Kudos to Seneca Doane for the very introspective recommended diary on the real reason why the GOP Senators is opposing the D3 bailout. It has very little to do with taxpayer money since they have give King George a blank check for the Iraq War and their states are welfare states when it comes to federal tax dollars (you hear that Senator Shelby).
We are already aware there are many Asian automakers in those states as well, but lets not let them off the hook for having a hand in some of these union-busting tactics. Follow me below...
(Warning, this is my first real diary, so if there is anything I am doing not in protocol with DKos or if you think this is incoherent gibberish, take it easy on me :))
There was an article that was released in the Detroit Free Press in February 2007 that was not widely reported at the time because of CAFE negotiations and the news Ford losing $12B in 2006, this would have probably been considered whining. I do not have the link to the Detroit Free Press article since it is quite old and I do not want to pay for the subscription, but here is the excerpt from the article from a blog site:
In a memo to workers at the plant after the report was circulated, Toyota noted that workers at Georgetown earned $3 an hour more than the U.S. auto industry standard. The Free Press reported last week the workers averaged $30 an hour, including bonuses.
Currently, the median for comparable manufacturing jobs in Kentucky — half earn more, half earn less — is $12.64, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Toyota’s strategy resembles what Hyundai Motor Co. uses at its plant in Montgomery, Ala. Assembly workers there make $14 an hour, about half the wages, bonuses and benefits of Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Detroit’s automakers. But Hyundai’s wages still are considerably higher than for comparable Alabama jobs, which pay $10.79 an hour.
"Our challenge will be how to educate team members and managers about our condition, so that they can understand and accept change," Sudo said in the report.
And it’s not just about wage reductions. James Parks over at the AFL-CIO blog reports that Toyota is "dissappearing" workers in order to replace long time workers with permatemps with much lower wages and largely without health benefits.
...workers say the company, which is nonunion, is firing employees who are injured at work. In addition, full-time workers are being replaced with temporary workers who are paid half what regular team members earn and have little or no health insurance, workers say.
At the town hall meeting, Tim Unger, an 18-year veteran Toyota worker, said he’s noticed that some long-time workers have "disappeared" from the plant after they were hurt on the job–victims of Toyota’s quest for improved efficiency. Says Unger:
Shoulders would wear out, wrists would require surgery and back
and hands started to fail. It seemed as if the good people who
contributed to the success of Toyota were being used up and
disposed of like garbage.
Here is the internal memo leaked from a meeting Toyota Manufacturing North America and their concern for "premium wages" here in the U.S.. It may not come out with much clarity so follow the memos below the graphs
What you can take away from this memo is that we can thank god for the UAW and fighting for the middle class worker !! Toyota wants to reduce wages by 50% or more to that particular state's average manufacturing wage, which is slightly higher than the poverty rates in many states and keep their overhead stagnant or possibly lower in the next three years while they gain billions in revenues and market share in the U.S. and North America.
Is this thanks for helping you become #1 in the world? Thanks a lot...
This is as simple as it gets, once the UAW is gone for setting such a high bar for auto manufacturing wages, the foreign companies can run ramshot over their employees wages and bennies as well. Methinks some of the companies are lining the pockets of these senators. Why else would Lugar,Corker and McConnell be against the bailout especially with a heavy domestic auto presence in their respective states?
This is just not limited to Toyota, take a look at what Honda has said to their workers in Shelby's Alabama:
A union would "radically change our teamwork environment and the way we do business," said Honda Manufacturing of Alabama spokesman Mark Morrison in an e-mail to The Star in September 2007.
Wyatt said Saturday that a union is "not about hurting Honda," but about giving workers a voice, and ultimately making the company even more successful
Gee giving the worker a voice in how they are treated would radically change the way they do business. Nice....
And what do the Asian automakers really think about their workers in the south,Check this out :
The level of the workforce in general is so high that the training program you need for people, even for people who have not worked in a Toyota plant before, is minimal compared to what you have to go through in the southeastern United States," said Gerry Fedchun, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, whose members will see increased business with the new plant [...]
Several U.S. states were reportedly prepared to offer more than double [the] subsidy [Southern states were offering]. But Fedchun said much of that extra money would have been eaten away by higher training costs than are necessary for the Woodstock project.
He said Nissan and Honda have encountered difficulties getting new plants up to full production in recent years in Mississippi and Alabama due to an untrained - and often illiterate - workforce. In Alabama, trainers had to use "pictorials" to teach some illiterate workers how to use high-tech plant equipment.
he he...
The GOP are the biggest bunch of hypocrites on the face of the Earth, they always want to talk about free-market capitalism and chastize the left for complaining about CEO wages, yet they want to tell a bunch of blue collar working guys and gals how much they should be earning. This has become the classic battle between Democrats and Republicans that has been going on for decades in the country.
Here are some fantastic UAW made cars to support our brothers and sisters (and yes, there are some foreign makes on here as well):
UAW CARS
Buick Lucerne
Cadillac CTS
Cadillac DTS
Cadillac STS
Cadillac XLR
Chevrolet Cobalt
Chevrolet Corvette
Chevrolet Malibu/Malibu Hybrid
Chrysler Sebring
Dodge Avenger
Dodge Caliber
Dodge Viper
Ford Focus
Ford Mustang Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKS
Mazda 6
Mercury Sable
Mitsubishi Eclipse
Mitsubishi Galant
Pontiac G5
Pontiac G6
Pontiac Solstice
Pontiac Vibe
Saturn Aura/Aura Hybrid
Saturn Sky
Toyota Corolla*
UAW PICKUPS
Chevrolet Colorado
Dodge Dakota
Dodge Ram Pickup*
Ford Explorer Sport Trac
Ford F-Series*
Ford Ranger GMC Canyon
Isuzu i-Series
Lincoln Mark LT
Mazda B-series
Mitsubishi Raider
Toyota Tacoma*
UAW SUVs/CUVs
Buick Enclave
Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac Escalade ESV
Cadillac SRX
Chevrolet Suburban*
Chevrolet Tahoe/
Tahoe Hybrid
Chrysler Aspen
Dodge Durango
Dodge Nitro
Ford Escape/Escape Hybrid
Ford Expedition
Ford Explorer
Ford Taurus X
GMC Acadia
GMC Yukon/Yukon Hybrid GMC Yukon Denali
Hummer H1
Hummer H2
Hummer H3
Jeep Commander
Jeep Compass
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Jeep Liberty
Jeep Patriot
Jeep Wrangler
Lincoln Navigator
Mazda Tribute/Tribute Hybrid
Mercury Mariner/Mariner Hybrid
Mercury Mountaineer
Mitsubishi Endeavor
Saturn Outlook
UAW VANS
Ford E-series
Chevrolet Express Chevrolet Uplander
GMC Savana
CAW CARS
Buick Lacrosse
Chevrolet Impala
Chrysler 300
Dodge Challenger
Dodge Charger Ford Crown Victoria
Lincoln Town Car
Mercury Grand Marquis
Pontiac Grand Prix
CAW SUVs/CUVs
Chevrolet Equinox
Chrysler Pacifica
Dodge Magnum
Ford Edge Lincoln MKX
Pontiac Torrent
Suzuki XL7
UAW/CAW PICKUPS
Chevrolet Silverado* GMC Sierra*
UAW/CAW Vans
Chrysler Town & Country Dodge Caravan
IUE SUVs/CUVs
Chevrolet TrailBlazer
GMC Envoy
GMC Envoy Denali Isuzu Ascender
Saab 9-7X