Strike!!!

[SmartCard]

Originally Posted by lhoboy

Move the plant to the U.S. No union and better quality.

hmmm, you must of missed the UAW's threaten strke over at GM last week, and at Chrysler this week!

[GliderDude]

Yea, I'd like to see the Smart plant come to the US. It's actually not out of the question: if demand really gets going it could actually be economical to open a small plant in the US. That's what Hyundai did, although theirs is huge. The workers would be union but our unions (even the UAW) aren't nearly as bad as France's.

[2micro4u]

Good news is this is what I recieved from smartusa at 10/09/07 05:15pm

Dear smart Enthusiast, Thank you for your interest in smart USA. We are aware of the strike in Hambach, France. At this time, there is no indication that it will impact the launch of the smart fortwo in the United States. If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact us via email or by phone at 1.800.smartusa. Thank you for your interest in smart USA. You will be hearing from us soon! Jamilette Serna Customer Service 1.800.smartusa www.smartusa.com

[propes]

It may not impact the launch, but it may well impact the number of cars we get in the US.

[Ralph Finneren]

France is somewhat like New York City----workers are always threatening to go on strike, and do quite often. When I was over there in the 90s even the farmers would go on strike. If the smartie is as successful here as we hope, I expect to see a plant built in either the southern USA or Mexico, especially with the dollar taking a beating versus the euro. European auto manufacturers have also been moving production to eastern europe to take advantage of lower wages and increased work ethic (hunger). W. European auto workers make about $35/hr for assembly, work 29 hrs/week (and its actually against the law in France to work overtime!!!), get a mandatory 6 weeks of vacation, and have pensions and health care unimaginable in this country. This is One reason why the smartie is expensive )(and BMW and MB too.) On the plus side, the smartie only requires 3.5 hrs assembly (versus about 20.5 for most toyota,gm cars , ford etc). All said, we can only hope the strike is resolved quickly.........

[paul c]

No details, but the Hambach strike ended yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon.

[Carnut]

The workers settled for a 3:00 Aperetif. Vive la France!

[dbwill]

I spend quite a bit of time in France and my observation is that most strikes last no longer than a day or so. A strike of a week, I think, would have made headlines over thee and I have not seen anything on French news about it. Strikes are no biggie over there

[SmartBob]

Originally Posted by paul c

No details, but the Hambach strike ended yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon.

YAY!

Get 'em rollin'!!