john deere on strike

[ultrarunner]

I was a short timer in different Union...

First 5 years 1 week paid vacation plus 7 holidays...

Never used medical and employer paid thousands annually on my behalf plus my contribution...

Rules changed later... no more 7 or 10 years for retirement benefits... I believe something starting at 3 now...

Often wonder about all that money paid in by many thousands never reaching eligibility???

I use to get statements but it had been years...

My job was tied to space shuttle and on shop floor when Challenger went down... within a week inspectors at plant... OK to finish nearly complete assemblies but everything else stopped... We had zero to do with the explosion...

 

[Cougsfan]

Unions don't eat their own...

The UAW kind of ate GM into huge financial problems. Unions work great for the workers when business is good, not so much so if it isn't.

 

[arto98607]

The UAW kind of ate GM into huge financial problems. Unions work great for the workers when business is good, not so much so if it isn't.

Poor GM management - they should not have agreed at the time!

 

[TCowner]

...and management loves the union workers getting better pay and benefits because that means they do too.

Great point, and not only that, but when the union workers get better pay and benefits, the non-union workers down the street in the same industry get a bump as well. These employers do this to avoid their employees organizing a union so non-union workers benefit from the work, and sometimes sacrifice, the union workers make. This takes place as the non-union workers tells us, "We don't need no damn union".

 

[Frankenkubota]

The UAW kind of ate GM into huge financial problems. Unions work great for the workers when business is good, not so much so if it isn't.

the uaw demanded and....management gave in. after ww2 the car makers were making so much $ they could afford to agree to almost anything, worry about the future when it gets here and then

along came Toyota

 

[ultrarunner]

Yep… a very seasoned older gentleman said I’ve seen it all before…

WWII employment off the charts but workers with money had little to spend it on… so prices went up…

 

[bmg88201]

I was a union Pipe welder for 30 years, 1973-2003, retired with great pay and good benefits. Then I changed careers and went to nursing school and worked at the VA, joined the union there with great pay and great benefits like 7 weeks of paid vacation per year, 4 weeks of paid sick leave per year, some of the best health/dental/vision insurance in the country. Took an early retirement from the VA now, life is good. Thank you labor unions.

 

[ultrarunner]

We have several that came to nursing later in life…

One is a BMW factory trained mechanic and left as Dealership service writer…

He is very popular with the Docs…

Unions here are mostly public sector with some medical.

Manufacturing all but gone…

 

[MHarryE]

Defense is where real money is. When Allis-Chalmers went belly up mid-80's, future unknown, I began interviewing for another engineering job on mobile equipment. My recruiters set me up with an interview at a defense supplier on the east coast. When they explained the job, it was really not to accomplish anything. The VP with whom I interviewed said Regan threw the doors wide open and this company wanted every bit they could. So my job would be pulling proposals together. Research on cost plus basis and the company for whom I was interviewing said it doesn't get any better than this - they need to get as much of the pie as they can. So my job would be only to create presentations for our contacts to present and collect our piece of the action. I was hired by Deutz when they bought Allis-Chalmers and the transition was seamless. The company with whom I interviewed is now part of BAE, one of the world's largest defense suppliers, and still getting their piece of the action.

 

[MAX-24-Dean]

These are the ones that whine the loudest when their job goes south (or far east). As far as robotics go, many of the low skill jobs are replaced with high skilled, good paying jobs that keep those robots humming.

Maintained and operated several different generations of CNC (Computer Numerical Controls) and PLC controls in the, 80's, and 90's. What happened as each new CNC generation came out is that they were much more dependable, requiring less technicians to maintain them. The drive systems and feedback systems also became more dependable. Again needing less labor hours to keep production going.

I agree that the skilled labor positions will pay better, but with technology improving and becoming more dependable, it makes less of these postions available.

 

[bitseeker]

Defense is where real money is. When Allis-Chalmers went belly up mid-80's, future unknown, I began interviewing for another engineering job on mobile equipment. My recruiters set me up with an interview at a defense supplier on the east coast. When they explained the job, it was really not to accomplish anything. The VP with whom I interviewed said Regan threw the doors wide open and this company wanted every bit they could. So my job would be pulling proposals together. Research on cost plus basis and the company for whom I was interviewing said it doesn't get any better than this - they need to get as much of the pie as they can. So my job would be only to create presentations for our contacts to present and collect our piece of the action. I was hired by Deutz when they bought Allis-Chalmers and the transition was seamless. The company with whom I interviewed is now part of BAE, one of the world's largest defense suppliers, and still getting their piece of the action.

Another retired aerospace systems engineer here. At one company for over 30 years. Our black program instituted a change that appeared to save overhead, but had such a big hit on productivity that I did an ROI on the change. It took me approximately a year to use the "open door policy" going up the chain of command to reach the first honest executive, the VP of our 25,000 employee operation.

The VP said you've been here over 30 years, surely you know that we are NOT in the defense business. We are in the PROFIT business. We make 14% on every dollar we can waste.
I quit that day.

Eisenhower was right, "Beware the military/industrial complex.

 

[PuffyC]

Another retired aerospace systems engineer here. At one company for over 30 years. Our black program instituted a change that appeared to save overhead, but had such a big hit on productivity that I did an ROI on the change. It took me approximately a year to use the "open door policy" going up the chain of command to reach the first honest executive, the VP of our 25,000 employee operation.

The VP said you've been here over 30 years, surely you know that we are NOT in the defense business. We are in the PROFIT business. We make 14% on every dollar we can waste.
I quit that day.

Eisenhower was right, "Beware the military/industrial complex.

There's a good lesson from corporate America in there. My version goes like this:

When you walk around and notice that some process is broken, realize that somebody somewhere very much wants that process to be broken. The catch is you just don't know why.

Contrary to popular belief, the people running large corporations (and politicians) aren't stupid people - they know what they're doing. From a healthcare system so dysfunctional it literally kills people all the way down to simply waiting on hold to talk to the next available representative (because your call is important to us!), what you see as poorly designed and run by clueless schmucks is another person's hidden strategy to make more money, or keep their job, or meet some goal so they can make more money and keep their job. Inefficiencies and incompetence are rampant in any large org for sure, but most of the time things are working exactly the way they want them to.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Defense is where real money is. When Allis-Chalmers went belly up mid-80's, future unknown, I began interviewing for another engineering job on mobile equipment. My recruiters set me up with an interview at a defense supplier on the east coast. When they explained the job, it was really not to accomplish anything. The VP with whom I interviewed said Regan threw the doors wide open and this company wanted every bit they could. So my job would be pulling proposals together. Research on cost plus basis and the company for whom I was interviewing said it doesn't get any better than this - they need to get as much of the pie as they can. So my job would be only to create presentations for our contacts to present and collect our piece of the action. I was hired by Deutz when they bought Allis-Chalmers and the transition was seamless. The company with whom I interviewed is now part of BAE, one of the world's largest defense suppliers, and still getting their piece of the action.

been there. i made my living in the defense industry, electronics, electronic counter measures and similar stuff.

i remember "star wars". i got a huge order for atomic clocks because of that.

there a subject for debate, how the military spends its money.

 

[Whidbey]

There's a good lesson from corporate America in there. My version goes like this:

When you walk around and notice that some process is broken, realize that somebody somewhere very much wants that process to be broken. The catch is you just don't know why.

Contrary to popular belief, the people running large corporations (and politicians) aren't stupid people - they know what they're doing. From a healthcare system so dysfunctional it literally kills people all the way down to simply waiting on hold to talk to the next available representative (because your call is important to us!), what you see as poorly designed and run by clueless schmucks is another person's hidden strategy to make more money, or keep their job, or meet some goal so they can make more money and keep their job. Inefficiencies and incompetence are rampant in any large org for sure, but most of the time things are working exactly the way they want them to.

Buffalo Springfield, "Somethings Happening Here". What it is is not exactly clear.

 

[DonaldP]

i usually don't tappy tappy during the day but

just saw that jd is on strike.

good luck getting service parts!

It’s over now… everyone go get your big green machine. Oh I forgot … don’t forget to add in the cost of the 10% employee raise and the $8,500 bonus per new employee….
That should make all of us happy.

Yes higher wages beget higher costs, begets higher wages.

So I suppose the current political views are such that increasing minimum wage to $17,$18, or $22/hr (a living wage for part time and full time students and such) WON’T flow back to the very costs that those folks have as expenditures?
Slow cost creep is the only positive thing… albeit temporary in nature.

We are in the fight of our lives here. If you are lucky enough to have any money saved for retirement, (whether it’s in the frothy stock market or in safety - like a money market) the value of your $ is dropping the same as inflation… 4%/month.

That’s like putting your money in the bank and paying interest to them of 4% on your principal instead of getting 2%.

Scared yet?

No problem, Just put your money into the top heavy stock market to keep pace with inflation… the market has doubled since it’s low when the pandemic started.

When folks realize that the full out production currently in process to cover past inventory depletion issues due to Covid IS NOT ACTUAL BUISNESS GROWTH, and therefore not something to raise the value of the stock for any company, then there will be a come to Jesus moment for anyone attempting to cover the loss in inflation with the growth of the stock market.

If you aren’t lucky enough to have money saved to do either of these things with? That’s ok… many of us are in that position.

In that case for every increase in taxes to the rich that get passed down through the companies they own and the products they sell in those business…. Like Apple, Chip makers, software makers, google, Amazon, and the car market….

Well, All of those corporate and personal tax increases are going to flow right back to us… the middle of America. So if you have not saved money to risk in the bank or risk in the market, well you in the support seat giving everything you dont have right back to the government.

Yep! You and are paying for all of this.

Isn’t life grand!