The next time you get a chance, do yourself and your industry a big favor. Walk out onto your shop floor and kick your best
tech as hard as you can in the backside. Make it hurt. It's important you show as much disrespect as possible to the person
who shows up every day, puts in overtime, goes to training and devotes a good part of his or her life to you.
Next, cut his big, fat salary. After all, his high wages are at the core of your business problems just as they're the source
of rising repair costs and the rising number of totals.
SOUND PRETTY STUPID? IT IS. But I've heard similar foolish statements made about UAW workers during debates over the auto bailout. Specifically about
the purported $73/hour UAW members are supposed to be making "standing around turning a wrench." That wage is supposed to
be the main source of Detroit's problems, unless you're the kind of person who believes in looking at fact.
FACT 1: The $73/hour stuff is nonsense. Actual current hourly wages for GM workers average between $14 and $28/hour. Benefits are
another $10/hour. The $73/hour figure represents those numbers combined with benefits and the costs of pensions and health
care for retired workers (people who have long since left the factory floor). FACT 2: Labor contributes only 10 percent to the price of a car. In case you haven't noticed, American cars cost significantly less
than their import rivals, usually several thousand dollars less for a comparable model. When was the last time you heard someone
say, "I really wanted a Chevy or Chrysler over my Honda, but they're way too expensive?"
During the Congressional bailout debate, the people actively pushing the $73/hour myth were senators from Southern states
that are home to factories run by import manufacturers – not exactly the kind of people who would be rooting for Detroit to
succeed.
Who makes key decisions that ultimately decide whether a company survives. It's the executives, the same folks who were content
to keep building gas guzzling big trucks and SUVs while practically ceding the core midsize and small vehicle markets to import
brands. These are the same people who have had 30 years to win back the confidence of American consumers who believe, often
rightly so, that import models offer far more in the way of quality and reliability. Oh, and if you're looking for workers
whose wages actually work out to $73/hour (over $150,000 annually), that and far more is paid to a lot of people in offices
who make the decisions that have kept Detroit struggling.
I believe the duty of the press is to bring the truth to light. Unfortunately, truth doesn't often translate into ratings,
which explains why these facts often don't make their way onto cable news outlets. I also think it's important, especially
in these difficult economic times, for members of the automotive industry not to turn upon one another. The American automotive
market supports over 3 million jobs. These are your vendors, neighbors, friends and maybe even relatives. In these tough economic
times, in an economy where every job is tied to another, every job matters.
Should one of the Big Three automakers fail, the consequences would be dire. Repairers already are reporting having to wait
weeks for some parts due to Detroit's problems. Expect more of that should an automaker go under. Expect, too, to see vehicle
values depreciate even more, which means more totals. Figure in the fact that fewer American jobs mean fewer customers to
pay for your repairs.
Detroit needs to find solutions to turn its fortunes, and ours, around. That means addressing its real ills honestly, which
shouldn't include squeezing autoworkers or making ridiculous claims about their compensation. We would do well to learn the
same lesson.
Contact info:
tsramcik@advanstar.com
(440) 891-2743
Posted 2009-02-24 13:23:26.0
