4. Henry Ford
Henry Ford’s love for engineering and
automobiles helped in revolutionizing
the industry. He first began as a young
man who was infatuated with how
things worked. His interests later
involved into a job at the Edison
Illuminating Company. His hard work
and determination gained him the
position of Chief Executive. With his
new position and free time, he
constructed the Quadricycle which
became a basis for the standard sell
propelled four wheel vehicle. In 1903
the Ford Motor Company was
founded. Five years later, the Ford
Motor Company produced the Model
T. The vehicle was a huge success and
breakthrough of the automobile
industry. It definitely set an example of
what automobiles should be.
5. Ransom E. Olds
Ransom E. Olds was too an important
figure in the automobile industry.
Founder of Oldsmobiles, Olds grew up
around machinery, particularly
engines, growing up. Tired of slow
production, Olds developed the
assembly line. The assembly line
allowed for Olds to become the
leading car manufacturer for three
years running. The low-priced “Curved
Dash Olds” were the most popular
amongst consumers at the time.
Henry Ford was amazed by Olds new
concept. Ford decided to take it one
step further and add a conveyor belt
to the assembly line. This combination
helped Henry Ford become the leading
car manufacturer in the world.
6. Beginning around the 18th
century, workers have demanded that
they be treated better for the amount of
work they did. During the 1840s, when
labor unions were truly recognized, labor
unions were primarily consisted of
immigrants who felt that their pay wasn’t
proportional to the amount of work they
put in. In the court case Commonwealth
v. Hunt, labor unions were deemed legal
and were not
“illegal monopolies that restrained trade.” Those who did join unions were often let
go and replaced by a more affordable employee. From the mid 19th century
onward, many people have tried to form national labor unions. The problems that
served as a hindrance to the formation of a union were ethnicity, religion and skill.
One labor stood out amongst the rest. The American Federation of Labor was the
largest union formed during the 19th century with the organization's leader being
Samuel Gomper. The AFL had shown great signs of increasing power and had
reached numbers in the millions. Unfortunately, as WWII approached, the number
of members in unions decreased dramatically.
7. So What Does Labor Unions Have to do
With the Automobile Industry
Anyways?
8. Many people in the media have This ultimately leads to the fact that auto
put the blame in the United makers appear to be over overpaid and
Auto Workers union to the average American’s should not have to pay
reason why the Big Three for the survival of companies who overpay
companies in Detroit are at a their employees.
downfall. Commentators on the
subject point out that high union
labor costs contributed to the
automobile companies’ slow
decline. Jon Kyl, a Republican
senator of Arizona feels that the
automobile industry has “sick”
for a long time. He claims that
the companies have contracts
with the United Auto Workers
that result in huge costs. He
also points out that the average
American makes approximately
$28.48 an hour and that those
that belong to the auto union
make about $73. That is about
$21 more than Japanese auto
makers stationed in the U.S
make.
9. The housing market has also been considered a factor
for the automotive industry. Economist for the National
Automobile Dealer Association, Peter Taylor, made a
connection stating “As goes the housing market, so
goes the car sales market.” If a consumer’s home is
losing value, they tend to become less wasteful of their
cash. Luxuries such as the purchasing of a car will are
being put on hold. What America needs now is more
jobs. More jobs means an increase in the number of
houses bought which will increase the number of cars
sold.
11. Some of the “sacrifices” the companies are willing to make are:
•Cancelation of bonus pays to management positions
•Cancelation of merit raises
•Cuts on the amount executives get paid
•..and the selling of corporate aircrafts
12. The companies are such in a slump that the government has felt the need to intervene
with the future decisions that the companies decide to make. One group getting hands
on are the Congressional Democrats. One proposal that they conjured up is the
supervision of the companies by five cabinet secretaries and the chairman of the
Environmental Protection Agency. Even if this proposal doesn’t become anything more
than an idea, the government still seems to be fixated on the idea of having some sort of
supervision to keep to seek
records on the
government
auto companies
approval before
and make sure
they could handle
that the companies
any transaction
are using the
that is more than
taxpayers’ money
$25 million dollars.
the most efficient
Senator
way possible.
Christopher J.
Another proposal
Dodd even went
even suggested
as far to say that
that the auto
GM chief executive
companies would
Rick Wagoner should be fired. However a spokesperson for General Motors feels
differently about the situation stating, “…Rick Wagoner is the right person to continue the
transformation of the company that he began and has presented to Congress to
continue and accelerate.”
13. The Obama administration has chosen people
who they feel will be the most beneficial to the
reconstruction and advancement of the auto
companies. Among them are:
-Timothy Geithner (Treasury Secretary)
- Lawrence Summers (head of the
National Economic Council)
Along with the addition of a couple of law firms
who have handled cases of bankruptcy in the past.
The Big Three were requested to have a
reconstruction plan by February 17, 2009 and
have until March 31, 2009.
The Obama administration was also avid on
finding a “car czar” to oversee the companies.
Photo by: =rjonesdesign
