Delphi Backs Off Threat To Unions

[Guest Josh]

Delphi Corporation on Monday backed off a threat to cancel union contracts if no agreement on concessions is reached by mid-December. A Delphi spokesman says the decision was prompted by "progress made with GM," Delphi's biggest parts customer, toward helping Delphi climb out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

At the same time, November sales figures show U.S. carmakers struggling to keep up with last year's numbers. Edmunds.com forecasts Chrysler will finish the month with new car sales up nine percent, Ford down eight percent, and GM up one percent. But Japanese carmaker Toyota appears to be heading to an improvement over last November of 14 percent.

"For 73 years, General Motors was the number one carmaker in the world," says UB School of Management professor Dr. Nallen Suresh. "There's a serious possibility now of Toyota becoming the number one automaker in the world."

Suresh says, "We need a new Henry Ford to come up with a new way of manufacturing." Delphi Corporation pegs its pay and benefits package at $65 an hour per worker, as does its main parts customer General Motors.

"Wage rates are simply too high comnpared to the India/China wage rate," Suresh tells us. Manufacturing in China pays $3 an hour in salary and benefits. "Three dollars an hour is really a good salary for a Chinese worker for what it can buy in China," he says.

And when you buy an American car, upwards of $1500 of the price goes for auto workers' health insurance. Toyota's health costs are $201 per car in North America, and just $97 in Japan.
Suresh says, "Just as we talk about restructuring the manufacturing industry, we need to restructure the health care industry itself."

Full Story: http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=33490

[Guest Josh]

"Wage rates are simply too high comnpared to the India/China wage rate," Suresh tells us. Manufacturing in China pays $3 an hour in salary and benefits. "Three dollars an hour is really a good salary for a Chinese worker for what it can buy in China," he says.

Full Story: http://www.wgrz.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=33490

[post="49944"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Here are people applauding $3 an hour. It's sickening.

[thegriffon]

Err, that's partly why everyone complains the exchange rate is too low. Effectively they are paid more, but the exchange rate makes it look as if they aren't.

[razoredge]

All these butt heads, the economists, stock traders, government and corporate decision makers knew they were going to throw the working class in this country into turmoil with their global bullshit

They want us all to know everything will be alright as soon as the rest of the world raises to our (former) standards, 6 generations or so from now.

Behold the heads of the traitors

[thegriffon]

If you don't want to be thought of as an ass, stop braying like one (that goes for Suresh too). Wage costs are high, but that is not GM's problem (even though Suresh may get paid less than a GM worker with overtime). It is high fixed costs such as the jobs bank and healthcare. GM is increasing production in India, China and looking at buying another plant in Romania to build Chevrolets, but none of that is to replace workers cut in North America. It's all about satisfying demand in local markets and making life hard for Toyota. Who was in charge while GM engineered this global renaissance? Oh yeah it was Wagoner. Give some credit for what he's done, and stop expecting him to roll back the sea.

[razoredge]

So "global economics" is putting our wages in the dumpster, Im pissed off about it and therefore am braying like an ass ? OK, must be because ? everything is fine and dandy at your house ?

I dont know what it is nobody seems to understand about this. Nothing produced in America or N America I should say can compete in this so called "global economy". Our cost of living is way to high and everyone not effected by it is smugly sitting and saying to bad suckers, you now have to compete with 3rd world wages. You know step back in time 50 years, while real estate, insurance, regulations, healthcare, school and property taxes, building materials, ect. ect. have in the past 5 years jumped forward a few decades in inflation.

So you say Im an ass ? for what? pointing this out and saying bullshit ?

OK fine, ass away

I have hopes that N. American GM and Ford can survive this and continue to employ real Americans at decent standards of living but I feel the truth is we are just going to continue to watch a slow economic death of this part of our socioty as we lower ourselfs to 3rd world standards to please the know it alls.

Its a real global economy alright, we are the ones spending the money, the rest of the world collects it.