Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Truck driver shortage means a longer wait for your packages]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/03/truck-driver-shortage-means-a-longer-wait-for-your-packages/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/03/truck-driver-shortage-means-a-longer-wait-for-your-packages/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/03/truck-driver-shortage-means-a-longer-wait-for-your-packages/#commentsFiled under: ,

semi truck driver

The news may be flooded with stories about the lagging U.S. economy and disappointing jobs reports, but it appears there is at least one profession that could use a few more applicants. USA Today reports that there is a genuine shortage of truck drivers, and the problem is leading to pricier deliveries and longer waits on packages.

There are plenty of reasons for the driver shortage, with a raft of retiring baby boomers and the $4,000 to $6,000 price for a six-week training course being among the main culprits. Another potential issue is a requirement for trucking companies to publish their safety records, which has reportedly led to some companies looking only for drivers with clean records. And the problem could become worse in the next year as the federal government enacts strict federal limits on the time drivers can spend behind the wheel of a big rig.

The good news is that drivers at least 21 years of age have plenty of opportunities for employment. Pay has gone up as well, with compensation jumping five percent year-over-year to an average of $50,000 per year. And with pay jumping that fast, a few thousand dollars worth of training becomes more of an investment.

Truck driver shortage means a longer wait for your packages originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>driverhiringjobrigsemisemi drivertrucktruck driverwagesTue, 03 Jul 2012 08:27:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20266919/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/07/03/truck-driver-shortage-means-a-longer-wait-for-your-packages/20266919/article-detail.xml 20266919 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/07/truck-driver_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/07/truck-driver.jpg <![CDATA[Marchionne: Two-tier wage structure untenable]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/28/marchionne-two-tier-wage-structure-untenable/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/28/marchionne-two-tier-wage-structure-untenable/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/10/28/marchionne-two-tier-wage-structure-untenable/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Sergio MarchionneChrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has said that he hopes to end the automaker's two-tier wage structure in the company's next round of labor talks with the United Auto Workers. According to Automotive News, Marchionne said that the current system creates two classes of workers and that it isn't viable in the long term.

The CEO went on to say that the program is currently undermining efforts to make Chrysler and Fiat work together as a single entity. Ideally, Chrysler would have a single wage set that recognizes the level of worker involvement in generating profits for the company.

As Automotive News reminds us, domestic manufacturers won the right to pay entry-level workers a lower wage in 2007. UAW President Bob King has already made waves about doing away with the two-tier pay system, and Marchionne says that his views are consistent with those of the union leader. King said that the union originally left a one-tier system to help save domestic automakers, but now that Ford, General Motors and Chrysler are beginning to look healthy once again, workers want equal pay.

Marchionne: Two-tier wage structure untenable originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bob kingchrysler wagesmarchionnesergio marchionnetwo-tier wagesuawunited auto workerswagesFri, 28 Oct 2011 18:31:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20093157/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/10/28/marchionne-two-tier-wage-structure-untenable/20093157/article-detail.xml 20093157 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/10/sergio-marchionne-250_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/10/sergio-marchionne-250.jpg <![CDATA[REPORT: Next Chrysler CEO salary capped at $500,000]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/05/report-next-chrysler-ceo-salary-capped-at-500-000/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/05/report-next-chrysler-ceo-salary-capped-at-500-000/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/05/report-next-chrysler-ceo-salary-capped-at-500-000/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



The next chief executive of Chrysler will be tasked with bringing the company out of bankruptcy, restructuring into a profitable business, repaying government loans (if and when they do so at all), integrating Fiat technology and retaining jobs wherever possible. Oh, and he or she will have to do it all on no more than $500,000 a year. This according to the latest reports, based on new Treasury Department regulations.

In receiving funds from the $700 billion financial industry bail-out coffers, Chrysler becomes one of the first companies to fall under new regulations outlined by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner (pictured above) that stipulate chief executives of any firms receiving said funding can't receive compensation exceeding the half-million mark. And not just the chief executive, either, but the top 25 suits in the company. The regulations don't limit the executives from receiving stock options, but with Chrysler's shares being split between Fiat, the UAW and the Canadian and U.S. federal governments, there aren't any shares to go around to offer the cut-rate execs. And to compound things, the executives have to agree to waive the right to sue the government for cutting their wages. The regulations further state that the recipient of the funds (i.e. Chrysler) is barred from owning or leasing private jets, so Fiat executives flying from Turin to Detroit will have to pay their own way. However, the regulations are ambiguous when it comes to payment for second jobs: in other words, who can say if Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne would be capped at $500k overall if he took the helm at Chrysler, as well?

[Source: Detroit Free Press | Image Source: Win McNamee/Getty]

REPORT: Next Chrysler CEO salary capped at $500,000 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 May 2009 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ceochief executiveChiefExecutivechryslerchrysler ceochrysler chief executiveChryslerCeoChryslerChiefExecutiveexecutive salariesexecutive salaryExecutiveSalariesExecutiveSalaryregulationsstock optionsStockOptionstreasury departmentTreasuryDepartmentwagesTue, 05 May 2009 16:58:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1537220/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/05/05/report-next-chrysler-ceo-salary-capped-at-500-000/1537220/article-detail.xml 1537220 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/geithner_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/geithner.jpg <![CDATA[Bill Ford and Alan Mullaly vow to take 30% pay cuts]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/25/bill-ford-and-alan-mullaly-vow-to-take-30-pay-cuts/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/25/bill-ford-and-alan-mullaly-vow-to-take-30-pay-cuts/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/02/25/bill-ford-and-alan-mullaly-vow-to-take-30-pay-cuts/#commentsFiled under: , ,



The day after Ford and the UAW reached a tentative retiree health care deal (General Motors and Chrysler are still negotiating), the leaders of the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker have announced that they will be taking a 30 percent reduction in salaries over the next two years. A memo, signed by Ford Executive Chairman William Ford Jr. and Chief Executive Alan Mulally, addresses the pay cuts and adds that Ford's board of directors will also drop their compensation for the same period of time. In addition, performance bonuses for salaried workers and senior executives will also disappear.

As reiterated in the memo, Ford and Mulally are not wavering from their plan to go without government assistance and these recent announcements support that strategy. "We know these are challenging times and we all are affected by the tough actions we are taking... However, these are necessary actions to help us emerge as an even stronger, profitably growing Ford Motor Company for the benefit of us all." Thanks for the tip Adam!

[Source: WSJ.com | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty]

Bill Ford and Alan Mullaly vow to take 30% pay cuts originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>alan mulallyalan mullalyAlanMulallyAlanMullalyCEOFordincomepay cutPayCutreducesalary reductionSalaryReductionwageswilliam ford jr.WilliamFordJr.Wed, 25 Feb 2009 10:29:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1470765/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2009/02/25/bill-ford-and-alan-mullaly-vow-to-take-30-pay-cuts/1470765/article-detail.xml 1470765 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/02/mullally-and-bill-ford-getty-580_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/02/mullally-and-bill-ford-getty-580.jpg <![CDATA[U of M Economics professor tackles tough question of UAW wages]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/13/u-of-m-economics-professor-tackles-tough-question-of-uaw-wages/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/13/u-of-m-economics-professor-tackles-tough-question-of-uaw-wages/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/07/13/u-of-m-economics-professor-tackles-tough-question-of-uaw-wages/#commentsFiled under: , ,


UPDATE: Link to source finally added. Our bad.


A tip sent us to the blog of Dr. Mark J. Perry, professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan, who points out that hourly union workers at the Big 3 make on average 57.6% more in a year than a university professor with a Ph.D. Using figures from the automakers themselves, Dr. Perry tells us that a union worker at Ford makes $141,020/year including wages and benefits. A worker at General Motors makes $146,520/year and one at Chrysler earns $151,720/year. According to another report he cites, the average annual salary for a college professor in 2006 was $92,973, which happens to be close to the $96,000/year a Honda, Nissan or Toyota worker makes in the U.S.

Why trot out all these numbers? It's clear that upcoming negotiations between the Big 3 and UAW will likely yield concessions in both wages and healthcare costs. They have to if the U.S. auto industry is to survive. Dr. Perry references those who say the concessions must be "transformational", and to illustrate what that means, he suggests that Union workers would have to accept a wage equal to that of a college professor with a Ph.D.

We get that union auto workers are overpaid, we really do. Dr. Perry, however, seems to imply that there's something inherently wrong with a Ph.D professor making less than a high-school educated auto worker. The wage of a union auto worker, however, should come down because it's artificially high, not because the social order of education dictates that those with Ph.Ds should earn more than those who only finished high school. But hey, maybe we're being too sensitive.

[Source: Carpe Diem]

U of M Economics professor tackles tough question of UAW wages originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Jul 2007 16:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>concessionsDr. Mark J. PerryDr.MarkJ.Perryeconomics and financeEconomicsAndFinancenegotiationsalaryUAWunion auto workerUnionAutoWorkerUniversity of MichiganUniversityOfMichiganwagesFri, 13 Jul 2007 16:32:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/940311/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2007/07/13/u-of-m-economics-professor-tackles-tough-question-of-uaw-wages/940311/article-detail.xml 940311 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/07/wages.bmp_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/07/wages.bmp.jpg <![CDATA[Pair of workers get caught in middle of Toyota vs. UAW]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/02/pair-of-workers-get-caught-in-middle-of-toyota-vs-uaw/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/02/pair-of-workers-get-caught-in-middle-of-toyota-vs-uaw/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/02/pair-of-workers-get-caught-in-middle-of-toyota-vs-uaw/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Two former hourly Toyota employees are denying that they leaked a potentially embarrassing memo pertaining to wages at Toyota's US plants. The document, which came from Seiichi Sudo, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Inc, states that wages are growing faster than Toyota's US profits.

The former Georgetown plant workers, Noel Riddell and Manuel Eade, were fired on February 8 after being accused of circulating the memo. The two workers were suspected, in part because they had shown the memo to management, and both admit to being union supporters. The workers were asked to resign from Toyota, but both refused, instead opting for a peer review of their case. They say that their peers found them to be innocent, but management overruled and fired them anyway. The memo is now being used as a rallying cry for the UAW, which has been hurt by years of declining membership. The memo, which was dated 2006, calls for $300 million in wage cuts in fiscal year 2011, and UAW officials (and most likely some of Toyota's hourly workers) think that means there will be more temporary workers in Toyota's plants, and less full-time hourly workers making $25 per hour.

The UAW has long wanted to unionize non-domestic plants, but to this point there has been little luck. We don't know if this memo will help unionize any Toyota plants, but it will be interesting to see if Toyota continues to expand plants in the US if a worker's union comes as part of the package.

[Source: Automotive News (Sub. Req'd)]

Pair of workers get caught in middle of Toyota vs. UAW originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 02 Apr 2007 10:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>georgetownlaber-strifetoyotauawunionwagesMon, 02 Apr 2007 10:04:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/865084/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2007/04/02/pair-of-workers-get-caught-in-middle-of-toyota-vs-uaw/865084/article-detail.xml 865084 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/04/toyota-logo_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/04/toyota-logo.jpg <![CDATA[Is Delphi's bankruptcy a strategy for growth?]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/24/is-delphis-bankruptcy-a-strategy-for-growth/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/24/is-delphis-bankruptcy-a-strategy-for-growth/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/24/is-delphis-bankruptcy-a-strategy-for-growth/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Could Delphi's bankruptcy be a strategic long-term move by the parts maker? According to Business Week, Delphi has only declared bankruptcy for its U.S. operations-- overseas facilities in Mexico, China and other countries are not affected. If the unions and Delphi don't reach a compromise later this year, and bankruptcy courts approve the company's request to void its union contracts, only 7,000 of the 32,000 union members would be retained. Production would then be shouldered by the overseas facilities where costs like wages and health benefits are considerably less.

Opposition to Delphi's strategy not only included union reps, but several state senators as well. Senator Evan Bayh and Representative John Conyers, Jr. have introduced new legislation to include the oversea facilities for consideration by the bankruptcy courts. But the biggest influence to the supplier's strategy may be General Motors, as a union strike would affect the automaker as well as Delphi.

More analysis can be found at the link.

[Source: Business Week]

Is Delphi's bankruptcy a strategy for growth? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 Apr 2006 06:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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