GM to be focus of 60 Minutes tonight
Tonight, 60 Minutes will air a segment on Steve
Kroft’s interview with workers at General Motors' plant in Janesville, Wisconsin. Kroft, a correspondent for CBS,
interviewed former and current employees of the plant at a nearby restaurant. He questions them about the
automaker’s past and current financial situations; and how it will affect Janesville and the United Auto Workers.
"Almost everyone in Janesville either works for GM or has a relative or family member that does,"
Kroft says in a voice-over during the program.
Information on what channels the segment will air can be
found at the link.
[Source: Gazette Extra]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
John 5:38PM (4/02/2006)
I think it's a good thing that 60 Minutes is doing this... there's a negative stigma on Unions that all people involved in them are lazy, useless, irrational, stupid, etc.
Hopefully, this will help people realize that a UAW auto worker is most likely just going to be another hard-working American that likes their work and wants to work.
It could be that the UAW adds a layer of overhead that isn't viable in the long term, but it's not to say that all people involved in the UAW are out to destroy the entire auto industry. A few bad apples have tained the pool of hard working people that continue to work and make cars.
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Grumpy 5:50PM (4/02/2006)
I think it's a good thing that 60 Minutes is doing this... people need to understand that that a majority of older union members truly ARE lazy, useless, irrational, stupid, selfish, uneducated, etc.
Hopefully, this will help people realize that a UAW auto worker is part of what's wrong with the auto industry in America, and they have to go.
It's a certainty that the UAW adds a layer of overhead that isn't viable in the long term, and within the next two years they will certainly destroy the entire auto industry. The old saying about "a few bad apples" doesn't apply here. If you vote for or participate in a union, you are a huge part of the problem, and you deserve what you get.
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Leo 6:03PM (4/02/2006)
I hope CBS will expose that moronic, "it's not OUR fault they gave us all that money" argument we keep hearing from UAW members.
The no union plants are doing well in America and their workers are getting great pay and benefits. At the same time ALL the UAW plants are struggling. Maybe they'll explain that one on 60 minutes.
Of course, the entire 60 Minutes crew is made up of union members (required), so I'm not sure we'll get the honest story.
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Sam Jones III 6:15PM (4/02/2006)
As a retired autoworker, son of a retired autoworker, I feel the unionized workers are gettting a bad rap regarding the problems at GM. One would think the oil embargo of the '70swould have taught GM a few lessons but by the 1990's GM again convinced the American Public that large SUV's and Hummers were safe, sexy, and good for the future of the country. (Where is GM's Hybrid?)
Autoworkers like myself had no say in these decisions. While we gave concessions of wage increases and holidays in the 1980's to help turn the industry around, executives continued to draw obscene salaries and bonuses. Stockholders continued and continue to receive dividends. (How many companies in such dire straights pay dividends at all?)
With the growth of unions, post W.W.II wages and living conditions imporved not only for unionized workers but also the non-unionized workforce. As the power of unions shrank along with membership roles (some of that the union leadership's own fault) wage rates and benefits throughout the country have shrunk. Is this just a coincidence? Waiting for corporations to trickle down their profits will continue to sink this great countries workforce into the third world.
I feel the American Auto industry can turn itself around but not buy blaming its workforce and continuing to build gas guzzling SUV's. We should be focusing on developing energy independence and that can begin with the Auto Industry focusing its energy on building alternative vehicles.
Taking benefits away from workers that have them is not progess. Yes healthcare is costly, but GM did not care when they were making billions per year on high profit margin vehicles. They were not at the forefront demanding National Health Care. Once again the workers are being blamed for a lack of planning on the corporations part. 46,000,000 people are uninsured in the U.S. today, many of them working. Taking healthcare away from those that do have it is not going to solve this problem.
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Jay 9:15PM (4/02/2006)
I watched the segment, and the program didn't really add too much to what those of us who follow the auto industry already knows. It focused mainly on the labor cost issue and what the situation could mean to the American economy.
There was one point, however, where Bob Lutz showed a reporter a room full of upcoming Cadillac models all draped under sheets...there were some interesting shapes hidden underneath. One that looked very low and long, much like the Sixteen concept. One car had an XLR-ish back end but it seemed to sit much higher. There was a crossover/wagon with a dramatically-tapered rear end. Lutz did pull up the drapes on the front corner of a sedan (maybe a CTS or STS replacement), and it looked extremely sharp. Very much inspired by the Sixteen concept, but with more chrome applied in a very tasteful manner. Just that little bit revealed an impressive world-class design that dramatically refined the Art-and-Science look. There was also a mock-up of an interior that looked nothing like one I'd seen on a Caddy before. While the camera didn't get too close, it looked vastly improved compared to what is currently out there.
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Brian W 10:24PM (4/02/2006)
"The non union plants are doing well in America and their workers are getting great pay and benefits. At the same time ALL the UAW plants are struggling. Maybe they'll explain that one on 60 minutes."
The reason the non union plants get what they have is because of unions. Do you really think they would get all that down south before unions? You always forget that part!
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Leo 10:42PM (4/02/2006)
I knew I could count on loyal union aploigist Brian Whiner to use the second most tiresome argument why unions aren't dead already. Based on your theory, every trade or profession for which there's no union pressure is making minimum wage right now. LOL
That's so stupid it's funny. The exact opposite is working its way out right now... there is a market value for everything, and everything that is priced above that market value is closing up shop. Welcome to the global economy and quit crying!
BTW: How many greasy haired, tatooed, numbskulls do you think CBS filtered through before they found those civilized union guys they interviewed? I'm guessing hundreds.
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John 11:38PM (4/02/2006)
I grew up in Kansas and am now in Indiana. I've known many UAW workers who aren't the ignorant fools that Leo seems to invision. Similarly, Grumpy makes it sound like a person who works at an automotive plant can do so without joining the UAW. Many people at UAW facilities grew up in those towns, and that's where they are hoping to remain. To them, there is nothing wrong with having a job assembling cars in middle-town America.
I think there is vast consensus that the union overhead is unsustainable in the long run. Additionally, there exist people to take advantage of their union status to work at a less-than-stellar level. Unfortunately, as the 60 Minutes segment indicated, the "promises" made to previous employees still weigh heavily for GM. Even if the easy solution batted about is for them to file bankruptcy, that leaves a great many good, hard working Americans in a horrible situation.
I find it troubling that there seems to be very few people able to see both sides to the issue regarding the state of the American Auto Industry. The two prevailing camps are represented by very loud positions. Either the American workers are ignorant, dumb, and inefficient, or the American comapies is ignorant, dumb, and inefficient. The first contention places the blame on poor structuring of unions, and the latter asserts that if the corporation didn't have their heads up their asses, then the company would be fine.
It's just unfortunate that those who seek to find a middle-ground road are met with the loud, inflexible views from either side. Not all American workers are idiots who take advantage of GM, and the business that GM is in may have a hurdle that cannot be solved without reform of its labor policies.
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s 12:19AM (4/03/2006)
The car that was partly shown was obviously based on the Cadillac 16. I can't see it being the STS because it just came out in 2005. The CTS need a serious redesign. The car shown had a huge grill like the Chrysler 300. Look good. I wonder if this could be at the NYC Auto show.
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Rene Curry 12:48AM (4/03/2006)
The union demands in the past were easy to accept because the big three basically had equal costs. Globalization and competition have changed all that.
It should be the unions goal to maintain the highest level of benefits/pay for their members. That is their job and that is a good thing.
In exchange the union should be working with the automakers and their members to do everything possible to improve productivity, quality, and costs. To make the work force the best in the industry to justify the higher costs. That is what should have been brought to the table with Delphi. I didn't hear anything like that, did you?
Our government is not dealing with the trade and currency issues at hand. This coupled with the unions failure to embrace improving the workforce spells trouble for both the automaker and it's workers.
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ATW 4:22AM (4/03/2006)
While there are some good points here I think many of your aren't looking at the big picture. The reason why labor costs are "unsustainable" is because the US is the only industrialized nation without universal health care. In the year 2000 we spent a full 13% of our entire GNP on health care (44% more than Switzerland - the nation that had the next-highest per capita healthcare costs) but we still have over 40 million citizens with no health insurance at all.
This is why healthcare plans get more and more expensive (I know mine has) while benefits decrease. This is also why an increasing number of foreign automakers are choosing to build plants in Canada instead of the USA. We need universal health care. Until we put a universal healthcare system in place the situation will get worse and worse. Prescription drug costs, health plan premiums and hospital bills will continue to spiral out of control and more Americans will do without. And all of these costs are the reason so many union contracts have become so expensive. When they were negotiated they were sustainable but the situation has changed. But the GOP-controlled Congress isn't going to take bold action with the powerful pharmaceutical drug industry calling the shots.
It is a national disgrace that our infant mortality rate is still so high. It is a national disgrace that there are millions of children in this nation with no healthcare whatsoever.
And I must say that it troubles me a great deal that so many people have so much hostility towards the unions. When did making enough money to take care of your family and live comfortably become so hated? I've come to the conclusion that it's just jealously - disliking someone else because they are getting a better deal. I see it all the time - especially in NYC when the transit union went on strike. American workers shouldn't have to settle for less than they need to survive for our companies to compete. And American consumers shouldn't buy products made in countries where workers are exploited. That doesn't just apply to cars either.
ATW (NYC)
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Puff Chippy 9:00AM (4/03/2006)
If you have paid vacations, paid sick days, a five day work week and any kind of employer sponsored healthcare then thank a union. If you think all of what workers have today would have magically appeared without unions you need to go back to school and study history a little bit before throwing out the oft repeated 'market' manta of those who know just enough economic buzz words to make them look foolish. There's a little bit more to it than that.
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Richard Warren 9:08AM (4/03/2006)
It was a pretty good piece.
But all anti-union bunch need to watch this movie:
Mardi Gras: Made in China
It's about the working conditions, and pay in China and the company that makes the beads for Mardi Gras.
What it shows is what we are really facing regarding cometition and why it's not fair competition at all and if you watch this and don't get it, then you really need to get your heads out of your asses and get ready for the competition to take your jobs.
Well Grumpy, in my travels around this country and others, I've seen a lot of truly lazy, greedy, useless and selfish,moronic Non Union workers. And I've seen a lot supposed educated people who don't have a clue.
So you want hard working, productive employees, OK watch the movie, caught talking while working, 1 weeks pay docked, socializing during breaks, 1 months pay docked. You'll like your take home pay too 62 dollars a month (and yes, that's good for them) but there is no way America can compete with that. By the way those beads used to be made here, and take a look at peoples faces when they see where those beads came from and how they were made at Mardi Gras. And you even get to live ther at the plant, yep, can't love outside, you get to live there.
#5 put it well, if you don't get where your benfit package was originally molded from (unuions) you better take a histroy less and get educated.
If you think the unuion is the problems ask yourself why virtually every countries auto workers are union. But of course. "that's different" then factor in what nearly every business will tell you, it's not the wages, it's the medical, then take your blinders off and see that we, yes, we are the only country that does not have some type of medical plan at a national level the automatically gives other countries workers an advantage in pricing.
So #2 what do you do for a living? Please tell us so we can determine just how lazy, useless, irrational, stupid, selfish, uneducated, etc you are.
A couple of questions to all of you,
What do you care what a union member makes?
Why should you be concerned what type of medical or retirement a union member gets?
The same could go for non union, what do you care, why should it matter to you?
Most want a car with style and great content cheap,a forever warranty, and if that was happening, you'd care less where it was made.
Lee Iacocca knew what you wanted, "The average buyer want's an Imperial at the same price as a base K-car"
Here is what I think, union workers stood up for better wages, vacations, safety, medical are getting more than you and your jealous. Know why? Because most of just go along and accept what's offered. It's OK, No, it's not.
And an aside the next story was about Americans working more hours than ever, taking work with them on vactions, etc and guess what? American productivity has fallen, except,and I repeat except in most American manufacturing plants, including auto plants which have higer productivity than many of the Asian and European plants.
Once again for the record, not union, self employed with 10 employees, going to 11 soon.
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steve s 9:43AM (4/03/2006)
I think many here would agree that unions at one point were necessary. Unions to a certain degree can still be useful it depends on how they are run. The job of a union is not to coerce high benefit and pay through work stoppage/mafia style threats. When someone has little or no chance to be fired and their pay is not based on their performance then there is little incentive to do your best. Its the same with when people talk about government employees. I know a ton of government employees that work hard and but in extra time (no overtime usually) and do the best they can but I also see slackers since pay is based on seniority instead of performance. Well that is finally changing and Im glad to see it.
There is no reason to have pensions anymore; your retirement should be your responsibility. I dont expect a damn thing from the government or my job for my retirement; Ill invest in my 401k and take care of myself. Same goes for healthcare, the company should pay some as a benefit and you pay the rest.
When GM goes down its going to take the good UAW employees down too so maybe they should decide to speak up before they are all out of work.
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naif 10:19AM (4/03/2006)
There are way to many people that think the union is creating the demise of GM. Did the part of 60 minutes go un-noticed where Lutz admits that the bean counters are responsible for GMs problems. Its product, product product. No product, nothing for the bean counters to count, no GM.
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Mike 10:24AM (4/03/2006)
#12, Steve S..... you took the words out of my mouth. Our regional transportation district here went on strike starting today. RTD offered bus and light rail drivers EXACTLY what the union had asked for, and they still turned it down.
I do agree that there was a time and a place for unions. For the most part (read: generalization with FEW exceptions), that time and place has passed.
In the case of the UAW, the union has been able to eliminate ALL market forces from determining wages and benifits. The have a monopoly over the control of the workers and therefore can set the wages and benifits as they see fit. The Unions (not the people working under the union) are the rats on the ship that chewed a large hole in the hull. They are the reason GM is sinking; and rather than work with the company to try to save heir jobs and improve the comapny, they are simply tightening the nuse[sp?].
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steve s 10:29AM (4/03/2006)
naif,
And did you miss the part where legacy costs are making GM unprofitable thereby causing the demise of GM?
What else is GM known for in th epast, unreliability, where does unreliability come from? Poor design and the assembly line. Everyone is to blame, management appears willing to make a change the union is not so where do you think the problem is?
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Richard Warren 2:34PM (4/03/2006)
#14 Yes, I caught that comment and it's true. That when GM was in the 50's 60's and early 70's the designers held the power and the bean counters made it work out.
By far one of the best comments made on GM's plight.
#13 The whole incentive thing. Well, let's try this. why do you have to be PAID TO DO A GOOD JOB? Your job, union or non-union is to do the best job you can for an employer, and it's real easy to understand, it's a matter of PRIDE IN YOURSELF.
How many folks here hate seeing a car salesman? Why, well, lets be real honest, they are working on INCENTIVE, to make the most money. Did you catch that? INCENTIVE. But, "That's different they try to screw me" sorry, it's not.
Just because a union is involved does not mean you have a forever job, Ah, just ask the Delphi employees. Most union contracts will let you terminate anyone, if you follow the proper procedures laid out in the contract.
They usually work out something like this, verbal warning, in employee file, 1st, 2nd, 3rd warning written and you're out. The problem is MANAGEMENT that does not and piss poor documentation. When I managed 9 stores I was also on the union grievence commitee from the management side. I was called for every meeting. Why? Because I was tough but fair. Know how many times I had to vote for the bad employee? Too many! Why because the managers did such a crap job of documentation.
In all the years I managed I only went to arbitration twice in our own stores for firings, that was upheld, because of proper documentation including photgraphs of the offendig situations and work. And yes the union guys said, yep, had it coming.
There is a way to reward union employees over and above it's called overscale, while it's not used very often it is avaliable. It's used in the trade unions quite a bit.
#16 Actually, the unions if you were watching are agreeing to change and in the last medical cut backs asked for they gave up and the vote was about 85% to make the changes. Someting else Steve, during the years the majority of problems I saw in the rpair end were not from assembly, but from poor engineering. Keep in mind the dealerships see the car in a more raw state than most customers, while doing the PDI (pre delivery inspection) I've seen it all and truly the majority of the problem is design, not assembly, then keep in mind how much of the assembly is automated. Folks have the view that it's so much hand work involved, in reality it's not. The crummy low cost parts? That's a management decision, to roll the cars out the line with known problems, that's the plant managers decision. Oh that ties into the other comments, INCENTIVE, well the INCENTIVE for the plant manger is to shove the product out. NOTE, not quality product, just product. So who has the most INCENTIVE to shove it out? Sorry, that would be mangement, not union.
Think about if all your ideas regarding union workers is correct, why would you send out a lot of poorly assembled product when you could work on one car all day and have a perfect product, including all the repair you made to poorly engineed parts? What's your motive for being productive at all? You get paid the same to work on one or a 100 cars a day.
Do some reading, you might just be surprised at the education the average assembly line worker has in America and how while the Japanese have put a shiny happy face on what goes on in their plants, it's interesting to find what REALLY goes on in the plants, you can start with these:
Working for the Japanese: Inside Mazda's American Auto Plant.
The Global Assembly Line New Day Films
On the Line at Subaru-Isuzu: The Japanese Model and the American Worker.
Occupational Trends: Education, Technology, Trade, and Corporate Restructuring
Visit here:
http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/~lombardi/edudocs/workersUnivchron.html
I'm neither pro or anti union, just anti- bullshit and antiquated sterotyping.
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Leo 2:46PM (4/03/2006)
#18- Dick, talk about antiquated ideas and BS:
"Working for the Japanese: Inside Mazda's American Auto Plant" was published in 1990!
"The Global Assembly Line" was done in 1986!
And the link you provide is over six years old. C'mon dude, post something relevant to the topic. You ARE VERY biased and it insults our intelligence that you try to convince us otherwise.
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George 2:54PM (4/03/2006)
Richard Warren. Those documents you post are not only very old, they are thinly disguised union propeganda. How dare you assert that you are unbiased.
What a moron!
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