Our GM workers make around $28 an hour, not including benefits with benefits it adds up to around $75 an hour. They also have a 2nd tier where those people start at $14 an hr, but can reach the $28 dollar an hour within 3 yrs. This second tier was suppose to make the company more profitable. The reason I say "Our GM workers" is because I live in a town where a GM plant is located. Most of my neighbors either work for GM or for a supply company that supports GM. GM and the supply companies used to have something called a Jobs Bank, which basically was, if you got laid off, no matter for how long, you would still get 90% of your salary.
Many employees would go into this Jobs Bank for years. The Jobs Bank has finally been shut down within the last few weeks. Now GM shuts down every year for a few weeks over the holidays and then a few weeks during July. This time has been extended by a few extra weeks. Those hourly workers receive 90% of their pay, which is Unemployment and GM subsidy's. That GM subsidy only last for so long, so once that runs out, then the worker only has Unemployment to rely on. Welcome to the real world.
Our GM, over the summer hired 1500 new people who were suppose to work on the a new Chevy. Many of those people never even had a chance to step on the line. They underwent training and then was never called in to work. They left jobs and many even relocated from other states. Now GM has announced major layoffs at our plant. Anyone with less then 10 years at the plant, is laid off indefinitely. That number comes out to well over 1800 workers. 1500 of them do not qualify for unemployment benefits through GM and are hoping to be able to fall back on their previous employers benefit.
My uncle has been at the plant for 32 years. He has a 6th grade education and makes well over 120K a year with over time. Him and his friends were offered a buyout package of 140K and in their greed, they said it wasn't enough. I don't look negatively on anyone making an honest living, but much of the problems with GM came from the greed of the UAW and GM management. Now they have to pay the price.
It's funny and sickening when you talk to a long term GM employee and even a supplier employee, they honestly feel like they are entitled to these buy out packages and these 100% paid for by the company health insurance plans. If you even mention that they should have to take a 10% pay cut and pick up a portion of the cost of their benefits, they flip out. I could go on and on about the UAW and the greed that has taken place at GM and the crazy give away that management has given to the UAW.
I can only say that we lost the steel industry many years ago and my community never has recovered from that, if we loose the auto industry, you might as well stick a fork in Ohio and many other states, because it really is our last manufacturing base. Salaries and benefits need to be cut across the board and layoffs need to take place, without buyout packages. My uncle and many of his friends could have and should have retired years ago, but they stick around out of pure greed. They need to go.
