UAW Opposes Chinese Built Buick Envision Crossover

UAW: Yeah, you can produce it in the US, but can you do it for the same cost as the units made in China, with the same or better quality?

Now do you understand why all sorts of manufacturing, not just cars, has shifted from the US to other countries? If robots were cheaper than Chinese workers and made products as good or better, you can bet manufacturers would be using them, instead.

Wonder how Germany does it... seems to be a total mystery to the US. I hate to see our large scale manufacturing move overseas, soon enough we won't have the skills or even know how to do it. Engineering jobs etc...are all directly impacted. Personally I don't agree with free trade as it just leads to a hunt for the lowest cost labor (whether we are talking people who screw things together, to engineers, to scientific research) and the new age of connectivity means any of these types of jobs can be performed anywhere. There is still some hesitancy behind off shoring but it will continue to gain acceptance over time and ever more jobs will be moved overseas. The long term implications are quite serious for the US and I hope our representatives start thinking beyond the big corporate donors who want to maximize their salaries.

valhallakey writes "...Wonder how Germany does it..."

Check AutoSpies archives for coverage about Audi moving all Q5 production from Ingolstadt Germany to Mexico for the all-new 2017 model year vehicle. Primary reason is Mexican workers will be paid about US$10/hour (about double what their neighbors earn) while workers in Germany are getting around $50. This is not the first example, nor the last.

Another example is BMW, who historically has been known for The BMW Drive, but not necessarily for the lack of defects or low frequency of visits to the repair shop. In the 1980s, they began a quality improvement program in earnest, and it worked. By the late 1990s, BMW had attained much improved quality numbers, but the Deutsch Mark's strength made their domestically produced vehicles expensive to to make. BMW did two things to address this: (1) they cut costs in their domestic plants (which, unfortunately, resulted in an increase in defects), and (2) they shifted some of their production to the U.S., where the comparatively weaker US dollar and US government tax breaks and other incentives let them reduce manufacturing costs. For example, every Z3 sold world-wide was made in the States. You can bet some Bavarians were pissed that their jobs were leaving their country.

Shifting manufacturing out of country isn't news, even for the Germans.

Yet they also make a huge number of cars in country, even inexpensive VWs. I know there are reasons to shift production to other countries such as the logic of - I will sell 90% in X country I should just make it there. However the chase for the lowest $ I disagree with, which is enabled by free trade. Free trade with nations that the only way the US is going to compete is to move back to the way it has been since we became civilized. A few wealthy, small middle class and masses of poor.

Of course the UAW opposes it. They are afraid that a product of higher quality will show up the shoddy work of their mindless minions.

The UAW should be giving concessions to North American manufacturers to create more jobs in the USA and Canada.

Support all 50 states being right-to-work states.

Support all unions (and all other organizations) being banned from political action.

Support all workers having the right NOT to be a part of a blood-sucking union.

Exactly, they should work for $5/hr max. And everyone knows only corporations should be allowed to buy politicians. Seriously, I would rather see the unions reform and become an active partner in the building of better, cheaper, FASTER cars. I don't support unions being able to donate to any political cause but neither do I support corporations doing it either. Should be only US citizens and cap it at some reasonable level $5k maybe. Also get away from these massive free trade deals, negotiate with each country for each trade deal.

and how will dur Fuhrer TRUMP stop this from coming in to the country. Apparently he has a plan to bring back all jobs and manufacturing to the US from China