Here's what Ford's U.S. UAW is up against in Brazil.

[trof]

Automation like you've never seen.
http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189

[David Dunham]

1. This is the kind of plant we need in the US. Override the UAW veto

[Idealism]

2. I wouldn't say automation like never seen before, more like vertical integration

[deadmessengers]

4. That is an AMAZING example of vertical integration. n/t

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Wow.What an amazing system.

It leaves you kinda speechless and wondering what the future of labor is. Somehow, as we com up with this new generation of incredible efficiencies, we have to find a way to distribute the benefits to all of us. How can we coe up with a world in which nobody has to work more that 10 hours a week, but everyone gets to share in the wealth being produced?

[LisaM]

And there you have it.

People need jobs or at least the things that jobs provide.

[deadmessengers]

5. Ford is finally "getting it"

This is incredible - why in the hell can't they build plants like this here?

[trof]

6. As a union member I have to say...unions.

I belonged to AFL-CIO for over 30 years.
And I knew that I owed my high pay and decent working conditions and fringe benefits to my union and the oft times bloody confrontations suffered by organizers decades before.

I wonder what the future of labor unions holds. Much smarter people than I am have held forth on this.
I don't know.

[deadmessengers]

9. Why do you think the unions would fight something like this?

Are they afraid of machines displacing human autoworkers entirely?

I'm going to get on my soapbox for a second. Although I am no longer a union member (I was for 5 years), I am the son of 2 union members and the brother of another. Between just the members of my immediate family we have close to 90 combined years of union membership. I only say this because it seems that people are very sensitive to criticism of unions around here, and I want to get my defense out of the way first.

Now, the criticism: In this case, by standing in the way of progress like this, the unions are cutting their own throats. What I don't think they understand is that the fortunes of union members and their employers are inextricably linked. American automakers are getting creamed in the competitive marketplace for a lot of reasons, but changes like this can make American automakers competitive again. If the UAW stands in their way on stuff like this, then all the bailouts/loans/etc won't do a damned thing, because they're going to get KILLED in the marketplace by automakers who embrace this change.

Basically, what I'm saying here is that change is coming, and they are going to have to deal with that change, because ignoring it is no longer an option for them.

[trof]

11. I completely agree. n/t

[blue_onyx]

7. I don't get why the unions are against this?

[NNN0LHI]

8. The Ford plant that I hired into in 1973 had over 4600 full time hourly workers at that time

After the automation and progressive stamping presses came in the plant population went down to less than 600 hourly workers to run the entire place at 100 percent capacity.

And most of those are skilled tradesmen mainly to keep the automation running.

Don

[blue_onyx]

10. Oh, I didn't think of this

Job loss would be an understandable concern for the UAW.

[deadmessengers]

12. This would mitigate job loss, not cause it

If this type of technology helps keep the American automakers in business producing a quality product, it will preserve union jobs, not destroy them. Doing nothing would definitely destroy union jobs, because no auto makers = no auto workers.

[NNN0LHI]

13. But it temporarily aggravates the ratio imbalance of active workers compared to retired workers

Used to be one retired worker for every two active workers. Now it is two retired workers for every active worker.

And by "temporarily", I mean us old retired auto workers will be dying off sooner or later and the ratio will begin improving. At least that is what the Actuarial Tables indicate.

Don

[Indy Lurker]

14. This is true of all manufacturing

There have been more manufacturing jobs lost to automation and productivity gains in the last 30 years than to off-shoring.

If you make 100 cars a day and average 4% gain in productivity a year, you get the following:

1 100
2 104
3 108.16
4 112.49
5 116.99
6 121.67
7 126.53
8 131.59
9 136.86
10 142.33
11 148.02
12 153.95
13 160.1
14 166.51
15 173.17
16 180.09
17 187.3
18 194.79
19 202.58
20 210.68



In less than 19 years your making twice as much a day, or you only need half as many workers.

In addition to lower labor costs and younger workers (average age of 26 vs. 46) in Brazil, Ford also avoids dealing with EPA, OSHA, healthcare, and workman's comp.


As far as vertical integration goes in the US, it's a tough sell in the UAW plants because the suppliers are often non-union and paid less than UAW members. As such, to get to the point of suppliers installing chassis parts directly on a chassis (as seen in the video) you would have to displace UAW members with non-union suppliers.

If your going to spend 1.9 Billion on a new plant, you can put it anywhere in the world, and Ford chose Brazil over the US.



from Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070822/AUTO01/708220407/0/special


The entire operation, including suppliers, employs about 9,000 workers. The average age is just 26, and nearly half are women.

Most have no industrial experience when they hire on at Camaçari, so each worker receives about 900 hours of training. Much of that time is spent working on a scaled-down version of the real assembly line that was built just for that purpose.

Unlike many U.S. auto plants, where workers' responsibilities are strictly limited to specific job classifications, workers like Silva dos Santos are encouraged to learn as many different skills as possible.

Everyone -- from senior managers, designers and engineers to rank-and-file line workers and maintenance staff -- wears the same uniform here. The only difference is that those working for suppliers have their own corporation's insignia embroidered on their chest instead of Ford's Blue Oval."