New Kubota Factory

[5030]

The MEDIC has been giving away the farm for a number of years in tax incentives, however, the business tax climate has offset any tax incentive. Companies look at the 'whole picture' not just the tax rollback. That coupled with Michigan's poor performance in education goes against companies locating here, especially companies that require employees with techinical expertise.

The auto plants were "put a part in a hole and send it on sown the line", who cared if it was installed right because I'm union and you can't fire me for my performance without a long and deliberate process of documentation, and then having to deal with the union.

The downturn of the auto industry has changed not only the educational climate but the financial climate and Michigan need to adapt and that is a long slow process.

We are long past... 'you get out of high school (or don't complete high school and your dad or his brother gets you a job making 50 grand or so at an auto plant', when in fact, you can't even tie your shoelaces, let alone be a productive citizen, one reason the unemployed numbers are so high here.

A lot of those people are unemployable.

 

[Scooby074]

The welding on both loaders is at best, cobbly, not something that would be acceptable in Japan by a long shot. I'm in the welding business and I would never consider the sloppy welding on the loaders to be commercially acceptable. The welds are structurally strong but appearance wise, are poor and as I stated, the paint is unacceptable.

I'll take a Japanese built loader any day over the domestic counterpart.

I agree. Id LOVE to see a direct comparison between the crappy (but apparently strong) welds on my loader to a JDM machine.

I know the Japanese wouldnt put welds out like this in their home market. The Japanese consumer wouldnt stand for it, nor would the plant's QC let it leave.

 

[300UGUY]

Michigan's problems stem from a not too friendly state government attitude toward business, in other words, a business tax that strangles business plus no worthwhile tax incentives to locate here, all things that the new governor is trying to change.



Japanese worker unions differ greatly from unions here, especially in work rules.

Don't forget that Japan has been in financial doldrums for the last 15 years, similar to what we now experience. We all exist on the same globe so what goes around, comes around.....

Is there a tax incentive that will overcome cheap labor? The state has offered to build plants for manufacturers, but were politely declined. If free facilities and labor costs that are actually below average for the country haven't got any traction, I don't see what will. I worked with some Japanese machine tool companies, their folks were very good, better educated than our tradesmen here. And I agree, we all live in the same economic world now.

 

[BethesdaEC]

Unions are the problem. Period.

Please note that there are zero unions in Japan. The reason being is the people take pride in their work both individually and as a whole. They don't need a union to negotiate for often sub-par and overpaid workers.

Just because the Japanese don't have US labor unions doesn't mean that they don't have Japanese labor unions.

Here is a the PR web page for Kubota's Union.
Kubota Labor Unions

Here is an example of from Toyota.

Toyota Accepts Japan Labor Union?s Request to Raise Pay, Bonuses - Bloomberg

If you look at my previous post from this thread (quoted above) you will see that Japan does have unions and they are quite strong.

 

[bunchgrass]

The MEDIC has been giving away the farm for a number of years in tax incentives, however, the business tax climate has offset any tax incentive. Companies look at the 'whole picture' not just the tax rollback. That coupled with Michigan's poor performance in education goes against companies locating here, especially companies that require employees with techinical expertise.

Check out South Carolina - not a bastion of highly "edumacated" but Boeing and others were willing to relocate there to beat the unions along with a nice tax incentive. That whole business of people too dumb to employ is a red herring. It's only about pure corporate profit - pay 'em low, give 'em nothing and take home the bacon for the CEO/BOD and shareholders.

Or, here in the NW, Potlatch Lumber is now cutting timber at a breakneck pace because the 2 clowns they hired from Plum Creek Timber will get a huge bonus added to their retirement based on the corporations profit at the time of their retirement. They retire in the next 2 years and even their own timber cruisers say this pace can't be sustained for more than 2 yrs at best. This comes from guys who work for Potlatch. I know it's not manufacturing per se but this is the BS of 21st century corporate America.

"They don't need a union to negotiate for often sub-par and overpaid workers."

We can get sub-par/overpaid w/o unions here too.

 

[don white]

I thought Kubota had been making some tractors in the USA? I also thought JD was making some tractors overseas?

I have worked in industry for 30 years. In union shops and nonunion. On the shop floor and as a supervisor. There is nothing wrong with Americans workers I would put them up against any in the world. If bad welds are being produced then there is a process problem. If the paint is falling off then there is a process problem. If parts don't fit then there is an engineering problem. Blaming the worker for quality problems is real lame. Insuring quality is a management function. I have never experienced workers who wouldn't work and do good work when instructed and properly managed.

The crappy cars that were made in the 70s were because of bad management. The worker on the floor has no input as to the quality of steel used. The cars rusted out in 5 years. Now come on whose fault is that.

Just the way I see it.

 

[Pixguy]

I support paying parents for their kids performance in school. Then little Jonny might have a fire under his arse at home.

That's the problem, we need to spend MORE money on education....

The crappy cars that were made in the 70s were because of bad management. The worker on the floor has no input as to the quality of steel used. The cars rusted out in 5 years. Now come on whose fault is that.

I have an uncle who worked for GM(plant now closed) and it was widely known that you should not buy a car built on friday afternoon(workers were not paying attention) or monday morning.(hung over)

 

[lilranch2001]

That's the problem, we need to spend MORE money on education....

How much more frikken money should we spend on education?

:confused2:

 

[bunchgrass]

That's the problem, we need to spend MORE money on education....

How much more frikken money should we spend on education?

:confused2:

My point is who needs to be "motivated" not whether or not we should.

 

[Cat_Driver]

...Unions are the problem. Period.

Please note that there are zero unions in Japan. The reason being is the people take pride in their work both individually and as a whole. They don't need a union to negotiate for often sub-par and overpaid workers.
kinglake is offline Report Post Reply With Quote

Absolutely !!!!! Unions are killing this Country. Unions had their place decades ago, but no more.

Here are some obvious facts. Everything anyone needed to build a vehicle was in Michigan, so all these dozen or so manufacturers that built new plants down South, should have done it in Michigan. Why didn't they - U-N-I-O-N-S, Period, case closed.

The South is flourishing, and I mean REALLY flourishing because the Unions forced all the manufacturers to GO SOUTH.

OH SURE, you can complain about $15.00 an hour jobs when Unions Workers get $50.00 and in some cases $75.00 an hour plus benefits. But you know something $15.00 an hour is better than $0.00 an hour and that's what the the people in Michigan are earning because the plants are in the South. So what good did the Unions do for Michigan?

Unions had a lot to do with US Companies going to Mexico just as well.

Now I'm not stupid enough to not know Corporate greed is in the Mix, but Unions were and are Killing manufacturing in this Country a lot more than greed is.