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George, I'm sure local politics have a lot to do with wages being paid. VW likes to make a buck like anyone. But I'm sure they are willing to pay more, it's the Mexican authorities that are taxing those wages. In other words VW is probably paying good money for that labor and much of it going to corrupt Mexican authorities. Much worse than any union.
There's always an excuse isn't there?
In your OP you're trying to say that VW is the most profitable car company in the world in spite of/because they are paying their union workers double what American workers make. You posted a video from ONE plant VW owns, but the problem is that they own plants all over the WORLD - and the MAJORITY of everything they make/assemble is produced at low-wage plants.
You've just had that entire premise blown out of the water, so why not hang it up?
In all things there needs to be balance. One needs only to read The Jungle to know why unions are so important. But one needs only to look at most American Cities to see what happens when public-employee unions run amok. It's BALANCE that is needed.
I go out of my way to use NON-UNION companies. For example, I have a retail website and I always use FedEx to ship. If given the choice, when I order supplies I select FedEx even if it's a few pennies more expensive, which in most cases, it's a few pennies less.
What do you think is a fair starting wage for a job that doesn't require any higher education or specialty training?
Did you watch the video? These workers have to be highly trained, just like the people who set up and calibrate the robotics ect. All computer and electronics.
It's just nice to see that a great country like Germany, who will be the #1 country in the world very soon knows that it's smart to pay your workers well and take care of them.
Of course they are building plants all over the world, they cannot build all the cars in Germany, imagine the shipping costs.
But it's ridiculous to think that even though they are willing to pay the wage, they cannot pay a wage 3 times what everyone else is paying in a town like Chattanooga and expect a good business climate for themselves.
The wages mean nothing to them. They want to sell the cars and they want to build them close to where they sell them, it's simple German efficiency.
$15.00 per hour does not even meet Henry Ford's goal of paying his workers enough to be able to afford the car they are building. $15.00 per hour is a ridiculous wage, especially for building cars. That's not on VW, that's on the TN workers who should be educated. You cannot pay rent, buy food and buy the cheapest VW on $15.00 an hour and anyone who thinks that is an adequate wage is a moron.
Did you watch the video? These workers have to be highly trained, just like the people who set up and calibrate the robotics ect. All computer and electronics.
It's just nice to see that a great country like Germany, who will be the #1 country in the world very soon knows that it's smart to pay your workers well and take care of them.
Of course they are building plants all over the world, they cannot build all the cars in Germany, imagine the shipping costs.
But it's ridiculous to think that even though they are willing to pay the wage, they cannot pay a wage 3 times what everyone else is paying in a town like Chattanooga and expect a good business climate for themselves.
The wages mean nothing to them. They want to sell the cars and they want to build them close to where they sell them, it's simple German efficiency.
$15.00 per hour does not even meet Henry Ford's goal of paying his workers enough to be able to afford the car they are building. $15.00 per hour is a ridiculous wage, especially for building cars. That's not on VW, that's on the TN workers who should be educated. You cannot pay rent, buy food and buy the cheapest VW on $15.00 an hour and anyone who thinks that is an adequate wage is a moron.
No, I didn't watch the video, nor do I care to. Are the workers in TN also "highly skilled" with backgrounds in robotics, computers, and engineering? I would venture to say the vast majority of auto workers on assembly lines do not have advanced education.
According to City Data, the average median household income in Chatanooga falls in line with $15/hour wage.
Quote:
Estimated median household income in 2009: $35,333
...and that's not single wage earners, it's combined household income.
No, I didn't watch the video, nor do I care to. Are the workers in TN also "highly skilled" with backgrounds in robotics, computers, and engineering? I would venture to say the vast majority of auto workers on assembly lines do not have advanced education.
According to City Data, the average median household income in Chatanooga falls in line with $15/hour wage.
...and that's not single wage earners, it's combined household income.
I would imagine if they are going to do things the VW way they will have to be.
35K a year average? I make that myself by memorial day (I'm union) and that's not including OT. And my company makes a ton of money. Again, those people need to be educated.
I would imagine if they are going to do things the VW way they will have to be.
35K a year average? I make that myself by memorial day (I'm union) and that's not including OT. And my company makes a ton of money. Again, those people need to be educated.
MAYBE, that's all you need to make in that area to live decently.
Not all areas of the country require you make 200K a year to enjoy a good life. Some areas have a lower cost of living, and with a lower cost of living, a lower wage provides the same standard of living that you have.
Personally, I don't make much more than 35K a year, I own a home, have paid for my vehicle and my daughter's, and can afford the things I want. I eat well, my family and I go out now and then for nice meals, such as the sushi dinner we are planning this evening.
I would imagine if they are going to do things the VW way they will have to be.
35K a year average? I make that myself by memorial day (I'm union) and that's not including OT. And my company makes a ton of money. Again, those people need to be educated.
Salaries are all relative to where you live. And I'm sure you live in a higher cost of living area too. Not to mention, many union employees are grossly overpaid. My brother in-law makes well in excess of $90K/year as a union pipefitter with no college whatsoever. Even he thinks it's crazy that he makes more money than many college grads. Hell, he didn't even finish high school but got his GED.
So, should employees with no higher education earn higher than the average wage in a given area? What do you think? I don't think so.
I don't know anyone who hates union workers. Its the union leadership and management that needs to be stripped of their power.
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