Dana declared bankruptcy

[JMortensen]

More of a 4x4 or Mopar thing, but sad anyway. For those who don't know Dana makes Jeep and Dodge truck and Mopar axles, Detroit Lockers, LSDs, axles, all kinds of differential stuff, and is the parent company to Spicer who makes U-joints which I'm sure all of you V8 guys are using in your driveshafts.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060303/bs_nm/autos_dana_dc

[BrandonsZ]

I think it's another move by these companies to squash the unions.

 

Welcome to New Wal-Mart (The name that New York City will adopt to avoid bankruptcy). Ok maybe that's too far... for now.

[pete280z]

It's been a while since I've been into 4x4's, but this comes as a shock.

 

Also, Dana made the rear end for the Nissan Titan.

[DemonZ]

I think it's another move by these companies to squash the unions.

 

 

 

I am curious how this would undermine unions? Not being a smart ***, just curious.

[David K]

I am curious how this would undermine unions? Not being a smart ***, just curious.

 

No jobs, no money, no union.

[JMortensen]

Maybe you should just close the thread Pete. Couldn't agree more, but aren't we getting started down the "wrong" path?

[myplasticegg]

Clevite is beeing sold as well. I believe Mahle is buying them?

[Pop N Wood]

Blaming the unions for GM's problems is, without a doubt, a truely short sighted outlook on the problem.

 

A complicated problem to be sure. Kind of hard to say GM is a well run company given all their problems of the last 30+ years.

 

But I guess blaming the union is as good of a way to oversimplify the problem as any.

 

Besides, they only filed for Chapter 11 protection. Doesn't mean they are going out of buisness. Just means they are going to stop paying some debts for awhile. Hopefully the upper management will be once again drawing huge bonuses once they remerge from bankruptcy protection.

[Mike C]

I am SO tempted to get involved with this argument on unions. But it will lead to health care, corporate fraud, lawsuits, the ultra-wealthy trying to squash the proleteriat and so on. So never mind. But this will still probably be a thread hijack forcing it closed.

 

Part of Dana's problem is I bought stock in them 6 months ago. THAT can be a death sentence for a company by itself...

 

FWIW, Dana is also the supplier for the Viper rear and they did the C5 'vette stuff as well.

 

If blame needs to be laid for GM, lets lay it where it deserves to go. GM corporate execs. Paying $55,000 a year to a worker is NOT a bad thing. WIthout the unions they would make $32,000 a year further enrichening the execs and the share holders while squeezing the middle/lower middle class even further, leaving the majority of workers unable to buy the products they build. I don't know if you've noticed, but inflation is taking a HUGE bite out of most people's check, while real wages continue to fall for 80% of Americans.

 

GM management put ALL of their eggs in one truck basket, and fuel costs knocked the bottom out of it. It was short term focus on maximum profitablitly with no attempt to control cost and streamline while things were good. The writing was on the wall as early as '96 when they bailed on the big car market and then it was underlined when they squashed the F-body. Look at the buzz surrounding the new Camaro. If they weren't such a large bureacracy and could get a reasonable development time on new product, they could fill these niches and move sales around within the company. Instead they are losing sales to their competition.

 

Why GM can't build a 3 series BMW I don't know. But that type of model that is evolutionary and multi-functional is what they need. Coupe, convertible, sedan. A sporty car with a functional backseat ala the Mustang. The Beemer is a Factory hot rod and police car, they have a mileage version, an entry level version, all wheel drive and even taxi cab. 4 cylinder, 6 cylinder, V8, and in Europe, a turbo-diesel. GM management is short sighted is the primary problem IMO.

[Guest Phil1934]

I wouldn't worry about Dana. Delphi in China employs 8000 people and sold $637M in auto parts in 2004. I'm sure it's the same deal.

[5foot2]

My breif perspective on union shops. I worked on the Kenworth assembly line in south Seattle in the early 90's. It of course was a union shop. I worked towards the start of the line installing air lines and sub systems for the brakes. some of the trucks required a threaded stud to be spot welded in a few places to secure various clams and gromets for the air lines. Every now and then I would forget to weld on the stud and the next station on the line would notice. Instead of the guys at the next station simply welding on a stud, fastening the clamp then throwing a nut at me and telling me to stop missing the studs, I had to gather a portable stud gun and run up to the next station and do the work. I had to do this because the people standing 50 feet away from me were in a different union than I was and it was not thier job. They had no interest in building a truck, they simply wanted to attach part A to part B and not have to think or deviate from the norm.

 

Working there and at a few other union job in my early 20's soured me on unions. The basic ideas of a union is a good one (collective barganing, worker protection, insurance, pentions, etc, etc), but I've found they are counter productive to getting work done, they promote lazyness with the seniority systems, they make the shop a hostile place to work with all the tention between the union and managemnet, and the top level union management is far from seeming on the up and up. They're just as bad as corp. management or politicians.

 

All that said, filing for protection through a bankruptcy is a good thing for the company and the workers. It keeps the place in business.