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from the continuing-downward-spiral-for-workers dept.
The World Socialist Web Site reports:
In spite of a continuous chorus in the media of a booming economy creating robust job numbers, General Motors is unleashing a new round of attacks on autoworkers in North America as part of a global cost-cutting offensive against the working class.
The corporation announced on [April 13] it will cut one of two operating shifts at its massive Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant, cutting as many as 1,500 jobs effective June 15. As recently as 2016, the plant was operating three shifts around the clock with nearly 4,000 workers. By the end of June only 1,500 will remain.
As sales for the compact Chevy Cruze, the only vehicle produced at the facility, began to slip, GM shuttered the third shift in January 2017, axing 800 jobs. Over the course of 2017, the plant was idled for weeks at a time and rumors began to circulate about the impending layoffs.
As an indication of the severity of the cuts, this is the first time since the recession of the 1980s that the plant will operate with only one shift.
[...] The company sold 450,000 fewer vehicles to dealers last year than they did in 2016, but because of aggressive cost-cutting attacks on the workers, imposed by the union, which include everything from an expansion of Temporary Part Time employees at less than half pay, widespread layoffs and shutdowns[,] GM pretax profits for 2017 topped $12.8 billion.
US passenger car sales are on track to decline for the fifth straight year while sales of light trucks are setting records. US sales of compact cars dropped 10 percent in the first quarter and 5.8 percent through 2017.
Lordstown is not the only plant affected by this shift. GM's Detroit-Hamtramck factory, for example, relies heavily on production of small and midsize sedans, including the Buick LaCrosse, Cadillac CT6, Chevrolet Impala, and the Chevrolet Volt. In October, the automaker announced plans to cut about 200 jobs there and halt production beginning November 20 through the Christmas break, affecting 1,500 jobs over the holidays. The second shift was eliminated in March 2017, eliminating 1,300 jobs.
[...] The same conditions are developing in [GM] factories everywhere as GM pursues its cost-cutting strategy with a vengeance.
(Score: 4, Disagree) by idiot_king on Thursday April 19 2018, @03:48AM (30 children)
Everywhere I look, I see Trump's brand of capitalism tanking... It's almost as if.... wait for it.... capitalism always.... wait for it... wait.... fails every single time.
When will Americans wake up and finally vote Socialist or other non-failing system? Why, why why???
(Score: 4, Insightful) by coolgopher on Thursday April 19 2018, @04:23AM (5 children)
Because that's never offered as a real option?
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday April 19 2018, @04:43AM (4 children)
I expect that he'll run again in 2020
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @06:06AM (1 child)
Bernie is a Capitalist.
He's a timid FDR-wannabe.
Bernie has proposed a baby step in the right direction, but the problem is Capitalism.
Until we get rid of that, things aren't going to change for the better.
Every time The Working Class makes a gain, the Capitalist Oligarchs claw it back (via the legislators they buy--and Citizens United et al. have only made it worse).
Publicly-funded election campaigns are a necessary first step in the process.
Without that, nothing will change.
After that, we need something like Italy's Marcora law. [google.com]
That has given Italy thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of worker-owned co-ops.
N.B. Anyone who hasn't heard about those has lousy sources of information (Lamestream Media, I'm betting).
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:34AM
So why should I think that "change for the better" is better than the status quo? Not feeling it.
While it's an interesting idea, why not allow any sort of business model, including corporations and proprietorships? Those work too.
The Marcora Law also has only given 257 [yesmagazine.org] new worker-owned businesses in the past 30 years.
and this worker's paradise has a few problems:
Remember, can't spell "PIGS" without "I"taly.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:00PM
Yeah well I'd like to nominate Mr. Vim for president (with coolgopher as a running mate) in 2020 so that we can finally have true
Scottishcapitalism.We don't need any Russian troll racist all white male candidates like Bernie Sanders proposing progressive measures that will benefit white people in the working class (in addition to blacks and especially Hispanics). For every white person progressive policies help, a black person gets shot by a cop! If we help a single white person, we'll soon be overrun by meddling Russian bear cavalry!
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:57PM
Maybe, following China's and Turkey's lead, he will save us the time and trouble of conducting pesky elections. Way more efficient than countries that bother with single-candidate elections.
Make America Grumble Again!
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @04:27AM (3 children)
And all those who pray to the capitalist God while not paying their own dues are purged from the system, along with their economic toadies in the management and working classes. It will be a blood climb back to relevance for America, and it is one I don't see happening before another repressive power gains dominance. One that will bring aspects of technological totalitarianism to their inescapable conclusion.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by captain normal on Thursday April 19 2018, @05:10AM (1 child)
Just what do you mean by "another repressive power..." . Don't you think the people will have had their fill from this current repressive power?
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by c0lo on Thursday April 19 2018, @05:53AM
No, I don't think they will. Look, they are squalling even now which type of lizard people is better to run them.
Until they don't start believing they can run on their own, nothing will happen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:40AM
I wonder if that leaves anyone who is any good at blood climbing? Given how much subsequent bitching there is about "the people" and their "squalling", doesn't look it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @04:47AM (4 children)
I feel the same way about socialism. It’s amazing that Venezuela fell whereas Chile is doing so well.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @06:28AM (3 children)
Venezuela is Bolivarian (Anti-Imperialist) but calling it Socialist (worker-owned cooperatives) is a real stretch.
The Capitalist Oligarchs still essentially run the country.
(They have a problem similar to USA's" bought-off politicians.)
While Venezuela has a nice little start on Socialism, but it still has fewer than 1500 "communes"--and its population is 32M.
Chile is doing so well
Chile had a murderous USA.gov-backed dictator for a generation.
Any opposition was utterly destroyed.
Chile is still propped up economically by USA.gov.
If USA.gov did to Chile what it has been doing to Cuba for 6 decades (and to Venezuela since Chavez was elected), Chile would fold like a cheap suit.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:53AM (2 children)
Sure it is. But not if we use the normal meaning of words like "socialist".
That's code for "We fucked up. Better blame the usual scapegoats." If the above were true, rather than the usual rhetorical dodge, those Capitalist Oligarchs" would still own and run the oil fields that they owned and ran before the Bolivarian experiment kicked off.
What is the nature of this propping up? What fraction of their economy are we speaking of?
Strange how once again, you felt the need to defend the likes of Venezuela and Cuba.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:14PM (1 child)
Because capitalist oligarchs would never do such a thing. Capitalism would be perfect if not for those meddlesome Russians and their super power of spending chump change on Failbook ads to swing a whole election!
(Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:06PM
Mere money is not how you can measure the critical impact of the Russian menace. They also issued over 3,000 ads. 3,000 is a big number and our mental defenses aren't geared to take on big numbers. So after you've seen these ads for 3,000 times, your defenses are completely used up. You're like, "Ok, so I see clearly now how the Lizardoids ran the pizza shop child porn factory for the Clinton mafia, but what are we doing about it?" And then you vote Trump. Because the only thing he'd be stuffing at a pizza restaurant is his face. You've seen the size of the guy!
The Russians need to be stopped and this is the only way. 3,000+ ads told me so.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by frojack on Thursday April 19 2018, @04:59AM (1 child)
Yeah, the cars aren't selling, but dammit, they should keep on making them. Its there socialist duty to keep on delivering what the stupid consumers don't want.
Maybe if Chevy's ads weren't so cringeworth they would sell more cars.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by captain normal on Thursday April 19 2018, @05:18AM
Or maybe also, if their cars weren't such cringeworthy pieces of crap they would sell more cars.
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @05:15AM (1 child)
Because nobody is as stupid as you, obviously.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @06:58AM
Well, frojack is. Just saying. Somebody had to say it.
(Score: 1) by tftp on Thursday April 19 2018, @05:32AM (3 children)
Maybe because Socialism failed everywhere, except North Korea, and nobody sane wants the NK's version (which is not socialism but monarchy.)
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:42AM (1 child)
You seem to have a very warped, McCarthy-era-propaganda understanding of socialism. Hint: look at the socialist democracies of northern Europe instead. You even admit that what NK has is not socialism (immediately after proclaiming it successful socialism, but still).
Yes, the implementation of socialism usually eventually fails... just like the implementation of every single other type of governmental and economic system. We could also say that democracy and capitalism failed everywhere, except in certain few cases, which are not really democratic or capitalistic.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:34AM
You're closer to the mark than he is but you're still wrong.
It's NOT socialist democracy[1], it's Liberal Democracy, sometimes called Social Democracy.
There are even some parties that call themselves Christian Democrats.
Some people see "social" and automatically go to "Socialist".
That's WRONG.
Here's Socialism:
Socialism is the collective ownership of the means of production by The Workers.
If the word OWNERSHIP doesn't figure prominently in your thing, your thing is NOT Socialism.
Socialism is an ECONOMIC system.
The governmental form that goes along with it is DEMOCRACY.
Socialism is DEMOCRACY EVERYWHERE (including the workplace).
Most of the workplaces in northern Europe are hierarchical and Capitalist; definitely NOT democratic or Socialist.
[1] "Socialist Democracy" or "Democratic Socialist" is redundant.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:16AM
You're zero for 2.
Yugoslavia had 3 decades of successful worker ownership of the means of production.
USSR under Lenin was doing pretty good (despite constant military and economic harassment by USA and its allies).
...until Lenin died and Stalin decided he wanted to be a dictator.
There has never been worker ownership of the means of production in North Korea.
North Korea is a dictatorship (also constantly under military and economic harassment by USA and its allies).
Anyone who calls that place Socialist is just plain stupid.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:29AM
Excellent troll there. Thank you for showing the noobs how we do things around these parts.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday April 19 2018, @03:32PM
Ballot Instructions. Please to be selectifying which items you prefer for:
[x] Lots of government benefits (health care, universal basic income, welfare, retirement, and always tax refunds)
[x] Lower or no taxes
[x] Eliminate the deficit
[x] Pay off the national debt
[x] Rainbows
[x] Free Range Unicorns (ummm . . . delicious!)
[_] . . . or the other thing, failing system, consequences, reality
To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @03:40PM
The problem of the rust belt has nothing to do with capitalism, a lot to do with the lack of nationalism. What do you Socialists dislike the most? Nationalists, because your just a bunch of statist globalist tyrants are what you are who wants to use open borders to drive people into poverty so they can be more easily duped into accepting your little authoritarian schemes. The ideas of open borders and free trade are whats destroying working class people, having to compete with cheap foreign alien immigrant labor and with products made in third world countries where you can hire people for cents an hour. Close the borders, implement fair tariffs and understand that trade between first and third world countries is a race to the bottom that will make first world countries like third world countries. The economies are fundamentally different and incompatable.
(Score: 2) by eravnrekaree on Thursday April 19 2018, @03:49PM (3 children)
This is laughable. Nearly every socailist country is a total failure. Venezuala, the USSR, North Korea. China's no longer purely socialist Whats killing the rust belt is globalism, the way you globalist socialists are flooding first world countries with foreign alien immigrants and open border and trade, driving down wages, putting working class families out of work. Then you exploit the poverty you created to push your totalitarian socialist schemes to enslave the people. What we need is what you socialists hate most, nationalism, strong borders, no immigration, for us to recover our middle class.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @11:00PM (2 children)
[socialist] country
The opposite of Socialism is NOT Democracy.[1]
Socialism is an ECONOMIC system.
The opposite of Socialism is Capitalism.
The governmental system that MUST coincide with Socialism is DEMOCRACY.
Socialism is Anti-Capitalism.
[1] ...and Capitalism can (and does) exist under the most of governmental regimes, BTW.
Venezuala, the USSR, North Korea
Capitalist country, Capitalist country, Dictatorship (everything belongs to the dictator AKA the only Capitalist allowed).
Calling North Korea "Socialist" is just plain stupid.
Now, what set North Korea apart is that it is anti-USA's imperialism.
USSR is the -ONLY- 1 in that group that is Anti-Capitalist.
China's no longer purely socialist
Gawd, are you ever stupid.
China is the most successful Capitalist country on the planet.
Has been for several years now.
Again: The opposite of Socialism is NOT Democracy.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @11:04PM
Capitalism can (and does) exist under the most of governmental regimes.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @11:07PM
Capitalism can (and does) exist under the most repressive of governmental regimes.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]