Matthew Durst's Profile
Matthew Durst
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Interesting company choice and a great read! It sounds as though Blue Bird’s most competitive aspect is their ability to change their operational workforce to meet demand efficiently due to their non-union environment. Do you know if UAW (or any other union) has attempted to approve collective bargaining in their Georgia plant? Many auto-manufacturers have moved south to avoid such issues, but VW’s recent “loss” (article below) to UAW could be an early indication of a changing labor landscape in such places.
http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015/12/04/uaw-wins-election-at-volkswagens-tennessee-plant
Interesting read. It sounds as though Patagonia has been able to stay ahead of other brands in the same space (The North Face, Columbia, etc.) by adhering to their original social mission and thus, providing the consumer with more value than just a high quality good. It will be interesting to see how the company will fair once ownership has changed hands in 10, 20, 30, etc. years time.