Detroit Auto Show Auto Worker Rally - 2009

[xtaxplayer]

Union's have complete Healthcare and the highest wages in their industry, and you still whine?? What are you kidding America?

The Auto industry will and should leave and go to RIGHT TO WORK STATES. It would help the economy and the ability to buy inexpensive quality cars.

[FlintPublic]

@xtaxplayer No. They don't. Get a union job with the Big Three today and you'll earn $14/hr, no healthcare, no pension. It's called "the race to the bottom" and working class people better start to realize that singing outta the fat cats' song book will leave us all broke — as they laugh all the way to the tax shelter. Right to work (for less) states only serve to drive down wages which drives down demand which drives this depression.

[xtaxplayer]

@FlintPublic Right... Auto workers are getting $14.00 an hour, where? they get $50.00 an hour to work in parts depot's around here. The speaker at the beginning explains they are here for freedom, but demand rules to regulate pay. George at @ 1:45 explains that 10% of the auto goes to labor, ANOTHER LIE, also he an autoworker needs to be a PHD in computer science? I have a degree in computer science and he is full of crap.

It is typical to lie and continue lying to get your way...CHILDISH.

[FlintPublic]

@xtaxplayer Just because the press favors ideology over facts doesn't make them "lies." Use those sweet computer skills of yours to do a little research and you'll find that labor costs BEFORE the $14 wage became even more prevalent were indeed less than 10% of production costs. ALL UAW new-hires earn the $14 wage. PS: our labor creates ALL wealth, "freedom" to exploit is no virtue & wage suppression in the name of "cost cutting" killed demand & brought about this depression.

[xtaxplayer]

@FlintPublic PROPAGANDA AT ITS BEST ! !

$14 wage is for apprentice; a person with no experience

"PS: our labor creates ALL wealth" WHAT??? So the UAW controls the wealth of the world???

If so the chocolate bar patent is owned by the UAW as is the light bulb, Oil, Propane, Gasoline, Gold...etc...

Sorry that BS doesn't fly here.

No, what brought about this depression is socialist/communist idea's of spreading the wealth. Problem is when enough is spread there is no more and the system collapses

[FlintPublic]

Hilarious swipe at Flint, Diceman! And we're the ones who are supposed to be low class & unoriginal. Anyway, bully for the deep pockets of Tesla & the 3k people who can afford to buy one (or 2!). I'm sure all of their mothers are very proud. I remember how proud my mom was when I sold 3k sub sandwiches for a school fundraiser. At any rate, the rest of America has other things on our minds than your pride-inducing toys. (PS: Note to Tesla workers: green unions are way hipper than green investing)

[DarthNefatious]

@FlintPublic Can you say $500+ million dollars in low interest loans of your money in Tesla's deep pockets from the government. Plus all the reservations at ($5k a pop) from people waiting for their cars (Over 3000 pre-orders of the "Model S" 2 years in advance of launch). Cars Americans can finally be proud of again. Not to mention backing by Daimler, Toyota & Panasonic, & another $200+ Mil in IPO Money.

Tesla Motors is no DeLorean.

I think Flint would make more money as a parking lot. mlm

[DarthNefatious]

California is the new Detroit. The world is changing my obsolete friends.

Can you say Tesla Motors.

[FlintPublic]

@DarthNefatious Can you say DeLorean?

[TomJackson986]

Leeches of the earth. And the majority know it. 

[FlintPublic]

@TomJackson986 You're talking about the Wall Street "profit junkies" I assume. Because to call $14/hr. for 30-years of back-breaking labor that makes every dime these corp's will ever make "leeching" is just stupendously misdirected. Our Labor creates ALL wealth!

[AR15fan]

U.A.W. Yard Apes. OOH OOH OOH! AAH AAH AAH!

[AR15fan]

I wouldn't trust getting behind the steering wheel of the piece of shit autos these U.A.W. Yard Apes turn out!

[FlintPublic]

@AR15fan You should see if Consumer Reports is hiring racists.

[AR15fan]

@FlintPublic What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Are you saying my comment is racist?

[FlintPublic]

@AR15fan Yes.

[AR15fan]

@FlintPublic I don't know where you're comming from. Which species of ape am I a racist against! Gorillas, Orangutans or Chimps? At any rate, whatever the species, I have great contempt for auto workers who go to parks on their lunchbreaks to binge on beer and reefers, doubly so if they belong to a union! The auto bailout wasn't about the industry, it was about U.A.W. pensions! My next car will be a Honda or a Toyota! Fuck Detroit!

[williamjh2010]

I quit my UAW job because my tolerance for BS maxed out. I told them the housing market was a mess, that they cost more than they were worth. I was given an ultimatum to buy a house or else. They said "OK, You don't need this job!" That was my last day before they set me up and I quit. Thank goodness I never bought all the crap they told me to or I would have ended up in 'Economic bandage,' "caught in a trap" like the rest of them!

[FlintPublic]

@williamjh2010 The leadership of the UAW hasn't had its own members' interest in mind for a long time. What you describe sounds downright criminal. Exactly the kind of the anti-solidarity / anti-union activity these union members seek to change. Like democracy, true unionism only works when the members informed and involved. Like democracy, it's not always fair to judge the represented by the behavior their representatives.

[shayner1k]

Auto workers are overpaid unskilled crybabies. for years they have ignored the rest of america that have been subjected to high prices to support their lavish lifestyles because it did not effect them. GO FREE TRADE!

I do not like paying for a auto workers retirement when I buy a vehicle. auto workers dont about other american trades when they hire unlicensed and illegal immigrants to work on their homes do they? where were they when michigan was full of illegals in construction?

[FlintPublic]

@shayner1k Profit-over-people schemes like the NAFTA destroyed the economies of Mexico, the US, and beyond by incentivizing the race to slave wages all over the world. Capital is bestowed with rights and freedoms to travel the globe looking for workers to exploit. Working people do not have that right. Their attempts to keep up and provide for their families is called "illegal." Robber baron Jay Gould said "I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half." Don't be bought.

[hasatum]

@FlintPublic NAFTA was never free trade; it was always managed trade. Not the same thing at all.

[FlintPublic]

@hasatum Too bad semantics don't pay the bills or have the adequate nutritional value needed to feed a family of four. Managed by who? For what end? Profits? Better lives for people?

[hasatum]

@FlintPublic It's not a problem of semantics; it's a real difference. Managed trade puts money in the hands of those that manage it by unfairly crushing competition. Free trade spurs competition and leads to greater wealth for all with a narrower gap between rich and poor.

[FlintPublic]

@hasatum Please. Do you honestly think workers gullible enough to buy "competitiveness" as something other than slashing wages, benefits, working conditions, or workers' rights to organize worldwide? Claiming that this reality of modern "competitiveness" narrows the gap between rich & poor is just plain laughable, but no less sinister. By way of proof, go to sustainable middleclass d com and click the link for "Gini Coefficient." US wealth gap is nearing Mexico's. Canada here we come!

[hasatum]

@FlintPublic You misunderstand me. Real free trade makes it possible for new industries to emerge and respond to changes in demand. While this is not necessarily good for those who are committed to doing the same thing their entire lives, it does provide more jobs at higher wages. But you really aren't listening are you? I've said twice already. The US does NOT engage in free trade. It is committed to managed trade which leads to just the kinds of inequities that you describe.

[FlintPublic]

@hasatum You are right. I guess. I hope you'll forgive me for not believing in the possibility of free trade purity. In this magical land of good intentions and push-button innovation, will the labor market be free too? Free to cross borders with the ease of a Forex trade? Would Taft-Hartley be repealed (managed labor market, yes?)? What about China & Co.? Freedom to organize and strike there too? Then, indeed, let freedom ring.

[hasatum]

@FlintPublic What's wrong with free labor markets? Innovation is never easy, but it is easy to stifle with regulation. I'm not sure what you're getting at with your comment on China. They exploit their people with the threat of police force if they organize so maybe we should exploit ours through the threat of police force if people don't pay ridiculous taxes? Talk about a race to the bottom...

[FlintPublic]

@hasatum Nothing. I'm just saying that when people talk about free trade purity, they do not include full freedoms for workers in their definition. What they mean is "freedom" to exploit – with regulations designed to protect the health, safety, and basic rights and freedoms of workers seen as "stifling." Never mind the stifling wage stagnation, work rule erosion, and orchestrated desperation that makes $14/ hour seem "generous."

[hasatum]

@FlintPublic That's because they don't have to. When there is the possibility of competition, exploitation is minimized since workers naturally move to businesses with better conditions and remuneration. Our current system of managed trade makes it possible for large businesses to behave as cartels and limit the possibility of new competition. This is why wages have stagnated; big business knows that it needn't worry about you leaving to take its business.

[FlintPublic]

@hasatum You have a lot of faith in perfect-world scenarios and the willingness of bosses to do right by their employees. Maybe it's time to put the textbooks down and lift your head up to the way things really are. The smart phone industry is very competitive, no? And right now Apple is winning, yes? Why then do Foxconn employees feel killing themselves is a better deal than working under current conditions at current wages? According to your formula, they should be happy, wealthy, and alive.

[hasatum]

@FlintPublic 1) My boss does right by me not because of government, but in spite of it.

2) Taiwan is about as free market as Japan (another country famous for suicides). That is to say, it's about as managed as they come. As a result, even though the global smart phone market is highly competitive, the job market in Taiwan is controlled by a few companies with the most access to government connections. It is unsurprising that workers are unhappy.

[FlintPublic]

@hasatum I can't disagree with any of that. & I'm glad your boss treats you well. But you have to understand that a gov. v. private enterprise debate is a reframing of the issues that misses the point entirely, as it's intended to. In every capitalist country the people at the top of business ARE the people at the top of government. & yes, those atop today's company unions too. & the average member of any working class (test: r u the boss?) in any such country has no power, no representation.

[hasatum]

@FlintPublic Are you arguing for my point or yours? I want to limit government precisely because I want to weaken the power of big business (i.e. capital) to take control of the law to consolidate power for themselves. In the absence of a strong interventionist government and in the presence of proper rule of law, these industries must compete on their own merits. The too-big-to-fails do not arise and small and medium sized businesses are more competitive.

[FlintPublic]

@hasatum That's all well & good, but there are zero guarantees that "getting the government out of the way" automatically helps workers. In fact, you seem to be suggesting that somehow "proper rule of law" occurs outside of government. That is government. & if i remember my civics right, WE are supposed to be the gov. Granted, as things are now, that is not at all the case. Yet I still have more faith in the constitution & the American people than I do any unchecked boss with no accountability.

[hasatum]

@FlintPublic There are no guarantees in life but in government as in a casino you can bet that the house always wins. Rule of law just means equal treatment under the law whether that be government, ethical, or religious. As for bosses, you'll always have both good and bad so it's better to have more to choose from than less. Big government always means less.

[FlintPublic]

@hasatum OK. But I'm sure you'd agree that a union of workers doesn't have the same protections under the law that a union of capitalists (which is what a corporation is). And as for "more bosses," that's certainly a round-about endorsement for worker ownership. All bosses! Or no bosses, as it were. : )

[hasatum]

@FlintPublic Well, it depends which unions you're talking about, but I'd definitely agree that an authentic, non-coercive union would certainly face resistance from both the political and business establishments. I'm not opposed to worker ownership so long as it is 100% voluntary. Take care. I hope you can find ways to help both workers and their customers.

[FlintPublic]

@hasatum Cheers to that. Thanks for the quality exchange and don't be a stranger. Peace!

[csskalet]

8:53--LOL @ the naive belief that Obama would usher in a pro-union and pro-worker administration. And finally: At least the last guy interviewed has a realistic perspective on things.

[csskalet]

Too bad Obama turned out to be a trojan horse for Wall Street and the Pentagon. However, LOL @ the statement at 3:03: "you have to have a PhD in computer science to be an auto worker now." Give me a break.

[arabianpenn]

us auto death is only delayed by gov funding. I blame management because they are the ones responsible for vision. when top brass are paid millions they better have a futuristic look. US auto senior leadership dropped the ball and blame all except themselves. disgusting.

[dbm5150]

heyediot....your the idiot 41 and nothing better to do!still live at home with mom and dad?loser let me guess your a union man...americans make shit cars period..

[FlintPublic]

Americans make Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans, etc. Do you wish death and disease on them too?

[dbm5150]

we develope and created only to sell it to korea china and japan,,we suck fuck these workers hope the fucking starve they walk away with a healthy pension they blame wallstreet ..bullshit americans make shit ,pure shit i will never buy amaerican anything .these workers should be shot in the head one by one..get cancer and die you brought down the buisness /long live good products from other countries fuck u all

[heyeddie451]

YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT.

[dbm5150]

i hope the american auto buisness crashes and they all lose there jobs!all they have done is price them self out of a job,,strike and strike again..our products suck..the ceo of toyota makes a million a year..gms is 40 million .these workers can go fuck themself

[shayner1k]

@dbm5150

I agree

[nacho706]

YOUR FOREFATHERS WERE NOT FAT

[DRSmetal]

Foreign cars are usually cheaper because they don't have unions, pensions and heath care legacy costs to contend with. Until the unions break, the US auto industry will continue to struggle to compete.

[FlintPublic]

The other way of looking at that is that the foreign car makers need to be unionized. We need more people making more money - not competing in wage suicide until we're all face down in the muck looking up at the boss' boot. Natural resources are finite. They will run out. But capitalism doesn't have a pause or slow-mo button. The same is true of its appetite for lower labor costs. And they too have a limit.

[DRSmetal]

Why? That's not going to happen. Aside from US auto makers. The average wage for foreign auto worker is usually 25-45 bucks and hour to start.. I would love to make that kind of money even without a union. That is enough to live by. I make barely that much now.

[FlintPublic]

The non-union foreign plants only pay (paid) that much to keep the union out. The new wage for UAW members is $14/hr. so the new wage for non-union autoworkers will undercut that. Try sending your kid to college, or retiring, or buying a car, house, health insurance on that. Besides, labor costs at the Big Three account for less than 10% of total production costs. The waste is higher up the food-change - both in autos and the rest of society.

[DRSmetal]

Then that's a good bargain to work for a foreign auto maker. BTW-14/hr is better than nothing. There's many people who have BA degrees cant even make that much.

[FlintPublic]

Then maybe the BAs should join the fight and not berate folks just because they were promised that a degree would get them into the boss' club. That failure is not the fault those without a degree. There are no guarantees, only organizing. BTW, 1¢ is better than nothing too.

[DRSmetal]

ROLMFAO! OMG WHATEVER!

[HighHeadJim]

Isn't his logic saddening? Poor kid has been dumbed down into accepting this massive rip-off. $14 dollars an hour is not a living wage with the constantly rising cost of living. I don't make much more than that, so I'm utilizing the skills grandpa taught me to get by. Good Luck!!

[retired77070]

Your state voted for Change, so stop the whinning and live with it. The auto workers deserve all the job losses that comes their way for disrespecting an American Hero by booing him & cheering for the Muslim Terrorist Obama who is wasting no time attacking our economy. Obama is more dangerous than Osama Bin Laden because without a strong economy thousands of poor Americans could die from hunger etc. Obama wants to open talks with evil dictators just to learn from them on how to destroy the U.S.

[FlintPublic]

Let me understand you: American workers should lose their livelihood because they exercised their freedom of speech and you didn't like what they had to say? If that's your definition of patriotism, I'm 'terrified.'

[retired77070]

If one who calls himself an American disrespects a millitary man or woman but shows respect for a Muslim Terrorist then they sure do deserve to lose their livelihood. Sorry, but this is The United States of America "Love It or Leave It." And, for your information, we Texans don't want to see Michigan job seekers. Stay up there and keep your Obama supporting asses away from Texas. Count the Change in your pockets and be proud for Obama, he is keeping his promise of Change to you. Whinny Basters.

[FlintPublic]

Good grief, Texas.

[FlintPublic]

The UAW doesn't have any say in what cars are built. Many are complete agreement that they should have been building green cars since the 1970s going so far as to speculate what an environmental-charged strike thirty years ago would have done for the way our entire country creates and consumes sustainable everything. Sorry you don't have a pension. Maybe you would if you had a union.

[dotnetnoob]

If UAW run this country, you will have no freedom on what car to purchase. You only option is buy American shit car. American car have been shitty since 1980. Give it up already! UAW is making crap car that no one want.

[bestwayusa1]

check out John Riches shutten down detroit and the ibuyusa video on you tube the guy has great words. We cant be sheep and spellbound anymore by deceitful politicians, media, and forieign unfair trading countries wich are paying and owning these peoples greedy souls.They are not American Patriots They are about me not We.Support Fair trade Domestic owned. BUY USA on line and at stores. Country First !!!

[FrankeeFraud]

I think your point would have more impact if you didn't have such a bunch of overweight slobs crying about the fact that they are, ahem, "starving". Bunch of overpaid lardasses. You reap what you sow, and you're finally getting what you greedy union slobs deserve.  Ha ha!

[FlintPublic]

Be specific. What are the weight and hygiene requirements you have before you listen to what people have to say?

[FrankeeFraud]

I'm not sure I have to be spacific, but I'd say a good rule of thumb would be say, 100 pounds? That is, if you are 100 pounds overweight, you've got a lot of nerve going out in public and talking about not being able to feed your family. Sort of like Ted Kennedy giving driving lessons? And no wonder that fat slob with the microphone wants "free health care"; with his irresponsible lifetstyle, he no doubt expects ME to pick up his doctor bills, something I have no desire to do. Capece?

[FlintPublic]

Classy.

[sharkloaner]

hahahaha Years of making shit cars have produced these results. Who the hell would buy an american shitbox?

[Micksch851]

You guys are working for nothing?! haha true 8 to 10% of a car is all benefits.. Wall street did get us in to this mess.. but unions did not build the middle class... both of my parents are not in unions and I personally think unions are a waste of time and force company's to pay way to much..nationalized health care is not the answer.. the country's that do have that pay almost 50% of their wages in taxes.. and they do make almost 60 dollars an hour with benefits.. i agree with the guy at

[Bamboo313rd]

hahaha!!

[LitterboxDiorama]

**Newflash** all unionized workers are socialist....... thats what socialism is. But to support  conservative is to make the rich richer and thats not exactly great for the working class either..............freedom in that case can also be defined as 'free to prosper' or 'free to starve' ......Its never as easy cut & dry to go red or blue as you make it seem ....politics are balanced ....thats called a democracy which without, you can never have freedom

[dave777blaster]

America is a dump now

what an ending for such a promising beginning

Americans drank beer and watched tv While they robbed you blind.

Now nothing is left for the people and you will find that they are going to get a rude awakening.

GM had it's bailout no amount of money will be enough.

I feel bad for them but the writing is on the wall

the old ways are over !

the American tax payer can not fund a bottomless pit.

Obama is your worst nightmare and you are waiting for him hahaha

[HKUser92]

They get paid $78 an hour, and they're complaining...God these union just piss me off.

[FlintPublic]

Wrong. Again. Current workers get $28 an hour. Just slightly above non-union autoworkers. New hires (many your age, HKUser92) will only get $14 an hour, no pension, no healthcare . . . for doing a job most wouldn't do for $100 an hour. Or couldn't. A job that requires demanding physical exertion. Most will need that healthcare for all manner of injuries. Injuries they acquire from 30 straight years bending, standing, etc. No offense, but you're 19. Maybe you're in college. Be glad. Not pissed.

[Bamboo313rd]

I was a contractor for one of the big3 and these union workers don't work hard at all. All they do is stand around and do one thing all day long, because of the union the auto companies are going down. The union is bullshit.

[FlintPublic]

The fact that a 25 year old non-union contractor was allowed in a Big Three plant in the first place is sort of bullshit. Have you ever tried to stand in one place and do the same thing over and over for 8 hours per day for 30 years, Bamboo313rd? That's your entire life, plus five years. Until you've spent that much time in their shoes, you can't possibly know.

[Bamboo313rd]

That's right, I'm only 25 and have done more in my life time than almost all you auto workers. Lets see who gets a job first when the big 3 goes down; a 25 year old with a college degree or an over paid union auto worker.

[gay4prophetmohammed]

Fuck the unions, they brought on the auto industry failures themselves.

[blueangeIfish1]

i WOULD RATHER HAVE MY SISTER IN A WHORE HOUSE, THAN MY BROTHER IN A UNION.

[ohioguy440]

the bottom line is the product is over priced and people cant afford the product....uaw will take a big hit and it wont affect the economy like the world thinks...a mcdonalds crew would glady run your plants for much less pay...its going to happen!

[bestwayusa1]

Buy American demand it request it. Tell stores to sell more USA products. Companys old and NEW !!! to make products here 100% USA. Go on line if stores dont have them. Buy USA or Buy American you will find many products there. Lets put Americans back to work with safer better products and wages. The race to the bottom must stop. Dont be a sheep to the rich thinking it better to make them richer and you poorer. At the expense of your fellow American brother and sister.

[MichiganHitman]

1:19: Loved the picket sign about "Trickle-down Theory is nothing but a GOLDEN SHOWER!" LMAO!!! Strangely enough, there are some who walk among us who LOVE a golden shower. You can usually pick them out of a crowd...they're the ones wearing pearl necklaces, too. LOL

I wish the UAW well, but I fear that its days are numbered...

[truenorthcorn]

never buy detroit made cars!

even with the bailout, UAW is finished. they will never have a happy life for the rest of their lives

[BIGRAFX]

Too bad this can't run on all the of the mainstream nightly news and cable news networks. The American sheeple need to hear more of real working folks logic and thoughts.

Great job!

[upstartgreen]

Yep keep voting for the Democrats. They will save you.

Upstartgreen

[ajbenchich]

Great job Bob, Sorry I couldn't be there but you caught the spirit of the rally and the comments were right on. Keep up the good work. Al

[wolfmanwon]

Great message! Hopefully the media will come around and report the news instead of reacting to their ratings. We need to look critically at this race-to-the-bottom!

[Droness]

Great Video! Thanks for posting it. I was not able to be there this time, but I am so thankful for those who did show up to represent us.

[muffshop]

Although I wasn't there, my heart is with all of you. Teamsters local 31 UAW local 41 and 1112......