Just to clarify, you don’t have to be a Member of Congress to be the Speaker of the House. So, if I’m not doing The Morning Dump tomorrow, there’s a decent chance that I’ve been elected the new Speaker of the House. First order of business: Get rid of the 25-year import ban. Ok, real first order of business: rid of the Designated Hitter position in baseball (If Shohei Ohtani can hit it, every pitcher should!). Second order of business: Get rid of the 25-year import ban. Actually, the second order of business: pass a budget… that includes the repeal of the 25-year import ban. I’m good at this!
Speaking of good-at-this, there’s a great story this morning that highlights some of the views and attitudes of striking United Auto Workers I want to highlight. I’ll follow that up with Ford’s counterproposal to the UAW, because the automaker has moved a decent amount in the last few weeks.
All of this strike business is happening right as the automotive market in the United States is finally starting to return to where it should be after years of strife. Is that bad timing for some or bad timing for everyone?
“There are no days off when you’re fighting for your survival”
When covering a strike it’s important to talk to union leadership, of course, but it’s also just as key to hear from the workers on the line. The seed of this current flowering strike was planted when the former UAW leadership essentially ignored the average worker and made what many viewed as sweetheart backroom deals. Whatever you think of current UAW President Shawn Fain’s actual intentions (the average Big 3 C-suiter, at this point, seems to view him as the chaotic Joker played by Heath Ledger in the Nolan Batman flicks), he has repeatedly expressed that he’s merely an instrument of the people.
So let’s listen to some people.
The Detroit Free Press‘s Phoebe Wall Howard went out to the lines in the middle of the night to file this report: “For striking UAW workers, picket line feels different in the middle of the night.”
There’s a lot here:
“There are no days off when you’re fighting for your survival,” Brandon Clark, 38, who works as a “switcher,” driving a products truck in and out of docks at the site near Port Huron, told the Detroit Free Press.
“We’re out here for the middle class, not just autoworkers,” said the Eastpointe man. “We’re here so everybody can have a fair share of the American pie.”
And
“I tell my daughter we’re fighting for a better America,” said Anthony Theeuwes, 52, of Port Huron. As a temporary worker for nearly three years, he earns $17.53 lifting car parts such as doors and tailgates. The strike allows him to walk Esme to second grade these days.
“We’re waiting for a contract and hoping for the best,” he said. “I was a breakfast cook at Mama Vicki’s Coney Island (North) for 20 years. They paid more, plus benefits. They took good care of me. I thought coming to this job would be a good opportunity.”
I love the extremely Detroit clarification in that quote that he worked for Mama Vicki’s Coney Island North.
The bit about Theeuwes laboring as a temp worker for three years lifting heavy car parts is absolutely no surprise.
There’s long been a bi-partisan effort in this country to herald the blue-collar plant worker as a paragon of the American working class when it’s electorally convenient. They are largely portrayed as bearded men in John Deere hats, who work hard during the week and pray hard on the weekend. Yet, through slightly more partisan efforts, those same workers are suddenly lazy and spoiled when they ask for what they view as their fair share. Weird!
There are about 400,000 UAW members in the United States out of about 135 million full-time working Americans. That’s a tiny percentage overall, but union workers seem to think that raising wages for themselves will result in better pay for everyone else (there’s evidence that this is the case).
I liked this story. I think you should read it. Also, I thought this tweet from a radio show that the reporter was on was interesting:
Rick: Why were you on the picket line in the middle of the night?
Phoebe Wall Howard: My preferred choice is always between 10 p.m. & 7 a.m.; I like to be on the picket line when workers are most tired–they're more honest & there are no other reporters around.@phoebesaid— Rick Smith (@RickSmithShow) October 4, 2023
Ford’s Big Counter Offer
Here’s a little graphic showing what Ford just shared with the UAW:
Look at all those checkmarks!
This does seem to come much closer to what autoworkers have seemingly asked for in their various requests and the bit about “No job loss due to EV battery plants” is interesting, and the enforcement mechanism for that will be interesting to see.
With this, Ford also sent out this note about the impact of the strike:
Our production system is highly interconnected, which means the UAW’s targeted strike strategy has knock-on effects for facilities that are not directly targeted for a work stoppage. In this case, the strike at Chicago Assembly Plant has directly impacted some operations at Chicago Stamping Plant and Lima Engine Plant. Approximately 330 employees have been asked not to report to work, with layoffs taking effect beginning Sept. 30 at Chicago Stamping Plant and Oct. 2 at Lima Engine Plant.
Liz Door, Ford’s Chief Supply Chain Officer (from Ford’s media briefing Friday, Sept. 29)
“We understand to date there are about 2,400 supplier employees that have been laid off. But as a consequence of the actions today, we see this two-week inflection point. We have roughly 125,000 supplier employees that support our Michigan Assembly Plant. And if prolonged, this really could have a significant impact as it extends into our other Ford factories. We see anywhere between 325,000 to 500,000 employees that could be laid off.”
Carrot and stick.
It’s Good To Be Just About Everyone That Isn’t Stellantis
In addition to the Kia Carnival, the rest of the car market pretty much had a great third quarter (we’re still waiting on a few to report). GM was up 21.2% year-over-year, Honda was up 52.7%, and even Mitsubishi was up 32.3% over the same period. This makes sense as these automakers suddenly have products to sell and fleet sales are finally starting to return.
The third quarter did suck ass for one automaker, though, and that automaker was Stellantis. While Chrysler was up (95.8%!) and Maserati saw a big jump (38%!), the rest of the portfolio shrank. Let’s go through the brands and roast them:
- Dodge (-22.7%): Just rebadged Alfas now, and not even the good ones
- Alfa Romeo (-16.0%): Needs to bring back the MiTo
- Fiat (-30.3%): Who are the 145 people who actually bought Fiats?
- Jeep (-4.2%): Too many overbuilt, underbaked crossovers
- RAM (-3.5%): The Ram 1500 is a good truck, but what we really want is a weird little Maverick-like Fiat-based thing, sorry-not-sorry
In the short term, the strike is maybe…less bad (?) for Stellantis because why should they even keep making cars that the market doesn’t appear to be in love with? If automakers like Toyota and Honda have the hardware and can jump in and offer good deals to conquest buyers then the strike might be temporarily good for the car market, but the last thing that consumers need over the long-term is a return to restricted inventory.
Ram Recalls 273k Trucks Over Weird Camera Issue
Modern vehicles are complex and one little bit of complexity that is now mandatory is a backup camera. This actually makes a ton of sense and it’s the one piece of technology I’d like to add back to my older BMW.
It’s useful! Unless you have one of the nearly 273,000 trucks built by RAM because the radio software might prevent the rearview backup camera from being shown. Oops. The recall covers 022-2023 Ram 1500, Ram 3500 Cab Chassis with GVWR less than 10,000 lbs., and 2022-2024 Ram 2500 vehicles.
The good news is that this is just a software update and should be able to be carried out by dealers, free of charge.
“there’s a decent chance that I’ve been elected the new Speaker of the House”… “I’m good at this.”
You would be good at that.
So would ANYONE else who isn’t a power-hungry narcissus with severe mental disabilities that preclude them from all employment opportunities other than politician.
[And I’m describing ALL politicians here, my distain for politicians has no party affiliation.]
EDIT: Unfortunately, it seems that the only way to get elected is to BE a power-hungry narcissus with mental disabilities. There’s the catch-22 of our government. 🙁
Great, now I remember it exists. My whole week is ruined!
Matt is now officially my favorite Autopian writer, at least until we get statements from Torch et al on their positions on the DH.
I don’t get the impression Torch or David are sportsball enthusiasts. I suspect David would think DH refers to an obscure options package on a ’90s Jeep. I’m not sure I even want to know what Torch would come up with for the meaning of DH.
David is actually a baseball fan like myself and very much disagrees with my DH position!
Huh. I didn’t figure David for a baseball fan. I think I am going to side with David on the DH rule, although if I had my way DH would still be an AL rule only.
Any word on Torch’s stance on this extremely important issue?
It’s going to take a while before the Car Makers even notice there’s a strike on:
“All domestic brands but two had supply above the industry average at the start of September. Cadillac had the lowest inventory of all domestic brands, with a days’ supply of 46. Chevrolet, with a days’ supply of 52, was the only other domestic brand with below-average supply. With its affordable mid-$20,000 price, the new Chevrolet Trax is in extremely short supply at 21 days.
As has been the case all year, Stellantis, which some experts predict could be the UAW’s target, has bloated inventories. Dodge brand has the most at 136 days’ supply, followed by Chrysler at 125. Ram has 115 days’ supply. Jeep is at 95 days’ supply.
Note that these figures include cars. Where the Big 3 has its real volume business is in Trucks:
“The Ram 1500 has a 107 days’ supply, followed by the Ford F-150 at 98 days’ supply. The Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra had a supply of 81 and 79 days, respectively.”
https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/new-vehicle-inventory-august-2023/
At the same time sales are slow because of high interest rates so those ‘days of supply figures may actually be higher than they would appear.
A question that I can’t answer and would be curious to hear opinions on is (noting that only the Big 3 are on strike) how many customers might consider moving to a “foreign” non-Big-3 vehicle?
I’ve purchased 3 Fords and Chevy new since 2012, after the 2009 restructures made the big-3 a lot more competitive, but I’ll go back to the Japanese or go to Hyundai really quick if the big-3 can’t maintain their value proposition (especially factoring in how much below MSRP big-3 cars sell at). Brand loyalty is dead (except for maybe Tesla of all companies) and so is the idea of not buying “foreign” cars. I see the most pro-America bumper stickers on Tundras.
Which is, of course, pure marketing bullshit.
“All current temps with 3 months converted to permanent.” Uh-huh.
Notice something missing? Yeah. It only applies to current ‘temporary’ employees. Just hire everybody as a ‘temporary’ and refuse to convert them, because that’s not covered. Only that they’ll make the temps permanent.
Permanent temporary is the most abused shit in the entire country, because we refuse to do anything about it. There are well over 10 million people who are ‘permanently temporary.’ No health benefits. Absolutely no protections. No hope of retirement ever.
Quoting Man With A Reliable Jeep:
facts.jpeg
Period. My local McDonald’s starts at $14/hr with a $3 shift differential for opening and closing.
If you don’t think people deserve a living wage, because you’re too stupid and/or chickenshit to fight for it yourself or just because you want to look down on people? Fuck you. Get out.
I’m gonna reiterate this until it gets through people’s skulls: Jeep is eating shit because their executives sat around saying “we can charge whatever we want, it’s a Jeep, they’ll buy it!”
Well hey, guess what? At 8.34%+ for prime, no! People can’t buy a $45,000+ Wrangler. Which is NOT a joke or exaggeration. That’s the cheapest Wranglers on the lots around me. The spread is $45k to $110k, not including tax, title, or interest fees. At 8.34% prime, a Wrangler High Tide ($62k sticker) has sat on the lot for 218 days because the monthly with 10% down is over a thousand bucks a month.
This is why they are offering desperation lease deals and huge amounts of money on the hood on Grand Cherokee and Wagoneer. (WHICH IS A JEEP. Fite me, FCAtlantis. Fite. Me.)
I have a dealer offering me $10k off sticker on a Grand Cherokee Overland for fogging a mirror, plus another $5k in incentives. $15k+5k on any Wagoneer. Just walk in the door. Those are not ‘boy these are popular’ moves.
The fact is that this is the direct result of not promptly and effectively dealing with terrorists and literal Nazis. It’s all directly traceable to that. Since we didn’t do shit about them, they’re not only running rampant, but emboldened. Emboldened enough to come right out and say their objectives include things like banning pornography, publicly executing political opponents by lynching, and banning the Muslims, Jews, and gays.
OK, now say all that so it fits on a bumper sticker.
“Jeeps are already so expensive nobody wants them, so the solution is to make them even more expensive by increasing labor costs dramatically. Also something about the groups fighting over LGBTQ flags in Hamtramck Michigan.”
OK, boomer.
Nobody wants them because they’re shit vehicles.
Get rid of the DH? Who wants to watch a pitcher not named Ohtani hit.
I’m just surprised that when Randy Johnson was a D-back he didn’t accidentally kill a pigeon with a bat, too.
Being against the DH is being anti labor (the DH allows for both longer careers and a greater number of viable careers), and given the rest of the article we wouldn’t want that now would we?
I’m OK with the DH, I just think the other team should decide who your DH is in any given game.
That would be awesome
I’m left with a couple thoughts after glancing at Ford’s “Record Contract Checkmark List.”
1.) Wow, temporary workers can now make as much as an entry level McDonald’s employee. Neat.
2.) It mentions conversion of all temporary workers with at least 3+ months of continuous service upon ratification of the contract, but…conveniently, mention of a defined path forward for future temporary workers is absent.
There’s a mom-and-pop burger stand chain where I live (operationally, think McDonalds in the 50’s) that pays $20/hr to start. Plus fully paid health and dental insurance (and seriously discounted for spouse/children), scholarship opportunities, childcare assistance, 401k matching, and even PAID community service.
$17/hr is about what I was making at CompUSA in 2006 as a repair tech, which is WAY THE HELL EASIER THAN BUILDING A GODDAMNED CAR.
Ford be smoking some serious crack there.
To be honest, I don’t believe that you are correct in your opinion that being a computer repair tech is “easier work” than assembling a car. Perhaps in terms of physical effort, but not in terms of required preliminary theoretical training, analysis of problems, and independent action based on that analysis.
A mechanic does those things but an assembler does not.
The Auto Industry has literally been working for 50 years on reducing the role of the assembler. An assembler performs a limited number of prescribed operations repetitively. Those operations are decided for him withouth any input. Further those operations will require a small number of repetive steps and need no autonomous decision making capacity. Additionally, years of experience do no significantly increase the abilities of the worker; after about 4 years the assembler has reached the maximum of his skill levels. After that, each year he simply becomes a greater expense (through wage increases) to perform the same functions at the same speed. A computer repair tech expands his knowledge and usefulness as he gains experience, and that doesn’t ever stop during his career.
FWIW
Preliminary theoretical training? … what?
I really don’t know what you’re talking about here, but this is NOT a computer repair tech. Computer repair techs are barely trained monkeys.
I’m thinking you’re either grossly uninformed about what a computer tech actually does, or you’re mistaking them for much higher-end positions under the general IT umbrella that DO actually require training and upkeep.
But hey, what do I know? I’ve only spent 27 years in the field, 13 of them specifically as a repair tech.
Ford’s offer seems very generous as it stands, I think most people would have a hard time turning down a 20% wage increase alone…. and 6 figures after 4 years? that’s pretty darn good and outpaces most industries
moar bootlickin’
^^^ moar meatpuppet sucking.
awwww, look, the bootlickers have a toadie
super weird that another exact same initial post also had someone come into whine about my comment….I wonder why that is?
Yep. That’s a pretty rational take. Even more so when you look at the cost of living where most of the factories are located, and see what the true buying power of those wages are.
To be honest; I think what out non-bootlicker friend truest wants and is unable to articulate is a cap on compensation for executives.
I can agree with that, even tying it to the temp wage x10 or whatever seems fine to me.
As for bootlicking… i have no skin in this game, the Canadian union workers matter more to me and they already accepted a deal, no big battle needed.
The temps issue is by far their biggest. Abuse of permatemps is the most prevalent and least well-known form of abuse. Microsoft got sued for this 30 years ago, but it seems to have been forgotten.
Also, it’s basically never a good idea to quit a permanent job for a temp job, though the restaurant industry does suck.
The UAW should ask for works councils, where they make up half the C-suite. Yes, half the board would be regular workers. Make the other half engineers. Make them make better cars that people actually want to buy. Nothing makes a business more sustainable than customers who love your product and keep coming back.
Pensions are outdated and a huge drag on everyone, plus they’re subject to raiding at any time. Even if they got really generous and offered a 10% match plus an additional 10% non-elective contribution (current is 5% for both), that might still end up being cheaper than maintaining a pension, while giving employees more money/benefit.
You are always writing about this, but it’ll never happen. Take Ford for example. Which one of the three Ford family members is gonna give up their seat to the plebes? It’s a noble idea on paper, but no company would (to quote Chris Tucker)”ever, ever ever” do that.
Nobody actually has to give up their seat. They can just add more seats.
The board would be the people already on it plus (that same number of) people that work the labor jobs.
The Unions will decide which “ordinary workers” will sit at the board – the union is THE representative of employees and it alone decides who speaks for them in ANY capacity.
However I’m curious, what do you expect “regularJoe workers” would bring to the board? They almost by the definition of being ordinary workers won’t have an specialized skills in production processes, management, engineering, economics, marketing, or electronics.
I mean, what do you see as their role?
The workers themselves can decide who sits on the board. They’d hold elections just like they elect the union president as well as other union officials. Those union officials are elected. I know that’s only a recent thing for the UAW, but most other unions it’s always been that way.
They by definition have specialized skills in production process (they’re literally part of it), management (comes with experience), engineering (they learn to figure out what’s shitty), marketing (their input does help them make better cars, and better cars allow them to market something worth buying), and electronics (also a huge component of modern cars, and even more so on electric ones, and Fain is an electrician)
“Microsoft got sued for this 30 years ago, but it seems to have been forgotten.”
As someone that works in tech, I can promise you the impact of the lawsuit isn’t forgotten. Every company I’ve worked for had a 6 month cool down period before contractors could reapply for another contractor job at the company. One company even had a policy that contractors couldn’t work more than two contracts.
While specific policies were different, there was always some type of line we couldn’t cross, such as contractors not being invited to company parties, we couldn’t engage in career related discussions, etc.
Hardigree, you’d have my vote for speaker.
Two things can be true: all of this is a sign of persistent, unresolved issues AND the world is trying to fix itself. I’m personally trying to focus on the second part.
I agree, focus on improving. “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change” – Michael Jackson.
“If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change” – Michael Jackson.
Plastic surgery doesn’t count Michael.
Since there isn’t much more to be said about the strike, I’ll be happy to talk baseball:)
You gotta keep the DH. Ohtani is a once-in-a-century freak. Today’s pitchers absolutely can not hit an MLB pitch or even a college pitcher, in fact, most have not done batting practice since high school. Plus, it would shorten the careers of so many of this era’s greatest hitters. Look at Miguel Cabrera (who just retired at 40 as one of the greatest right-handed hitters in history) or Pujols who was raking up until his final season as examples. The DH is a good thing!
The Durango called, it said its 23 & Me test came back as half German, half American, so it wants to know where someone got the idea it was Italian and is a child of Alfa Romeo’s?
Also: the 500X still exists. The L was dropped on our shores a while back.
Where do people get off saying they’re doing this for fellow Americans? Particularly when Americans that had no say in this strike are getting financially affected over this?
A lot of us gain nothing from that.
Just because you don’t understand the value unions can provide the middle class, doesn’t mean the value isn’t there.
When the strike ends and I get better pay & a better economy from it, I’ll let you know when I value what the unions do.
Until I see any benefit from them, they’ll provide no value to me and they aren’t something I’ll be cheering for.
World24: “If I don’t personally see an immediate direct benefit, then it doesn’t matter.”
Noted!
Putting words into people’s mouths just because they don’t bow down and agree to what someone else says or thinks isn’t a good thing.
If I said immediate, it’d be in my comment. With no edit history in my comment, it’s obvious that even I know it’s not like that.
It is a very interesting political landscape with the Republicans saying you should have a 4,000 sq ft house, a Suburban, an F150 and a boat if you are very talented and productive, the progressives saying nobody should have those things (ok, maybe you get a private jet if you are a climate change activist), and the UAW saying mediocre people should get those things. No wonder unions have a hard time finding a party.
What?
OK Boomer
I can’t tell if this is serious or satire. But, I live in a deep red state where it seems like everyone has a large house, SUV, truck and a boat. Meanwhile, the local subreddit (very liberal group) moans about car dependence, overpriced housing and lack of public transit.
All of it is financed by debt. Without access to credit, people can afford startlingly little, partially the result of the current system of credit injecting more money into the system.
I would argue that the Republicans are forgetting that talent and productive have a partner in luck ( Im not forgetting hard work, but luck is there ). Most progressives are saying that being too Darwinistic for the other 90% makes for a hard life and too much opportunity for revolution ( see France 1789, et al ), some degree of redistribution is in order. A bit of hyperbole, but the idea that there are only so many C level positions gets the idea across, I think. Someone has to take the toilet scrubbing jobs, and some level of acknowledging the necessity of that makes sense.
A thought, a company with workers and no C level people will go farther than a company with C level people and no workers.
Huh? That’s not a straw man, it’s a fkn barn. Nobody says any of those things.
We does not mean me on the whole Maveranchero thing, but I do kind of wonder if some people actually are waiting around to see if the new inline six turbo replacing the hemi is the reason for the sale dip at Ram.
For the designated hitter: have the opposing team designate him.
No designation without representation!
Get rid of the DH.
Counterpoint: no. That way Andrew McCutcheon can continue to be on my begrudgingly beloved Pirates
Love Cutch! Go Buccos (but not ownership)
It’s Late Stage Capitalism bby! And it’s boring as hell! Now we have to create drama in our mundane comfortable lives by committing to a cult of personality, or listening to too many murder podcast with aspersions of being the next victim. This dystopia is just too boring. I have to fist fight my neighbor over grievance politics because the Machines that were promised can’t even make a salad well. Who knew the collapse would be so slow. Marx promised revolution, and all we got some dude using his political power to usurp the office space of co-worker.
Also legalize bat flips.
Yes, legalize bat flips.
Bat flips are not illegal, they might get you a fastball to the dome at the next at-bat, but it’s not something punishable by the umps. Shoot, even kids in the LLWS were doing them, lol.
I had a friend who did a bat flip in Arkansas, guy ended up serving 90 days in county jail. Legalize bat flips.
That Ford proposal looks pretty good from my uninvolved seat. If I were an automaker, I would offer pay raises, etc. but never reduce flexibility. If you can’t get rid of workers when the market changes fundamentally, you are boned.
Even as is it will put Ford at a competitive disadvantage, but the UAW wants a 40% pay increase and a return to the kind of defined benefits pensions that are bankrupting state and local governments (and they have monopolies and force residents to pay taxes, people can choose not to buy a Ford).
OK, boomer.
Persistent unresolved issues. Make the pitchers bat.
(Consider these statements as related as you’d like.)
If explanation seems warranted, just look around and read the news for the first part and I don’t know enough about baseball to have any reasoning for the second part. I don’t actually believe the DH is a persistent unresolved issue. Hell, I really liked Edgar Martinez.
I’m just waiting for the cell phone signal that zombiefies the vaccinated. I’m using that as an excuse to off a few annoying coworkers.
everything is fucked
Since you brought up baseball…
The Minnesota Twins ended the longest playoff losing streak in major sports history last night, so no amount of bad news or ridiculous quotes about fighting for survival when you have a $0 premium health care plan and a >20% raise offer on the table can change my sunny disposition today.
I have $0 premiums and absolutely shit coverage. The premium isn’t everything.
Also if the 20% raise gets you up to local McDonalds wages, maybe it’s not big enough.
McDonalds workers make six figures after 4 years on the job???
It honestly shocks me that anyone would read an official statement from a massive corporation and just … believe it. You really, really think they have not already figured out how to further manipulate their own personnel practices to avoid that comp structure?
Starbucks offers a shitload of benefits too. Just check their website! They say it’s true!
I have no reason to believe or disbelieve it.
I know 20% raises and 0 premium health care are not common, and claiming one is fighting for survival when those are terms of the offer is not a good look.
More bunts. All I’m saying. Make the bases as big as you want, but more bunts.
Chicks dig the long ball… Braves fan.