Featured Trump tariffs put the US auto industry in disarray

always enjoy sharing and hearing about other's experiences.
here is my experience:

started working in college during the summer breaks - a member of United Rubber Workers of America Union for 4 summers - worked on what was called General Labor Gang

after college graduation and a 5 year stint in the USAF went to work as a mechanic at a snack food facility - member of the Teamsters (AFL-CIO) Union for 8 years, that was the period where the US Government took over the Teamsters Union temporarily because of the corruption and illegal activities (think Jimmy Hoffa)

went to work at a Japanese Automaker for the next 30 years - worked as a Skilled Team Member and Skilled Team Leader (hourly positions) then worked as a Skilled Group Leader, Engineer and Management (salaried positions) - trained for 8 weeks in Japan working the line and maintenance as a Team Member at 3 different plants in Japan as part of their Union Workforce. During my career I was temporarily assigned to Nummi Facility in California to help with implementation of an energy improvement program - this involved working directly with, supervising UAW Union hourly workers and Management salaried workers, also helped conduct tours for Ford management Personnel visiting our Kentucky plant to benchmark their own plants.

We live about 1 hour from the Ford Battery Plant and were in the broadcasting radius of the stations covering the Plant and the Unionization attempts at that plant- they interviewed Ford Hourly employees and Management employees as well as people for and against the Unionization effort, it was very well publicized. We were part of the tax base that provided the incentives for this factory, and the negative effect of a possible Unionization was very well covered by the Media as well as predicted by Ford.

The writing was on the wall for anyone who wanted to read it.

....feel that due to my direct experiences both in a Union and Non-Union atmosphere it allows a good general opinion of Unions - both good and bad and a unique perspective of how Unions work and their +'s and -'s in a competitive automotive industry

 

(MOST) electricians are in the IBEW.
Having retired from disney, WE hired / interfaced with unions of all sorts. Carpenters, electricians, sheet metal, pipefitters, iron workers, Machinists, staff (rubber /plastics / foam / epoxies) steam engineers, sound (comprising computer, speaker sound, 35mm film, magnetic tape transceivers Etc), plumbers, laborers & UAW. Hearing about their experiences, the unions there were typically getting a good ⅓ more then their non-union counterparts. So, maybe union pay (including medical, vision, dental, 401k, pension, holidays, vacation) scale is regional.
Newer union members (meaning as of the last ¼ century) got their pensions 'contracted' away as a bargaining chip - in favor of senior members, screwing over newbies.
Where the pay is most egregious is differentiating between public & private sector. Having done a stent working at the public defender's office, the 401K was such that you could sock away up to ½ of your pay (state/county matching) whereas at disney, it was a measly 2% that Disney would kick in. And who hasn't heard how much more luxurious Congress is toward their selves - Medical insurance wise.

 

unions are far from perfect. now go back and read about industry before unions.

everything in life is a compromise

 

You are right on target here.......... the automotive industry has also gone to regional pay rather than a universal $/hr - this is now typical.

In most areas pensions would be a thing of the past because of escalating legacy cost that don't go away - you just can't do business like that anymore ...401K's where the company matches up to 6% of what you contribute are the norm.

One item is on the horizon is the upcoming pension default bubble where companies and government entities can no longer shoulder the burden of this cost and go belly up defaulting on their pension liabilities.

Detroit is a good example of how this will work in the public sector when the city of Detroit went belly up and declared bankruptcy defaulting on their pension liabilities and restructuring/reducing liabilities to allow a recovery from bankruptcy.

 

An option that happened to my pension was the company that owned it payed an insurance company and they now own an annuity that pays me. Offload the risk and accounting and reporting expense.

My career started in 1967 and the pension plan was terminated after 21 years. I had enough time in to have accrued rights but any pension was based on pay at the time the plan was terminated. So I get little from that source. After that it was the 401k company match and fortunately I was able to max the company match until I retired. So my 401k at this point pays 3 times what the pension does.

Companies that agreed to pensions are now stuck with people living longer and any accrual they made decades ago is coming back to haunt them.

 

Mike you make some important contributions to the discussion I feel. Pensions are controlled by companies/governments, and they fail, go bankrupt, restructure, are sold, undergo leadership change and in some cases disappear- an individual has absolutely no control over those situations.
401k's on the other hand are an individual's responsibility and individuals themselves are the custodians. They are also portable - meaning when an individual changes jobs the 401k's go with them if the individual desires and can be invested in their new companies 401k's. Many companies now include a Roth option for their 401k plans as well as brokerage options and that's great.
Most companies will now match employee contributions up to 6% of the money invested.
Many companies -I worked for one- sponsor free investing/401k/retirement workshops with experts in the field who will then set up meetings with individuals to answer questions and set up plans/paths for meeting that individuals goals - the company I worked for had quarterly educational meetings with our 401k accounts custodian Fidelity.

I have found the 401k, much like you to be ideal for our situation - as well as secure and profitable.