Pirate's Cove

Perhaps the union workers should consider the policies of the politicians they back. Sure, it’s nice that they get the money, but, how much do you actually make when you’re out of a job?

Shift to electric vehicles poses threat to US union jobs

On the outskirts of Normal, Illinois, sits a factory that exemplifies the challenges facing the US labour movement as the car industry steers toward electrification.

A former Mitsubishi plant, next month electric vehicle start-up Rivian will begin manufacturing pick-up trucks and sport utility vehicles there. It will employ 1,800 by next month, with plans to scale up to 2,500 by the end of the year.

Mitsubishi closed the plant in 2015, laying off a unionised workforce that was 4,000 strong at its peak around the turn of the century. Rivian bought the factory for $16m from a liquidator and will be launching its first products from there.

But the factory, even though it employs some of the same workers, is no longer a union shop, and the situation in Normal illustrates the changing dynamics in the US car industry.

Electric vehicles are recognised as the undisputed future of the industry. Ford and General Motors are pouring billions into plans to build EVs as they compete against Tesla, which has become the dominant US electric vehicle maker.

The US car industry is foundational to American manufacturing, employing nearly 390,000 at vehicle manufacturers and another 539,000 in the supply chain.

But electric vehicles raise the possibility of job losses for assembly workers and the automotive supply chain. EVs require fewer components overall, which means they require fewer people to make the parts and assemble the vehicles.

And many of the jobs will not be union jobs, and if they try and play games, the plant can just move. But, anyhow, those who do still have a job will have the pleasure of producing vehicles they can’t really afford, which will just be toys for the rich. The workers can hang with all the Fight for $15 folks who were replaced by machines

The need for lithium to power America’s electric cars may result in the extinction of a species

Electric vehicles, which can’t operate without lithium, are a “cornerstone” of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan. Likewise, a plant discovered in Nevada thrives on poor soil full of boron and lithium, and can’t exist anywhere else in the world. But, will the push for “environmentally friendly” electric vehicles drive the plant to extinction?

According to a report by CNN Business, less than 40 years ago Tiehm’s buckwheat, a yellow-flowered plant was discovered in Nevada. Botanists are impressed with the plant’s ability to thrive where few species can, in poor soil that’s full of boron and lithium. However, 146.5 million metric tons of lithium and boron, valued at $1.265 billion, lie under the barren soils, home to Tiehm’s buckwheat.

Environmentalists say the benefits of the yet-to-be-studied plant could be extensive, but are as yet unknown. But, they say, what is known is the importance of guarding Tiehm’s buckwheat to preserve biodiversity on Earth, the report noted.

This reminds me of how Warmists love them some solar power plants, but refuse to allow the transmission lines because it could cause environmental problems.