CAT getting nasty with workers in Canada

[cutting edge]

The contract "ran out" so they offered the workers approx. 50% of their current wages and heavily reduced benefits.


http://www.thestar.com/business/art...ar-has-the-upper-hand-in-london-plant-lockout

They brought the US workers to their knees in the 90's.....yet you keep buying their products:Banghead


Nice company.

 

[Nige]

Some would say that Cat's stance on taking tough decisions early in the piece rather than let the business go down the pan (the Big Three US auto companies would be a typical example) is why they are an extremely successful company rather than an unsuccessful one .......... I wouldn't disagree.

 

[John C.]

What was not stated in the article was how much the Canadian workers were being paid in salary and benefits.

What one should be reminded of while reading the article is that companies are not run for the benefit of the workers. Also that workers are only going to get paid at the rate they can leverage from their employer. Apparently Cat took away all the leverage these workers had and are able and willing to force a settlement.

While it is unfortunate for those workers, that's life.

 

[cutting edge]

They were making 35 an hour canadian dollars, which probably seems high to the american crowd here,but our cost of living is somewhat higher than what you guys deal with...for example, a gallon of milk is around 6 bucks,a gallon of gas is around 5 bucks, a loaf of bread is 2-3 bucks and a house in London, where the plant is, is anywhere from 250-500,000 dollars.

They had basic medical and dental coverage as well as a company matched pension.

They were offered 16/hour and heavily reduced benefits and no pension.

Meanwhile, CAT has posted record profits in the last 2 quarters and has healthhy orders for this plant.

If "thats life" to you guys, much of the financial turmoil your country is experiencing makes a whole lot of sense now.....

 

[alco]

If "thats life" to you guys, much of the financial turmoil your country is experiencing makes a whole lot of sense now.....

Yeah, that about covers it.

The sad thing is, it's a pretty safe bet that this is just a way for Cat to close the plant with little to no hassle. They know the workers can't settle for that and live on it easily, so they have the excuse to pull the plug.

 

[cutting edge]

Yeah, that about covers it.

The sad thing is, it's a pretty safe bet that this is just a way for Cat to close the plant with little to no hassle. They know the workers can't settle for that and live on it easily, so they have the excuse to pull the plug.

Im pretty sure theres some tax laws that will hang them up pretty hard,cant confirm this though,,,,wonder if Harper will put his balls on the issue and Stand up for Canada for once....Kinda doubt it.

 

[buckfever]

Nobody makes those guys show up for work. Don't like the pay go get a job somewhere else. If cat could make money paying those wages they would just makes good sence to keep you profit producing employes happy. As it was said before companies are there to make money not friend or other people a job. Just business nothing personal.

 

[koldsteele]

Everything thats produced and won't spoil has gone global ... World economy not where your at ..Look at the textile industry in this country . Gone .........Too many heavy hitters sayin they can make product some where else with less regulation ...Insurances , Liabillties , Enviroment It drives costs up to where no companies want to produce in these zones .... Sad to say its all over regulated here ..

 

[Dozerboy]

Buckfever hit the nail on the head. If the workers don't like it they need to put on there big boy pants and go get a new job. I have had to do as well as plenty of other people.

 

[CM1995]

Let's break this article down, using quotes from the writer:

Well ahead of the Great Recession, during a banner year for the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment, Cat insisted that its managers gird for a worst-case scenario of an 80 per cent plunge in sales over two years.

Ok, they had their pulse on the market. Back then they saw how bad it could get.

And on a single day in 2009, Caterpillar blithely laid off 11,000 employees, or 9 per cent of its global workforce. Like most U.S. employers, Cat has a hair-trigger for layoffs at the first sign of tough times.

No doubt as a result of the economy hitting a brick wall (read quote above - they saw it coming).

Sure enough, the Great Recession did inflict the worst annual sales decline in Caterpillar’s 87-year history. Revenues dropped 37 per cent in 2010, and Cat suffered a 75 per cent collapse in profits.

(Bold added for emphasis) Well their crystal ball turned out to be right.:cool2

Yet in that same gut-wrenching year of 2010, Caterpillar shares outperformed all 29 fellow components of the Dow Jones Industrial Index, including the likes of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Cat even bested recession-proof Apple Inc., whose shares climbed “only” 53 per cent that year, compared with a 64 per cent gain for Cat stock.

Looks to me (a layman as far as big corporate management goes) they did the right thing and made the necessary adjustments during the "Great Recession" to keep the company profitable and provide a dividend to their stockholders. This is the main priority of a Company, to survive and be profitable.

Like as already been said and I reiterate, Company's are in business to make a profit. They are not their to provide jobs, insurance, pensions, etc for employees.

It introduces worker co-pays for healthcare costs – employees are to pay 25 per cent of the premiums for their healthcare coverage – while reducing the benefits of that coverage.

I pay 100% of my healthcare insurance premiums and 100% of the copay, so I really don't feel for them having to pick up 25%. My premiums keep going up and the coverage keeps going down.

 

[wosama931b]

Hello there, The problem is everything is over valued, what companys need to know is they can price themselfs right out of the market. The drop in labor may help
to lower the cost of a new machine, but at the same time the company over looks the private older machine owned by the small farmer and cannot afford parts from
them to repair and keep running the older machines, That is a missed oppertunity to sell more parts, and keep the customer happy, at a price they can afford.
If I ran Cat. I would run a discount on stuff that older models of wheel and track loaders need, to keep my customers, an army of machines run on everything behind , not just the dirt in front. old well, good luck. wosama

 

[mitch504]

Very well thought out response, CM

 

[JDOFMEMI]

CM
Nicely stated, as usual.

The failure to prepare and respond to changing economic conditions is one of the primary reasons for the failure of the automakers, and the resultant bailouts. I would rather see a well managed company lay off a portion of their employees and cut costs when needed than to wait until it is too late and have the whole company go under. When business picks back up, they will likely hire those laid off employees back. Hard to do that if you go under.

Wosama
Cat does have a program of less expensive parts for a wide variety of their older machines. I forget the name of it, but I have seen it promoted many times. Besides that, few other companies can match the support they give for long out of production machines. Parts are readily available for machines that the production run ended 40 or 50 years ago.

 

[mitch504]

It's Cat Classic Parts, Jerry. They offer cheaper parts for machines that aren't used much, and still offer the original parts for more stuff than any manufacturer I know

 

[Nige]

Very well thought out response, CM

I'll second that. I saw first-hand what the unions did to the mining & car industries in UK during the 60's/70's. IMO companies are not in business to provide jobs, pension schemes, or medical plans. They are in business to make money. If you want to make some money yourself check out the stock market, pick a well-managed company and invest in it ......

Any employee always has the opportunity to find a better job if they don't like the terms & conditions of the one they're in. I have been working now for more years than I care to remember and I have NEVER been out of a job unless I wanted to be that way.

 

[cutting edge]

Wow....Im a little surprised at some of the responses here. Lets make one thing clear though, this is not a union thing or a get rich thing. A 35/hour job up here is a middle class wage after taxes. This is about a corporation making its employees bleed.

Yeah, I guess they all should go and get another job, right?

After all, industry has been decimated in the local area an everybody is looking for locomotive assemblers. I reality the unemployment numbers are at 10-11% (and thats just the people actively looking for work,doesn't include those who have given up) and housing sales are dead flat in the area,so its not like you could just pack up and move on. By the way....how is the who;e "putting on your big boy pants" thing working out for the 10% of Americans put out by the recession?

I understand that business are there to make money,but this is what the whole Occupy movement was about.

You can be fair to your employees AND turn a profit. Many companies do.

If your employer or customer came to you today and told you that they are cutting your pay in half or only paying half the bill....how many here would stand for it? How many could just pick up their families and move on to some other place/job?

 

[Ross]

Very Cloak & Dagger

Use of the cloak and dagger was considered a "dishonest" method of combat because of its "deceptive tactics"

 

[Nige]

Wow....Im a little surprised at some of the responses here.
1. Lets make one thing clear though, this is not a union thing or a get rich thing. A 35/hour job up here is a middle class wage after taxes. This is about a corporation making its employees bleed.

2. I understand that business are there to make money,but this is what the whole Occupy movement was about.

3. You can be fair to your employees AND turn a profit. Many companies do.

4. If your employer or customer came to you today and told you that they are cutting your pay in half or only paying half the bill....how many here would stand for it? How many could just pick up their families and move on to some other place/job?

Personally I'm surprised at your reaction TBH. Pretty much everyone else who has posted here is being pragmatic and taking the broad view. Comments regarding your other points would be: -

1. They (the employees) have a choice, more than one actually. The first step would be to tell their union leaders (who I can guarantee will not be sharing the employees' pain) to FRO.
2. The Occupy movement is total & utter horse**** IMO and will at the end of the day achieve nothing.
3. Name one ........ I mean one that's REALLY successful.
4. No I wouldn't stand for it, but then again I wouldn't have been on a unionised job in the first place. So yes, I would up sticks & move.

 

[buckfever]

I hate when people say " what should I do move my whole familie". The answer is YES. between 100 and 200 years ago whole families packed up the few things they owned and got in a boat to cross an ocean with the hope of something better. So to move a day or two drives away for finacial secureity is laughable. Yes it will suck. Yes it will be hard. But nothing good comes easy.

On a side note like nige said "I have never been out of a job unless I wanted to be that way". I know a few people that a very hard workers and very good at their jobs and could not be out of work even if they wanted to.

Also they Occupy movement is a group of smelly overaged hippies how need to go occupy a desk somewhere.

 

[Buckethead]

I hate when people say " what should I do move my whole familie". The answer is YES. between 100 and 200 years ago whole families packed up the few things they owned and got in a boat to cross an ocean with the hope of something better. So to move a day or two drives away for finacial secureity is laughable. Yes it will suck. Yes it will be hard. But nothing good comes easy.

On a side note like nige said "I have never been out of a job unless I wanted to be that way". I know a few people that a very hard workers and very good at their jobs and could not be out of work even if they wanted to.

Also they Occupy movement is a group of smelly overaged hippies how need to go occupy a desk somewhere.

It's one thing to disagree with them, but I don't get all the bashing on those workers. They are people who go to a job with a lunchbox everyday to feed their families, just like most of us here. I just don't get it. The media in the last 20 or so years has turned everything around so that the working guy is now viewed as a bad person the cause of most of society's problems. As far as moving far from home, where are those folks supposed to move to, China? Even though I never had to move far from home, I have worked far from home. Lucky for me I am adaptable because it's not fun when you don't talk with everyone else's accent, and you're the odd man out. I know sometimes it's necessary, but concern over it is not "laughable" as you mockingly say. I am sure a lot of those people have kids in school, that's not an easy move. When kids have to move to a strange place, it's not easy for them. They are the ones who will be hurt not the parents.
As for the Occupy movement, when I was in NYC to see the Christmas Tree we took a little detour to Wall Street, to see the protests for ourselves, to make up our own minds. It was very orderly and clean, regardless of what you have heard in the media. The people there were not "smelly". Maybe you should find out both sides of the story before you belittle people you don't know.