Chapter 707 See who blinks first

What did you say? Another 5% cut! Norwood Jewell looked surprised.

He thought that those workers who were on strike would have enough to give up their jobs, but he didn't expect to meet an equally stubborn employer.

Hanks, the head of the union, said from the side: The 210 workers who were laid off last week, including all our union cadres, are also union members. I estimate that the 200 laid off this time will also be union members. I'm worried it will affect our morale.

Not every worker is a member of a trade union. After all, you have to pay a membership fee to join a trade union. Isn't it good to keep the 5% of your salary and take your wife and children to the next restaurant?

The proportion of workers joining unions varies from state to state. Basically, the more industrially developed states, the higher the proportion of workers joining unions.

The highest proportion is New York State, where more than 20% of workers are unionized, industrial states around the Great Lakes and California in the west, more than 15% of workers are unionized, and some agricultural states in the south may be less than 5%. .

The proportion of unions joining different industries is also different. In some emerging industries, the proportion of joining unions is relatively low, and many technology companies have not even established unions; while the proportion of joining unions in traditional industries is relatively high, such as steel, mining, energy, and automobiles. In other industries, the proportion of unions is very high.

Although trade union members do not actually constitute the majority, these trade union members, especially trade union cadres, are the organizers and leaders of the labor movement.

For ordinary workers, people with unions come forward and help themselves fight for better welfare, why not do it!

Therefore, whenever a labor union organizes a labor movement, ordinary workers tend to participate as well. Anyway, it is the trade union that takes the lead in making trouble. Once it succeeds, it will pay for a wave of welfare for free. If it fails, the employer will only deal with the members of the trade union.

Li Weidong's layoffs are naturally the first to strike at the union members in the factory. The so-called personal first captures the king and drives out all the union members. The workers lose their leaders and lose their backbone, and it is difficult for the strike to continue.

Norwood-Jewell has organized the labor movement for many years, and he naturally understands this truth. After he pondered for a while, he said: Since the management has no willingness to negotiate, then we will escalate the movement and put pressure on them!

Calling all trade union officials, starting tomorrow, our demonstrations and protests will not be limited to the Bemhull factory. We will take to the streets, to the city, to march, and to create greater momentum! We want more people to know that we are fighting!

Also, at tomorrow's parade, I'll be there with members of the UAW to cheer you on. The UAW's direct involvement in the march should be able to stabilize the situation.

Hanks nodded, then continued: What I'm worried about is that even if we take to the streets, the management will still not compromise. The management we face this time is different from usual. He is Chinese, and he doesn't seem to have any intentions at all. Do things according to our American rules!

Then let him know what American rules are! Norwood-Jewell snorted coldly, and continued: I will go to the media to create pressure on him through public opinion. If it really doesn't work, I can still contact you. State legislators, let them put pressure on the executive level!

As for layoffs, you don't have to worry. I don't believe that the Chinese dare to lay off workers all the time. If all the workers are laid off, who will help him produce cars and the factory will stop production, then he will lose millions every day! It's a race to see who blinks first,

We must hold on!

...

The striking workers held up signs and took to the streets, which also attracted media attention.

With the help of Norwood-Jewell, the local media began to report on this matter on a large scale, and even some big media began to pay attention to the strike.

Some reporters interviewed union leaders at the strike site, while others came to the hotel where Li Weidong was staying and wanted to interview the management's attitude.

Chairman, the hotel manager informed us that there are a lot of reporters at the door. He said that if necessary, he can arrange for you to leave through the VIP channel. The assistant said.

Li Weidong knew that the so-called VIP channel was a hidden back door that could evade these reporters.

But Li Weidong didn't plan to hide from the reporters, he said, Just go to the main entrance! I'll go meet those reporters.

Li Weidong walked out of the hotel door, and reporters immediately surrounded him, and the hotel's service was also very thoughtful. Security personnel and doormen stepped forward one after another, blocking Li Weidong's front.

These security guards and doormen are quite hardworking, so I'll give you a little more tip later. Li Weidong ordered casually.

At this point, a female reporter asked, Mr. Li, the strike at the Bemhull factory has been going on for the second week, and now the workers have taken to the streets, what do you think about this? How are you going to deal with it?

Glancing at the female reporter, the other party looked pretty good. Although she had heavy makeup on her face, she was a hot girl. Li Weidong's mood suddenly became much happier.

So Li Weidong stopped and said, This morning, I also saw relevant reports on TV, so I went to find out the real situation. The so-called workers who were interviewed on the news were laid off by the factory last week. .

So he is not an employee of the Bemhull factory! Therefore, he cannot represent the Bemher Factory. All his actions should be personally responsible for him, and have nothing to do with me.

Li Weidong directly used the temporary workers commonly used by domestic managers. The mistake was made by the temporary workers, and the responsibility was all the temporary workers. I have already opened the temporary workers, and the matter has nothing to do with me!

Another reporter immediately said: Mr. Li, according to the introduction of the trade union leaders, when you face the workers' strike, you not only have no will to negotiate, but instead hope to force the workers to submit by laying off staff!

This is a rather unfriendly question, and the implication is that the blame is thrown to Li Weidong.

Li Weidong smiled slightly and said, The factory has been shut down due to the workers' strike, and the shutdown of the factory has caused economic losses. We can only cut costs and reduce losses by laying off employees. Therefore, the layoffs are entirely caused by the strike. , if there were no strikes, there would be no layoffs!

Li Weidong took the blame and blamed the strike on the layoffs.

The reporters were obviously on the side of the workers and did not agree with Li Weidong's answer.

One of them immediately said: Mr. Li, Jaguar Land Rover is already facing a loss of more than one billion US dollars. Every day that the Bemhull plant is shut down, it will cause more losses to the company. Don't you worry about this? Is it?

Of course I don't feel worried! Li Weidong continued with a sullen expression: Jaguar Land Rover still has a lot of stock cars, just take this opportunity to stock up!

...

Li Weidong is not worried at all about the shutdown of the factory.

From the perspective of industrial production, if the factory stops production for one day, it will not only consume basic operating costs, but also lose a day's output value. Only by producing and creating output value can the factory make money and generate profits.

Therefore, many manufacturing industries not only often work overtime, but also take shifts, and even have production lines that operate several shifts around the clock, in order to ensure the continuity of production.

When workers strike, management often chooses to compromise. This is also based on this. For capitalists, if the factory stops production for one day, they will lose a day’s output value, and they will also lose a day’s profit.

Not earning is equal to losing, so in order to quell the strike and resume production as soon as possible, the management will always compromise with the trade union.

But this set of theories is based on the fact that there is sufficient demand for the product.

If the products produced cannot be sold, the company will lose money for raw materials.

In the United States, there is never a shortage of cars in the market.

America is, after all, a kingdom on wheels, which is not a compliment, but a sign that America lacks adequate public transportation, and the average person cannot get around without a car.

Therefore, it is easy for American auto companies to compromise like labor unions. Whether it is the three major auto companies in the United States or foreign auto companies that come to the United States to set up factories, they all surrender to labor unions. There is no one like Li Weidong.

Li Weidong's way of playing is equivalent to losing both sides. I would rather lose money than give you benefits.

Under normal circumstances, this kind of mutual comparison will definitely result in greater losses for the employer. If the factory does not produce, not only will there be losses, but also the existing market may be lost. If the money is gone, you can make more money. If the market is lost, it will be difficult to find it back.

But the United States in 2007 was not a normal situation because the subprime mortgage crisis was about to break out.

At this time, American financial institutions have already smelled the taste of the subprime mortgage crisis, and major financial institutions have crossed the sea one after another, showing their magical powers.

The most frequent operation performed by financial institutions is to sell various financial products related to subprime mortgages like crazy to customers, making it clear that they want to find a pick-up man before the collapse of subprime mortgages.

Some financial institutions have also joined the ranks of shorting subprime loans, hoping to make up for their own losses by shorting subprime loans.

Just like the famous ****, they have a lot of financial products related to subprime loans in their hands, and they also short these financial products themselves.

This is like I know that the stock in my hand is going to fall, so I take another sum of money and short the stock. When the stock really falls, I will use the money earned from the short sale to make up for the loss of the stock falling.

Financial institutions with deep pockets such as **** have a strong ability to resist risks, so they can do this kind of rude operation. And many financial institutions that are not so well-funded have to find other ways.

For example, Bear Stone, the fifth largest investment bank in the United States, has too many subprime loan products in their hands, and they can’t sell them if they want to sell them. Once the subprime loan market collapses, Bear Stone will definitely die.

So Bear Stone decided to be tough on himself and did his best to short himself in the market.

Be yourself short, and no one will believe it when you say it!

It's like a boxing match, where one of the contestants pays all of their fortune and bets that he'll be beaten to death!

In addition, there are other rogue operations. For example, Morgan Stanley said that their servers were down; Bank of America said that it had a power outage; Goldman Sachs lost its database.

It can be said that this subprime mortgage crisis has completely exposed the inferiority of capital. At this time, investors realized that those American elites on Wall Street could be so shameless, there is no lower limit! I can't believe a single word of what these so-called American elites say.

The storm of the subprime mortgage crisis soon burned to the entire financial industry, the stock market crashed, and the futures of metals and crude oil plunged, which means that the market is not optimistic about the prospects of the industry.

Sure enough, this wave of financial crisis soon burned into the real economy, and the traditional manufacturing industry in the United States was the first to bear the brunt.

During the subprime mortgage crisis, the entire auto industry was seriously injured, and the sales of all auto brands, without exception, experienced varying degrees of decline. The three major U.S. auto companies, Ford sold assets to survive, General Motors and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy.

At that time, the sales of Camry and Accord both fell sharply, and it was even more difficult for luxury brands like Jaguar Land Rover.

American people can't live without cars, but the economy is not good, and everyone has no money. At this time, when buying a car, either buy a second-hand car, or buy a second-hand car at a cheap price. There are a few people who can afford luxury brands!

Therefore, when the Bemhull factory stopped production due to the strike, Li Weidong was not in a hurry at all. Even if the car was produced, it could not be sold. It would be better to stop the production line and lose less money.

As for the workers who were laid off, Li Weidong was even less distressed.

During the subprime mortgage crisis, too many companies in the United States laid off workers.

The real estate industry and the financial industry are the first to bear the brunt. There are a large number of collapsed companies, and those who can survive will also have large-scale layoffs. 20% of the employees are cut off. Normally, it starts at 30% and lays off 50%. There are many.

Then there is the traditional manufacturing industry, where layoffs are all over 10%, and in severe cases, it can reach 30%.

It is worth mentioning that there were no large-scale layoffs in the oil industry. First, the oil price rose at that time. Second, because of the shale oil revolution in the United States, many new shale oil fields were added, but many jobs were created.

The U.S. auto industry also wants to cut costs by laying off workers, but unfortunately it has been resisted by labor unions. Even at this time, labor unions are still clamoring for benefits.

That's how GM went bankrupt. The economic crisis caused GM to face huge losses. The company wanted to lay off employees. As a result, the labor unions started fighting again, demanding increased benefits. Eventually, General Motors was forced to file for bankruptcy protection.

When General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection, the trade unions were completely dumbfounded, and they didn't expect that 100-year-old General Motors really went bankrupt!

So in the process of saving GM by the U.S. government, the labor unions were very cowardly, and asked not to lay off employees instead of increasing benefits.

Faced with the impending economic crisis, Jaguar Land Rover will lay off staff sooner or later. If layoffs are normal, there will definitely be labor unions looking for trouble, so Li Weidong simply took advantage of the opportunity of the workers' strike to make a wave of layoffs.

...

Forty workers have been laid off every day for the past five days, with exactly 200 laid off in five days.

On the sixth day, a new announcement was posted stating that another 200 people would be laid off in the next four days.

Four days later, the new announcement appeared again, laying off 200 people in three days!

The layoff cycle has changed from one week to five days, then four days, and now three days, which makes many workers feel panic.

Among the 3,875 workers at the Bemhur factory, more than 900 are union members. Now 810 people have been laid off. If the next 200 workers are to be laid off, it means that all union members will be laid off. There are also a few non-union hapless people who also get laid off.

At this time, some workers finally started to panic!

...

At the scene of the strike, several workers chatted while drinking mineral water.

Have you seen today's layoff list? There are 65 people on it! Last week there were only 50 people. Worker A said.

Last week, 200 people were laid off in four days, which is exactly 50 a day. Now 200 people are laid off in three days. Naturally, there are more people on the list. Worker B replied.

It's been so many days, and we're still laying off staff. I think this time the management is playing for real, and they don't plan to compromise with us. Worker C said.

The people in the trade union didn't say it, let's stick to it, maybe tomorrow will come and the management will compromise!

If the management was willing to compromise, it would have sent someone to negotiate. I have heard that the management has no willingness to negotiate at all.

The employers are probably waiting, and the trade unions come to them on their own initiative, so that they can gain the initiative to negotiate.

Didn't the trade union think so too? They hope that the management will take the initiative to come to the door! I can see it clearly. Now both sides are consuming. Whoever blinks first will lose.

Worker A let out a long sigh: They're spending time here, and I can't stand it anymore! If we lay off another 200 people in the next wave, it will be our ordinary workers' turn, and we may be laid off by then. .

Didn't the people in the trade union say, don't be afraid even if they are laid off. It is impossible for the management to lay off everyone. Sooner or later, they will compromise, and those who have been laid off will be able to return to work. Worker B said.

Worker A sneered: Don't forget, in the end, the union has to negotiate with the management. Those who join the union are definitely not afraid of being laid off. When it comes to negotiation, they are covered by the union, but what about us? You can guarantee that the people from the union will speak for us!

Then what are you going to do? Worker B asked.

I don't want to go on strike any more. Worker A continued: I will return to the workshop from tomorrow. Since I did not participate in the strike, the next wave of layoffs should not be my turn!

Then don't you offend someone from the trade union! Worker C said.

Almost all the workers in the union have been laid off. Maybe these people will never come back. You are afraid of offending them! Worker A continued: I am quite satisfied with the current salary, and I am here to join the strike. , I just want better benefits, but I don't want to lose my job.

Worker B said, You haven't gone back yet. Everyone is on strike. Can you operate the entire production line by yourself? Worker B said.

But at least I didn't strike, right? Even if I was the only one in the workshop, I punched my card on time and went to work normally, and the factory had to pay me for my wages. It doesn't matter if the production line doesn't work, I'll take a few magazines to kill it. Time. Worker A said.

...

Worker A is not uncommon. There are 3,875 auto workers in the Bemhull factory.

One after another, workers left the strike site and returned to the workshop. They checked in according to their commute time, and then read magazines, chatted, played poker, and played game consoles in the workshop.

Anyway, there are not enough manpower, the production line can't be opened, and no one is in charge of fishing during working hours, but the punch-in records prove that they have all come to work, and their wages have to be paid.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the new announcement this time is that 200 people will be laid off in two days.

In this wave of layoffs, not one of the more than 900 people from the trade union was left, and they were all laid off, along with dozens of non-union members.

As a result, the remaining employees are really panicked!

Although the cadres of the trade unions have all been laid off, they are still active in the front line of the strike, continue to organize workers to strike, brainwash the workers in various ways, and tell them to persevere and victory is at hand.

Norwood Jewell was there to boost morale, and he also applied for a fund from the UAW, bought all kinds of food, distributed it to the workers on strike, and sometimes just had a party on the spot, okay? Maintain the volume of strikes.

At this time, the financial turmoil caused by the subprime mortgage crisis finally began to spread to the manufacturing industry...

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