UAW might not be the problem after all

[Grizzly]

You are right that I am shit without my workers. On the flipside, without employers such as myself there are no jobs to be had. And one other thing...it is much easier for me to find a warm body than it is for most people to find a job.

Good point, kayz, and one I would have made if I'd have gotten here first. Yes, it's true, the workers play a very important and vital role in the success of a company. HOWEVER, there's a whole lot more people than there are jobs, which means that he who provides the job is a lot more important and secure than the worker. If I walk out today, someone else walks in tomorrow. I, on the other hand, would have to spend a few weeks trying to get a new job.

 

[sc redneck]

95 honda accord ex 277.000 with original spark plugs.. knock on wood.. oil change every 4000.

 

[sc redneck]

hey dave48326,, we are feeling a big impact from slow sales at GM and Ford. 70% of our biz is O.E sales. They want us to take a 38% pay cut or close er down... Our contract is also up, below is the latest.

3:14 pm | Continental Tire workers OK strike
GILLIAN MAY-LIAN WEE
gwee@charlotteobserver.com
Union members at Continental Tire North America Inc. have authorized the group's leaders to call a strike, Mark Cieslikowski, president of the plant's United Steelworkers Local 850, said today.
But, union leaders have "a long way to go" before calling a strike, as they are still trying to negotiate a new labor contract with the company's managers, Cieslikowski said.
The union's contract expires April 30. Two years ago, Continental stopped production under similar circumstances at a unionized factory in Kentucky.
Continental recently said it might "indefinitely suspend" production at its Charlotte plant in the fall, unless workers agree to steep pay and benefit cuts. The company has said it considers its Charlotte plant is its costliest.
Continental is one of Charlotte's largest manufacturers and employs about 1,000. It's the North American unit of German automotive giant Continental AG, the world's No. 4 tire maker.
Last month, a first round of layoffs, affecting 140 workers, took place.

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[sc redneck]

Oh, I forgot to mention that conti is finishing up a plant in Brazil and has its mexican plant up and running. We were told last year we would be shut down in 07 so why wait! Shut this bitch down now and lets move on

 

[Bob Smith]

Since this thread is all about union folks, I thought I would share a personal story from this week.

I am completely redoing my bathroom. Every wall is torn down to the studs, the floor is being replaced, everything will be brand new. I need a plumber to do some pretty simple thing that shouldnt take any more than about 6 hours. Got an estimate from one guy for $1900. I about fell out of my chair when I heard that. Got another estimate today. Exact same specs for the job - $750. Both plumbers have over 20 years experience and are considered master plumbers. The only difference, the first guy is union and the second guy is not.

Bottom line, I will never hire a union contractor to work for me. The union guy must be figuring about $250/hr for labor and 4 thirty-minute breaks during the day plus an hour for lunch.

 

[Kayz]

Since this thread is all about union folks, I thought I would share a personal story from this week.

I am completely redoing my bathroom. Every wall is torn down to the studs, the floor is being replaced, everything will be brand new. I need a plumber to do some pretty simple thing that shouldnt take any more than about 6 hours. Got an estimate from one guy for $1900. I about fell out of my chair when I heard that. Got another estimate today. Exact same specs for the job - $750. Both plumbers have over 20 years experience and are considered master plumbers. The only difference, the first guy is union and the second guy is not.

Bottom line, I will never hire a union contractor to work for me. The union guy must be figuring about $250/hr for labor and 4 thirty-minute breaks during the day plus an hour for lunch.

My parents just had the outside of their house painted last summer. It's a 4500 SQ. FT. two-story, so we didn't really want to do it ourselves. he received 2 quotes...one from a union contractor and one from an old high school friend who owns a painting company.

The union painter quoted them $11,000+ for the whole job (supplies, labor, cleanup...etc), but did NOT include matching paint on their garage in the backyard...that was extra!!! My dad's old friend quoted him $7,800 for the whole job..including painting the back garage and fixing 4 planks of wood on the side of the house that had sustained water damage.

 

[sc redneck]

Here in the Carolina's you just hire the local crack head. Also, why would you even consider paying a union worker over a non union worker given that amount of difference in cash. How can a regular painter be represented anyway. Here in the south our unions are in manufacturing only.

 

[sc redneck]

My parents just had the outside of their house painted last summer. It's a 4500 SQ. FT. two-story, so we didn't really want to do it ourselves. he received 2 quotes...one from a union contractor and one from an old high school friend who owns a painting company.

The union painter quoted them $11,000+ for the whole job (supplies, labor, cleanup...etc), but did NOT include matching paint on their garage in the backyard...that was extra!!! My dad's old friend quoted him $7,800 for the whole job..including painting the back garage and fixing 4 planks of wood on the side of the house that had sustained water damage.

Holy shit man,, I will make that drive and paint it. Hell, you can have vinyl siding put on it for prolly less than 11.000.

 

[sc redneck]

Since this thread is all about union folks, I thought I would share a personal story from this week.

I am completely redoing my bathroom. Every wall is torn down to the studs, the floor is being replaced, everything will be brand new. I need a plumber to do some pretty simple thing that shouldnt take any more than about 6 hours. Got an estimate from one guy for $1900. I about fell out of my chair when I heard that. Got another estimate today. Exact same specs for the job - $750. Both plumbers have over 20 years experience and are considered master plumbers. The only difference, the first guy is union and the second guy is not.

Bottom line, I will never hire a union contractor to work for me. The union guy must be figuring about $250/hr for labor and 4 thirty-minute breaks during the day plus an hour for lunch.

WHY DONT YOU DO IT YOURSELF BOB..

 

[Kayz]

WHY DONT YOU DO IT YOURSELF BOB..

Hey, just because Bob's ass hangs halfway out of his pants doesn't mean he can fix the shitter.

 

[Kayz]

Here in the Carolina's you just hire the local crack head. Also, why would you even consider paying a union worker over a non union worker given that amount of difference in cash. How can a regular painter be represented anyway. Here in the south our unions are in manufacturing only.

Shit, here in the midwest, we have plumbing unions, electrician unions, drywall unions, general contractor unions, welding unions....if you can think of a skilled trade...there's a union for it.

Shit, some of the union halls around here are built like the damn taj mahal.

 

[Weatherlite]

Just figured I'd throw in my 2 cents with my experience with cars.

79 Chevy Blazer-180,000 miles-only changed transmission
84 Ford Tempo-167,000 miles-only changed a broken tie-rod
70 Ford Mustang-89,000 original miles everything original
93 Chevy Camaro-sold it at 54,000 miles--broken driveshaft, shredded the axle bearings, frozen brake caliper, constantly needed new tires due to alignments...could never get an alignment to stay for more than a few months. Basically a piece of crap
89 Ford Tempo--don't remember miles--everything fell apart constantly
97 Mercury Villager--104,000 miles never even changed sparkplugs
78 Jeep Wagoneer--no idea what the milage was (speedo broke at 120,00) Changed the water pump
2000 Ford Excursion--88,000 miles--rear axle seal leak
03 Suzuki XL-7--45,000 miles no problems
mid 90's Suzuki Samurai (wife's old car--can't remember year) 75,000 miles and abused badly--she never had a problem

Let me make a small note: all of the above cars at least had normal tune-ups and oil changes (unless otherwise stated) the next car is a different story.

85 Ford Bronco--314,000 miles I bought it at 100,000 miles. The oil in it looked like it had come from Grizz's ass!! (no offense Grizz! lol) Changed the oil when I bought it as well as the spark plugs. It now has 314,000 and that's all I have done to it! Brakes, clutch, tranny etc all original. I just add a bit of oil now and then as it does leak so I'm constantly refreshing the mix. No filter changes either. When it finally does die I'm going to do an oil analysis and examine the filter to see how nasty it really was. BTW, it's a 302.

 

[Bob Smith]

Hey, just because Bob's ass hangs halfway out of his pants doesn't mean he can fix the shitter.

Bingo! Im not that skilled with my hands. I can break shit, but putting stuff back together isnt my area of expertise. I do some stuff around the house and am learning more, but plumbing isnt in my repitoire.

Vinyl siding on a 4500 sq ft house? That would look tacky as all get out! Might as well move the house to the trailer park. BTW Kayz, business must be pretty good if your parent have that size house. Keep it up!

And as Kayz said, in the Midwest every skilled trade (and some that arent skilled) has a union. The no-skilled grunts on construction sites even have their own union.

 

[sc redneck]

Bingo! Im not that skilled with my hands. I can break shit, but putting stuff back together isnt my area of expertise. I do some stuff around the house and am learning more, but plumbing isnt in my repitoire.

Vinyl siding on a 4500 sq ft house? That would look tacky as all get out! Might as well move the house to the trailer park. BTW Kayz, business must be pretty good if your parent have that size house. Keep it up!

And as Kayz said, in the Midwest every skilled trade (and some that arent skilled) has a union. The no-skilled grunts on construction sites even have their own union.

so if I were to come your way with my welders and start a biz without a union would other union welders fuck with me... also.. we have alot of pre civil war plantation homes in our area. Most are 7000 sqf plus. You know, the forest Gump houses. They were build with 8 inch slab siding and most have replaced with vinyl. They look great. Most sit on 100 acres or more so there's no mobile homes around....