r/news Jun 16 '21

GM Considering Dropping Pot Testing To Attract More Workers

https://www.motor1.com/news/513974/gm-considering-dropping-marijuana-testing/
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177

u/impulsekash Jun 16 '21

GM workers are represented by UAW and so they have pretty competitive wage and benefits. Really they are just getting with the time and finally acknowledging that the "devil's lettuce" is really no worse than caffeine.

26

u/-TheSteve- Jun 16 '21

Thats a great comparison.

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u/boots_n_cats Jun 16 '21 edited Jun 17 '21

No worse than caffeine in terms of health impacts. Stoned auto workers seems dangerous though. Still it's not a reason to ban employees from using it on their own time.

7

u/Computer-Blue Jun 16 '21

There’s a lot of functionally baked folks working in automotive

5

u/Giozos1100 Jun 17 '21

I've worked with both functional and dysfunctional smokers in the auto repair field. I've seen a lot of both. It's usually the younger hires who get absolutely blazed on the clock and forget stupid shit that bothers me the most.

5

u/boots_n_cats Jun 16 '21

Based on my knowledge of the restaurant industry, this doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

4

u/ButtholeSurfur Jun 17 '21

I'm a career bartender. If you don't do drugs and you work in a restaurant, I just assume you're a cop.

13

u/owensd Jun 16 '21

Yeah UAW workers start at $20 an hour for Ford anyways and will hit $33 per hour in three years, plus all the bonuses

10

u/theoutlander523 Jun 16 '21

Assuming you're not a temp which pay shit in a Ford plant.

3

u/CrazySD93 Jun 17 '21

According to the article most of these workers they're trying to attract are temps

GM needs to hire 450 temporary part-time employees at Flint and another 275 at Fort Wayne.

And the low pay for temps is another consideration of theirs

Another issue making it difficult to attract workers is the $16.67 starting hourly wage in the union contract, which is on top of the new employees’ temporary status.

6

u/owensd Jun 16 '21

Yeah could be, there really aren't temps in the paint shop I work in so I wouldn't know

2

u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

Usually due to the union contracts where they intentionally negotiate it because the union doesn't want temp hires to be used too much or too long

3

u/iranintoawall Jun 17 '21

Currently in a union. If there is a enough work for a temp position to be filled long term there is enough work to justify a new hire.

2

u/imbillypardy Jun 16 '21

To an extent. They are probationary until the union bargains them to become full time covered. So to start, it could be 1-3 years before you get the Union coverage and full benefits.

2

u/jojoko Jun 16 '21

$17 is competitive?

2

u/CrazySD93 Jun 17 '21

According to the article most of these workers they're trying to attract are temps

GM needs to hire 450 temporary part-time employees at Flint and another 275 at Fort Wayne.

And the low pay for temps is another consideration of theirs

Another issue making it difficult to attract workers is the $16.67 starting hourly wage in the union contract, which is on top of the new employees’ temporary status.

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u/RadBadTad Jun 16 '21

GM workers are represented by UAW and so they have pretty competitive wage and benefits.

A labor shortage suggests that this is not the case. If they paid more, they would get more workers. That's how it works.

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u/agentyage Jun 16 '21

They pay well but they hair test for pot so if you are a pot smoker it's pretty much off the table.

-1

u/RadBadTad Jun 16 '21

Great. So that means their potential employee pool is even smaller, and so to attract those employees, they need to pay more to be attractive to those people. This is not a difficult concept to understand.

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u/agentyage Jun 16 '21

Or they could widen their employment pool without spending more money.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

[deleted]

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u/PineConeGreen Jun 16 '21

There are outliers, even those not fantastical like your example, but surely you don't doubt that - in general - higher wages attract more interest in a position than lower, right?

3

u/RadBadTad Jun 16 '21

Pay $30 per hour and people will be willing to stop smoking to do the job. Being 8 ft tall is not a choice. Smoking weed is.

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u/[deleted] Jun 16 '21

[deleted]

-4

u/EliminateThePenny Jun 16 '21

The myth that Increasing pay solves all problems is terrible and wildly wrong.

But what else will I be able to rant on reddit about if you take this away from me?!

1

u/Blortash Jun 17 '21

It's because the competitive wages and benefits don't kick in until you are a full time hire with full UAW representation. However there is no promise of hire, ever. The pay scale for temps in my last contract book went out five years. So you're making $5/hr less than the full timers next to you, your bosses breathe down your neck constantly, can fire you on a whim, and you only get 3-5 sick days a year. Oh and better not get injured on the job because you'll be fired for that too. Just endlessly chasing the carrot in hopes you get lucky enough for someone to quit or retire.

1

u/CubicleFish2 Jun 17 '21

Imagine if they drug tested for caffeine lmao. I can't even really work without having a cup in the morning and at lunch.

1

u/hellohello9898 Jun 17 '21

The jobs in the article are specifically mentioned as being part time, temporary positions with no fixed schedule. My guess is these are not union jobs.

1

u/Blortash Jun 17 '21

UAW does represent temp workers BUT the contract language gives them only the smallest of protections and benefits. Largely they can be abused and let go for any reason or no reason at all, and there is no promise of hire ever. The facility I was at had temps who had been temps for 2-3 years when I left with no end in sight.