Posted on 05/07/2012 12:24:07 PM PDT by robowombat
Edited on 05/07/2012 1:00:52 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
JOLIET, Ill. (AP)
(Excerpt) Read more at manufacturing.net ...
No, that was the locomotive plant in Canada that’s moved to Muncie, Indiana.
But I suspect that this one in Illinois may well be shut down also.
In the Baraqqi Depression, there is a nearly unlimited supply of eager replacements.
Don't let the UAW (whatever) communists define the terms of discussion.
Caterpillar has projected record profit this year and gave its top executives big raises in 2011. Total compensation for Caterpillar Chief Executive Douglas Oberhelman jumped 60% in 2011 to $16.9 million.
From what I gathered, sounds like company greed; I side with the ‘Strikers’
Close the plant. Move it to a “right to work” state. End of problem.
Most likely, China will have a new Manufacturing Company locating there.
Why not strike? The economy is solid and grow,,,,,,,uh,,,,,never mind.
Offer detailed Provided no pay raises for six years while health insurance costs would double.
Failed to put the retiree’s health insurance payment plan in writing. Stripped away seniority rights.
Prevented Tier II workers from transitioning to the higher-paid Tier I. Eliminated cost of living increases tied to inflation rates for Tier I workers and failed to provide them for Tier II workers.
Allowed “supplemental” workers to work at the plant for two years with no benefits.
Frozen and eliminated the pension program and shifted everyone to a 401k-type plan.
Company spokesman Rusty Dunn would not comment on the union’s specific concerns.
Tier II workers — who were hired after May 2, 2005 — have been earning $13 an hour for the past seven years and the company’s new contract would have kept them at $13 an hour even with health care costs increasing.
$13 an hour for 13 years with escalating health premiums and no pension is ridiculous.
Top scale for Tier I workers — who were hired before May 2, 2005 — would be frozen at $28 an hour.
All we want is a fair agreement at a time when Caterpillar is making record profits.
The union at Peterbilt in Madison, TN struck over what proved to be about 3 weeks pay. They were on strike for several months when Peterbilt got fed up with them and permanently closed them down and moved 100% of its production to their non-unionized Texas plant.
Caterpillar opened a new plant in N. Little Rock that is thriving - we'll gladly allow the construction of additional assembly lines - there is plenty of adjoining land and plenty of people willing to work.
I’m currently in search of the crow bar to be applied to Public sector Unions.
Preferrably starting with Teacher’s Unions.
During a meeting of Printing Industry executives a trip to this plant was arraigned. Note is was during one of the few intervals of labor peace at Caterpillar and surprising the unions were not on strike.
As we toured the facility, there were numerous examples of low mentality union workers walking around wearing T-Shirts with “F__K Caterpillar” in bold letters.
We were not impressed. It takes a small union mind to tell the company signing your pay check to get “F—Ked”
They just opened a new plant in Texas.
I guess they didn’t learn anything from the last time...
How the CEO and executives are compensated is a reflection of company profits and stock price. If workers want to partake in that, they should buy stock.
Otherwise, they should quit their whining. Manual labor is only worth as much as the cost of hiring and training replacements, and is determined by the free market, not union thuggery.
And, BTW, no company benefits from the adversarial relationship and atmosphere between management and labor that the unions’ deliberately create.
I’m a ‘Conservative’ who supported Cain and Newt but also has a past as a unionized worker. I have seen firsthand, corporate raiders like Mittens come and take over a once profitable company with leveraged buyouts, etc, leaving them bankrupt while the raiders walked away fat n happy.
Making $25/hour with 20 years seniority for heavy production work is not out of line. This push from some extreme right to force $12/hr while the executives reap huge multi-million $$$ severance packages gives force to the occupiers.
Just like politics, there has to be a balance.
After seeing the autoworkers' union and the mineworkers' union screw my dad around, I have NO SYMPATHY for any union. At the upper echelons, ALL unions are communist organizations, and have only POWER on their minds.
I’d like to see the specific demands before I pass judgement...and not the union’s version.
I think I would have offered an increase of 50 cents a year over the 6 years to the tier 2 to get them up to $16/hour, and a cut of $1/year to the tier 1 to cut them to $22 at the end of the 6 years.
The additional long term costs would probably be covered by inflation, and it would help level things out while splitting the Union.
The many views posted here is why the GOP can’t get any ‘blue collar’ support and gives rise to the ‘occupy movement’. When I saw the mentality to promote slave wages it made me look to the DFL for help but I can’t go there, it’s too far left.
There must be a strong middle class if sustained economic stability is ever to return to this country. Paying $25/hr with 20 years seniority is not out of line. To propose paying these same workers half wages doesn’t cut it. Greed is what destroyed capitalism and until the common working man is shown respect it will continue its downward spiral.
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