYPD that does this.

 

Who makes the coice for a NYPD officer to become a NYPD officer?
If they don't like the compensation get a different job.

 

I am not at all surprised the 9-7 outsells the 9-5. The 9-5 facelifted or not, is pretty much unchagned from its 99' intro. The car is simply outclassed by its rivals. The 9-7 however, is the cream of the GM Blazer platform and there is more money to be made on it and still plenty of demand for premium SUV's.

 

I am not at all surprised the 9-7 outsells the 9-5. The 9-5 facelifted or not, is pretty much unchagned from its 99' intro. The car is simply outclassed by its rivals. The 9-7 however, is the cream of the GM Blazer platform and there is more money to be made on it and still plenty of demand for premium SUV's.

Actually, they changed a lot chassis and suspension wise in the new 9-5... Drive one, and you will feel a huge difference.... The interior has also changed a shit ton. And they are pretty damn zippy.

 

So now the UAW has $51 Billion to invest as they see fit, and its members get to hope the money is still around when they need it? Is that what I'm reading here? What the fuck?

Color me con-fucking-fused.

Also, I think a few people missed the point. This is not saying they have stopped making 9-7's all together, just that production was affected temporarily by the strike. They were no longer able to get the parts they required, so production was halted.