Recent content by Kos

You’re right. My info was out of date. Last time I was in the Toledo plant was 2013 and they were just doing the preproduction models then. I didn’t realize they transferred production of the Cherokee to Belvidere at some point.

Toledo also makes the Jeep Cherokee

This is the same folley that the whole $15 minimum wage movement falls for. - I get a raise and have more disposable income so I can buy things like boats and Broncos and go on vacations - You see that I got a raise and demand your own raise which you get because the company you work for sees...

Don't forget that the Tesla factory in California used to be a UAW facility twice. Once with GM and once with NUMMI (joint venture between GM and Toyota).

It's not his lunatic EV agenda. There is a changing regulatory environment that the company must prepare for, or should he just cede 14 states worth of sales to Tesla and Rivian.

A divided labor force never works out well for the union side. I worked at GY tire right after the 2006 strike was held through the next round of labor negotiations. In the '06 strike, the company basically agreed to make all the concessions applicable to those hired after 2006. Lower pay, lower...

This is true in 2023, but how many times has this industry been near/in bankruptcy and required bail outs from the government and financial institutions. This industry has to be one of the most unstable industries out there. True feast or famine. And we're not talking about a few pennies. If...

Might actually improve the situation. Parts production hasn’t been shut down and now the assembly line isn’t consuming them.

Oh, it definitely works out in favor of the automakers. They have access to credit the union doesn’t. Just saying it’s not in their financial best interest

Ford and the other Big 3 have to pay their bills too. If they shut everything down they start burning through their cash reserves almost as quickly as the UAW does.

That worked out great for the railroad unions that were forced to accept a deal they didn’t want.

The current all in labor cost for a UAW worker at the big 3 is $65/hr. So working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year (assuming holidays and vacation covers weeks not worked) total comp is $135,200. This does include benefits costs so figure the wages portion is in the $80-$90 range. This assumes...

If they hit the engine plant they will shut down those plants and put their members out of work. Part of the strategy is to keep the strike fund as healthy as possible while impacting the Big 3 in a meaningful way. The more members out of work, the quicker the strike fund draws down. If they...

My guess is they prioritized based on dealer inventories. Truck inventories are healthier and gives Ford more time to weather the storm. Consider the Screen Writers and Actors guild strikes. They have been happening for five months now and it’s just now starting to truly impact the industry as...

Current UAW contract expires at 11:59 EST tonight (Thu 9/14). The UAW can strike as early as 12:00 AM Friday. Given the unusual approach to negotiations this time around the UAW plans on targeting a select few plants to start only to add more as needed. The UAW has selected one plant each from...