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2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Hey, Middle Class: Hillary Gets It [View all]BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)76. Please post this as an OP because obviously people are very ignorant
about "profit-sharing" and the benefit to workers.
In recent days executives from General Motors and the United Auto Workers union have hailed the $9,000 profit-sharing check GM is sending to each of its 48,000 hourly workers as proof of success of labor-management collaboration, and that the subordination of workers to the profit drive of big business can indeed lead to rewards.
That really is recognizing the hard work that the entire team did in 2014 to support our core underlying performance, said GM Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens. Not to be outdone, UAW President Dennis Williams gushed, General Motors announcement today leaves no doubt about the strong, stable environment the GM/UAW collective bargaining agreement created. GM has demonstrated that the company can profit, shareholders can have value and our members can be rewarded for their hard work.
Several things need to be said about these comments. First, the stable environment the GM/UAW collective bargaining agreement created included the abandonment of annual wage improvements, cost of living adjustments, paid holidays, the eight-hour day, current and future health and pension benefits and countless other hard-won gains. Compared to the tens of thousands of dollars each worker lost through these concessions, the $9,000 check at GMor the $6,900 Ford or $2,700 Fiat-Chrysler Automotive checksare a mere pittance.
This has allowed some team members to do a hell of a lot better than others. The companys $6.6 billion in North American profits, for example, will allow Stevens and GM CEO Mary Barra to pocket at least $18 million in compensation for 2014. This is 303 times the annual earnings of older GM workers; 543 times the yearly wage of a new second-tier worker and 972 times more then contract workers earning as little as $9 an hour.
That really is recognizing the hard work that the entire team did in 2014 to support our core underlying performance, said GM Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens. Not to be outdone, UAW President Dennis Williams gushed, General Motors announcement today leaves no doubt about the strong, stable environment the GM/UAW collective bargaining agreement created. GM has demonstrated that the company can profit, shareholders can have value and our members can be rewarded for their hard work.
Several things need to be said about these comments. First, the stable environment the GM/UAW collective bargaining agreement created included the abandonment of annual wage improvements, cost of living adjustments, paid holidays, the eight-hour day, current and future health and pension benefits and countless other hard-won gains. Compared to the tens of thousands of dollars each worker lost through these concessions, the $9,000 check at GMor the $6,900 Ford or $2,700 Fiat-Chrysler Automotive checksare a mere pittance.
This has allowed some team members to do a hell of a lot better than others. The companys $6.6 billion in North American profits, for example, will allow Stevens and GM CEO Mary Barra to pocket at least $18 million in compensation for 2014. This is 303 times the annual earnings of older GM workers; 543 times the yearly wage of a new second-tier worker and 972 times more then contract workers earning as little as $9 an hour.
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No, she doesn't: She will have to nego with Congress; That s a long time away
lewebley3
Jul 2015
#21
over the next couple months Mrs Clinton could lead a public push to 'make Congress raise the minimum
Sunlei
Jul 2015
#75
Profit sharing is the worst thing that's ever happened to the employees of my company.
Dawgs
Jul 2015
#5
Well, for one, they dumped employee matching of 401K from 4% to 1% to implement it.
Dawgs
Jul 2015
#17
It does suck. And, I would argue that most companies would drop something to pay for profit sharing.
Dawgs
Jul 2015
#30
And that's why it's ridiculous. You can't make companies do anything when it comes to their money.
Dawgs
Jul 2015
#33
We've been told on this site that traffic lights and the military are socialism
BainsBane
Jul 2015
#13
Worst thing? In what way? Profit sharing was the BEST thing that happened to the employees...
George II
Jul 2015
#89
I have participated in profit sharing and it wasn't tied to a 401 plan and we already had a 401
Thinkingabout
Jul 2015
#91
OK, I am not against higher minimun wage, this isn't what Hillary is saying at all. She wants some
Thinkingabout
Jul 2015
#95
She has lots of supporters who trust her and in fact if you checked on where the
Thinkingabout
Jul 2015
#92
Give me a holler again when she explicitly reverses her stance on programs like H-1b and H-2B
cascadiance
Jul 2015
#8
visa foreign workers are paid the federal minimum wage. Plus workers pay the 'contract batchers'...
Sunlei
Jul 2015
#53
Exactly. I'm so fed up with these "Terms of Reality" as if they're set in concrete.
BlueJazz
Jul 2015
#45
Oh, my, let's jump out try to curtail working people from getting more money. Do you agree with
Thinkingabout
Jul 2015
#93
Does anyone have a ballpark income range for what Clinton means by "middle class?"
RadiationTherapy
Jul 2015
#39
Its all the Americans paid the crappy minimum (is it $7 now?) who need a higher Federal minimum.
Sunlei
Jul 2015
#47
I think all of the D contenders and President Obama know its "wages of middle-class workers"
Sunlei
Jul 2015
#41