Union Mentality
There are some union members in this great country who don’t realize how well they really have it. They are getting paid way above average wages along with way above average benefits. Let’s look at General Motors as an example. I remember when GM released statistics about their employee’s wages & benefits package. In 2004, the average labor cost per hour for the U.S. hourly work force, which includes both wages and benefits, was $73.73. Are you freaking kidding me? It’s no wonder they want to ship those jobs overseas. How the hell have they been able to stay in business with those kinds of employee costs?
Why is it that you never hear of any of these employees talking publicly about how good they really have it? It’s because they feel they are owed that much and then some. Mind you, the majority of the assembly line workers at that time never got more than a high school diploma. Where else in the world do people live so well with such little education? These people have shiny new vehicles in their front yards. They don’t work on holidays. They have health insurance. Doesn’t sound like they have it too bad, does it? You wouldn’t know it by listening to them. Sounds like a bunch of spoiled brats to me. All you hear from them is whining. It is a loser’s mentality. Anyone who can’t live in the Detroit area with that kind of income is just plain irresponsible.
Notice you never hear about anyone being proactive. What you should be hearing from these people are things like “I have been fortunate to be able to work for a great American icon like General Motors. I am going to do everything I can to see that my company makes the best vehicles on the planet. I know that we are capable of building better quality vehicles for less money than the Japanese can. I am committed to helping the company find ways of reducing manufacturing costs while raising quality. Working for this company has allowed me to provide a very good life for me and my family. If we can find better ways of being more competitive, the company will have no incentive to move our jobs overseas.”
Instead what you hear is “We deserve better from GM. We are overworked & underpaid. It’s unfair for GM to accept lower cost medical coverage for its employees. It’s all management’s fault. They would rather pay someone in China or Mexico a dollar an hour instead of paying us a living wage. It’s so unfair. We’re getting screwed after all we’ve done for them. Wah-wah-wah-wah-friggin-wah!
The fact of the matter is, companies don’t have to put up with this bullshit overseas. They let supply and demand set employee wages. Yes, they are going to pay as little as possible for employees who can do the job properly. That is Economics 101 people. It is also common business sense. Don’t pay any more than you have too. Isn’t that why you go to the cheapest gas station? Why pay more than you have to?
Answer me this. How is it that the Japanese and the German auto manufacturers are able to build assembly plants in the United States and manufacture higher quality vehicles for less money than us Americans? It’s because they are far more efficient. They don’t pay employees $73 an hour in wages & benefits for a job that the market thinks is worth $30 an hour combined.
You union guys need to get a grip.
GM doesn’t owe you a high paying job. America doesn’t owe you a high paying job. If you want a high paying job, why not increase your skills to a point where a company will gladly pay you the amount you think you deserve. This is exactly what every other non-union American has to do. Oh – that’s right. You don’t think you should ever have to learn anything new. I forgot. It’s the government’s fault for not forcing GM to do this or do that. It’s the republican’s fault. The government shouldn’t allow them to move any jobs out of this country.
Don’t worry little guy. Mommy and daddy government will take care of little snookums. They don’t want their little darling’s feeling to get hurt if they have to try to compete for a good job.