WTF American car workers make more than University Professors with PhDs!!!

I think this is a disgrace to the College and University professor of the U.S. But the one thing this worker don't have is job security. The professor at least have their security; but I still think college professor need to be paid more.

thee's no way the average line worker at Ford makes $150k, with or without health benefits. That has to include the ridiculously overpaid executives, making millions upon millions, skewing the numbers.

The numbers are wrong. The auto workers figures include huge benefits payements that the workers don't take home. But it does make sense to stay away from UAW.

omg, is this true?
I'm a God damn senior engineer and don't make even close to $140k. This is just disgusting!

No wonder US Big 3 cannot profit :-P It truly pisses me off that our teachers are always on the short end when it comes to pay. There is a CHANGE going on. Why do you think GM and Ford are buying out current UAW workers. As well as pushing early retirement.

The UAW is responsible for the insane compensation and of course GM's pay has to be competitive to Ford and Chrysler thus they are all high. And Vise Versa...

Job security is a very subjective term. In comparison to other countries yes US auto workers have less "job security" but in comparison to the rest of the United States they have among the best.

The French 35 hour work week and job for life is defunct and is mostly an element of French vanity. Compared to the "real world" of United States employment their jobs are relatively secure hence the Ford Way Forward employee buyout.

US automobile companies have reached the point where they too are vanity industries. They exist only out of habit and not economic viability. They are terribly mismanaged and incapable of standing on their own without government subsidies, favorable legislation, and a bailout always in the wings if things were to get too tough.

Oh yeah workin for the big 3 is like having your head in a vice. Please. The airlines and the automobile manufacturers are privatized socialisim. GM is a health insurance company that just so happens to make cars. Wal-Mart's growth is starting to level off and expect within 5 years our tax dollars starting to coddle the nation's largest private employer.

The education system in this country is also an incredible farce. I'm about to bail from UC Santa Barbara to Berkeley next year. At the start of every class professors always start off by saying something to the effect of "we used to do it this way but now we're going to make it easier." But then again what do you expect when you really can't be fired for your performace as a professor.

There is no genuity or business savvy left anywhere and companies only aspire to be shrinking violets as they pretend to pull lint out out their pockets.

Where did these numbers come from??? The highest number I have seen is around $76,000 including all benefits. $146,520 isn't right.

Between salary (~70-90K) and health care (10K+), Pension, and general overhead costs to the company, I don't doubt this number.

Whatever the case, it makes me want to vomit. So much for "justification for higher education".

Why do you guys think American automakers are bit**ing all the time?

These workers go to work slap together car. They only work a certain amount of hours per day, and enjoy their mandatory hour lunches.

Think about what kind of life you could live in Detroit on 140k?

Then again, I know heavy equipment operators in NY making $97 an hour, with great benifits and plenty of overtime. So its all relative.

Which explains the exodus of car manufacturing jobs to China . Especially , car/truck components manufacturers that the big 3 are "encouraging" to move shop to China.
When a high school ed. job, moving stuff or screwing together cars pays better then a science Phd or an engineer, its no mystery why none of the kids want to study science.

its funny, you goto college, earn a degree or two, get out to get a respected job only to make less than the paid-by-the-hour technician or machinist. overtime and weekend pay is bullshit. not to mention having to pay back loans and it would take years before you catch up.

by the way, its like this for most industries.

Then why do they always complain?!

Unions were once a good thing, but like any organization have become too powerful and will ultimately lead to the demise of the very things may have fought for, the working class. The big three auto companies are losing market share for a number of reasons, but the expense of paying American workers and providing for their health care is one of the largest. If only the workers put forth the effort that their salaries suggest they should, American cars would be in a much stronger position.

Say what you will about the numbers, but don't blame them on executives skewing the numbers. If you read the article those figures are for hourly wage earners only.

As to my personal opinion about it- the figures are entirely abhorrent- little more than a disgusting non-meritocracy gone awry.

This is what happens when our values include very little respect for science and education.

Average is almost always used to skew the data. It's bogus in this instance without the median shown as well. If Bill Gates is sitting in a room with 4 people that work in a WalMart store the average net worth of those 5 people is between 5-10 billion dollars. The median net worth for those same 5 people, well, that's almost certainly below $10,000. If I don't see a median for the UAW members then I'm not putting any stock in the numbers presented. They're phony.

As for an outrage in salaries on a university campus, checkout what the coaches make compared to the professors...