Marchionne: "To Be Perfectly Honest, We've All Fucked With the UAW, Right?

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

Sergio Marchionne seems to be taking a different tactic in this year’s UAW negotiations. Instead of threatening to take product out of North America and send it to China, the head of FCA is playing to the hearts and minds of the union membership, even going so far as to admit all automakers have screwed workers in the past.

“To be perfectly honest, we’ve all fucked with the UAW, right? We were threatened by them, so we took all the pickup trucks that we sell — and 90 percent of those pickup trucks are sold in this country, right — we took it away, and then we delocalized them” Marchionne told Automotive News’ Larry P. Vellequette.

Marchionne believes he and UAW President Dennis Williams “share a view about the fact that, in some fashion, to the extent that we are successful in creating wealth out of these car companies, real wealth, then we should be able to distribute that,” he said.

Bringing Mexican pickup production back to the United States would be a massive win for the UAW. Since March 2014, Ram has sold fewer than 30,000 pickups only once (January 2015).

Ram pickups are built at FCA’s Warren Assembly Plant in Michigan and Saltillo Truck Assembly.

“What a wonderful idea, distributing cash when you have it,” Marchionne said.

Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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  • Highdesertcat Highdesertcat on Aug 29, 2015

    I think it would be better for everyone involved in America if the UAW works WITH their employers instead of AGAINST them. The record of the UAW and unions is clear. Decades worth of documented damage inflicted by the UAW and unions on their employers. The key to quality and productivity is collaboration and cooperation, something that is foreign to the UAW and unions in America. Until it is too late, and the employer goes under. Hostess is now a Mexican-owned bakery. Chrysler a subsidiary of Fiat. etc etc etc. Fortunately, we don't have to do without. The stuff we want can be imported from foreign sources. All hail NAFTA!

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    • Highdesertcat Highdesertcat on Aug 30, 2015

      @TW5 "Unions try to blame the situation on corporate/political conspiracy." Thank you for saying more concisely what I wanted to convey in my original comment.

  • Xeranar Xeranar on Aug 30, 2015

    I started reading the rest of the comments but the time and energy to explain the actual reality would be wasted as these yokels are too proud to repeat conservative talking points as facts without actually being able to source a reliable data point for a single point. Instead, I'm going to just say 'Good for Marchionne.' It's clear he's looking at a future where America is a different beast and after the next presidential election the supreme court is likely to start taking up union cases to start breaking down large sections of Taft-Hartley beginning with public unions then private ones. A liberal Supreme Court is going to be an interesting place for America's largest corporations. God help them if Sanders is elected. :)

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    • Xeranar Xeranar on Aug 31, 2015

      @highdesertcat I'm seriously trying not to laugh at your argument. It's a joke to think what you do but hey, lets what Corporate America likes in their drones. Sycophants who sell the same M.O. to each other while refusing to acknowledge that their entire model relies on continued unswerving support for free market capitalism. Even the slightest bend to that model would make the entire system unworkable. But hey, HDC, go wild. Maybe you can move to Canada with BK to avoid all the evil socialism we're making hay about down here. PS: Ireland is more socialized than we are. They also removed a huge chunk of their underclass through emigration. The argument is so poor conceived that I really don't feel like bothering going down this road. When a student thinks this way I tend to just move on, it's not worth my precious time to bother with their stupidity once you've explained your position.

  • Panzerfaust Panzerfaust on Sep 02, 2015

    To be perfectly honest, the UAW has had it coming--more than once.

  • Lichtronamo Lichtronamo on Sep 05, 2015

    This is no different that the posturing by GM and Ford. Give us a good contract and we'll bring the RAM trucks back from Mexico; give us a good contract and we won't import Buicks from China and Germany; give us a good contract and we'll build the Ranger, and maybe even Bronco,in Michigan. Demand too much and, f*** you, you get none of this.

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