I just want to take a minute and thank the GM workers for their hard work over the years on both the good and so-called bad vehicles that they assembled. It almost make me shutter to think of the impact to Detroit if the company moves away. I know they are not talking about moving it officially but the rumors are out there. Thanks to all the GM workers in every state. Godspeed to all those that are out of work now and my prayers and thoughts go out to them that things will work out and we see GM once again become the Mark of Excellence.

 

I agree and wish them well, it eventually has to get better!

 

Thank You!! I work for GM, and it is sometimes tough to see how we are portrayed in the media.

 

sorry, but I beg to differ. The GM workers thru being in a union have forced their compensation up to unrealistic levels, causing vehicle prices to be too high. I work for an AC Delco distributor, and if we made the same wages as the average GM worker we would not be able to stay in business or remain competetive.
I can't blame anyone at GM for accepting the pay offered to them, but it can't last forever
Why should a guy screwing in 2 screws on each vehile as it passes earn 50,000 per year and have benefits equalling much more to boot????

 

Well when the UAW winds up owning over 50% of the Company and forms a circular firing squad negotiating with themselves, I don't see how it can get better. Chapter 11 here we come!!!

 

I wish them the best to, although they sort of got this coming to them after living the high life for so long. But even so it's sad to see them out of work and potentially losing all they worked for. It's even sadder that there are people far worse off then union workers and yet nobody even thinks about them.

truly a sad country right now and I forsee it getting much worse.

Good luck to everyone fighting this horrible depression and may you make it through it all ok.

 

Hear, hear, Brother.

 

This is the best course for all involved and YES I do have GM stock [ Ford as well, but Ford paid a good dividend].

GM has had short sighted management and inflexible labor.

Both sides have been unrealistic [ management is down right stupid].

The pill has to be swallowed and Chapter 11 will be a good thing for most [ not likely me, as a stock holder?].

TJM

 

I used to work for GM as a contractor.

Kinda miss it.

Best of luck for both parties.

 

My father was a 30 and out kinda deal @ dephi. Now I dont agree with him on, retiring early with full benefits. It is no wonder GM will be going to Chapter 11.

 

I work at practically right alongside Mike at the plant....couldn't agreed with you more

 

this about sums it up a Letter from Greg Knox a GM Supplier

Abridged letter from Troy Clarke, President of General Motors

- followed by a response from our son, Gregory Knox:



Dear Employee,

Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis.....................As an employee, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.

Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.

Troy Clarke
President
General Motors North America

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Gregory Knox,

In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for the United States automakers please consider the following, and please also pass this onto Troy Clark, the president of General Motors North America for me.

You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new "messiah" to wave his magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream".

The dream is over!

The dream that we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities and that still the masses will line up to buy our products

Don't tell me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's and Tier ones for 3 decades now throughout the Midwest and what I've seen over the years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Mr Clark, the president of General Motors, states:

There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management. It is not.

You're right, it's not JUST management, how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag *** so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour week

How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift and for being too productive (mustn't expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?) Do you really not know about this stuff?!?

How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea:

over the last few years we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors.

What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!?

Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them?

The K car vs. the Accord?

The Pinto vs. the Civic?!?

Do I need to go on?

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades.

Time to pay for your sins, Detroit .

I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money". Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems, but despite what people like George Bush and Troy Clark would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day and something else would happen. Where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up. That is how a free market system works. It does work if we would let it work!

But for some reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work; that we need the government to step in and "save us". Save us, hell we're nationalizing and unfortunately too many of this once fine nation's citizens don't even have a clue that this is what's really happening but they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams yeah THAT'S important.

Does it occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now in this country?...

How can that be???

Let's see - -

Fuel efficient -

Listening to customers -

Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul -

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr W Edwards Deming 4 decades ago -

Ever increased productivity through quality, lean and six sigma plans -

Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy" -

Efficient front and back offices -

Non union environment -

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know in their hearts

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into. My children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did at their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way). I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work them through.

Radical concept, huh?

Am I there for them in the wings? Of course but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government.

Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins.

Bad news people, it's coming whether we like it or not.

The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away" I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the vote count was tallied "we might not do it in a year or in four"! Where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for the office

Stop trying to put off the inevitable!

That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000!

People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits!

That job driving that forklift for the big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year!

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home!

Let the market correct itself people, it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it is a nation that appreciates what is has and doesn't live beyond its means and gets back to basics and redevelops the work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world and probably turns back to God.

Sorry, don't cut my head off. I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news"







Gregory J Knox

President

Knox Machinery, Inc.

Franklin, Ohio 45005

 

Amen Brother. management took care of itself, labor took care of itself, the people who really got screwed were the customers and the stock holders.

 

I wasn't tryin trying to to cause a debate, but I was trying to make a point on how over the years some of these people have worked hard to create memorable vehicles for us to enjoy or cuss at. I was also thinking of the children who suffer from the mess made no matter what cause. The downfall of GM has much to do with the topics above and the decreased quality in the early 80's. But thats another thread this is one simply to thank them for their work and to give them hope that a better day is out there.

 

I have to agree with the verbiage from shamdave post. This kind of stuff is even ramped in our elected officials in government. Hell, look at California. That is a good example.

 

I am not bashing (well maybe i am) I come from a union family My grand father was a mucky for the ford UAW. The simple truth is the members let the union get to big. Did any one ever think the buble was never going to pop. As for the children

I am loosing my job next week. So at the ripe old age of 36 I am going back to school to become an EMT and Respiratory theropist. I saw the writing on the wall I knew the insurance game was going to tank so I did something. I did not ask for help or a "bail out"
I took responsability for my life. I will support my family ,I dont need you to do that for me!

If the auto workers did not see this coming shame on them. We live a free (for now) society for better or worse. These people will not shriivel up and die, they will find work again i proise you. Its not as bad as the media says it is.

And come on would you throw praise on the GM designer when you have your arm bent 6 ways changing a sensor on your vett Personally I wish they were in the garage with me. so i could throw a wrench at them

 

No one went to work thinking they were donating their time to build you a car. They got compensated for their work, you thanked them by buying the car.
Rant On:
The fact that people making 8 bucks an hour are paying to bail out the UAW workers is a damn shame. Both GM and Chrysler should have been liquidated. They are both unfixable. These bailouts are only going to make this recession go on forever. Lets keep doing the same thing and hope for different results, that is the definition of insanity. I do feel badly for the families and workers effected, but your not earning what you are paid, if you earned it, your companies would be profitable. Treasure every penny you get out of the deal and consider yourself lucky. If your really worth what your paid, you should have no problem finding a new job.

Rant Off

None of this is anyone's fault, it is just the way it is. Until we nix these bailouts, it will go on forever or until the whole country is bankrupt.

Plus one on lining up every GM engineer and forcing them to fix every broken Chevy until they commit suicide.

 

That part I do understand.

 

I am a Teamster, I hauled cars for 32 yrs. I retired last December. The reason non union jobs pay so well is because of union scale (wage) being what it is. I am a 2nd generation car hauler so I know about the head busting to get a living wage. If there wasn't so much outsorcing our jobs to other countries for less than USA minium wage the country wouldn't be in this shape. I made over a 100 K per year for 32 yrs, I averaged working 100-120 hrs. per week & I earned every cent I made. The US needs to take care of our country before helping other countries no exception. As for someone with a 50K salary buying a 250K home, there is a fool born every minit. I am not trying to **** anyone off. no one deserves or in owed a free ride. I am a very proud American & a proud Teamster. Thanks, HIP

 

Ok I am no math genius by any means so I hope I figured this right.

you made 100K a year ... divide that by 52 weeks ... equals 1923.00 a week .... you say you work 100-120hrs a week so divide the 1923.00 by say 115.

you make 16.72 an hour you must be proud to be a teamster, at JBhunt I average a hair under 22 an hour ..... So again how is being a teamster so special LOL or am I missing something.