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Anti-Social Socialist's avatar

"If they can’t understand that after four weeks, the 8,700 workers shutting down this extremely profitable plant will help them understand it.”

This is some gangster shit and I am HERE FOR IT. <3 Shawn is a legend.

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Skunk Formerly Known As Stoner's avatar

Let’s do some math. $25 billion per year from 100,000 employees spread across suppliers. That’d be $250,000/yr each, rather comfortably more than their actual annual compensation. Sounds like Ford has room in its budget to spend on the people who make the product.

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Joe Schmoe, Troublemaker's avatar

https://vimeo.com/649641988 —> Walking in Staten - SNL

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Ingie's avatar

My son is one of the UAW members on strike at Chicago Bolingbrook. So proud! Stay strong union!

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Michael Bowen's avatar

Good for him! May he and his union mates stay strong!

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Ho͛gͦͥeͬ͒yeGr̰̻̜e̬̞̠x͔'s avatar

So, 25 bil a year, and let’s call it 10k employees, for ease of math.

So, each employee generates 2.5 mil in revenue, and gets paid 35k? That means they’re getting paid about 1.5% of the money they make for Ford.

Yeah, yeah. I know. A) that’s gross revenue, not profit. And B) there are workers in the parts factories, etc. who also contribute. But still. Okay, double the workers and assume 25% profit. So they get 12% of the actual cash they generate. That’s still ridiculous.

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Michael Bowen's avatar

The basic Ford Expedition starts off at almost 58K. The cheapest Super Duty pickup starts at 46K. The current Lincoln Navigator is going for almost 85K. Who the hell can afford these things?

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Gary Seven in Space's avatar

6 year loans now the norm.

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Smol Blue Dot's avatar

The CEO and executives of the automakers.

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calliecallie, aka pollyanna's avatar

Solidarnosk, I say.

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Megan Macomber's avatar

Ford puts out a statement on behalf of UAW. Thanks, Ford, for making their case for them!

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Enter Ranting's avatar

In the meantime, negotiations between the actors and the studios has broken down, because the greedy fuckheads who run the studios don't want to fairly compensate the people who have made them multi, multi, multi millionaires.

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Megan Macomber's avatar

Why aren't the writers striking with SAG? Didn't SAG strike with WGA?

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Enter Ranting's avatar

The WGA resolved their contract. Their strike is over. There are non-working writers who are still on the picket lines with the actors. WGA members who have started back on their shows are writing and trying to get ready for when the actors' strike is over, so productions can start up more quickly, and the rest of the crew can get back to work.

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Malcolm Campbell's avatar

"The decision by the UAW to call a strike at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant is grossly irresponsible but unsurprising given the union leadership's stated strategy of keeping the Detroit 3 wounded for months through "reputational damage" and "industrial chaos.” […]"

Ford. I already like how this 'hot strike autumn' is going. You don't have to try to entice me more on it with scintillating words like 'industrial chaos.'

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Cheers Y'all's avatar

Yeah, grossly irresponsible for a strike in a right to work state.

Sheesh....

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Malcolm Campbell's avatar

Is it? Who's gonna train the scabs? How's Ford gonna replace the entire workforce of a key plant overnight?

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Dee Nelson's avatar

The $1 raise thing made me think of the "7 1/2 cents" song from Pajama Game (a pro-union Doris Day joint!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_xSdoWt7v0

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Cheers Y'all's avatar

Hope this doesn't hurt the governor's race 6 weeks down the road.

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Lefty Wright's avatar

I would bet that the low end cost on those trucks and SUVs is double what the lowest paid workers there make before taxes in a year. After taxes some of those vehicles are three times their take home pay. Especially since most manufacturers make very few cars and trucks in the base price range, forcing people to bump up to a more expensive model. You can bet that if there is a computer chip shortage the limited supply goes in the decked out model. The Ford website says the starting price on a base model F-250 is $45,000 but I doubt you could find one that you could drive home in where the total cost was less than $55,000. And it quickly goes up to $70,000 or more.

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Lefty Wright's avatar

A little aside: US truck manufacturers have a big tariff benefit, usually referred to as the chicken tariff. Light duty trucks like the Ford F series and the larger SUVs are protected by a 25% tariff from decades ago, originally targeting chicken parts but expanded to a related product, pick up trucks (really?). So those trucks and SUVs are huge money makers and immune from almost all foreign competition.

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UK Canuck's avatar

Amazon gives workers a $1/hr raise = ar$eho!e adds $0.01 "tip" to restaurant bill

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Brando's avatar

Kind of ominous that Trump said "Israel made a huge mistake" and then a couple years later Hamas--an organization with ties to Putin--launched a major terrorist attack against Israel.

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Pexas Teat's avatar

We'll be learning the causes of this massive failure of government and intelligence for many years to come. Maybe Trump is to blame, maybe he sold Israeli secrets, maybe not.

At present I'm focused on the civilian toll and worried about the missing people and their families.

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