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UAW Needs Reform

7 months ago

in Detriot Can’t Count on a Washington Jump-Start on The Washington Independent
The US automotive industry has been stuck in the mindset of the 60s with creating bigger and faster vehicles such as the Yukon, Hummer H2, Suburban, the 300, the Charger, Mustang, as opposed to creating fuel efficient vehicles. Toyota and Honda have been utilizing greener cars for some time now. Many of the 'foreign imports' are made in the USA, anyways.

A lot of the US made vehicles are made at such as higher overhead, that there is little room for improvements to move in line with the likes of Toyota. The greener technologies will take years before the US automakers can outfit, design and produce the technology. The UAW needs to back down on the salaries that have driven up the cost of making vehicles in the US. Management needs to be restructured, reorganized, overhauled and re-engineered.

So the outcry is that 10% of the jobs of America will be lost. Yes and no. There will be a 'firesale' of goods and the auto industry will dry but the cars on the lot will still sell. The corporate executives who live in their mansions and have elite country club memberships will go down. Why? Because of poor management and a lack of foresight.

Many of the US automotive industry vehicles are less reliable than their Japanese counterparts. Just check consumer reports. Quality, reliability and even style are in question. Why are we re-hashing the US 'musclecars' in a time of oil scarcity? Why even 'relive the past' when we need to move forward with the changing needs of energy/technology?

I will be glad when the US auto-industry goes down in flames. It is an old dinosaur working on life support. A short term aid will not help. It is a band-aid that will not stop major hemorrhage. You cannot treat a gunshot wound with a band aid and you will not save the US automakers from a deep hole that they dug themselves into.

Why not subsidize the sale of the products already on the lot? It will help the dealerships and get more cars on the road. The bottleneck is not at the corporate level, it is at the car lot. Cars are not selling. Sales have been at an all time low. Have the government give incentives to the consumer to buy American.

WAKE UP, CHRYSLER, FORD AND GM! Your days are numbered, and well deserved!
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