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Unions Slump on Bad Obama Bet

uvuvuv Wrote: Feb 18, 2013 1:02 PM

labor is the only cost in a car. the iron comes out of the ground without anyone paying the earth for it. petroleum derivatives used for the plastics also come out of the ground. however, workers are needed to extract this oil and convert it to the various plastics, because sadly they haven't figured out how to transfer this oil from the well to the finished car as an automatic process. copper, aluminum, rubber, etc, all have a cost because of the labor used to obtain and work them. what can be more free than sand? but window glass is not free because of the labor needed to turn it into glass. this doesn't just apply to cars, obviously. but what you are referring to is the workers on the line itself, and yes, this might be 10%.

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Myer2 Wrote: Feb 18, 2013 6:25 PM

I guess I figured that since the topic was union wages it wouldn't be too confusing. Yes there is labor in steel etc but the non union car makers pay the same price for all the parts so the additional cost for UAW labor adds less than 5% to the cost of a car (if you assume that the 29dollar number is right(which it isn't) get it?

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uvuvuv Wrote: Feb 18, 2013 2:50 PM

aha, thanks, there is intellectual property in a car that is paid for also, and come to think the white collar staff is paid out of the car's price. boy i missed that one.

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Kevin 354 Wrote: Feb 18, 2013 1:59 PM

If you buy a car with mandated accessories which are patented, what are you paying for?

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Kevin 354 Wrote: Feb 18, 2013 1:51 PM

If you don't pay the monkey at every turn, he'll put his wrench in your works every chance he gets. That isn't labor cost, but it is in the price of the car.

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Unions Slump on Bad Obama Bet

Alarm bells are going off for labor unions around the country.

Four years after electing the most pro-labor president of the last half-decade, it looks like the scheme has backfired.

In 2008 and 2012 labor unions used everything, including a little body English, ballot stuffing and voter intimidation to elect a president who would bring the prestige of presidential backing to recruitment efforts for labor unions.

Since then not only have labor unions taken historic defeats in former union strongholds, like Wisconsin and Michigan, labor union membership is declining at a rate that will make them a...