Alabama emerges as foe to auto aid

[Bozita]

Source: Detroit News

Friday, November 21, 2008
Alabama emerges as foe to auto aid
Delegation of state with several foreign auto plants voices criticism, irks UAW, Karmanos.
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News

If much of the Congress' criticism of Detroit's Big Three automakers seems to be coming from south of the Mason-Dixon Line, that may be because foreign competitors like Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. and Germany's Daimler AG have established their beachheads in Southern states.

There, right-to-work laws have helped keep the United Auto Workers out of their plants and a lower cost of living has allowed them to pay employees less.

Alabama in particular is emerging as the base of opposition to federal aid for Detroit's automakers.

Even before this week's congressional hearings began, Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, the senior Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, had taken to the airwaves to call Detroit "a dinosaur."

Read more: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081121/AUTO01/811210365

[baldguy]

1. When in doubt, kill the unions.

Is that the GOP solution to everything?

[sarcasmo]

9. Make no mistake, it is what this fight is all about.

[Winterblues]

2. They must think that Toyota doesn't use tires or air conditioners

or parts delivered by truckers.. If GM and Chrysler and Ford go down they will take many companies with them and many of those will be Independent Truckers that deliver their parts and equipment. Talk about Short Sightedness....

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[WriteDown]

5. More like WWII all over again....

This is obviously at the behest of the Japanese.

[bluestateguy]

4. And yet who was demanding massive federal aid after Katrina?

Oh, and did they ever get around to integrating the Greek System at UA?

[Tempest]

6. Alabama is 10th in the nation in poverty levels

According to 2007 Census data.

The state is in the top 5 for the lowest wage rates in the nation.

[sasquatch]

7. Muerte al Sur y Alabama

:patriot:

[bluecollarcharlie]

8. Thank God somebody pointed this out.

But why stop there? Jim DeMint of South Carolina has BMW making SUVs there. Texas has the Toyota Tundra pickup. Mississippi makes the Nissan Titan pickup. And the headquarters of Toyota and Honda are in California, not far from Waxman's district. Why do they keep getting a free pass around here? All of these are anti-union so-called "right to work" states. Why aren't you Detroit bashers pointing that out? Or is this just another inconvenient truth you don't want to admit to?

[jody]

10. AL with its Toyota, Mercedes, & Hyundai plants in 2009 will surpass Detroit as the largest producer

of autos.

Instead of bailout for Ford, GM, and Chrysler, we should outsource their management jobs to Toyota, Mercedes, and Hyundai.

[boomerbust]

11. Sorry jody

Not going to happen

[jody]

13. How can it when the 1 per-centers control our financial institutions and manufacturing firms

and own a majority of Democratic/Republican votes in the Senate and House.

One percent of our population owns over 50% of our financial wealth and control every multinational corporation in the U.S.

They effectively have created a corporatist state while fringe groups on the left and right keep the flock in the middle running in circles over a handful of divisive, polarizing issues like starving wolves fighting over one tiny bone.

[high density]

12. Last I knew, Toyota and Honda didn't want the big 3 to go out of business

The same people that make supplies for the big 3 also make parts for the Japanese makers.

[ohio2007]

14. GM to spend $1billion of the bailout money… in Brazil

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=320909&CategoryId=12396

Well.... they can say "Buy American" and it stands up in the fine print as truth.

Is Pelosi going to Carnival in Rio next year ?

[No Elephants]

15. On This Week this morning, George Will kept referring to how well manufacturers in Southern

states were doing, but somehow never mentioned "right to work."

Privileged Republicans have such contempt for the working person. I will never understand why any blue collar worker votes Republican. Never.

[blue_onyx]

16. I remember reading an article

about a year or so ago that said auto plants in the south were having a hard time finding skilled workers. I'm sure they could find plenty of workers but not people who had experience in automotive manufacturing. This led to a lot of employee turnover. But I guess locating in a "right to work" state is cheaper than paying workers a living wage. It's interesting how Republicans have been using the idea of not paying employees well as the way to prosperity. Even stranger is how people who are hurt by this "right to work" philosophy can support Republicans (I just don't understand either).

[JNelson6563]

17. Yes, bob forbid we use gubbermint money for that!

Maybe Michigan should abandon autos and switch over to the military contracting sector. Alabama is 9th on the list of how much per capita the industry spends in the US.

Yeah, screw Michigan and any other state that has unionized auto makers. If we bail out the autos there won't be so much military dough to throw around and states like Alabama won't have as much feed in that trough. Just keep the dollars flowing to Boeing!

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/gmd/news/2008/q2/080515b_nr.html

Boeing Contributes $700 Million Annually to Alabama Economy through GMD Program
ST. LOUIS, May 15, 2008 -- The Boeing Company , through its work on the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program, contributed more than $700 million to Alabama's economy in 2007 and supported nearly 5,600 direct and indirect jobs, according to a new University of Alabama study.

The study, conducted earlier this year, found that Boeing's work on the GMD program contributed $198 million in Alabama household earnings and that the average Boeing GMD worker in 2007 earned nearly twice the average wage of Alabama workers in 2006.

Boeing is the prime contractor for GMD, the central element of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's overall layered ballistic missile defense architecture.

"As one of Alabama's largest employers, Boeing contributes significantly to our state's booming economy," said U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.). "Ground-based Midcourse Defense is crucial to our nation's missile defense capabilities, and I am proud of the contribution the people of Alabama have made to this critical asset. I look forward to continuing my strong support of GMD and national missile defense."

Boeing Vice President and GMD Program Director Greg Hyslop said the GMD program's success is due in part to Alabama's business environment. "Since Boeing was awarded the initial contract for the GMD program in 1998, Alabama has led the way in bringing the best work force and supplier base together on this program," Hyslop said. "It's exciting to see that our work has supported the overall growth and health of the state's economy."

The Center for Business & Economic Research (CBER) at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, conducted the study on Boeing's behalf. In operation since 1930, CBER is a major repository for business, economic and demographic data for Alabama and the surrounding region.

The Boeing GMD study looked at payroll, nonpayroll purchases and expenditures, and vendor commitments in the state to determine the overall impact of Boeing's work on the GMD program. Major economic impacts for 2007 include:

Nearly 5,600 direct and indirect jobs
$80 million payroll
$198 million in Alabama household earnings
38 jobs created in the state for every 10 Boeing GMD jobs
The highly skilled, high-income GMD program work force earned an average of 1.9 times the average 2006 wage for an Alabama worker.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) applauded the release of the economic data. "Boeing is an example of a world-class organization that has enjoyed great success in Alabama, and the company's robust defense activities in the state have played a big role in sustaining Alabama's strong economy," Sessions said. "The economic development numbers released today are evidence of the significant positive impact that the GMD program has in north Alabama."

U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer (D-Ala.) also praised Boeing employees for their work. "Boeing's North Alabama work force has not only significantly impacted the state's economy, but more importantly, it has provided the capability to defend our country from a ballistic missile threat," he said.

A 2006 CBER study determined that The Boeing Company as a whole contributed $1.5 billion annually to Alabama's economy.

Thank you Alabama for providing an excellent example of that classic Rethug philosophy: I got mine, fuck the rest of ya!

Julie

[Blue_in_Mass]

18. Unions are key to blue collar prosperity.

Globalization is simply going to turn everyone into a serf to the corporation.

[kiranon]

19. Went to a Ford dealer today to look at Ford Escape Hybrid - very bad attitude at dealership

First salesperson did not know anything about the vehicle. My husband had to look in the brochure to find out what packages Ford had - 2 for the Hybrid. The salesperson said all Ford Hybrids are built from a base up by the customer. He didn't know about Limiteds or anything else. We asked for a different salesperson and that one did not want to get up from his desk. We were the only ones at the dealership. When I said, I guess you don't want to sell a car, the seated salesperson said, "F*** you." Am I in favor of a bailout? Not without a complete reorganization of the management and a different attitude in the field and the dealerships. It all comes from the top and something is terribly wrong at the top. We have owned 2 Ford Explorers and now have a Prius and would have bought another car. We're funny but we really like some sort of service and the "f" word doesn't do it.

[amandabeech]

21. This dealer will go under. Please try another dealership before you give up.

I recently bought a gently used Taurus from the Ford dealer that had sold the car originally and done almost all of the maintenance.

Everyone there bent over backwards for me! The dealership was across state lines, and I didn't have a car before I bought the Taurus.

The salesman actually drove 25 minutes to the closest town that I could get to and drove me to the dealership.

He even showed me the material that he had on the new European Fiesta, Ka and new Focus Cabriolet.

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience, but I cannot tell you how happy I am with my Taurus an with the dealership!

I LOVE the Escape Hybrid by the way. I's beyond my current budget, but if things change in the future I'll be looking at them.

[DuaneBidoux]

20. Another red state on the federal dole socking it to a blue state that has given the US more wealth..

in ten years than Albama has given the U.S. in its entire existence.