Originally posted by Trapps:
Originally posted by SquareHead:
Who in their right mind would pay a forklift operator 100K a year? Are you sure you read the info right?



The Big Three via UAW negotiated contracts. It's actually about $70K pay and $30k in benefits. These legacy costs are a big part of what is killing Detroit. The Big 3 should have put their collective feet down 30 years ago and said NFW! Instead the UAW became so powerful and production so important to the OEM's that the UAW got it's way. 30 years late we find our 100K a year fork lift driver with barely a High School education earning more than twice what a 3rd grade teacher makes. He's also making more than most engineers with a college degree and 5 years of experience.

I'm not blaming the unions, or the Fork lift driver. I point squarely at the Big 3 for not having the cajones to stand up to the UAW 30 years ago.

Now look at the repercussions. Every national and regional publicatio I read (outside of SE Michigan say the economy is moving in the right direction. Life in this town is damn scary, dismal and gloomy. Few, and I mean very few, jobs in the Automotive industry are secure - white collar or Blue


Add to our legacy cost problem the problem in the number of QUALITY product offerings from Detroit. Design quality, Manufaturing quality and Materials Quality.

What's happening in Detroit currently is the same old same old. A cycle of in and out, good and bad. The big three need to ditch the cycle and follow a trend. Upwards.

An example is DCX. They were really onto something with design - the Magnum and 300C are fantastic designs. The public ate it up, in spite of traditional powertrain worries. Mercedes helped the manufaturing quality improve and DCX started selling. Now look what DCX has in the pipe - some lamo designs, they paeked and are now riding the downside of the cycle wheel. Ford? Well, they nailed the retro Mustang. (it worked so well that DCX followed with Charger and Challenger, now GM is going to do it even better with the Camaro)
Why did they give us the oh so bland 500. Now the trend in design is moving in the right direction; Fusion/Milan/Zypher and Edge/MKX. To bad they have no power under the hood. GM? Captain Plastic fantastic. The materials used just plain feel cheap. They were onto something with the 16, but failed to follow through. They did nail the Solstice though - on many levels. Design, value, performance all there. Lutz and the Behmoth ARE capable, but it seems in small numbers and GM is not a small company.

The axes are falling as we speak. Good luck to all in SEMI - the ripple effect will suck. IF we survive, I see a bright future here. Just a smaller horizon.




im sure glad i work for a HONDA supplier!

got to add, lets not just say its wrong that a forklift driver gets paid 2x more than a 3rd grade teacher, how bout them pro athletes! Now that really makes me want to puke.

95 Merc Stique Zetec 2.0 Auto