CAW dude needs a smack on the head

[Justin]

This guy from the CAW was just on the news preaching about how we need all these buy Canada policies put in place. Everyone just gets done bashing the US on their proposed buy american policies on steel and then this guy turns around saying all government spending should have to be spent on Canadian goods.

[ricoboxing]

I see alot of those "buy domestic" stickers on cars in the walmart parking lot in Oshawa.

[rfdrfd]

If their products improved a lot earlier, I would buy them too. Also, almost no resale value whatsoever.

You know something is wrong, when their prices are half of what Toyota/Hondas are and still they are getting less sales than them.

[Snicla]

I see alot of those "buy domestic" stickers on cars in the walmart parking lot in Oshawa.

LOL'd!

[chickenbones]

I thought these "domestics" are U.S. companies. What's the difference between buying a ford made in Canada and buying a Civic that's also made in Canada?

[izzyzz]

Yes, we should by "domestically" made Hondas and Toyotas, not crappy Fords/GMs. :)

[alkaseltzer01]

I thought these "domestics" are U.S. companies. What's the difference between buying a ford made in Canada and buying a Civic that's also made in Canada?

Profits go the US and Japan respectively. So either way, it leaves Canada.

[Jon Lai]

I thought these "domestics" are U.S. companies. What's the difference between buying a ford made in Canada and buying a Civic that's also made in Canada?

Not much really, except American factories are unionized and Japanese ones aren't, implying people in American factories most likely make more.

[Hairball]

Not much really, except American factories are unionized and Japanese ones aren't, implying people in American factories most likely make more.

Perhaps that is true, but I don't doubt that Honda and Toyota also pay their employees a lot here, to compete, despite that they aren't unionized right now.

This "buy domestic" thing won't work in Canada as was mentioned above we don't really have our own car companies, they're all foreign owned. The United States is our friend and trading partner, but it's not "domestic".

[qster]

More like... smack all you unionized employees.

Abolish the unions and people who work in manufacturing wouldn't be in this mess. Why buy domestic if the workers who are lazy are getting paid $$$ to not do much and push out inferior products?

I would like to see one of the big 3 close up shop completely to put a scare into unionized workers and let them rethink about joining or continuing in a unionized company.

Ford has probably the best chance to escape this mess.

[danfromwaterloo]

This guy from the CAW was just on the news preaching about how we need all these buy Canada policies put in place. Everyone just gets done bashing the US on their proposed buy american policies on steel and then this guy turns around saying all government spending should have to be spent on Canadian goods.

I agree - what cars would they have us buy that retain the money in Canada? If I buy Toyota or Honda, they get built here, but the profits go to Japan. If I buy any domestic, they get built here, but the profits go to the US.

[Jon Lai]

Perhaps that is true, but I don't doubt that Honda and Toyota also pay their employees a lot here, to compete, despite that they aren't unionized right now.

This "buy domestic" thing won't work in Canada as was mentioned above we don't really have our own car companies, they're all foreign owned. The United States is our friend and trading partner, but it's not "domestic".

I believe the biggest difference is pension. I don't think Toyota and Honda have a pension program or at least not to the scale of the Big 3.

[Jon Lai]

I see alot of those "buy domestic" stickers on cars in the walmart parking lot in Oshawa.

Someone should make stickers that say "What domestic? There is not Canadian branded car company".

[flexwong]

I see alot of those "buy domestic" stickers on cars in the walmart parking lot in Oshawa.

as far as im concerned, a toyota built in cambridge is as domestic as a ford built in oakville. if they want to get specific, neither is domestic so they should just shut it. selling patriotism in canada doesn't work, nor will it work in any country when neither of the products are actually native of that country.

[woobie]

Everyone else seems to be talking about cars for some reason, must be the CAW part confusing people ;).

Now I haven't seen the clip the OP talked about but from this part of his post...

all government spending should have to be spent on Canadian goods.

.... I will say this.

In the case of Gov't spending I'd agree, it invests money in the country. As a side benefit the Gov't gets the tax kick back from all the people these contracts would employ.

[fenrus]

i buy domestically made Honda's and Toyota's.

[Hairball]

In the case of Gov't spending I'd agree, it invests money in the country. As a side benefit the Gov't gets the tax kick back from all the people these contracts would employ.

In a way they already do this. Just look at all the Bombardier trains that are bought here. However they gotta put on a sham bidding phase to make it not as obvious.

However if they go too far, it may start trade wars which is like what the US almost did.

[justamy]

I see alot of those "buy domestic" stickers on cars in the walmart parking lot in Oshawa.

i used to live in Windsor till last year. i used to see mini vans/suv's/pick up trucks with bumper sticker's that read "out of a job yet? keep buying foreign" while we'd be in the line up to get back into Canada on the Ambassador bridge. Strangely enough, these vehicles were always the one's loaded up with the most bags of "foreign" crap :lol:

[ricoboxing]

my next car i buy will probably be domestic. My dam 11 year old Toyota with over 350K on it just won't die though!

[Jon Lai]

my next car i buy will probably be domestic. My dam 11 year old Toyota with over 350K on it just won't die though!

How does your current car justify your reasoning?

[najibs]

Yes, we should by "domestically" made Hondas and Toyotas, not crappy Fords/GMs. :)

Agreed. What is it with these incompetent people that promote 'buy domestic?'

My Toyota is made in Cambridge Canada. How dare they imply that the Canadian person in the Toyota Cambridge factory is any less deserving than those overpaid morons at the GM & Ford factories :rolleyes:

Are they too stupid to realize that a lot of 'non-domestics' are actually made domestically?...corolla, civic, matrix, etc...

I prefer to support the people at the Toyota Cambridge plant over the Oshawa GM plant or Oakville Ford plant because of a superior Toyota product, and because you don't hear a peep from the cambridge workers, while the CAW boneaheads at GM and Ford picket all day and raise a stink everytime the outrageous demands aren't met for yet another raise to their already overpaid job that got them in the situation they are in, in the first place :rolleyes:

[woobie]

Agreed. What is it with these incompetent people that promote 'buy domestic?'

My Toyota is made in Cambridge Canada. How dare they imply that the Canadian person in the Toyota Cambridge factory is any less deserving than those overpaid morons at the GM & Ford factories :rolleyes:

Are they too stupid to realize that a lot of 'non-domestics' are actually made domestically?...corolla, civic, matrix, etc...

I prefer to support the people at the Toyota Cambridge plant over the Oshawa GM plant or Oakville Ford plant because of a superior Toyota product, and because you don't hear a peep from the cambridge workers, while the CAW boneaheads at GM and Ford picket all day and raise a stink everytime the outrageous demands aren't met for yet another raise to their already overpaid job that got them in the situation they are in, in the first place :rolleyes:

You do realize Toyota Workers make pretty much the same money as say Ford workers right? So does that mean the people that built your Toyota are overpaid morons also? just curious ;).

I can't speak for GM, but FYI Ford workers haven't picketed during a contract negotiation for over 13 years now(In Canada).

[Jon Lai]

You do realize Toyota Workers make pretty much the same money as say Ford workers right? So does that mean the people that built your Toyota are overpaid morons also? just curious ;).

I can't speak for GM, but FYI Ford workers haven't picketed during a contract negotiation for over 13 years now(In Canada).

Except the Big 3 pays a lot more in pensions because of the CAW. It's in the news. The workers themselves make around the same dough, but the Big 3 spends around $90/hr on their workers while Toyota/Honda, ~$50. The difference is used to pay for pension of retired Big 3 workers.

[woobie]

Except the Big 3 pays a lot more in pensions because of the CAW. It's in the news. The workers themselves make around the same dough, but the Big 3 spends around $90/hr on their workers while Toyota/Honda, ~$50. The difference is used to pay for pension of retired Big 3 workers.

But now your talking about legacy costs, not wages. And you are completely right they are higher for Ford/GM/Chrysler but how long have Toyota, Honda etc been building in the US or Canada? AFAIK not long enough to have a large amount of retiree's. They opened their first plants in the late 80s? GM's been building cars in the US for a 100 years, obviously union bashing aside they are going to have higher expenses for pensions and such merely because they have more retired workers in NA.

Personally If I worked at Toyota in Canada I'd be just as worried as I am working at Ford. Think about it, if the CAW takes more wage/benefit concessions as part of the Bridge loans deals with the Gov't. Do you not think Toyota/Honda is gonna do the Same thing to it's workers here in Canada?

[Jon Lai]

But now your talking about legacy costs, not wages. And you are completely right they are higher for Ford/GM/Chrysler but how long have Toyota, Honda etc been building in the US or Canada? AFAIK not long enough to have a large amount of retiree's. They opened their first plants in the late 80s? GM's been building cars in the US for a 100 years, obviously union bashing aside they are going to have higher expenses for pensions and such merely because they have more retired workers in NA.

Personally If I worked at Toyota in Canada I'd be just as worried as I am working at Ford. Think about it, if the CAW takes more wage/benefit concessions as part of the Bridge loans deals with the Gov't. Do you not think Toyota/Honda is gonna do the Same thing to it's workers here in Canada?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Toyota/Honda workers in Canada are NOT unionized? In that case, Toyota/Honda pays substantially lower costs because they probably do not have pension programs to the extent of the Big 3.

[woobie]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Toyota/Honda workers in Canada are NOT unionized? In that case, Toyota/Honda pays substantially lower costs because they probably do not have pension programs to the extent of the Big 3.

The point I was trying to make though is that they haven't been over here long enough to have enough retiree's for it to even matter.

apparently they do(googled this quickly to check)

http://www.eluta.ca/einfo?en=Toyota+Motor+Manufacturing+Canada+Inc.&ri=a307bc5ae55d24c75d66fb876744b982&rk=d851a1ec7e8d22657710f0a3749fac27