Teamster Protesters Target Bimmerfest East!

What did you you all think of this? This group was on both sides of the entry to the show, handing out flyers to attendees as they rolled in...

They went to a lot of trouble to get their message out.


Here's their website: http://www.bmwultimatemisery.com








Thoughts?



.

What did you you all think of this? This group was on both sides of the entry to the show, handing out flyers to attendees as they rolled in...

They went to a lot of trouble to get their message out.


Here's their website: http://www.bmwultimatemisery.com








Thoughts?



.

This article explains their plight more fully...

I've worked in a unionized environment one summer while in university and I am not a fan of unions after that experience; they create an US vs THEM environment which is unhealthy.

BMW may have received loans from the government but banks were not lending to anyone in 2008 so I'm sure the money was used to keep the US manufacturing plants operating.

I'd be interested in seeing an official reference to such bailout loans. The government payouts are public record so any such loans to BMW should also be on the record. $3-4B is big enough that it shouldn't be able to be hidden that easily.

Originally Posted by DnA Diesel

I'd be interested in seeing an official reference to such bailout loans. The government payouts are public record so any such loans to BMW should also be on the record. $3-4B is big enough that it shouldn't be able to be hidden that easily.

There is an "official" reference made to 3.6 bln in loans made to BMW in Barbara Boxer's letter to BMW. See the ultimate misery website. While I'm no fan of the senator from Ca I'm confident she's done her homework before putting that statement in writing.

Originally Posted by Yorgi

I've worked in a unionized environment one summer while in university and I am not a fan of unions after that experience; they create an US vs THEM environment which is unhealthy.

BMW may have received loans from the government but banks were not lending to anyone in 2008 so I'm sure the money was used to keep the US manufacturing plants operating.

I currently work in a union environment, and NO ONE, and I do mean NO ONE does more to create an "us v. them" environment more than upper management does.

Originally Posted by FedUpWith335i

I currently work in a union environment, and NO ONE, and I do mean NO ONE does more to create an "us v. them" environment more than upper management does.

It takes two to tango.

Originally Posted by FedUpWith335i

I currently work in a union environment, and NO ONE, and I do mean NO ONE does more to create an "us v. them" environment more than upper management does.

Sure, you'd see it that way from your POV. As an outsider that had to go into many union plants and work with both management and union members, I'd say the union was frequently the more guilty party. I was hired by the company to do a job, but had to be nicer to union members just so that they wouldn't get in my way. Frequently, I'd brought in because the union members refused to do a job they for which they qualified. Since I knew the game and had made "friends" with the union members, they'd actually do the job for me just to prove to me they knew how.

Thoughts?

Were they aware that we've been discussing this here??

I can understand why they want to get this out -- after all bimmerfest members are some of BMWs best customers.

I did some research this morning on the subject. Their flyers were a bit misleading.... Go figure..
These loans were not for the manufacturing parts of the companies (Ford, BMW, Chrysler, Toyota, GM) they were for the financial portions of the companies. These loans were to make sure there was money for car loans.... Remember, we were in the midst of a credit crunch.

Ford: 15.9B
GM: 13B
BMW: 6.2B
Chrysler: 4.9
Toyota: 4.6

All loans have been paid back.....

The UAW was out 2 weeks ago pimping their propaganda at a local BMW dealership here in St. Louis with this very same nonesense. Since they have run the Ford assembly plant in Hazelwood, MO and the Chrysler plant in Fenton, MO into nonexistence they have nothing else to do. From what I have been told it was a one day affair.

Forgive me here but was kinda conflicted since I am a TEAMSTER. Always pro union but dont think it was the right venue to hand out flyers. Glad no one went after those old geezers

LOL, I think they're secretly all BMW fans!!!

I certainly can empathize for those who have lost their jobs, especially in these very difficult economic times (really any time for that matter), but infiltrating a BMW-enthusiast event really has the potnetial to backfire. I noticed several folks getting heated by their presence.

Sure BMW's quality has decreased, but that's not b/c BMWNA is finding cheaper labor, rather it's b/c our cars no longer have dipsticks, poorly designed HFPP, and RFTs!!!

Thanks for putting on a fantastic event Jon! It was great meeting you and these people did not take anything away from that.
Can't wait for next year!

Wtf

Haters goin to hate

i really understand they are upset with the company and the actions they are going to take, but they should understand that we are not supporting bmw's actions we are just a group of car junkies that are getting together for the love and passion of our hobby.

i am happy that they did not ruin a great day. thank you again for holding such and amazing event, i got to meet a lot of great people and learn a lot more about my car.

thank you to Turner Motorsports for all the information they gave me, will and his team are a bunch of cool guys and very humble. marco their 335 expert opened my eyes to everything i can do to my car. thanks again guys i will be there next year for sure

I found this that explains their plight a little better.

losers

They're jelly.

As a working union man I understand their situation. They got their message out there with minimal disruption to a wonderful event. No harm done. Actually, I noticed the banner aircraft more than those guys on the ground.
Jon, extremely nice meeting you coming in yesterday and thanks again for putting on such a wonderful event. See you next year.

"BMW would never be allowed to get away with this in Germany," said Bob Lennox, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 495.

BMW did get away with this when the invested billions on dollars in establishing production facilities in the US, stealing German jobs. In 2008 BMW laid off 7,500 workers in Germany. In 2011 they are laying off 71 warehouse workers in the California, while they are expanding their automotive manufacturing facilities and hiring in South Carolina to make it the largest automotive manufacturing facility in the US terms on number of employees. That sound like American jobs to me.

"BMW got bailed out with nearly $4 billion in top-secret low-interest federal loans and in exchange, they are mocking America's plant closing laws and destroying working families," he said.

BMW Financial Services North America received the USG loans as an alternative cash source when the the US financial sector wasn't providing the traditional sources of money. This was part of the financial sector stimulus program and not the automotive bailout program. These loans were not Top Secret and were not a bail out gifts, since the US is being paid back with interest.

Finally, BMW is an automotive company. They are not a logistic company. Much of their German-based logistics is handled by outside companies. They are starting the process to do the same in the US.

Originally Posted by dunderhi

BMW did get away with this when the invested billions on dollars in establishing production facilities in the US, stealing German jobs. In 2008 BMW laid off 7,500 workers in Germany. In 2011 they are laying off 71 warehouse workers in the California, while they are expanding their automotive manufacturing facilities and hiring in South Carolina to make it the largest automotive manuafacturing facility in the US terms on number of employees. That sound like American jobs to me.

As companies continue to “rationalize” labor and capital from high cost labor intensive sectors to sectors that seemingly offer more return on investment, the question arises: Do companies, especially profitable ones, have any moral responsibility such as offering options like alternative employment, and /or retraining, to long term employees who helped build the brand? Furthermore, beyond the responsibilities to shareholders, do companies have an ethical responsibility to the society as a whole beyond fulfilling the terms of a labor contract?

After reading the article Jon posted. It's about keeping the money rotating in the same circle so the rich stay rich and there will be no other class. I work for the treasury and you start to learn and see things that don't make sense in any way on a daily basis. We will end up in a have and have not world if things continue this way.