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LARRY BRUDZYNSKI

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American Axle manufacturing workers can make up to $65 an hour in wages and benefits, on par with assembly workers at GM, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler. The company wants to cut that to $20 to $30 an hour,

 

How about a 50-60ish% pay cut. Could any of us survive?

 

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/15412200/detail.html

 

/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hitthefan.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/puke.gif

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We deal with that as flat rate techs all the time Larry. We used to get paid 5 hours to do an EGR cooler hose, now we get 1 hour. Not to mention all the TSB's that cut our throats.

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How about a 50-60ish% pay cut. Could any of us survive?

 

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/15412200/detail.html

 

/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/hitthefan.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/puke.gif

Putting a little perspective.... $65 an hour? To, basically, put tab A in slot B? If we knock off the employee contribution to pension and medical, that still has to be over $30/hour for a repetitive task, no brain job....

 

I think there are some good techs out there that deserve all of that and more... and they aren't what we could call affluent. In a small shop, a tech will need to know diagnosis..... diesel, gas, automatics, electronics... REAL skills that require REAL talents.

 

I think it is a travesty that "human robots" get paid more than talented people simply because they are onionized.

 

Dear Ann Landers.... sign me "Miffed"....

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Yeah, what Jim said. I agree totally. Maybe the cost of manufacturing will come down after they cut their labour costs and then reflect on the build prices of vehicles. Man, I can only imagine what it would be like to make $65.00/hr. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/drinkingdude.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cheers.gif

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Larry... in my figuring, I took off $35/hour for bennies... something we don't see a lot of in the trenches in Canada... leaving these guys at $30 hour before taxes...

 

Considering that most US techs I see are making ~ $20/hour... meaning some dumb-ass in a manufacturing job get's paid more than someone that has to think and apply reason and logic.

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Good thought Jim(GYM) but think about it these guys are all Union Wieners and make more than us to begin with. Thats the world they are in, we don't like it but come on the unions have worked sometimes for them and now are working against them. I worked in a union and made almost 25.00 a hour just shuffling Cummins parts for 8 hours a day.

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Thats why the guys in warranty get paid the big bucks. A bad word but sad to be true but were all being micro managed.The cost of staying in operation is sky-rocketing and ofcoarse employee pay isn't. What do you do? lay-off employees or move to another state? Didn't figure it out yet. This field is dying and by all means needs "fresh" blood. Would of never thought of some of the dealers that closed the doors would ever do so. Not sure about you guys in other states,but 4 hospitals closed here due to chapter 11, and more to close within the next few years. the word is doomed. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crybaby2.gif

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Well, there used to be a joke that as you entered South Dakota a sign at the state line announced, "Welcome to South Dakota, set your watch back twenty years."! So, to open up to a larger world I surf many an auto related site to get a feel for where things are headed.

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I read this series some time back and realized just how low wages can go. It is simply an eye opening must read. I applaud the American workers for making great wages while it lasted. Read the series here http://detnews.com/specialreports/2004/driven/

The rural area where I grew up in Pennsylvania had one industrial employer that had 2 products: wire harnesses and hypodermic needles. At the time that I was a kid (OK, teenager and had a job there) there was still electronics (like tv sets) "Made in USA" and as I recall they had contracts with RCA and Zenith, and business was good. My mother retired from there quite a while ago and since then they have closed the harness division. I am not sure how they still compete on the needles, surely those can be made overseas cheaper.

 

I had wander-lust and ended up on the west coast; when I visit Mom and Dad I wonder where the money comes from. How do people afford to buy a new pickup for him and a new SUV for her? (And still buy a house and keep clothes on the kids?)

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