UAW Committed to Organizing Toyota Workers

DETROIT, March 13 (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers union is committed to organizing workers at Toyota Motor Corp.'s (7203.T: Quote (http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/overview.asp?symbol=7203.T&WTmodLoc=HybArt-C1-ArticlePage1), NEWS (http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/companyNews.asp?symbol=7203.T&WTmodLoc=HybArt-C1-ArticlePage1) , Research (http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/analystResearch.asp?symbol=7203.T&WTmodLoc=HybArt-C1-ArticlePage1)) U.S. plants, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said on Tuesday.

"We remain committed to helping Toyota workers form their own union, win the protections of a union contract and continue to be a success," Gettelfinger said in an online dialogue with union members.

UAW, which has a stronghold among U.S. automakers and suppliers, has so far been unsuccessful in its efforts to organize workers at U.S. plants owned by Japanese automakers.
Gettelfinger said leaked documents from Toyota's Georgetown, Ky., plant have led to "increased activity" in organizing at the plant.

The leaked documents, according to newspaper reports, said Toyota is looking at decreasing its labor costs, including wages, to cut expenses.

Continued at link:
http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com: 20070313:MTFH27774_2007-03-13_17-00-17_N13442062&type=comktNews&rpc=44

Unions kick ass.... for union workers. For no one else though.

The UAW ran Ford, GM and Dodge into the ground and now they are looking to do the same to Toyota. I hope they fail.
When you have a good company like Toyota who takes care of its employees, you dont need a union.
Heres another article on this subject: http://www.nyse.com/interface/jsp/NHDetail.jsp?RequestID=2&pageID=NewsHeadlines&sid=ON%2003/13%20498&isdowjones=true
United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Tuesday that the union remains interested in organizing workers at Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) facilities in the U.S. in an effort to help the Japanese auto maker "continue to be a success ." HAHAHAH, gimmie a break. Just like they helped Ford and GM to continue to be a success, right? :rolleyes:

Gettelfinger said the union has a limited relationship with Toyota through a GM/Toyota joint-venture plant operated in California. "The workers there build quality products and they are very productive," Gettelfinger said.
The UAW, which primarily has a presence among domestic auto makers and suppliers in the auto industry, has been unsuccessful in past years in efforts to make inroads at more Toyota plants beyond the GM joint-venture. The UAW has also failed to organize Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) employees despite repeated efforts.

The UAW ran Ford, GM and Dodge into the ground and now they are looking to do the same to Toyota. I hope they fail.
When you have a good company like Toyota who takes care of its employees, you dont need a union.
Heres another article on this subject: http://www.nyse.com/interface/jsp/NHDetail.jsp?RequestID=2&pageID=NewsHeadlines&sid=ON%2003/13%20498&isdowjones=true
HAHAHAH, gimmie a break. Just like they helped Ford and GM to continue to be a success, right? :rolleyes:

Well saying they were going to drive up wages and run the company down, forcing the closing of the plant wouldn't be great incentive for the employees to unionize, would it?

I come from a union(NYC Local 15-Operating Engineers) family, so I see the importance of unions. But the UAW takes it too far, imo.

Unions kick ass.... for union workers. For no one else though.

i thot it only benefitted the head honchos, ie the supermarket strike in CA. they sugarcoated the fact that they didnt accomplish anything

Auto industry buzz is that Chrysler is about to be purchased by a consortium of big financial players. First thing they'll do is lock horns with the UAW to kill the unions. If they don't bend over, the plants will be closed. Watch for blood and gore during this phase. ;)

If the unions fail to maintain their price levels, watch Ford to follow suit with a "if you don't take a cut, we're going Chapter 11"....leaving GM all by their lonesome to hemmorage further.

While it's too bad that big 'ol Magna isn't purchasing Chrysler, it sure will get interesting over the next 3 years!!

i thot it only benefitted the head honchos, ie the supermarket strike in CA. they sugarcoated the fact that they didnt accomplish anything

That's not the UAW... UAW from my experience pays a line worker a lot of money for little work, with great benefits such as health insurance and retirement plans too. There are a lot of unions.. and some do more for the low level employee than others.

CWA is the union for Bellsouth employees. Those guys wouldn't know their head from their ass. Yeah the pay, contract term, and health insurance benefits are great, however, if one thing goes wrong, you lose your job and the union just shuts their door on you. Where's the protection then? They take 2hrs pay each paycheck for union dues and do nothing in return other than what you already get when you start. Mind you, you get paid the same as a non-union worker so what's the point of the union if you don't have a rep, that you're paying don't forget, to represent you in the event of a problem.....

They can't leach off the north americans auto makers anymore (you can't really leach anything off from bones) so now they have to find someone else to leach from. :)

They will not succeed.

Ive personally never worked for a company that had a union, but my parents both work union jobs for over 30 years.
For as long as I can remember they have had only one opinion on unions: all they do is keep the deadbeats around. :dunno:

Ive personally never worked for a company that had a union, but my parents both work union jobs for over 30 years.
For as long as I can remember they have had only one opinion on unions: all they do is keep the deadbeats around. :dunno:


I couldn't agree more. Of course generally speaking deadbeats. I had a friend who worked for UPS and the people (most) he worked with were union, didn't really pull their weight as far as work and they slacked off...of course UPS couldn't fire them well at least not without bitching from the union. I hope the UAW doesn't get involved with Toyota, but I think Toyota knows better, the Big3 case in point. UAW is a desease, a cancer, keep it away!

So true...You want to see someone get fired and re-hired multiple times?!?! This is what happens with a union in place. Talk about leaving a sour taste in the mouth of the rest of the hard working folks who see this and say, "hey, did you hear so-and-so is back, this is the 5th time they re-hired his sorry@ss back after firing him..."

Ive personally never worked for a company that had a union, but my parents both work union jobs for over 30 years.
For as long as I can remember they have had only one opinion on unions: all they do is keep the deadbeats around. :dunno:

Toyota won't really have any say if their workers decide to unionize. All they can do is try to keep their line workers healthy and happy.

The UAW may be looking to exploit the news that Toyota is looking to cut cost while they rake in nearly $1B profit every month. I can imagine that this kind of thing would make some workers angry, especially if they don't understand the reasons behind it.

fire them & hire non union workers.

Toyota won't really have any say if their workers decide to unionize. All they can do is try to keep their line workers healthy and happy.
Not true. Toyota can say they dont want a union and fire anyone who tries to organize a union. Its not as if Toyota mistreats their employees.

The UAW may be looking to exploit the news that Toyota is looking to cut cost while they rake in nearly $1B profit every month. I can imagine that this kind of thing would make some workers angry, especially if they don't understand the reasons behind it.
I could see the UAW spreading all this BS and propaganda about how Toyota is going to cut jobs, cut pay and take away benefits and say, "you know, if you had a union you would be protected and would get so much more pay and benefits".

Not true. Toyota can say they dont want a union and fire anyone who tries to organize a union.

Not true. . . . Under the FEDERAL National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Wagner Act), the NLRA guaranteed workers the right to organize and join labor unions, and to collectively bargain (or select representatives to do so on their behalf). Under this act, employers could not:
1) interfere with the formation of unions
2) interfere with individuals to bargain collectively
3) impose any conditions that encourage or discourage union membership
4) firing or discriminating against any employee that has filed charges or given testimony under the Act
5) refusing to bargain collectively with unions

Later these freedoms were expanded under the Taft-Hartley Act.

So Toyota CAN NOT fire anyone who tries to organize a union, or join a union, or be represented by a union. IT IS ILLEGAL TO DO SO!!!!


I could see the UAW spreading all this BS and propaganda about how Toyota is going to cut jobs, cut pay and take away benefits and say, "you know, if you had a union you would be protected and would get so much more pay and benefits".

And the UAW does not need to spread the propaganda, Toyota's leaked memo of weeks past said that they are "sweating US labor costs" and they feel that they "should strive to align hourly wages more closely with prevailing manufacturing pay in the state where each plant is located and not tie ourselves so closely to the U.S. auto industry, or other competitors."

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070209/BUSINESS/702090434 (http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070209/BUSINESS/702090434)

You can fire anyone you want too... It's been done for far too long.







And aside from that, everyone sweats labor costs. Who gives a fuck?
god that should be my new signature for the NEWS sub-forum lol!

You can fire anyone you want too... It's been done for far too long.

Aww hell, why bother to post facts anymore.... :hammer:

By this logic, you're saying that the Detroit 3 welcomed the formation of the UAW with open arms. Maybe I'm crazy but I wouldn't think so. Recall that Henry Ford broke new ground when he decided to pay his line workers $5 a day. That was a huge salary for the time. Obviously it didn't matter.

I worked in a warehouse during some of my college years and there was a week or so where labor union reps waited just off the property and tried to stop us and talk to us as we came and left. That lasted for a few days, until the HR department sat us all down and played videos discussing why we shouldn't unionize. :lol: That was pretty much the end of it, but they made it very clear in that meeting that they could not, by law, stop us from organizing should we decide to.

Even if it was perfectly legal to fire anyone who decides to form a union.....are you going to fire the staff of your entire plant, shutting down production for weeks or even months while you go through a 2,000 man hiring process and train all these people? How about at several plants at the same time?

Unions are for the lazy and the whiney ass slackers who won't pull their weight. The so called "mistreated" Toyota workers dont realize how fortunate they are. Unions just tie your hands and benefit the fat cats up top. I laugh at all the old fuddyduddies who rock UAW shirts. They have no clue what they're asking for. Bring the union in and next thing you know your job is eliminated or they decide to strike and you're at home barely making ends meet to put food on the table. Just look at the workers at AK Steel. They've been locked out for over a year now. The UAW is a blight upon the American workforce and needs to be eliminated at all costs.

You can fire who you want too... That IS a damned fact.
Just like you can shoot whoever you want too; hang them from the tallest tree in texas. Then cut the tree down & have it fall on a mime.............



unions outlived their usefullness 30-40 years ago.
In the begninning, owners cut costs & drove labor to the point to where there wa a need for a union to re-balance the equation. Now unions are out of control. Get rid of the unions & after X amount of time the cycle will repeate.

Get rid of all unions in all forms of facist states & we'll deal with lower wages & worse benifits later on.

You can fire who you want too... That IS a damned fact.


You remind me of the kid that puts his fingers in his ears and says "lalalalala not listening lalalala" ;)

I'd rather apply the statement to youself. You wrongly assume that everything is done by the book.
http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/publications/magazine/0803_freedom.cfm
Employer Interference by the Numbers
Private-sector employers that illegally fire at least one worker for union activity during organizing campaigns: 25%
Private-sector employers that hire consultants or union-busters to help them fight union organizing drives: 75%
Private-sector employers that force employees to attend one-on-one meetings with their own supervisors against the union: 78%
Private-sector employers that force employees to attend mandatory closed-door meetings against the union: 92%
Private-sector employers that threaten to call the Immigration and Naturalization Service during organizing drives that include undocumented employees: 52%
Companies that threaten to fully or partially close the plant if the union wins the election: 51%

Fire the sons of bitches. What's the point of a union in the first place? To keep you working at a place, or doing something that you obviously feel you do not like for the compensation you are recieving.
So my question to the union fanboys is this. Why not excersize your inate human ability to quit doing that shit & adapt yourself to another job where you will be compensated for your work. It's not 1907.

I work for Toyota.

I have absolutely no intention on joining some stupid Union. We don't need them.

Toyota is proud of how well it treats its employees. There will always be someone unhappy, no matter what you try.

Resume fact posting if you wish.

Under the FEDERAL National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Wagner Act)

Engineer, does this apply to foreign owned companies? Just curious, we have a large foreign owned company in the area, LEGO. A few years back union talks started up but I was pretty sure that they could refuse because they are a non-US owned company, but they have unions in Denmark. Lego Connecticut stopped making blocks about 5 years ago but due to union costs in Denmark it was cheaper to send the blocks from there, assemble here and then distribute here instead of just distributing. I don't have the facts straight, jsut wondering.

As for Lego they are in deep shit, they are closing a lot of plants and laying off half the workforce and outsourcing everything. :thumbdown

I'd rather apply the statement to youself. You wrongly assume that everything is done by the book.
http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/publications/magazine/0803_freedom.cfm

Well now, saying someone "can" fire a person for trying to organize is a lot different than saying it is legal to do so isn't it? Does Toyota want to take that chance?

So my question to the union fanboys is this.

I am not a union fanboy. Not at all. In fact, I believe a lot of what the unions do for, and to, their workers would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. But I'm not one to sit here and tell workers they shouldn't have the right to organize either.

Engineer, does this apply to foreign owned companies?

Yep, if you set up shop in the US, you play by the USA's rules, simple as that.

As far as a Union fanboy. . . . I am far, far from being a union supporter. I work with (not for) a Union shop often and I see first hand the effects a union can have on productivity (when you don't have the fear of being fired, you don't have the fire under you butt). If my earlier post seemed to be in favor of Unions, that was not the intent. The intent was to provide FACT’s based on the United States of America's LAWS concerning labor unions and the worker's legal rights to join, not some "well, employer's can do anything they want" BS. . . .

my last company was a prime example of unions and non-unions. it's about a $100 million manufacturing company and a group came in to create a union. the company said sure, so the factory workers formed a union. in doing so of course the first demand (partially because of paying union fees) was a higher wage. with a threat of a strike, everyone got a huge raise (something like 10%), but then the company then put on a wage freeze for the next 5 years to balance out the huge increase.

after about 2 years of no increase, they made threats about another strike. the company then put its foot down and said no more unions. all factory workers, and i mean ALL were then terminated, but were able to re-apply for their jobs with the understanding that there wont be a union again. 95+% of the people liked working there (including some of my friends) and preferred the no-union aspect because the dead wood that started to develop was taken care of.

the small manufacturing company i work for now has a union in the factory, and i truely believe the good workers are being held back (salary wise) while the people that really need to be terminated are protected.

Yep, if you set up shop in the US, you play by the USA's rules, simple as that.

As far as a Union fanboy. . . . I am far, far from being a union supporter. I work with (not for) a Union shop often and I see first hand the effects a union can have on productivity (when you don't have the fear of being fired, you don't have the fire under you butt). If my earlier post seemed to be in favor of Unions, that was not the intent. The intent was to provide FACT’s based on the United States of America's LAWS concerning labor unions and the worker's legal rights to join, not some "well, employer's can do anything they want" BS. . . .

For now, Toyota employees are smart enough to see what the unions have done to the Big 3. I don't see them signing up any time soon.

However in 15-20 years they may of forgotten how destructive the unions were.

Fan

Unions are all about protecting workers... by biting the hands that feed them.

Unions had their place years ago, but now (in Canada atleast) there's enough in the way of government regulations that unions are way out dated. All they're going to do is ensure that your job is eventually outsourced to another country.

Well saying they were going to drive up wages and run the company down, forcing the closing of the plant wouldn't be great incentive for the employees to unionize, would it?


Yes it would be great incentive for the employess BECAUSE they only see the big increase in pay, and are in DENIAL about history, about the damage unions have done to the big 3 auto makers. It is about human nature.....joining a union to get perceived benefits NOW mean nobody has time to count the costs down the road....


It's like a teenager that smokes cigarettes....at 17 he doesn't think about cancer at 45....

Unions had their place early in the last century..,..today they're not needed, and they can only hurt business....

Unions still have their place, though I don't know if it's in the auto business anymore.

Aviation is one place where the decline of unions has also seen a decline in working standards, pay and safety considerations.

Trust me; your last airline trip was a couple thousand times safer because pilots and others are unionized.

C

PS: Unions are only as good as the people who run them. If you're a member of a union and don't participate in running it, you don't really deserve much in return, do you?