Post by @moreperfectunion

How John Deere robsnfarmers of $4.2 billion a yearnGeyser, MontananMore Perfect UnionnTHE CLASS ROOMnPart: $160nLabor: $300nTotal: $5,000nJohn Deere profitsn61%nJOHN DEEREnJohn Deere's profitsngrew by 61% in recent years and theirnCEO'snSalary:n$26.8 MillionnJohn C. Maynsalary grew by 160%.nWas just a faulty sensor.nTHE CLASS ROOMnThis is the tractor?nYep.nThis is the culprit.nIt was just randomly shutting down.nFirst thing we did was changenthe fuel filters in it,nand it didn't really resolve the problem.nSo I was stymied at that point.nThat's the only thing that you basicallynhave the ability to donwithout the John Deere software.nThat's exactly right. Yeah.nThe first couple tractorsnI learned to drive onndidn't have any electric controls.nIt was all mechanical controls.nBut you know, those old tractorsnwere pretty easy to diagnosenif there was a problem.nAnd, pretty easy to fix those problems.nWhen a modern John Deere tractornmalfunctions,nyou can't diagnose the problemnwithout John Deere software,nBut John Deere won't let farmersnor independent mechanics use it.nOnly an authorized dealership.nAnd I said,n"All right, well, send your tech out.nLet's get it done."nYeah.nAnd he says, "Well, but we're pretty busy.nWe might be able to do it a little fasternif you brought it into our shop."nAnd that faster ended up being?nA month.nIn farming,ntime is of the essence.nWe have windows of opportunitynwhere we cannget our crop planted at the right time.nToo early,nyou might damage the crop.nToo late,nyou might damage the crop.nAnd then on top of that,nyou've got Mother Nature. If Walter didn'tnbale his hay quickly, he stood to losenhundreds of thousands of dollars.nOn top of that, the repair wasn't cheap.nThe part itself was about 150, 160 dollars.nAnd the labor to actually changenthat part was about 300 dollars.nBut my bill was almost 5000.nThis is why those repair restrictions exist.nService and repair work can yieldnJohn Deere five timesnmore profit than new equipment sales.nJohn Deere profitsn61%nJOHN DEEREnJohn Deere's profitsngrew by 61% in recent years and theirnCEO'snSalary:n$26.8 MillionnJohn C. Maynsalary grew by 160%.nWas just a faulty sensor.nOnly took them,nyou know, a couple hours to swap it out.nIs that something you could have donenyourself?nOh, certainly. Yeah.nAs long as I had the softwarenand the computer to reprogram the,nthe sensor.nSo you need the software bothnto diagnose the problemnand then also make the actual part repair.nYeah, that's right.nThat strategy of requiring softwarento install a new part,nit's called parts pairing.nAnd it was invented by Apple, who's beenna real leader in the anti repair space.nThey also glue in phone batteries,nso you can't just swap them outnwhen they die.nAnd they use proprietary screws to make itnharder to get into their product.nOther companies have followed suit,nmaking it more expensive for us to fixnour devices, kitchen appliances, videongame consoles, cars, and so much more.nTo panels.nHarley Davidson Screamin' Eagle partsnonly,nand only installed by HarleynDavidson mechanics.nIf you install anythingnon your motorcycle,nyour warranty is voided.nTaylor, the manufacturer of McDonald'snice cream machines,nmakes 25% of their profits from repairs.nSo, like John Deere,nthey lock their machines' softwarenso only an authorized technician can fix them.nAnd storesnend up waiting weeks for one to arrive,nwhich is why McDonald'snsoft serve machine is always broken.nNot the McDonalds ice cream machine being broken againnBitch, you bought a $5000 machine.nOur ice cream machine was always down.nWhich is why McDonald'snsoft serve machine is always broken.nY'all wondernwhy the ice cream machine's still broken.nFor three generations,nWalter and his familynhave been fixing their own equipment.nBut now, John Deere isn'tnjust restricting them from doing so,nthey're arguing that farmersndon't actually own their tractors.nSo a quick primer on property rights.nIf I go into a bookstore and buy a book,nI can confidently say I own it.nI can do whatever I want with it.nRead it. Lend it. Resell it.nI can even take a power tool to itnand turn it into a lamp.nThis is all thanks to a very old provisionnof copyright law called the First Sale Doctrine.nOnce a copy is soldnto a member of the public,nthe publisher or the rights holdernno longer has control over that copy.nThat's how we have public librariesnin, in the United States, for example.nIt's why we have use record stores andnGoodwill. The first sale doctrine drawsna clear line between intellectual propertynand the personal property of consumers.nBut in the digital age,nthat line is becoming blurry.nIf I go to Amazon'sne-book store, I'm clickingna button that says buy and I'm paying them money.nBut according to Amazon,nI didn't buy anything.nI only licensed it.nWhen you frame a transaction as licensing,ninstead of selling,nthe consumer rights we get with the FirstnSale Doctrine don't apply anymore.nInstead, those rights remainnwith, in this case, Amazon,nwho can put all sorts of restrictionsnon us.nSo it's GM who owns the vehiclenthrough its entire life.nIf you like taking your carnto your local repair shop for oil changes,nthis is bad news.nIn the past, an oil change is as simple as,nyou know, pressing the gas pedalnthree times. Today, you're hooking upnan extremely expensive piece of softwarenBob Lane owns this independentnauto repair shop near Boston.nHe's seen firsthand how car manufacturersnhave used new tech advancements,nnot just to make cars more safenand more fun to drive,nbut to monopolize the repair market.nWhat I'll have to do is I will have to plugninto the OBD connector along with my scanner.nBob's technician is using BMW'snproprietary software to finish upnan oil change on a 2023 model.nI am now connected to the vehicle.nEach manufacturer has their own software,nwhich mechanics need to figure outnwhy your check engine light is on,nand then to do the actual repair.nCarmakers won't sell that softwarento mechanics, but they will license itnthrough expensive temporary subscriptions.n24 hours can be 200, 250 dollars.nAn annual fee could be 10,000nor 15,000 dollars, depending on thenmanufacturer.nWhat we're really concerned about todaynis resetting the engine oil.nWhen the technician triesnto reset the level, nothing happens.nSure enough, it didn't do it.nEven after subscribing to BMW's software,nBob's shop can't reset the oil lightnbecause BMW has put on a software locknthat only the dealership can do it.nWe should be able to reset thatnlight. We're in the auto repair business.nBecause that's what's going to happen.nCompanies also lock out local repair shopsnby aggressively getting design patentsnfor the parts of a carnthat are most likely to be damaged in a collision.nSo if you crashnyour Ford Fiestanand you need a new fender,nif there's a design patent on that fender,nthe only placenyou're going to be able to getnthat part is from Ford.nAnd Ford gets to chargenwhatever it wants to charge.nThese are all reasonsnwhy your car repair bill has shotnup nearly 70% in the last decade.nRepair monopolies don't just cost usnmoney, they also endanger our health.nLike for peoplenwho use electric wheelchairs. I've gotnfriends that spend almost a whole year in bednbecause they're waiting on repairs.nAnd having to wait for authorizednrepairs can leave hospitalsnwithout critical equipment for weeks.nThey don't want to give us tech supportnover the phone,nthey don't want to sell us parts,nand they don't want to give usnany technical literature.nFor farmers and ranchers like Walter,nrepair monopolies exacerbatenthe pressures of a high stakes job.nFarmers and ranchers, we have the highestnsuicide rate in the nation.nAnd it's because our occupation is so stressful.nEquipment breaking downnand you are not able to fix it?nYou can't do anything?nThat's a whole new level of stress.nHow to Break Up A Repair Monopolyn1. Antitrust Lawsn2. Reform Copyright Lawn3. Right to Repair LawsnWell, three ways.nThe first is to enforce our existingnantitrust laws.nFarmers have filed multiple classnaction lawsuits against John Deere,nsaying their repair monopoly violatesnthe Sherman Act.nThe Justice Department says they supportnthe farmers. And the Federal TradenCommission has been investigatingnJohn Deere's repair monopoly since 2021.nThe FTC has already broken upnrepair monopolies from Harley Davidson,nWeber, and Westinghouse.nSo they can't void your warranty anymorenif you use your local repair shopnor do the repairs yourself.nThey got the Copyright Officento grant an exemption to the DMCA,nso that third party repair can circumventnthe digital locks on the icencream machinesnto make the necessary repairs.nAnd that's the second way to break upnrepair monopolies:nupdating our outdated copyright laws.nThe Freedom to Repair Actnwould permanently amend the DMCA,nso we can jailbreak all our machinesnand devices, as long as it's for repair.nBut John Deere is applyingnthat same twisted legal logic to farmersnwho want to fix their equipmentnworth millions of dollars.nThey told the Copyright Officenthat farmers aren't payingnfor the copyrighted softwarenthat runs their tractors.nThey're paying for a licensento operate their tractors.nDo you want to see your momnand dad's friend down the streetnwho was fixing cars go out of business?nBecause that's what's going to happen.nCompanies also lock out local repair shopsnby aggressively getting design patentsnfor the parts of a carnthat are most likely to be damaged in a collision.nSo if you crashnyour Ford Fiestanand you need a new fender,nif there's a design patent on that fender,nthe only placenyou're going to be able to getnthat part is from Ford.nAnd Ford gets to chargenwhatever it wants to charge.nThese are all reasonsnwhy your car repair bill has shotnup nearly 70% in the last decade.nRepair monopolies don't just cost usnmoney, they also endanger our health.nLike for peoplenwho use electric wheelchairs. I've gotnfriends that spend almost a whole year in bednbecause they're waiting on repairs.nAnd having to wait for authorizednrepairs can leave hospitalsnwithout critical equipment for weeks.nThey don't want to give us tech supportnover the phone,nthey don't want to sell us parts,nand they don't want to give usnany technical literature.nFor farmers and ranchers like Walter,nrepair monopolies exacerbatenthe pressures of a high stakes job.nFarmers and ranchers, we have the highestnsuicide rate in the nation.nAnd it's because our occupation is so stressful.nEquipment breaking downnand you are not able to fix it?nYou can't do anything?nThat's a whole new level of stress.nAnd that has been taken away from me.nThis is about 30 years old.nIt has around 12,000 hours on it.nWalter bought this older John Deere tractornsecondhand so that when it broke downnhe could troubleshoot itnwith his local mechanic.nPull it back three times.nAnd then to the right twice.nAnd then read the error code.nWith the error codes,nWalter and his mechanic could figure outnwhat part he needed to replace,nwhich he found on eBay.nAnd this was an official John Deere partnthat you bought on eBay.nThat's right. On eBay.nWalter installed the new part himselfnand was back up and running within a day,nNo software,ndidn't have to reprogram the part.nAnd the final repair bill?nAbout 90 bucks.nAnd I was able to do it myself.nProducernSamira DosaninVideo EditornAdam SacultznVideographersnJake WhitenLynn WellmannAddison PostnMedia ManagernGerald LanenVideo Production ManagernIsabel AtakynnAdministrative AssistantnJodi ClemensnDirector, "The Class Room"nChai DingarinFootagenMorePerfectUnion.com / YouTubenDonut / YouTubenLouis Rossmann / TikToknLouis Rossmann / YouTubenSalesTechSports / YouTubenTech With Tim / YouTubenHugh Jeffreys / YouTubenJohn Deere / YouTubenJohn Deere Tractors / YouTubenWestern Equipment / YouTubenMid-Life Crisis / YouTubenBosch Home AppliancesnDiagnostic Training Group / YouTubenWeber Grills / YouTubenHarley-Davidson / YouTubenIFixit.comnAmazonnCNBCnWalt Disney CompanynABC NewsnCBSnBET Media GroupnMore Perfect Union