Auto workers worry it takes less labor to build electric cars(cnn.com)
cnn.com
Auto workers worry it takes less labor to build electric cars
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/06/business/electric-car-manufacturing-cost-jobs/index.html
13 comments
> Imagine building a piece of software and getting criticized by some sort of "software union" that it's too easy to use.
exactly how the tax software industry operates!
exactly how the tax software industry operates!
Unions represent human livelihoods. It's the companies who force creation of unions by inhumanely squeezing every penny out of the literal source of value, the workers and cutting corners on the employees' livelihoods.
More like Police Unions represent a political base for Republicans, and Teachers Unions represent a political base for Democrats, and both are appeased to when their guy is in power, even at the expense of everyone else.
If this was Chicago in 1890, then I agree, Upton Sinclair. Today's unions have visited every level of corruption and come back. They're a shell of whatever they once claimed to be. The concept of a union is similar to socialism, in that they're both great in theory, atrocious in practice.
This is an example of the kind of perverse incentives created by capitalism. Auto workers are not happy about a technology that makes their jobs easier, because they know it will result in the ownership class reducing their wages, not sharing the newfound wealth.
We should have software unions for this reason. Software developers are going to be caught with their pants down with AI.
We should have software unions for this reason. Software developers are going to be caught with their pants down with AI.
What kinds of protections do software engineers need, that a union can offer?
And for examples of the perverse incentives created by Socialism, look into the history of the Soviet car industry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry_in_the_Sov...
It’s good for unions to be worried about there being fewer jobs in the future, but one thing is certain: it takes less labor to not build cars at all.
_If_ the number of workers in the industry is going to decrease, the unions should discuss with manufacturers how they’re going to do that nicely, e.g. by helping them get another job, by letting elderly workers retire earlier, etc.
This article points out that may not be true, though. If so, unions should negotiate on such things as training workers on building electric cars with light metal bodies.
I don’t think American unions are good unions, though, so if the amount of labor goes down, they’ll probably try to find ways for it to require the same number of workers, making American manufacturers less competitive.
_If_ the number of workers in the industry is going to decrease, the unions should discuss with manufacturers how they’re going to do that nicely, e.g. by helping them get another job, by letting elderly workers retire earlier, etc.
This article points out that may not be true, though. If so, unions should negotiate on such things as training workers on building electric cars with light metal bodies.
I don’t think American unions are good unions, though, so if the amount of labor goes down, they’ll probably try to find ways for it to require the same number of workers, making American manufacturers less competitive.
This is similar to when union plumbers organized against the introduction of PVC pipes versus traditional metal pipes because PVC weighed less and required less labor to install.
> Auto workers worry it takes less labor to build electric cars
Maybe for Tesla, where you stick a touchscreen in the middle of the car and call it a day.
Maybe for Tesla, where you stick a touchscreen in the middle of the car and call it a day.
A classic example of perverse incentives created by labor unions. Imagine building a piece of software and getting criticized by some sort of "software union" that it's too easy to use.