Quote:
Originally Posted by nevermind65
Fact is...if a union goes on strike, the company is allowed to hire replacements. They can even be permanent replacements, so saying the union is the cause isn't really a valid argument.
The problem with American companies, and especially GM, is their crappy management. Remember just a few years ago when gas was skyrocketing in price and GM announced it was still going to continue putting their full effort behind their large SUV's instead of smaller more efficient vehicles? How did that work out?
I'm not a UAW fan, but greed on both sides took over common sense.
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Excuse me, when was the last time you went through a strike situation and had to retain replacement employees?
Were those temporary replacement employees, or permanent replacement employees? What are the legal implications of hiring either? How long had the strike been going on before you made the decision to retain the replacement employees. Was the strike due to an impasse in negotiations, or was it based on allegations of bad faith bargaining with a resulting unfair labor practice charge/complaint...these issues, as I'm sure you must know, have a great deal to do with whether you are retaining temporary or permanent replacements. Are there going to be allegations that you are engaged in an offensive lockout if you hire the replacements, or are you engaging in a defensive lockout? What about unemployment benefits for strikers...do you know what the entitlement laws are in your state(s) of operation...do you want strikers to be funded with unemployment benefits...which turns on whether they are temporary or permanent replacements, depending the the particular state? Are you going to continue collecting union dues from the replacements? What about healthcare for both the strikers and the replacements?
As stated above, you do realize folks have to be processed within three days for I-9 purposes, correct? And you will most certainly be under the eyes of ICE since the union will be calling them everyday to allege you are hiring illegals. What about training the employees (as noted above in a less pressurized scenario)?
Are you going to continue negotiating during the strike, and if so...what promises have you made to any permanent replacements you hired? Are you going to be able to release them immediately or with some period of notice in order to bring back striking employees if you resolve the dispute?
The last GM strike lasted a couple of days...when do you decide to hire replacements? Do you know what a whip-saw strike is? How about slowdowns or intermittent work stoppages instead of strikes...what's going to be your response to them?
Please...I'd really like to hear how you'll respond to these minor questions with your broadbrush "no problemo" of being able to hire replacements. Once you do, I'll have a few thousand more questions that will need to be answered by an employer faced with a labor dispute.
Nothing is ever as simple as it seems.
