Well, well, well, Lewenza and the CAW are going to re-open discussions with the Big 3 automakers regarding contracts. Yes, the same guy and union who won’t even respond to my emails. But, I don’t really want to get into a battle with a union. We all know what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, don’t we?
But, I have to laugh at these guys. I mean, here I’ve been discussing QUALITY (Quality really does depend on the guy working the line doesn’t it?) and they haven’t even bothered to respond to my emails regarding the Ford problem. If they were really worried about consumers buying the product, wouldn’t they be interested in how we felt about the quality of a product. Who buys crap unless we are forced to buy it? We go to the manufacturer who produces the best product for the best price.
But the unions forgot that. They think the consumer will waste their money buying consumer products that are built wrong only because they are union made and American/Canadian made. Yeah, right. We’re all brain dead consumers who don’t really care how we waste our money. We might not be able to tell the CEO’s they make too much money but, we can certainly support companies that build a good product and, if they screw up, correct the problem without shafting the consumer.
Lewenza stated, “In exchange for concessions, the CAW said the automakers would have to accept financial assistance from the governments (sic) of Canada and the province of Ontario, and make a commitment to future production in Canada.” Ohhhh, I like that one. The automakers, who flew to Washington in their private jets and one of them made $34 million, have to ACCEPT financial assistance from the governments of Canada. Hey, that is the taxpayer, the consumer, the sucker who bought the Ford F150 with the leaky window. (By the way – how many governments does Canada have??? ). I do like the fact that OUR tax money must ensure a commitment of production in Canada though.
He further stated, “But the workers could work for free, and it wouldn’t make a difference without a broader national strategy to address this industry’s deeper problems.” Hey, we’re not asking them to work for free. Hell, give them a decent wage. We, the consumer, just want them to put the damm vehicle together properly so that we the consumer don’t get stung with repairs down the road due to sloppy construction. There is solid proof that the F150 had its window put in place improperly and it has caused thousands of dollars of repairs per vehicle. Has the CAW stood up and said, we’ll take responsibility? Has the CAW stood up and told Ford to take responsibility? No, and they wonder why they can’t sell vehicles in the numbers they want and in the numbers to ensure jobs in this country. Hey Lewenza, wake up and smell the coffee. Maybe if you were more concerned about the consumer, you’d have more workers out there instead of being terminated due to declining sales. Here we have a union that is worried about declining membership. Why? Maybe because this will determine their next pay raise. How much in tune is the CAW with our economic crisis? They are already talking of striking at Air Canada in May. Here is a company that has laid off more than 2000 people and the CAW is talking strike!!!!!! Get with the program guys. You’re no better than those executives that ripped off the rest of us with their high wages and options and won’t look after ripped off consumers.
Here’s a little hint. Have your guys look after the consumer; don’t ask for any big raises; ask the government to go after the “robber barons” ripping off the companies at the top and screwing the consumer; ensure your members can build a decent product with minimal recalls; and, ensure that each member helps each other out and lose the “it’s not in my contract” mentality or,” it’s not my job man” work ethic and you know what – we might all just start to like you and buy your products. Otherwise, get used to the declining membership.
