Union Membership is Like a Job Warrantee

I consider myself as neither pro or anti union.  I appreciate what unions did in helping to get employment laws establish which vastly improved the lives of the common worker.  Unfortunately, the establishment of the employment laws removed many of the reasons unions were once needed.  Although, I do still believe there are still places that unions are still needed.  With the primary reasons for unions removed, unions took on a more business like role.

One of the largest unions is the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW).   The new UAW president Bob King said in his acceptance speech that the UAW will “pound on Toyota until they recognized the first-amendment right to come into the UAW”.  Mr. King goes on to say that “We’re going to do whatever is necessary to insure that Toyota abandons its anti-union efforts,” This includes picketing Toyota dealers.  Mr. King wants to show the value of having UAW members as the workers by doing everything in his power to prevent Toyota from selling cars.   It is not like Toyota is moving production back to Japan.  Toyota is moving production to Mississippi.  The problem is that the jobs are not union jobs. 

It is not that the UAW has not tried to unionize works at Toyota, and other Asian manufacturer’s plant. In an article from 2007, UAW And Why Honda And Toyota Workers Are Not Interested, covered why workers at the non-unionized plants rejected the union.  In the case of the Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, it turns out that the workers are paid more and get better benefits then the average UAW automobile plant worker.  If higher pay and better benefits is Toyota’s strategy for keeping unions out of their plants, more power to them. 

The UAW has a product called union membership and it has a cost called union dues.  The product is designed to get the buyer, union member, higher pay and better benefits. In effect, union membership is like a job warrantee, and unfortunately for unions, more and more people do not think that they need the product.

Guilt by association? Maybe, but I don’t care!!

I couple of weeks ago my family started the process of looking for a car for my daughter.    The problems with the braking systems on several Toyota models was already well know.   Because of the braking problems we decided not to look at Toyota, even though they were starting to make some nice deals.   Not including Toyota did not affect other  car company choices.  Two of the auto dealerships we went two where Honda and Ford.

The reason why I mention these two dealers specifically is because I asked them both the same question and got two different answers.  When I asked him if the problems at Toyota lead to increase in their foot traffic and sales I was told “no” by the Honda sales person, and “yes” by the Ford salesperson.  I admit my survey’s sampling size was small, but I thought their respective business would have definitely risen. 

 So why would Ford see an increase and Honda not?  I can think of a few explanations;  First, more Americans are reading my blog and are making a patriotic choice with their purchases.  Second, some consumer lump Honda, and other Japanese manufacturers, in with Toyota concerning safety.   Lastly, this is just a continuation of the sales momentum domestic manufacturers, lead by Ford, have been enjoying for the past several months. 

So is there any proof of an actual sales shift consistent with my two person survey?   Numbers from January show the U.S. trade deficit dropped.  A major reason, beside less oil imports, was a reduction in auto imports.   The trade deficit with both the European Union and Japan saw a significant drop, 56.3% and 27.3% respectively, in the monthly deficit.  Both drops were mostly attributed  to lower auto imports.

Overall, U.S. automobile sales have been mediocre at best, even for domestic brands.  What is good is that the domestic manufacturers are doing relatively better.  The surge in domestic sale comes at a good time for both the U.S. manufacturers and the economy.   The comparative quality of the domestic nameplates has improve a great deal over the past decade.  From initial quality to cost of ownership, domestic brands have, in many cases, overtaken their international competitors.  This has a twofold impact on sales.  First, there is great word of mouth for domestic nameplates.  When my daughter mentioned that she was looking for a car, one of her friends told her how much he loved his Ford Focus.  These factors will greatly increase the number of customers who return to Ford and GM for their next auto.   Another more important reason that this surge is important is that our economy needs it.  The increase domestic production needs has already started to add ten’s of thousand of manufacturing jobs back into our economy.  In addition, the reinstatement of over 600 “to be close” GM dealerships keeps thousands of more jobs which would have been lost.

There is a significant chance that we will have a double dip recession.   Just look at January’s trade numbers: As our imports dropped so did our exports.  It seems that only a few countries are producing more and/or consuming more in any significant way.  China continues undeterred with their global economic game playing, which will artificially improve their growth while subtracting growth from the rest of the world.   The financial crisis in Greece, even though their economy is relatively small, will drag overall growth in Europe down.   Although the worst might be over, there are still significant problems to solve.  As with the first recession, and even if there is no double dip, it is imperative that we re-double our efforts to buy American.  Our country’s standard of living depends on it.

Made in America Christmas

As the holiday season rapidly approaches, it is time to start thinking about gifts.    I, like many of my friends and relatives, will be limiting my holiday spend to less than last years’ level.   This is in line with many surveys that indicate consumers in general will be spending less this year.  If true, this holiday season will probably not bring much joy to a majority of retailers and out of work manufacturers.  The lower level of spend is why it is even more important to try to buy “Made in the USA” products.  Therefore, I ask people to do a “Made in America Christmas”.

I know it is unrealistic to ask people to go 100% “Made in America”, but it does not hurt to try.  I realize some families will want that iTouch, PS3, or some item that can only be imported.  I have a suggestion for those families; put off that purchase and switch to one of the many items that have domestic alternatives.   Whether you are buying socks, handbags, ties, jeans, a coffee maker, or a vacuum cleaner there are “Made in America” choices.  Even in electronics you can often find a domestic alternative.  If you have to have a product that is foreign made, then see if it is assembled here and/or the company does its R&D here.    Using the iPod, as discussed in my post “The Innovation Myth”, it is better that some of the money, more than just to the retailer and importer, stay in the United States then leave our economy.

Putting off that foreign purchase and focusing on domestic items helps our economy now, when we need it most.  When the economy gets better, then make that foreign purchase.  That way you help our economy now and also give holiday joy, to people you will never know, by creating a job for another American.  Also, please talk to your friends, neighbors and co-workers to do the same.   It is especially critical now because America, and most of the world, is purchasing less.  Each domestic purchase matters.

What Does “Made in the U.S.” mean?

I am starting a new feature called “Company Spotlight”.  This feature will bring attention to companies that either manufacture in the USA, or work to bring attention to the importance of American manufacturing.  The first company I am spotlighting is Made In USA Certified Inc. of Delray Beach Florida.

As the name implies, Made In USA Certified Inc. certifies that the content of products that are labeled as “Made in the U.S.” are truly “Made in the U.S.”.  As the company’s website points out, it is legal for a company to label a product “Made in America”  even when components are from other countries, this is because they can include Mexico and Canada in their calculation of domestic production.  Some Central American countries can also be counted.

Made In USA Certified Inc. also certifies other aspects of the business.   Some companies have their R&D in another country and/or outsource parts of their operations.  Where the majority of the “office” work is done does not affect whether a product can use the “Made in the U.S.A.” label.  This means that “Made in the U.S.A.” on a box does not always mean the same thing.

Julie Reiser, the President and Founder of Made In USA Certified Inc., is working to address this lack of a true standard with the “Made in U.S.” tag manufacturers put on their boxes.  Her company requires that a product “must be certified as having all or virtually all of their core components manufactured in the U.S.”  In addition, there is an added requirement that a products assembly be exclusively be done in the U.S.

Every week there are articles about product recalls due to inferior safety standards and controls in other countries.  These types of problems are less likely to happen with domestically.  From baby formula to dog food, other countries do not have the standards, and oversight, that we do.  That is why Made In USA Certified Inc. is even more stringent when it comes to consumables.  If something is to be ingested, whether by a human or an animal, Made In USA Certified requires that the core components are 100% U.S.A. made.  Being certified as virtually 100% U.S.A. made provides that additional level of comfort knowing that your products are truly safe.

Currently, the Made In USA Certified Inc. label can be found on packaging and websites of many companies.  There are two companies I want to identify.  The first is Tough Traveler. They design and manufacturer baby carriers, luggage, backpacks and more.  The other company is Franklin Clocks. Franklin Clocks offers a complete range of Clocks and Time Systems for Commercial, Educational, Government, Health Care and Industrial applications.

Most of my readers are already aware that manufacturing jobs are critical for our nation’s economy.  Having products certified to be fully “Made in the U.S.” ensures that more jobs are created domestically and that our economy benefits the most.  An added bonus is safety.

Companies like Made In USA Certified help raise the awareness of the importance of U.S. manufacturing, something we should all be working towards.  So now, if I have a choice between a “Made in the USA” product and a “Made In USA Certified” product I can make a more informed decision.  That way I can be sure that my purchase does the most possible good for our economy.

CARS

Who would have guessed that CARS, the Car Allowance Rebate System, program would be such a success? Well, to tell you the truth, I did. I was thinking about doing a post about the program before it started, but decided that since I did not have much to say, other then it would be a big success, it would be a useless post.

I previously posted about pent up demand for automobiles and my belief that Americans want to start buying again. With the recession reaching the bottom, the CARS program was the little nudge needed to get many potential car buyers to buy. From a domestic manufacturing perspective, the CARS program is a great success. My only major issues with the program are that the individual rebates are too large and there was no additional incentive to buy hybrids.

The CARS program is needed for many reasons. The most important reasons are to get the automobile selling, in significant numbers, again and to incent buyers to buy more fuel efficient vehicles. People did buy, as shown by the fact that the program “sold out” in only a couple of weeks. As for improving fuel efficiency, the Transportation Department reported that for the first 80,000 rebate application the average fuel efficiency of the new vehicles was about 61% better than the average for the vehicles they were replacing.

A big plus for domestic companies is that out of the above applications, 47% were for GM, Ford or Chrysler. This is great since it is better than the 45% those companies had over the past few months. The real good news is that 60% of the new vehicles were cars, which the imports tended have an even larger share. In any case, over 50% of the vehicles sold for this program were manufactured in the United States.

Did the government give too big of an incentive? Yes. Although this is not really a domestic manufacturing issue, should the incentive be scaled to provide more of an incentive to hybrids? Yes. I can live with these flaws? Yes. The vehicles are selling again and the incentive goes to individual families. Overall the program stimulates the economy, reduces the need for imported oil by about 85,000 barrels a month, and the vehicles are safer for the driver and occupants. Finally, there is a useful program that helps more than just Wall Street.
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