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Originally Posted by The Reaper
Exactly.
Ever wonder why a Toyota or a Honda built in the US can be as reliable as a Japanese made variant, but a union built Dodge or Ford has parts falling off on the way off the lot due to bad workmanship and a lack of QC?
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I think the US car companies like GM pay a magnitude higher in costs per car than say Toyota for retirement/pension/healtchare etc.
Not only do unions drive costs higher, but they suffocate innovation. Anytime a process improve/change needs to be made on the manufacturing floor that results in some loss of labor, unions have fought it.
I remember a Ford rep in college showing us a powerpoint show of a fancy new robot that installed pistons in the engines. Their current method was to insert the pistions in by hand for that partiuclar engine. They couldn't put that robot in the existing line, but had to create a completely new line due to unions fighting any change on the floor. Funny how Toyota perfected ideas intially set in motion by Henry Ford with regards to process control, quality assurance, reduction of waste/, reduction of defects, etc.
Stagnation in business is a slow death. Flexibility and the ability to adapt will always be key. Businesses get corrected by the market, so should labor. Unions did great things back in the day when monopolies ran amok and the well being (Safety) of laborers was threatened. Contract non/unionized labor is providing better product. Maybe initially more expensive, but when the lifecycle cost is considered, the Japanese automakers can't be beat right now.
IMO France isn't going to change anytime soon though. Neither will Ford or GM. The new French President may sound 'great', but he still answers to the people of France.