Why American car companies will fail again.

I guess quality is job 1001.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/10/chrysler-workers-fired-for-drinking-back-on-job-against-automake/#continued

And on a different front, this isn't exactly great news either...

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/10/a123-winning-bid-from-chinas-wanxiang-prompts-concern-in-congre/

What part of American car companies does this have anything to do with?!??!?

The article said: While the company does not agree with the ultimate decision of the arbitrator, we respect the grievance procedure process as outlined in the collective bargaining agreement and our relationship with the UAW.

I predict a lock and ban in 3... 2... 1...

racerfink wrote: I guess quality is job 1001. http://www.autoblog.com/2012/12/10/chrysler-workers-fired-for-drinking-back-on-job-against-automake/#continued

Im not surprised.

This should make for an interesting thread though.

People that don't have to worry about being fired do not put in the best efforts at work. And last I checked, Chrysler is still considered an American car company.

its not great news but maybe not the worst news. If you follow chinese investment into american companies you will know that chinese money has proppped up a lot of start ups and medium sized businesses. This latest acquisition is troubling mostly because china likes to gain access to technology then copy it and move production to china. But if that was their goal its unlikely in my eyes they would spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy the company. The company's patents will help them make better batteries, I'm sure, and give them a brand name to sell them under that may be more recognizable. I guess only time will tell.

As for the workers drinking on the job, thats pretty ridiculous. Caught on camera drinking on the job, instant dismissal, no suspension, no hearings, none of that E36 M3. Why would the union side with those berkeleytards when it makes everyone think "well I don't care if my car is built union if they union wants drunken berkeleytards to build my cars." the union should promote worker safety, and personally, I wouldn't feel safe on an assembly line where some drunken asshat is running the gantry crane behind me. I feel like the story is massive PR fail for chrylser and the union. In this economy, how many sober people would have lined up to take those 13 jobs???

racerfink wrote: People that don't have to worry about being fired do not put in the best efforts at work. And last I checked, Chrysler is still considered an American car company.

I think Fiat owns 58% percent (give or take a point). Wouldnt it be Italian?

That's why I said considered. If you went to Italy, and mentioned Chrysler, do you think they'd think of Italy or the United States?

Assembly line issues are nothing new. It's been going on as long as there have been production lines. People tend to think the '50's and '60's were the golden age of US auto production when they could do no wrong, but it's not true. You can find example after example where workers made mistakes, such as soda bottles left in doors, pieces not bolted on, etc., etc.

And drinking on the job is also not new. Once again, not to generalize too much, but in that type of work in particular, you find behavior such as this. Both of my friends with auto repair shops have had this problem at one time or another. It's more common than most people think. Not to excuse it, but it's not exactly big news.

andrave wrote: As for the workers drinking on the job, thats pretty ridiculous. Caught on camera drinking on the job, instant dismissal, no suspension, no hearings, none of that E36 M3. Why would the union side with those berkeleytards when it makes everyone think "well I don't care if my car is built union if they union wants drunken berkeleytards to build my cars." the union should promote worker safety, and personally, I wouldn't feel safe on an assembly line where some drunken asshat is running the gantry crane behind me. I feel like the story is massive PR fail for chrylser and the union. In this economy, how many sober people would have lined up to take those 13 jobs???

andrave hits the nail on the head. I've worked with people that knew the union would help them keep their job. It finally took them bringing a gun to work for them to be fired. You don't want to work with people like that. And if they aren't fired, you look for another job where you don't have to work with people like that.

Equally big news is a decision in arbitration not favoring the company.

GameboyRMH wrote: Equally big news is a decision in arbitration not favoring the company.

Most people who oversee arbitration are third parties, with no affiliation to either party. Now, back to the thread topic.

racerdave600 wrote: And drinking on the job is also not new. Once again, not to generalize too much, but in that type of work in particular, you find behavior such as this. Both of my friends with auto repair shops have had this problem at one time or another. It's more common than most people think. Not to excuse it, but it's not exactly big news.

This. It's hardly confined to American car companies. And that's all I'm going to say on this matter, it's been discussed ad nauseum, and no minds are going to get changed anyhow.

Don't get me wrong there are a lot of hard working people out there but to me this just highlights how much more generally selfish and entitled the world is today. I want this and I deserve it rather than I have the right to go and work hard to get it.

There is nothing special about this particular example as the selfishly entitled attitude is everywhere you look

And is it bad that I make this statement as someone in their early 30's :P?

Sam Adams has commercials PROMOTING drinking on the job. They deliver beer right to their employee's offices! It's not fair that because they make cars instead of beer, they can;t drink on the job. Poor UAW.

pinchvalve wrote: Sam Adams has commercials PROMOTING drinking on the job. They deliver beer right to their employee's offices!

*begins working on resume and googles "Sam Adams careers"...

I can drink beer at work too. Can't be drunk of course.

Am I the only one who caught this part?

caught them drinking alcohol and smoking what looks to be marijuana

Oh you didn't watch the videos then. It was obvious they were getting high

In reply to racerfink:

most of the general public has given up combatting that.....

I had a coworker at a correctional facility get put on paid leave and into rehab 5 berkeleying times for alcoholism.......worst thing was, he drank on the job, in which he was the perimeter driver and was one of only 3 people at the facility armed all the time. Brass refused to do anything more because they were former buddy buddy workers from the local plant that closed. My point is, it DOESN'T have to be union to be retarded for this.

Now, the night I inhaled 3 lucky strikes on a 15min break and zoned out for awhile, well.....that got me out of the "Draft"(4hr holdover after 12), and netted me a 3hr paid trip to the hospital to get UA tests taken..........they actually thought I had been smoking weed. As you can tell, I wasn't a buddy buddy member of the workforce, took em two years to get rid of me......sad part was, I was still in the right at the end.

I work for an office that has a zero tolerance drug and alcohol policy. Its one of the few things I can be immediately fired for. The last place I worked for had the same policy. It was so strict that I went out (off site) with a coworker to my hour lunch, and had ONE beer with my burger one day, and word got around and my boss came in and asked me if I had "drank" at lunch. Of course I said NO just to keep myself out of trouble, but it was the last time I ever did that. I'd have no problem with employees having ONE beer. The problem is if I got out and have one 12 ounce beer and a hearty lunch then these idiots go out and drink a 40 ounce of malt liquor and smoke a doobie. Not cool. ruin it for everyone. And I wouldn't feel safe working in an industrial setting with someone that inebriated.

We all had a beer or two at my current employer's company dinner......although I wouldn't have had anything like that had I been on the clock(I drive a company pedovan everyday) I don't disagree with a single beer when not on the clock......unless you're a 75lb anorexic.....

We have somebody like that with a problem at one of the places I work at (not going to name the casino this time) He is a really nice guy, but after a double hip replacement a couple of years ago, his drinking problem, had had been in check, raged out of control.

We all tried to cover for him.. but in the end, management finally found out. Thankfully they only sent him packing to rehab

andrave wrote: As for the workers drinking on the job, thats pretty ridiculous. Caught on camera drinking on the job, instant dismissal, no suspension, no hearings, none of that E36 M3. Why would the union side with those berkeleytards when it makes everyone think "well I don't care if my car is built union if they union wants drunken berkeleytards to build my cars." the union should promote worker safety... .

I'm not an "anti-union" type person but this has always been my biggest gripe as well. Amongst any union, there should be no tolerance within the fellow union members for those who drag down the union label and violate clear cut union/workplace rules.

If the union wants to be viewed positively by the general public they need to position themselves as a "value-add" to their respective organizations. What if union members were seen as a the "highest standard, highest quality, safest, best trained" employees out there? I've previously worked in union plant before (as salaried management), but from an outsiders perspective it seems that pipefitters/electricians type unions have done a much better job of promoting themselves as a "better" labor choice through formal apprentice/journeyman type training/certification ladders.

...stories like this (the reinstatement of the videotaped Chrysler workers) give further ammunition to the Right To Work bill being signed through in Michigan today. Who'd a thunk it, right here in the birthplace of the UAW