They ruined GM. Now it's Toyota's time to suffer

[CoolBreeze]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Managers of the Toyota manufacturing plant in Buffalo have decided to allow workers to distribute union literature during breaks at the plant.

Last month, some Toyota employees and the United Auto Workers filed a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board's regional office in Cincinnati, complaining that they were prohibited from distributing union literature on Nov. 6.

Jeff Moore, a Toyota vice president in West Virginia, recently posted a notice inside the plant reversing that policy.

Workers take breaks in "group houses," Moore wrote. "We have therefore concluded that informing the team members that they could not distribute literature may have been improper ... we will not prohibit solicitation or distribution of literature in Group Houses," Moore wrote.

Mike Lemaster, a Toyota worker for nearly three years, said, "Toyota now allows you to talk about the union and distribute literature in the group houses. They also decided to let you talk to people out on the line, as long as it does not distract you from work. Before, any union activity was totally illegal in their eyes."

Tammy Hamby, a Toyota worker for 11 years, said, "We are thrilled we are now allowed to discuss union organizing with our co-workers. We do not want to disrespect anyone who does not want to talk about it. But we want to get information out there about what is going on."

Julia Daugherty, a UAW assistant organizing director in Detroit, said, "We are very pleased with Toyota's decision not to interfere with workers' rights to communicate, recognizing they have the right to distribute literature in non-work areas at non-work times. We filed the [NLRB] charge to help them. It looks like Toyota recognized they were wrong."

More...
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200912210446

[Bob Campbell]

At least now they'll have someone to blame for all their losses last year.

[AmpedNow]

They're UAW plants. Get them out of there, for the sake of all the workers there.

Tammy Hamby, a Toyota worker for 11 years, said, "We are thrilled we are now allowed to discuss union organizing with our co-workers. We do not want to disrespect anyone who does not want to talk about it. But we want to get information out there about what is going on."

11 years working for a scab company. Must be a tough and downtrodden place to work for... She has visions of UAW pensions dancing in her head that she can't seem to shake. Buffalo plant should look more like the Workers Paradise of Detroit, and not like the scab foreign corporation that operates it. What's up with all of these slanty-eyed people running around here? I've never seen so many of them in WV. Maybe they're here to take our jobs!

We've seen this song and dance many times before, unfortunately. Shop opens up. workers vote to unionize. Shop closes and moves away.

I can't think of a faster way to get that plant to moved to the rtw state of Virginia, where they wouldn't have to worry about this crap. Toyota isn't about to allow unionization anytime soon.

Meanwhile, WV can remain "union proud" that another plant boarded up and left the state.

[Bob Campbell]

Gee, I wonder how Ford kept from getting ruined? hmmm...

[genlock]

Ford is in better shape than GM and Chrysler.
But not much.
Perhaps more of Ford's vehicles are built in Mexico than GM and Chrysler.

[Jet Black]

The reason Ford is doing better than GM or C. is that Ford renewed bonds in a 3-year business cycle right before the bottom started to fall out of the loans business, while GM and Chrysler found themselves trying to refinance right after the bottom fell out. Or at least that's what I've read.

[Bob Campbell]

The reason Ford is doing better than GM or C. is that Ford renewed bonds in a 3-year business cycle right before the bottom started to fall out of the loans business, while GM and Chrysler found themselves trying to refinance right after the bottom fell out. Or at least that's what I've read.

So you're saying GM and Chrysler's doom was bad investment decisions by management and not the unions?
It couldn't have been that, could it? Or making disastrous product development choices and marketing decisions. Nah, must have been the unions.

[genlock]

Hard to build a car with one hand on the wrench and the other hand with a death grip on the union contract.

[cgarison]

The reason Ford is doing better than GM or C. is that Ford renewed bonds in a 3-year business cycle right before the bottom started to fall out of the loans business, while GM and Chrysler found themselves trying to refinance right after the bottom fell out. Or at least that's what I've read.

Yes. And no. Ford was able to convert many of their long term bonds to stock at a price that was about half of what the bonds were worth in the summer of 2008, but Ford was able to stay out of bankruptcy because Alan Mullaly mortgaged ever piece of property owned by the Fords in the fall of 2006 to fill the company coffers with cash to survive the predicted downturn while Ford was in the middle of a product cycle upgrade.

Toyota is headed for disaster at the moment. Their concept of surviving the downturn is making more cars and selling them at a loss becase selling more cars always means you are making more money.

[CoolBreeze]

In order to control its skyrocketing labor costs (the most expensive in the world), the company and the United Auto Workers, representing approximately 46,000 hourly workers in North America, agreed to a historic contract settlement in November 2007 giving the company a substantial break in terms of its ongoing retiree health care costs and other economic issues. The agreement includes the establishment of a company-funded, independently-run Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (more commonly known as a VEBA) trust to shift the burden of retiree health care from the company's books, thereby improving its balance sheet.

Fords plant in South America is not only the centerpiece of Ford's Brazilian turnaround plan, it is also one of the most advanced automobile plants in the world. It is more automated than many of Ford's U.S. factories, and leaner and more flexible than any other Ford facility. It can produce five different vehicle platforms at the same time and on the same line.

Ford sources said it is the sort of plant the company wants in the United States, were it not for the United Auto Workers, which has historically opposed such extensive supplier integration on the factory floor.

By the way, this plant is basically a carbon copy of Japanese plants:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGSaD76Sw54

[cgarison]

a.) The Ford contract settlement in November 2007 was nothing more than a spinoff agreement to the ground breaking agreement that was forged by Rick Wagoner and the UAW in September 2007 and Bob (The Builder) Nardelli in October 2007. Chrysler and GM approached the union with angle that if concessions were not met, they were going bankrupt and if workers did not go back to work, their strike would bankrupt the company and the UAW membership would have no jobs.

b.) The Detroit Free Press has a bit of a thing for the unions because the Ford plant in Brazil is pretty good, but Ford operates a similar facility in Oakville Ontario under the watchful eye of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) where the Ford Flex, Lincoln MKT, Ford Edge(uh), and Lincoln MKX are assembled on the same line. This represents two different platforms being built simultaneously on the same line. I would wager a guess that more differences exist between the (Mazda based) CD3 platform and the (Volvo based) D4 than the 5 Ford Europe designs built in Brazil. Plus, the ability to build a compact car on that same assembly line has already been built into the picture although the current recession has put that expansion on hold. Plus the CAW is more stupid than the UAW when it comes to negotiating a reasonable contract with the Company.

[Bob Campbell]

Gee, this all sounds like disastrous management choices by GM and Chrysler, even Toyota (wow, non union to blame). The UAW has somehow managed to avoid destroying Ford...hmm....good management, bad management. Naaahhhh...it couldn't be management's fault.

[genlock]

Ford manages the Detroit Lions.
F-150 saved Ford.

[weaver]

WV can remain "union proud" that another plant boarded up and left the state.

Lather, rinse, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat ...

[cgarison]

The UAW has somehow managed to avoid destroying Ford...hmm....good management, bad management.

Ford was the first American auto company to face tough times in 2001 as their CEO (at that time) Jacque (pronounced Jack) Nasser over expended in the acquisition of additional brands and put the company in a precarious position of not having enough cash to transact daily business. The Ford family recognized the issue and fired Nasser and William Clay (Bill) Ford to the reigns of the company. Bill Ford made many good decisions to guide the company, but realized after a few years that he was not qualified to handle the positions of Chairman and CEO and brought in the help of Alan Mulally to help run the business as the new CEO while Bill Ford maintained the role of Chairman.

So FoMoCo has maintained better than GM and Chrysler because they have been in trouble for a much longer period. They have been in rebuilding mode for the last 6 years compared to GM and Chrysler reacting to the changes in the economy for the last 2 to 3 years.

[DJSHOCKLEY]

GM focusing on building those gas guzzling trucks to the detriment of quality smaller cars hurt them as much if not more than the Unions... Once big oil flexed its muscle and started manipulating their prices, that was all she wrote for the big trucks..

[cgarison]

GM focusing on building those gas guzzling trucks to the detriment of quality smaller cars hurt them as much if not more than the Unions... Once big oil flexed its muscle and started manipulating their prices, that was all she wrote for the big trucks..

Only the stupidity of purchasing a Tahoe in place of a family car.

The real detriment of GM, Ford, and Chrysler was dropping station wagons for SUVs and mini vans. That is what cost them in the long run.

[CoolBreeze]

There was enough blame to go around concerning American cars & trucks. From the very top to the very bottom. However, the Union was one if not THE biggest detriment.

But forget ALL that and you're left with THIS. And THIS is why foreign cars ate our lunch:

In 2007, Top Gear ran a special program in which Clarkson and James May raced a customized 2005 model Hilux to the magnetic North Pole from Northern Canada against Richard Hammond using a dog sled. The race, known as the Hilux Arctic Challenge, made the truck the first car to make it to the magnetic North Pole.

A world record was achieved by the support crew for the participants in the 2008/2009 Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race. The crew travelled in specially adapted Toyota Hiluxs modified by Arctic Trucks, completing a trip of over 5000 km from Novo, a Russian Scientific Station in Antarctica to the Geographic South Pole and back again, making them the first 4x4s to reach the South Pole. The return journey of 2500 km from the South Pole to Novo Station was completed in a record 8 days and 17 hours.

Outside television, these vehicles have been known to exceed 300,000 miles with regular maintenance. It is also infamous for being used as an improvised fighting vehicle–a "technical"–by militias and irregular military forces, especially in Third World conflicts. The Toyota War between Libya and Chad was so named because of the use of Hilux trucks as light cavalry by the Chadian army. These vehicles have also been used in the Iraq war as Improvised Explosive Devices (IED). Militias have been known to outfit this vehicle with stolen, post-Soviet missiles and equipment. The Toyota War saw use of the Hilux as a pulling vehicle, serving as an aircraft tug and tank pull for the T-62 heavy tank. There are currently 37 customized Hilux used by the People's Liberation Army in the Southern region of China. The Toyota Hilux has been widely used by Pakistan Army

Of all the trucks built in the world, Toyota was the one chosen for such a difficult task at both Poles. There's a reason for that.

[Bob Campbell]

And yet they teeter on the edge of bankruptcy also, with no unions to blame. Hmmmm....I refer back to my original post concerning bad management and disastrous marketing decisions (referring specifically to US companies).
Rot starts at the top, in all companies, large or small. American auto manufacturers have dealt with unions for over 75 years, if they haven't been able to adjust to changing parameters because of that, it's the fault of management, not unions. Do unions decide what type of cars and trucks will be built? Do unions decide on the marketing and advertising campaigns? Do unions decide on length of warranties? Was it unions who insisted on focusing on SUVs and trucks as oil prices rose? Did GM and Chrysler management not know they had to deal with unions? Did the massive union givebacks of the last few years somehow make it more difficult for the auto makers? And yet, even with the very same unions, GM and Chrysler made extraordinary profits in the 80's and 90's. Was there no foreign competition then? Could some of the quality problems that Detroit has suffered be the result of bad designs? How did auto makers survive the first oil price spikes of the early 70's? And the very same quality issues? Hmmmmmmm.....
Unions aren't perfect, but are a necessary fact of life in a corporate environment that would prefer to treat all employees as feudal serfs.

[genlock]

Does Toyota treat it's employees as feudal serfs?