Audi's unions demand electric model for main German plant

Re:Audi's unions demand electric model for main German plant by Radle on Wednesday March 29, 2017 @03:47PM (#13989896)

This is absolutely why German unions are awesome, read this: "Labor leaders at Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) luxury Audi brand have asked top management to assign production of an all-electric model to the carmaker's main plant in Germany, concerned they might lose out as electric cars gain in importance."

The reason for the Union speaking out is twofold: The workers want to have the necessary skill set in building EV and they also want the company to stay in front of the market. This kind of communication allows management to actually see those things that they couldn't perceive in their normal view from atop.

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Re:Audi's unions demand electric model for main German plant by cat199 on Wednesday March 29, 2017 @04:39PM (#13990353)

> This is absolutely why German unions are awesome

curious: What about this is specific to German unions?

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Re:Audi's unions demand electric model for main German plant by yardie on Wednesday March 29, 2017 @04:50PM (#13990448)

In all my travels I've never seen quite a union as German unions. They have a seat at the board and are involved with decisions the board makes. This creates a drastically less antagonistic relationship between capital and labor.

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Re:Audi's unions demand electric model for main German plant by sanguy on Wednesday March 29, 2017 @05:45PM (#13990896)

Yes, and even in smaller org's (above 20) the employees are able to setup an employee council that helps management steer the company.

It's not something that can be rejected by management.

For someone from North America it can be a challenge to accept but does work quite well once you get over it.

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Re:Audi's unions demand electric model for main German plant by joeyo on Wednesday March 29, 2017 @05:22PM (#13990691)

Codetermination: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codetermination_in_Germany

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Re:Audi's unions demand electric model for main German plant by velodrome on Wednesday March 29, 2017 @06:16PM (#13991132)

1) Germany did not have a minimum wage until recently. They just enacted a minimum wage in 2015. Minimum wage erodes the strength and bargaining power of trade unions. Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Sweden do not have a minimum wage but have strong trade unions.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28140594

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/080515/5-deve...

2) They have strong apprenticeship programs and vocational training.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apprenticeship#Germany

3) Mittelstand - long-term, focused, and sustainable business culture

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mittelstand

http://theconversation.com/the-secret-behind-germanys-thrivi...

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Re:Audi's unions demand electric model for main German plant by crdoconnor on Thursday March 30, 2017 @09:33AM (#13995157)

>Minimum wage erodes the strength and bargaining power of trade unions.

Trade unions are almost always in favor of minimum wage and increases. E.g.

http://www.aflcio.org/Issues/Jobs-and-Economy/Wages-and-Inco...

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Re:Audi's unions demand electric model for main German plant by velodrome on Tuesday April 04, 2017 @01:40PM (#14035302)

Why Unions Exempt Themselves from Hard-Fought Minimum Wage Hikes

https://economics21.org/html/why-unions-exempt-themselves-ha...

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Re:Audi's unions demand electric model for main German plant by rebootthesystem on Wednesday March 29, 2017 @06:29PM (#13991223)

Yes, American unions are very destructive. They have devastated industries by sapping the very last bit of juice out of them. German unions have a cooperative relationship with the business. They understand that killing it off isn't an intelligent strategy.

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