Image via WikipediaI hate to be talking this much about unions but I think it is the sign of the times; we have to.
The public unions came into focus for many of us because the economic recession made state and local governments look at their dramatically diminishing revenues and realize that public unions were huge and unnecessary drains on those revenues.
Private unions on the other hand, went into a tail spin with the recession and as in Detroit Detroit
The UAW just had a small gathering (1,200) here in Detroit
Here is the difference this time around; the UAW cannot strike GM or Chrysler because of the bankruptcy agreements it signed. They can strike FORD because Ford took no bailout money and survived the auto industry collapse on its own.
Bob King, president of the UAW, complained mightily about the bonus Alan Mulally received from Ford which was something like 50+ million in “stock”.
Now I understand that King has to speak in a certain way when he speaks to his members. All they want to hear is how the union is going to get everything it can from the auto industry; no matter what. But King is not stupid and has to use some common sense if he wants to maintain the union’s relevance.
Yes, Mr. Mulally got a big bonus but it was in stock and not cash so if the company goes down, he gets nothing. King also knows that Mulally came to Ford when the company was going down and took no compensation until he could get the company profitable again…and he did what he said he would do and he needs to be compensated for that and King understands that if Mulally didn’t fix Ford, the UAW would be dust, so put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Let me just say one thing before I get into details; if the UAW strikes Ford, the nation will rise up against the UAW and make sure it dies a miserable death, why? The UAW (to many) is a huge factor why the auto industry collapsed in the first place (partly true). GM and Chrysler took tax payer money in the form of a bailout but not Ford. Ford persevered and now is a success because of good planning, management and hard work and not through tax payer welfare and if the UAW dares strike this all-American company that pulled itself up by the bootstraps, not only shame on them but bye, bye UAW.
The union wants all its concessions back. It also wants the two (2) tiered pay system (older workers make their exorbitant wages but new workers come in at 50% less) into a one (1) tier again where all workers make the same as the old workers…DREAM ON.
The auto company plan is for the older workers to retire or take an early buyout so ALL workers will make the lower, more realistic wage that will keep the auto companies competitive in the global market…get it?
The auto companies want to pay their workers bonuses when the company does well whereas the union does not care to only get bonuses when the company does well (capitalism), they want steady raises no matter what financial shape the company is in (communism). And the union does not want merit based pay raises (for doing a good job), they want raises based on seniority (bad worker but been doing a bad job for a long time and so deserves a raise?).
The UAW cannot demand the same old benefits that brought the industry down in the first place and Ford cannot allow itself to bend to those union demands which will eradicate all the progress the company has attained so far.
This summer will be a huge historic moment for the UAW and the auto companies and the outcome will decide the future history of the auto industry, at least, the US auto industry here in Detroit
There is no Wisconsin legislature to attack this time, this is a private union and their only weapon is a strike but they must remember that private unionized workers like the UAW are only 6% of the American working force today and sliding fast and all the non-unionized workers in America are getting more and more sick and tired of union cry-babies; grow up and face reality.
... Mulally and Ford received salaries of $1.4 million for 2010. Bill Ford, who received no salary in the previous two years, also retroactively received pay for 2008 and 2009, bringing his total salary for the last three years to $4.8 million.
ReplyDeleteSoooo, for the two years he received no pay he got $1.7 million a year.
Reminds me of Lee Iacocca who received $1 a year for several months when he was at Chrysler.
And the Union are the bad guys because after all they've given up over the past 2 plus decades we'd like some of it back.
Remember, no matter what, the guys at the top never lose regardless of the "sacrifices" they may have to make. It's all about equality of sacrifice.
I'm sure Governor Rick Snyder and you agree....
Oh, in case you're worried that those salaries are a little low.... "Ford paid President and CEO Alan Mulally $26.5 million and Executive Chairman Bill Ford $26.4 million in salary, bonus and long-term stock options and awards last year, by far the industry's most lucrative pay packages."
Would you care to comment or will you just delete this?
I will agree that usually the guys at the top never really lose and that is unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteCompanies usually agree to "pre-nuptial" pay packages to attract the most "talented" CEOs who may or may not deliver the goods but don't include performance clauses that would have monetary consequences for bad performance; at least some companies don't.
CEOs do not usually want to accept a position on a contingency basis which I feel is the most fair.
The reward package for Mulally and Ford was huge; there is no doubt about that but if you look at it from a shareholder's (owner's) point of view, it is not. The market capitalization of Ford went from $15 Billion to over $57 Billion under Mulally's watch; and that is not hay.
Mulally's compensation was but a sliver of the wealth he has created for the shareholders.
Mulally is responsible to the shareholders first and foremost since they are the owners and the people that invested their money in the company; they need to be rewarded first and if some UAW workers are also shareholders, then they were also rewarded.
Mulally received most of his compensation in stock options and the value of the stocks can go up or down.
As far as fairness in sacrificing; there is none. Workers are still workers and owners are still owners and the two should not be confused or compared.
Workers should be rewarded for a job well done and rewarded well because it is in the best interest of the company and its owners to keep good employees.
Ford has proposed merit bonuses; bonus for performance and not across the board raises or bonuses but the union refuses to even consider that proposal.
The UAW wants all workers to be rewarded equally based on seniority whether they are good workers or bad and here is where, I think, the problem exists and will exist if not changed.
Communism is dead and proven never to have worked so why do the unions practice it but that is a topic for another day.