Comment by KittyAntonikWakfer

Entered on: 11/27/2008 2:29:50 PM

The typical union worker in the US has no concept of producing value, something quite different from Silva dos Santos, 24, employed at the Ford Motor Co.'s Camacari Brazil plant. "[Doing different jobs] gives me a chance to expand my knowledge. (It) makes me a more valuable employee, too, so that I will have a future here." It's this attitude and the thinking and actions of Brazil's auto labor union boss, José Lopez Feijóo, that has been highly instrumental in there being a profitable Ford operation in Brazil. And the fact that many other auto makers have plants in South America where they try out new methods is because the response from (union) workers there is not: "It's not in my job description."

**Kitty Antonik Wakfer

MoreLife for the rational - http://morelife.org
Reality based tools for more life in quantity and quality
Self-Sovereign Individual Project - http://selfsip.org
Self-sovereignty, rational pursuit of optimal lifetime happiness,
individual responsibility, social preferencing & social contracting

Comment by CatherineA

Entered on: 11/27/2008 11:51:54 AM

A friend of mine wrote: "The plant we worked at announced today that they are closing. Guess where they are going? Brazil. We made Visteon and Arvin-Meritor parts for years. They are keeping their destination quiet, but we had a manager from Brazil who has been stealing work out of there for about 4 yrs, and now the bastard is going to get the rest of the business. We were not a union plant, by the way, but the unions in Detroit have destroyed the big 3, in my opinion. They are greedy! Even now, with unemployment in Michigan around 10%, they are saying they will not make wage concessions! They are stupid! Something beats the hell our of nothing! But more greedy than the union are the corporate xecutives who are living high on the hog, and will be able to get even more money if they send all the work to a country where peope are paid peanuts! Severance agreement... we sold our souls for, so that we could continue to pay the bills. Wayne and I lost our jobs almost a year ago, so we are sort of getting over it, but after working in a place for 34 (for him) and 16 (for me) years, it is hard not to feel bitter.
"

Comment by librabbit

Entered on: 11/26/2008 8:02:29 AM

I'm a Ford stockholder, and I say NO BAILOUT. We have got to get the union stranglehold off our auto companies, or we will have no auto companies.
Then, we've got to get the Fed stranglehold off our country, or we will have no country.

Comment by Fascist Nation

Entered on: 11/25/2008 11:46:45 AM

The bottom line -- whether you like it or not -- jobs that can be done by machines should be. Embrace it. Or are you saying you are only capable of performing tasks a machine can do?

Comment by Fascist Nation

Entered on: 11/25/2008 11:43:45 AM

The other comment I would like ot make is: Did you note that assembly line? Five separate models. Individually optioned. Yet, a government equivalent at Denver Airport never ever worked in getting your luggage from one flight to another or the claim area.

Comment by Fascist Nation

Entered on: 11/25/2008 11:40:34 AM

Yes, the Unions would rather have (note past tense) worked for Eastern Airlines, than lose jobs to machines... unfortunately, there are plenty of people around the globe every bit as trainable and good willing to work for less.

And plenty of CONgressmen willing to slap tariffs on imports to keep those goods artificially inflated -- pocketing the difference -- so your wallet gets picked harder than they already pick it.

The free market always succeeds ... and the United States of America is a FASCIST NATION. Suckers!