my brother said something about a change in payscale for certain maintainances(sp?) performed. so they would get less money or something.
few reasons and may not be all true... my guys have heard it is because the Dealers are trying to get C techs to do higher level work for that A tehcs normally do, that way they make more profit per job... problem is then they have lots of returns... and also the A techs dont get so much money as they cant MILK the jobs as much.... thats form my tech who's been in teh industry for over $30 yrs..... good to see the Dealership cares about the customer.. ha haha h aha I am sure there ar e many reasons and some probably good... another is they want gauranteed jobs... my issues with that is where is the gaurantee for the employer whether Big or small business that the Techs will stay and work hard...?? anyways.. I love it as it will only cause people to come to stores like mine and get a taste of how true customer service should be done... 1. MEET the customers needs 2. provide a fair price for customers for quality work 3. we can also make some money doing it right first time.... woo hoo.... who needs the damn dealers...
^yeah I heard something similar. Basically less qualified techs doing more advanced work. Cheap labor... more profit... potentially more problems. IMO theyre in no position to strike. Either way, I just hope for their families sake they dont end up like the airplane mechanics...
I am sure they are getting paid.. after all they are UNION workers... I think they are on paid holiday for up to 2 weeks... I say if ya wanna eat ya got to work... if ya wanna strike dont complain when ya starve... its not like they arent getting $30 /hr anyways....
BINGO...you all are right. our contract ends in a week and a half. so i will be looking for a new job when we strike. anybody hiring???hehehe
agree and of course theyre union (something like 20% of MN is afl-cio). Im talking about the airline mechanics that were promised things from their union and are still looking for jobs now... a lot of them were hired by the RR but still lots w/o jobs.
Being in a union doesn't guarantee that you get paid while on strike. And if they choose not to give you anything, there isn't a darn thing you can do about it. I've met a bunch of people who got screwed by their unions. Worst thing I've ever seen was a strike that went ugly. Dragging people out of cars and beating them with bricks, the police too scared to do anything. Kinda like the L.A. riots, only in Ohio.
I'm not sure whether or not I should be insulted, and I'm pretty sure I can speak for the rest of us who work at the dealerships. I've always made sure that each of my customers gets taken care of, and factory parts are going to be more expensive for a reason. They're factory parts. I've seen plenty of hack jobs come in that went to an aftermarket shop because they promised many of the same things that you do and didn't deliver. One head gasket job that a shop did ended up turning into a new motor because they (among other things) were using what appeared to be windshield adhesive to help seal the motor. I'm not going to accuse your shop of anything because I have no reason to. You seem like a good guy and you know your stuff. While I realize you were probably talking about dealerships in general rather than specifically, I still find it insulting that you lump every dealership together as some big crooked entity that doesn't care about the customer and doesn't know a wrench from a hole in the ground. I wouldn't be at this dealership if I didn't think we were doing the best job we could on every car and for every customer. No business is perfect, but we do the best we can. My dealership and more recently Minnetonka have been supporting this club from the early days with parts discounts and group buys and I see several of the guys in for service. Even though we aren't striking, this has affected our business as well as that of many other non union shops. Why exactly is that a good thing? Also, your statements on the picketers aren't true. This isn't a paid holiday, they're making around $50 a week, and many of them were told that they were striking on Friday afternoon. They don't have a choice in the matter, unless they walk out on the union and lose their pensions. I don't know of too many people who would willingly walk away from 10-20 years of work. I know of a few friends who are now trying to figure out how to pay bills on only one income. Once again, I have nothing against you. I just found your comments about dealerships and our customer service and work ethic insulting.
If the union is "for the workers"...why would a guy lose his pension for leaving to feed his family. I am not in a union, nor that familiar with the intricacies thereof, but I am getting a mixed message. I am also curious, if you cross the picket line, again, to feed your family, are you booted out or what consequences are there? BTW, excellant previous post Brian.
I apologise to Brian for my generalisation... yeah it was just that... more so the dealers around Shakopee are all jerks to customers... and I totally agree with after market stores are just as bad if not worse at times... Personally at my store I would rather tell someone NO then take there money... as much as I want to pay my bills and stuff, I am not about the $$$ I am about making an honest business and a future for my kids... again Brian I apologise if it came across wrong... I was a little miffed with Subaru in Minnetonka when I wrote all this too so that didnt help... And now I actually got to meet you cause YES I needed a Dealer for some parts for my own car and see that you care about the customer...... ha ha ha... :biggrin: and I can tell you this much.. if I ever need subaru stuff I would drive another 15 minutes to your store to deal with you then to go to Minnetonka where I bought my car.. again Brian forgive my lack of thinking... it happens a bit... I will not go back and delete what I posted to cover it up etc etc.. I posted it and I never posted it completely rather just threw out a comment without truly explaining myself... so again and again I apologise... as I am man enough to admit when I screwed up... to all others... I am not encouraging boycott of Dealerships... just find one that cares more about you then the bottom line... cause then you wont care how much it costs to get things done cause you know they truly care and want the best... I believe Brian is one of those guys... ps... is that enough kissarsing for ya Brian... ha ha ha I hope for all guys on strike that things work out for them and their families sake... but most of all that the unions dont screw them over as well..
If you end up leaving the union, you lose your union pension. For some of the workers, that can be around 5k a month to walk away from when you retire. It's a lot of time to invest in something to just walk away from. If you cross the picket lines, you're basically leaving the union. And Nathan, thank you for the apology. I sincerely appreciate it. Like I said, I have nothing against you or your shop, and would have no hesitation to recommend you guys to do services to a customer who didn't want to come here. I realize that there are some bad dealerships out there. There are some that I wouldn't set foot in with a .45 and a set of extra mags. There are also good ones, but I'll admit that sometimes they seem to be few and far between. There are even techs in my shop who I would prefer to work on my car more than others, and I'm sure it's the same way pretty much anywhere you go. I also know that it can be more difficult for enthusiasts like us to find a place where we can feel comfortable dealing with, because we do tend to be far more particular about our cars and the work that goes into them, and many times a dealer is not a good place for that, as warranties and legal issues can come into play when it comes to modified cars, etc. I can also understand how this would increase business for you, and that's never a bad thing. Your business is your livelihood, it's the way you support your family and your Subaru habit, and I can't and won't fault you for being happy about more business coming in. Just remember, there's always two sides to every story No hard feelings man, and I'll look forward to seeing you around
unfortunate for 2 reasons.. 1. The Technicians who get the hard deal through it all and 2. We havent really seen much increase because of this and the main reason is NO-ONE has any money with the cost of gas etc etc etc... So yes as much as I would love to see all this increase my business it has a double edge sword as it means others are gettign screwed soemwhere...
second contract well the second contract did not go through this time...we'll see in a couple of weeks if the third one will. i'll see our 1st contract this sunday.
Another question...how long will it take the striking guys to recoup lost wages from striking? and, i know so many questions, are these closed shops where you have to join the union? and if you dont mind, what do union dues run monthly? If its none of my business, i understand. I just see these guys out there striking...and I wonder, how much personal sacrifice is involved for principle vs. wages. It takes guts.
