Conn Selmer Strike Blog-home

In 2010, over 5.5 million cars were produced in Germany, twice the 2.7 million built in the United States. Average compensation (a figure including wages and employer-paid benefits) for autoworkers in Germany was 48.97 Euros per hour ($67.14 US), while compensation for auto work in the United States averaged $33.77 per hour, or about half as much as in Germany, all according to 2007 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For Germany-based auto producers, the U.S. is a low-wage country.

Despite German companies’ relatively high labor costs in their home markets, these firms are quite profitable.

http://www.remappingdebate.org/article/tale-two-systems

Reasons why Conn Selmer may want to produce in China.

According to the Bennett brothers, China cheats. The Asian giant uses unfair advantages to under-bid them on a growing list of projects. It’s costing them business and costing the region jobs and they’ve had enough. On Monday, the tool and die guys became political advocates. They stood beside U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown on a shop floor at MAGNET, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network near downtown Cleveland, as Brown outlined his plan to punish China for unfair trade.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/10/proposed_china_currency_bill_g.html

Seems it was just yesterday I was walking out the door with John Stoner explain how fast things could change in China, he just was listening his mind made up.

For 17 years, Tao Dong, now chief Asia economist with Credit Suisse, has been covering its breakneck growth. But when I met him in Hong Kong recently, he told me, “China as the world factory, the best time is behind us.” Labor costs are soaring by 40 percent a year, as migrant workers are becoming pickier, since there are more job opportunities at home. Also China’s one-child policy means there is no longer such a huge pool of young, dexterous workers. Bank lending is tightening and China’s currency is also appreciating by around 6 percent a year against the U.S. dollar, not quickly enough for US and European policymakers, but sufficient for factories on low margins to feel the pain.

http://behindthewall.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/19/7763968-chinas-soaring-costs-could-help-american-jobs

Here a small company commented to the Cleveland Plain Dealer about how it was handled when they felt forced to turn over information to a big corporations, we too felt this way toward the bean counters that were running our strike from the company side.

Fortune 500 companies have bean counters working for them that only look at the numbers. They don’t take into account a company’s longevity or the fact that we sell quality products and take pride in meeting inspection and delivery deadlines. It’s nothing like dealing with a banker, who looks at you as a person. Banks take into account your personal assets, including your home, stocks and bonds. Your company is looked at as a separate entity, but bankers also consider ownership in the building.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/08/i_turned_over_financial_statem.html

    The community needs to understand what was done in Elkhart Indiana at Vincent Bach and Eastlake Ohio (King Plant) is being done now at Verizon as well as many other companys.  Why? because they (corporate citizen) can, because the general public does not care enough to voice their concern. Continue reading »