UAW workers earn much more than college professors

and they want MORE money??? this is getting ridiculous! and the American automotive business goes the way of the Dodo (like bbechtel said).

Ridiculous!!!! I wouldn't go as far as saying that unions are now outdated, but this is still ridiculous.

Unionizing is not an outdated product. A union is absolutely necessary in businesses where working conditions are barbaric and costly (think meatpacking industry). The problem with unions is that once working conditions are closer to where they need to be, the unions don't fade out. To the contrary, they become stronger. So much so, in fact, that it can bring down the very company that writes the paychecks.
 
Until the past couple of years, no one knew how to dismantle a union. Unfortunately, it appears the company must be in dire straits for that to happen.

Oh, also the Delphi deal should bring UAW worker salaries down considerably. Within the terms of the agreement, workers receive $14-$18/hr, much more along the lines of non-college employees.

I'm speechless...

This sort of highway robbery is being attempted all over again by the grocery store unions in California. These guys actually think that a supermarket bagger or the checker in aisle 9 should get full benefits, etc with almost no contributions or caps on their own health care plans. You can't even get benefits like that after over a decade in graduate education!! What's even better is that so many of these grocery workers are either undocumented or are simply naturalized aliens. When tax day comes around, this kind of stuff makes you want to punch a hole in the wall.

So Chrysler's employees get paid 50% more than the Japanese employees. So why aren't their cars 50 % better?
How about basing pay on product performance? Bet that'll be a kick in the pants.

And now it all makes sense why a crappy fully loaded Sebring costs $39K.

"Unionizing is not an outdated product. A union is absolutely necessary in businesses where working conditions are barbaric and costly (think meatpacking industry). The problem with unions is that once working conditions are closer to where they need to be, the unions don't fade out. To the contrary, they become stronger. So much so, in fact, that it can bring down the very company that writes the paychecks."
 
That's what I'm saying! Are there any industries left in the US with these kinds of conditions (and legal workers)?
 
Ditto to everyone's comments.

More evidence of piss-poor management. Couple this with the medical/legacy costs, and you have a Ford Focus instead of a Mazda3
  
     DrFill

The numbers are pretty absurd, no doubt. Ditto especially the comment about a crappy Sebring costing $39,000.
 
That being said, I'm curious to know what the average active UAW worker makes as a total compensation package. I think these numbers reflect labor cost per worker (active or not), which includes tax liabilities the worker never sees (employer portion of FICA, unemployment taxes, etc.) It's not as though every Joe wrench-turner on the Sebring line necessarily gets $75/hr, though I imagine some might. Of course, regardless of what each worker actually gets, the per-person cost is driving the Big 3 under. Good job, unions!
 
On a non-car note that I just can't let slide, why lump doctors into the compensation vs. value comparison? Most provide a highly valuable service at tremendous personal sacrifice in both time and money. And they're thanked for it with decreasing insurance payouts, increasing insurance premiums, and increasing lawsuits.

They're discussing individuals with a doctorate, not necessarily a medical doctor. Specifically, the article discusses university professors.

"On a non-car note that I just can't let slide, why lump doctors into the compensation vs. value comparison? Most provide a highly valuable service at tremendous personal sacrifice in both time and money. And they're thanked for it with decreasing insurance payouts, increasing insurance premiums, and increasing lawsuits."
 
Estreka, that was my comment about doctors, not the article's.
 
Ewilfong, I agree.Yet most still live in houses and drive cars that most of us mere mortals can only dream of. Do they deserve to be paid well? Absolutely, but no more so than do school teachers, nurses, etc.

I totally disagree about the medical doctors comments. An ex of mine is an obgyn doctor, and performs various surgeries. She is on call 3 days straight (this rotates to vary the days) and the way things work out, after working a 10 hour day gets called in for emergency surgery in the wee hours. If anything goes wrong, and that is defined as whether the patient decides this is the case, there is always the threat of a law suit hanging over her.
Complications happen, and there is a mortality rate to child birth, even in our modern day and age with the best that we have to offer. A distinct memory I have is driving her home with her in tears as she had to remove a baby that died in womb. Let me say that you don't want to know how this is done.
Yeah she gets paid a lot. But she still has insane med school bills to pay. And crazy insurance coverage. I don't think she gets paid anywhere near enough. Nurses have to deal with some of this stuff too, but to a lesser scale. Teachers? Yes they are extremely valuable but to think they should be remotely close to the same pay scale as doctors is a joke. My neighbour is a high school teacher. Sure she's busy during school time but she has the entire summer off...

All true, and yet there other other doctors who merely remove warts, or who sit at a desk listening to people sitting on a couch talk, working normal hours, and who are making a ton of money.
 
Myself having had the benefit of both doctors, nurses and school teachers in the family, and with my daughter now being a nurse, I too have seen the good and bad side. Believe me, in most cases the nurses and school teachers get the short end of the stick, and always have.

Still, if doctors were not paid as much as they are, fewer people would spend the time and money to go through medical school.
I'm a little more comfortable with doctors overcharging for their services than there being a vast shortage of doctors. As long as there is little or no intervention to the medical field, an equilibrium will be reached.