I'm reading about labor negotiations amidst the bankruptcy actions at automotive parts manufacturer Delphi this morning in the Dayton Daily News and on Yahoo News. Right now, the corporation is trying to greatly reduce labor costs (while not reducing management costs, but that's another story). I know people at Delphi and feel badly about the inevitable reduction in wages and benefits that will happen--no matter how much they strike. I've seen it too many times where unskilled labor is too easily replaced to command high wages. The days when car companies could pass along wage increases to customers in terms of higher prices are over--at least for now. There is too much competition in the market for that old ploy. There is also too much competition for jobs in the market for unskilled labor to command middle-class wages any longer. God bless WalMart in that case, for keeping prices of commodities low enough for people with reduced wages to participate in the American way of buying lots of stuff.
This is still a time of rearrangement and disjuncture in that market. That's where automation comes in to save manufacturing jobs--but really only the skilled jobs. Tell your kids, go out and get a skill. It doesn't need to be college degree to be successful. Within a few years there will be a crying need for skilled machinists and tool makers. Those are well-paying jobs that offer a chance to be creative and valuable.
The key is training. And if you are management and don't want your picture in the paper as someone getting more bonuses and pay for digging out of the hole that you made (management makes the decisions, after all), then take action now and train your workforce and upgrade your company's capabilities. Better to do something good now than try to explain away your failures as someone else's problem later when I'm there with a camera to document it.
6:33:53 AM 
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