Should Ford, GM combine forces?

[aualright]

Originally Posted by Drive XR7

Look, I have respect for you guys because Aussies can definitely produce some quality products... I respect that.

The management of Ford and GM do have problems... I'm not saying they don't, but do you have any idea how much UAW costs American automotive companies (which trickles down to Holden and Ford Aus)?

I have a friend who works for Ford in Virginia, USA building the F150. Because he is in the union, if they were to randomly drug test him, all he would need to do is throw the bowl down on the ground and say he has a problem. Ford would spare him his job and even pay for services to help him overcome his "problem." I heard it straight from his mouth. It's truely f***ked up over here. Workers can get away with anything because the union has so much power. If it were my company, employees that failed drug tests would be fired on the spot... no exceptions. Maybe that's why American vehicles have sub-par quality compared to their foreign counterparts.

Health care in this country is expensive... but the union has nothing to do with that. Ford employs people and gives them benefits. That's part of the way things work over here. Benefits generally cost a company twice the amount of the take home pay of an employee. $20USD/hr = $40USD/hr to the company.

Maybe if the workers that build these vehicles were to step it up a notch and actually produce quality vehicles (ie, actually have to WORK to keep their jobs), lawsuits and recalls would drop.

No doubt that Ford has lawsuits lined up... but there is legislation currently in the US Senate to prevent frivilous lawsuits from using our country's valuable judicial dollars. Change is happening (would be happening faster if we had better administration.. ie... John Kerry).

It's complicated... but I most definitely blame the unions. They simply aren't needed anymore, yet the exist to push the limit of how far companies will go. A total waste on our economy.

so smoking a spliff the night before deserves being punted from your job..?? You haven't mentioned the ridiculous salaries (with options) that the execs are on (or the fact they probably have more serious (coke..??) drug problems than any factory worker).

[Drive XR7]

Originally Posted by aualright

so smoking a spliff the night before deserves being punted from your job..?? You haven't mentioned the ridiculous salaries (with options) that the execs are on (or the fact they probably have more serious (coke..??) drug problems than any factory worker).

Don't know where you get your information.... but most execs sure aren't cokeheads. They couldn't get to the position their in now if they had a problem.

I'm not knockin smoking a spliff on your own time... but the fact of the matter is, it's illegal here (for reasons that I don't agree with). As an employee, you need to obey the law and if the company requires employees to be drug free, you better do it.

And speaking from personal experience... I used to smoke every day about 5 years ago with my buddies. I'm sure it's probably not quite the kind of stuff that you're used to seeing, but still. I was slow. I didn't care and had a lack of motivation. I've seen how it affects people because it affected me.

[Allen]

Not many people know that Holden used to work for Ford as a coachbuilder, back before GMC bought Holden...

Anyway, Holden subcontracts jobs out to Ford. I went on a tour of Ford's Geelong stamping plant as part of my engineering course, and they were stamping commodore panels.

They may be marketplace rivals, but that doesn't mean they dont work togeather on occasion.