I have seen most of this before , my former warehouse job which was a teamster job , they separated us and used bonuses to get rid of the Union .

They said (UAW) the strike was for job security , that management (GM) wouldn't meet them at all in negotiations , what they came back with doesn't address job security , only an empty promise that the company (GM) would try to invest in US manufacturing , This contract from an outsiders point of view is a disgrace , it takes away wage increases under the terms of "bonuses" instead of raises , it gives a union that seems more focused to organize outside of its natural boundaries , writers , student workers , etc. complete control of all welfare monies of its GM membership . And lastly it divides the entire group of GM workers into two separate tiers , who obviously will not be able to ever fight as a unified body ever again .

This contract shows the omnipotence of corporations , the back rubbing of upper union officials and the complete degradation of the American industrial working class.

So fight UAW workers , don't let them do this to you , if this goes into effect you can almost be sure that future auto's (electric and otherwise) will NOT be made in USA or Canada . Don't agree with me , re-read this in 3 years if this passes . If I am mistaken about any of my points , please inform me , I am willing to learn .

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UAW local presidents ratify historic betrayal of US auto workers

By Shannon Jones
29 September 2007

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This article is posted in pdf format. We urge WSWS readers and auto workers to download and distribute it as widely as possible.

With the unanimous ratification vote by local presidents in favor of the historic concessions agreement with General Motors, the United Auto Workers bureaucracy is moving toward a quick ratification vote, hoping to steamroller opposition.

With each passing day the scope of this monumental betrayal becomes more evident.

Acting directly at the bidding of Wall Street, the UAW bureaucracy is surrendering without a fight the hard-won gains of more than 60 years of sacrifice and struggle, such as guaranteed pension and health benefits and annual wage increases. These concessions, along with the establishment of a two-tier system that drastically reduces pay of new hires, set the stage for the transformation of American auto workers, once the best paid industrial workers in the world, into a cheap labor force.

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Please read the entire article at their site , there are quite a few parts I strongly agree to as to why the membership should vote NO to this contract.everything beow is my opinion personally and does not reflect UnionReview as a whole .

1. a two teir system is not a union by any stretch of the imagination - it splits the union into 2 seperate entities , therebye each will have something different to fight for and there will be absolutely no stregnth in numbers . I speak from experiance , it happened to me when I was a teamster , and that job no longer exists .

2. the ratification was announced immediately as GM would start to lose money , and thats amazing in my honest opinion .

3. the whole guise of standing out on strike for job security , keeping production of new auto's here in the US isn't addressed in this deal .

4. lump sum bonuses , I had one of those to , it's not a raise , is your entire future worth a few grand to get stuck with an awfull contract , I don't have the $1000 payoff that i got when we got stuck with a raw deal anymore , but if we didn't take massive consessions and got a normal raise without the two-tier system I might still be working as a teamster .

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FROM:

GM Contract Full Of Take-Aways And Horse-Trades

GM Contract Full Of Take-Aways And Horse-Trades by The Soldiers Of olidarity

The UAW Administration has a lousy record. In the last two years they have negotiated Wage Cuts and COLA Diversions along with jacked up Health Care premiums and out of pocket expenses for retirees. They have encouraged Local Bargaining Committees to approve COAs that outsource good jobs and set up two-tier pay scales that divide the membership. They’ve whipsawed work rule changes that set the union back 70 years. The proposed GM deal is full of warning flags that wave, “VOTE NO!”

Warning Flag # 1: VEBA Las Vegas:

The life time solvency of VEBA rests on the shakey assumption that investments will beat the rate of health care inflation. Gambling on the stock market is for youngsters, not retirees. If investments could beat inflation, why wouldn’t GM keep the money, set up their own VEBA, and skim the cream? Wall Street is cheering because GM palmed off a bad bet. Beating health care inflation is probably the riskiest gamble you can make in America today. But it will provide lucrative salaries and benefits for administrators. By the way, where does a company on the verge of bankruptcy come up with all that money?

Warning Flag # 2: Wage Freeze & COLA Diversion:

Wages are frozen for 4 years and COLA (after diversion) is .68 cents. That’s $1.40 [$56 a week] less than accumulated COLA in the last four years. Check your pay stub. COLA is $2.08: more than $80 a week. Lump sum payments are here today, gone tomorrow. Raises and cost of living adjustments are here today, and grow tomorrow. COLA and annual raises compound quarterly and pay dividends, week after week after week.

Warning Flag # 3: Two-Tier Wages and Continued Abuse of Temp Workers:

“The entry-level wage structure which is modeled after the UAW-Delphi agreement….” WTF! They calls this a Highlight? United We Bargain. Divided We Beg. This contract divides us. Two tier condemns us to a life of Collective Begging. But it’s worse than that. The UAW has agreed to “Long-Term Temporary Employees”. Why would a Toyota worker want to join the UAW? They already have nonunion jobs. Maybe that’s why the International wants to manage a VEBA. They can’t manage the business of a union which is organizing. Might as well pursue appointed jobs that don’t rely on union dues or elections.

Warning Flag # 4: Job Security is a False Promise:

Every contract since 1980 promised Job Security. After every contract we had fewer jobs. 275,000 fewer jobs since 1980. But the UAW has a new plan. Why outsource when the UAW will do it cheaper? Look out China! Nobody will beat US in the race to the bottom! The only moratorium we’ll see in this contract is the funeral of the industrial middle class.

Warning Flag # 5: Why keep negotiations hush-hush, and then, rush to ratify?

What’s the hurry? What don’t they want us to see? Negotiations have been going on for months. They claim it’s “very complex” “transformational” “historic”. So why the rush? The demand that we vote immediately after the information meeting is an insult to our intelligence. VOTE NO!

Vote to send negotiators back to the table. Tell them there is no such thing as a non core job. We are union to the core. What’s more, we don’t trust them to manage our health care.

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