SMM, Sept. 17 / PRNewswire-FirstCall-Asianet /-on the evening of September 15, workers at General Motors, the largest car factory in the United States, announced a nationwide strike, the largest strike by the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) in more than a decade. In the early morning of the 16th local time, workers at GM's 33 manufacturing plants and 22 warehouses in the United States went on strike, depending on when GM and employers and employees could reach an agreement. GM's last large-scale strike in 2007, in recent years, U. S. companies are more likely to hire temporary workers to reduce the number of union strikes, so this 48000-scale strike is rare!
Terry Dieters, vice president and chief negotiator of the UAW, said the strike was a last resort for the union, but it was necessary because the two sides were far apart on a new four-year contract. The union demanded higher pay, better job security and higher benefits. But GM has made few concessions in months of negotiations.
GM, for its part, said it had made substantial offers, including higher wages and factory investment: an increase of $7 billion in factory investment, a direct increase of 5400 new jobs, a higher share of profits, "national leading" health benefits and $8000 in contract restitution compensation per person. "disappointingly, the UAW leadership still chose to go on strike."
GM has been controlling costs recently. GM reported net income of $36.1 billion and net profit of $2.4 billion in the second quarter of 2019, up 1.6 per cent from a year earlier. GM admitted that the reason for its relatively solid performance in the second quarter was mainly due to GM's sales performance in North America and effective cost control.
The power of the strike is likely to derail GM's efforts to make a profit. Christine Zichek, vice chairman for industry, labour and economics at the Center for Automotive Research, a Michigan think-tank, said GM had enough inventory to cope with a small strike that lasted a week or two, but then "felt the pain." GM faces a loss of $400 million a day if its North American production line shuts down as a result of a strike. In addition, GM's plants in Canada and Mexico will also be affected as a result of the integration of the supply chain.
The matter has also attracted the attention of US President Donald Trump, who urged both sides to "get together and reach an agreement as soon as possible!" Before that, Trump had risked falling out with large automakers in Europe and around the world to protect jobs in the U. S. auto industry and workers.
It is reported that UAW and GM returned to the negotiating table at 10:00 local time on Monday.
Cao Dewang, chairman of the Fuyao Group, and his American factory sparked heated discussions on both sides of the ocean during the recent broadcast of the documentary "American Factory." Cao Dewang, chairman of the Fuyao Group, said in the American Factory, "if the union is formed, I will close the factory and I will not do it." Because there is no hope for that (union), how did GM (the car) fall out? GM died on the union! In the United States, as long as there are trade unions, there will be no increase in factory productivity. When Chinese enterprises go out and meet the trade unions, they turn around and go away, and don't even touch them! "
Cao Dewang believes that the role of trade unions in Europe and the United States is in fact to protect those who do not work hard and form a "big pot of rice." The trade union system in the United States is no longer suitable for the development of manufacturing, it can be said that this is the cause of the decline of the manufacturing industry in the United States.
On the welfare of employees, Cao Dewang said, based on my decades of experience in running a factory, I believe that the high efficiency of the enterprise comes from the high efficiency of the employees, and the high efficiency of the employees comes from the high welfare of the enterprise. I can say that the welfare of Fuyao employees is very good. For example, the most fashionable benefit in the United States is Obama insurance, with 30% for employees and 70% for companies, and the medical expenses of the immediate family members of the employee family are paid by the insurance company. But I didn't ask employees to buy Obama insurance, and that's what I did-the family members of the Fuyao employee family were seriously ill, the company paid for the treatment of the children of the employee family, and I spent $800,000 on it. In this way, the threatening sword hanging over the head of the staff will be picked up by us, and the staff will be able to work at peace of mind. Therefore, you see that Fuyao's workforce is very stable, the mental state of the staff is very good, and the loyalty to the enterprise is very high.
According to Cao Dewang, based on my experience in opening factories, the United States must solve several problems if it is to restore its status as a manufacturing power:
First, the United States now lacks industrial investors and bosses.
Second, deindustrialization has led young people to work in industries such as finance and real estate, and there is a lack of young workers in manufacturing. Why did Foxconn's project in the United States stop? Because the cheapest in the United States is energy resources such as electricity and natural gas, and the most expensive is labor costs. Foxconn factories are labor-intensive, unlike Fuyao, which is energy-intensive and bulky. Where does Foxconn hire so many workers who can work?
Third, the existence of the trade union system, the tension between employers and employees hindered the development of manufacturing in the United States, this problem is difficult to deal with. This is because the election mechanism and election platform of the two parties are the main source of tension in labor relations, and this problem cannot be solved in the short term.
(this article is integrated from Sina, the financial community and other media)
"Click to sign up for" SMM2019 Annual meeting of China Nonferrous Metals Industry "
Scan QR code and apply to join SMM metal exchange group, please indicate company + name + main business
