Is it time for salaried workers to organize and join the UAW? GM is abusing its salaried workforce, without a question, targeting the older workers in these layoffs to save money on their pensions and higher salaries. They abused many other groups as witnessed by their incompetent process for identifying who to lay off. Instead of looking at CAP performance measures, they allowed Directors who often were not even familiar with their grunt workers a few levels down to make the call on decisions of layoff; they did not contact the supervisors for input on these decisions. The Directors are not held accountable for these decisions because they realize that those laid off can do nothing about it. They did not give anyone the time to find another job at GM if they were in a high risk functional area that was likely to be eliminated; if someone that was laid off was able to find another job at GM after the layoff, all of the benefits based on years of service would be zeroed out to amounts a college grad would get starting today such as vacation days, early pension at maximum amount, GM extra contributions to stock savings. And then GM tells those that are laid off that we have no legal rights to sue the company for these wrongdoings when we accept their severance pay package. Seriously, beyond unionization what other means are left to keep this MONSTER of a company from abusing its employees going forward? It is obvious that the GM values it wants their employees to follow are not followed by Mary B. Saving $ in a rushed effort to impress Wall Street is all that GM represents now. Employees need a stronger voice to protect their futures at GM.
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I wish I was with all of you good people at GM , I have faith and I know all of you can achieve a union of some kind. I created this thread because I wanted to hear how they feel about it , I miss my work/job . I know you all can protect yourself with a union. You guys deserve all the best , many prayers to you all ! 😊
Check out the union that represents the salaried of Boeing, GE and others. See speea.org. This seems a better fit than the UAW. Someone better start organizing because you have nothing to lose.
Having worked with the UAW for over 20+ years I can tell you that their are a lot of negatives with the UAW. However I don't think GM salaried workers have a choice at this point. Another union would be preferable but that would take a lot more effort and time. Mary is a globalist who seems to have disdain for the average worker and she will slowly but surely bleed your jobs out to China and anywhere else but the US and Canada. If you don't move now it will not matter in a couple of years.
http://www.ifpte.org/ International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, not the UAW for Engineers.
its worth a try
Absolutely destroy the stock price . Organize now or s--- it up at GM in it's current state , Michigan State workers are uaw! You all can do it.
If the media sensed that GM salaried workers were attempting to organize to join the Union, it would demolish the GM stock price. Let's do it! :-) Seriously, I personally think it is time to happen...GM used to care about its employees but since Mary B took the wheel, her ONLY concern is the shareholders. You can't run a company when you screw your employees that had been loyal to GM for decades.
Yesssss!
Better late than never. Ive been saying the salary folks should have made a stand years ago.
You can say what you want about the union, but it's clear professionals are being treated like garbage with no end in site. If you think your that good then start your own business, why take a job for someone else? In this environment you will be mistreated, the minute you can't perform your out! You have a bad year, family issue, they don't care. Years ago they did. Now all that matters is the stock holders and their equity.
If you are in a white collar profession, you are better to change employers or even your career than to join a union.
Unions are for losers. Don't be a loser.
I sincerely believe you guys and gals can do it ! You all have suffered enough. It won't hurt a damn thing to try.
The way it works now, salaried employees AREN'T rewarded based on performance or working hard.
They're rewarded based on whether the boss likes them, and whether they're cheap college hires that are easy on the budget.
A union sounds better than that.
Apparently working hard gets you the door. Salired can negotiate different than the factory person of the skilled trades person, it's how it's agreed upon if handled correct. It's worth a look maybe 😉
Some of the posts touched on the key points about unions: There are no standouts. Only numbers. You get ahead by seniority, not performance.
THAT is the biggest reason that salaried employees have been against unions. There are no career options. Working harder doesn't get you anywhere. You're paid the same whether you're the best or the worst, so where's the motivation to succeed.
Maybe that's what GM deserves right now.
You guys can do it ! Organize now. Nothing ventured nothing gained , all of you deserve the best you can get , forget about the lazy people because that's always been. The producers know who they are , go for it , you have nothing to loose.
How is GM suppose to make a profit. They get there profit between juggling executive pay and the salaried workforces. Hourly workforce is fixed and they can cut and close down a plant to know precisely how much will go to the bottom line. GM is a dinosaur company that needs to go belly up again and then change there name to MG Motors.
1rgs - You are telling the truth , I was contract and couldn't even get hired salary or in the uaw , the school tuition is priceless and the health insurance ,pension.
I had a salary union position for 16 years and left to become salary only. Let me tell you, this is something I believe would definitely be worthy of doing in this business climate. If you want to organize call the local union hall and talk to them. There are pluses and minuses, but overall it was not bad at all. Pluses where definitely job security within the work place, managers could not push you around and just move and drop you into any position. On the other hand, it's tougher to move within the company, everything is done by seniority. Other things are payment of union dues, however we did have a pension, but no 401k matching. One thing I did like, in the event of a layoff you would get 95 to 60 percent of your full pay for up to 2 years. In addition the healthcare was unbelievable! We did not pay for it, only office visits. Other benefits included college tuition. You could take class you wanted, it did not have to affliated with your job. You could take realesate courses, or marine engine repair, finance, basket weaving, whatever. Overall I left because I figured I was not moving forward in my career. Well, now I ask, what career, the career of endless meetings and backstabbing?
No. Do not worry about 25 years in the future. Why 25 years ago you had 6 times the amount of employees working with you, there was not active use of computers,China, Russia, and India were looking for toilet paper. Today,it is you and one other employee. Your odds do not exist. Those three nations decided that it is easier to wipe their butts with our jobs, instead of c-ap paper. The Cold War was sure better for North America’sworker than the Economic War. Thanks to Free Trade, pure corporate greed. Both political parties are responsible for this happening.
And in 25 year from now your going to say , we should have done it 25 years ago! Do it now provided the company is even around in the future, and yup blue collar benefits are way better. Do something then.
The horse has left the barn. This should have happened 25 years ago. Never would. Most salaried employees thought that they were too good, and that the company would take care of them. Pretty pathetic that the benefits are better for uneducated blue collar employees. Is it not funny how they yell and scream when a plant is to get shut down. Blue collar employees should not be exempt, and given the boot to. No special rules for them. If you get laid off, you have no loyalty to the company, or the UAW workforce. Screw them all. What goes around comes around for all.
Salaried workers have always been against unions. They arrogantly think they're better and smarter than their coworkers and can get a better deal from their boss on their own. Because the boss will recognize how superior they are and reward them for it.
They think unions only protect bad employees.
They also think all unions are corrupt, based on the Jimmy Hoffa days and not current reality.
These beliefs are all wrong, of course.
Most bosses have no idea who their best people are, or who does the most work. They just know who they like.
Maybe these layoffs have opened their eyes.
Fear is the key , this should have occurred years ago. Why is everyone so driven by such an emotion as fear ? Have a bit of fire , the worst think that can happen is nothing.
Hahaha,
I did not work at GM very long, less than a year. I regret I accepted an offer from GM, I should have stayed where I was.
If I look into my former group at GM. No one would get involved into a union. They would be too scared to get fired or randomly chosen for a severance package.
A month before I left, I clearly remember that I was the only one in the group that was OK to be laid off, because I knew the market was not that bad. At my age, late fifty's, as of today, I did not find a new job yet though. I am just happy to be out of the toxic culture of GM.
Whoa do I remember my young manager. He was so by the book and unable to see the big picture, other than his own interest obviously, and making sure he could look good, like my fellow coworkers. Unable to speak the truth, unless the truth for them was to embrace this toxic atmosphere.
Just before I left, I could see the fear in the eyes of all my coworkers, and beginning to push down other coworkers to lift themselves up. Like in a concentration camp in the second world war where the dignity was down the toilet, and survival attitude is to push others down, blame others, sometimes very subtly, sometimes less... like I saw my manager did. What a shame.
I have seen sooo much better in my career life, even in downturn. So no, I don't see how a single of my former coworkers would embrace a union, they are a way too scared and they know that they need to live by the GM book and the imposed unhealthy culture.
Frankly, it should have been done years ago. As salaried employee benefits slowly eroded, and as the demands for the job increased (in terms of hours expected and hours one needs to be available for "global" work) salaried employees have been the proverbial frog in a pot of water. Salaried employees are completely defenseless against whatever the company wishes to impose.
The company gets the union it deserves. Treat people right, and there's no need for a union. Make indiscriminate cuts and people start looking at ways to protect themselves.
Now is the time , PLEASE DO IT NOW!
Yes absolutely , it definitely wouldn't hurt.