Auto unions warn of China overcapacity

[dArKeR]

REUTERS , DEARBORN, MICHIGAN
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004,Page 12

Excess automotive production capacity in China will soon trigger a surge in vehicle exports, putting an even tighter squeeze on prices in the auto industry worldwide, the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF) said on Tuesday.

The warning came at the opening of a two-day meeting in this Detroit suburb, hosted by the United Auto Workers union, of the IMF and its World Auto Council.

IMF president Juergen Peters said global automakers were rushing "like lemmings into the trap of overcapacity" in China by blindly investing in new or expanded assembly plant operations there.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2004/06/10/2003174529

[cliss]

1. Interesting.

All these cars, and not enough drivers....or enough roads....or enough money to buy them all....

And let's not forget the Oil crisis.... I'd say we have a crisis in the making. I've read that several car manufacturers were moving their operations to China. If this becomes a big problem, I wonder how it will affect their economy?

[Sinistrous]

2. Lemmings, my ass. This is a strategic, long term plan.

Yes, there will be overcapacity. And guess which plants will be shut down: the new plants staffed by low paid Chinese or the old plants in Dearborn staffed by unionized Americans?

The exportation of American jobs has entered the stealth phase.

[Nay]

3. Exactly, sinistrous. If you are an auto worker, you better be

saving every dime you can for as long as you can, because your days are numbered.

[saigon68]

4. Their days are very numbered.

I get very upset when I hear UNION MEMBERS say how great the prices at Wal-Mart are.

And how far their money goes there. The UAW will be the dinosurs of the 21st century. I hope they like their kids getting drafted to fight Halliburton's "OILY WAR" too !!!


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=613511&mesg_id=613527&page=

[Snellius]

5. Ironic, Chinese communism bailing out American capitalism

Who would have guessed that American corporations, restricted by labor unions and environmental regulations at home, would turn to the most powerful example of Marxism/Leninism as a cheap labor source. Without it, many of the profits of these companies would collapse.

If Ronald Reagan brought an end to the communist threat, why does everything I own say "Made in China" on the back?

[talleyJudy]

6. Interesting read related to this subject

is "The Empty Cradle" by Phillip Longman.

[Don_G]

7. Maybe It's Planned

GM is investing $2 Billion in Chinese auto plants. Maybe they want to "cash" in at the expense of the American worker like every other corporation is doing now.

[jimmy jojo]

8. Cash is King

Today's WSJ details how GM is telling American parts suppliers they must match Chinese prices or they will find someone who will - in other words outsourcing the outsourcers. The result being jobs and companies moving to China to make auto parts. This could mean the loss of many many American jobs.

[newyawker99]

9. Hi jimmy jojo!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Veggie Meathead]

10. Hi, Jimmy Jojo, welcome to DU! I have two

observations. When I used to work at big corporations, twenty years ago, the guys who were most in danger of losing their jobs were the ones who had experience and were drawing higher paychecks.We see this happening in an international scale now.Americans are the higher paid guys who are being displaced by the cheaper Chinese, Indians or whatever.Like your post says, GM will threaten to find someone who will move his plant to China or India to get workers for $2 a day if
an American company refuses to meet their price demands.

The second observation comes from a recent trip I took to Detroit to see some relatives who work at Ford. I told them that how closely Detroit now resembles the Pittsburgh of the 60's.At that time US Steel was the king and it wasn't long before steel at Pittsburgh went the way of the dodo bird. We may very well see autos go the same route in Detroit.

It is indeed sad to see both Steel and Autos bite the dust because both these industries needed labor by the hundreds of thousands and made it possible, in a real sense, for people to climb out of their poverty into middle class over several generations. That is going to become a thing of the past.That is a shame because American Democracy,if anything is based on hope;the hope that even if things are hard for you today, your children and grandchildren will see better times.That is not going to be the case anymore.

May be as times get better for the Chinese and Indians things will even out and all peoples everywhere will stand to benefit together.That should be our hope.In the meantime lot of American families are going to get hurt.Who is going to speak for them or give them hope?

[rfkrocks]

12. I agree

As someone who knows Pennsylvania the US steel works rot on the Susquehanna as well-Bethlehem has more poverty-and Pittsbugh never recovered from the loss of steel-The city has been very close to bankruptcy all year-Pittsburgh is the perfect example of how an industry loss at large levels permantely hurt a city-if Detroit losses automobiles Michigan will go in the dumps because no taxes will be paid-also what of the school districts that are funded by taxes from the business?

[Crachet2004]

11. Authoritarian China, like Nazi Germany, is a capitalist's dream...

It is what our monied rulers would like this country to be like...and it will be, if the ongoing assault on the Bill of Rights does'nt stop. Unions should be the balance against Big Business-government is unreliable, and too easily bought, and at best, should be an arbiter of last resort between the two.

With the ongoing outsourcing of whitecollar jobs, perhaps there will finally arise a domestic consensus among ALL working people to do something about this sorry state of affairs. For decades, whitecollar workers have voted GOP as bluecollar, union jobs flooded overseas...watched with a smile on their face.

With the advent of the internet, the other shoe is about to drop. You know what they say about people who live in glass houses-and work in glass towers...

We need a government that will protect us from foreign threats, economic as well as military...

[Merlin]

13. We must require WTO trading partners to permit free, independent Unions.

Much of the stuff coming in from China is made in PRISONS! For god sake, how much more does it take to wake up our politicians (both D&R) to the fact that this must be stopped.

America must begin the long, hard effort of requiring ALL trading partners to permit free and independent labor unions to represent their workers. That's the only way we can be assured that the playing field will eventually be leveled, and that our dollars which go into purchases from foreign companies will eventually make their way into the pockets of regular workers.

[mulethree]

15. If Unions are the answer

Then why does UAW not do more when US companies are building Chinese plants for non-union chinese workers? Is it not a use-it or loose-it situation? Don't they have a large enough grip on these companies large domestic sales to insist that oversees workers be permitted a union, have similar safety rules and get paid well?

I have to wonder if the same billions, invested at an existing mothballed US factory, couldn't turn out vehicles for export to china at prices competitive with building a factory from scratch over there.

[Merlin]

16. Unions ARE the answer. But there's no leadership on this issue yet.

Wish I knew some union connected leader type who could grasp the importance of pushing this issue. It will take many years to get results, but it is essential if we are to eventually compete on a fair basis, and if the 3d world underclass is to gain anything at all from their exploited participation in this globalist profit fest.

[loudsue]

14. This is getting to be HUGE!

Workers in China and Japan are right now enjoying JOBS!!! This is something they aren't going to give up easily, and their governments are protecting those jobs as best they can, with their policies. The Indian and Chinese are actually GROWING a "middle class", while the U.S. is SHRINKING the middle class.

How can we convince Chinese and Indian and Indonesian and Mexican and African workers to turn to Unions and reel in these Global Robber Barons, when right now, they're just beginning to enjoy a new consumer economy that is gaining the pride of production??

This is happening so quickly that the good ole U.S.A. population has not even begun to fully awaken from their "American Dream", to the nighmare that awaits them. The problem is growing exponentially... and the American Taxpayers/Workers are FUNDING the whole nightmare, with our historically higher education, innovation and sweat equity, not to mention the military from hell. That's why they're dumbing down and failing to finance education here: it's easier to control stupid people!

This is a nightmare. How in the hell can we (as "the little people" of America) fight this?? Especially when at least 1/2 of our fellow citizens DON'T GET IT? ...Don't even REALIZE how big the problem is? By the time they wake up, it will be OVER!

:kick::kick:

[huellewig]

17. I accept the rhetoric as a possibility!

"Workers in China and Japan are right now enjoying JOBS!!! This is something they aren't going to give up easily, and their governments are protecting those jobs as best they can, with their policies. The Indian and Chinese are actually GROWING a "middle class", while the U.S. is SHRINKING the middle class."

That is we would be OK if we innovate and China builds. NanoTech and all the Buzzwords. And if we had the skills to fix the machines that break. It's like they think we can keep on innovating while pumping out kids that think a logarithmic function is what happens when a Mandy Moore video plays while your sleeping.


While a large percentage of Americans can keep up with the high-teck jobs a sizable chunk can't.

Oh' and I wasn't saying your post was rhetoric, just the concept of outsourcing being good.