Some people...

[louie]

It is amazing how the media spins everything and so many listen and believe it.

 

 

Yes, we need product commitment, we have always needed it, unfortunately commitments don't mean much if the vehicles they design don't sell, and those commitments are easily broken "Due to economic Conditions"

 

 

The UAW insured we kept the product commitments from the 2007 agreement. The 2008-2009 Bush Economic Meltdown was the worst economic conditions this country has ever seen yet the UAW was steadfast in making sure those products and investments went in our plants

 

Im not concerned about losing future product bargained or committed to any plant in the 2011 agreement. The UAW has proven that these products once committed go in UAW plants even through the Bush depression

[Spring]

The UAW insured we kept the product commitments from the 2007 agreement. The 2008-2009 Bush Economic Meltdown was the worst economic conditions this country has ever seen yet the UAW was steadfast in making sure those products and investments went in our plants

 

Im not concerned about losing future product bargained or committed to any plant in the 2011 agreement. The UAW has proven that these products once committed go in UAW plants even through the Bush depression

'

 

Back up there, Louie! (and Happy Labor Day, by the way) In 2009 when we took the first round of concessions, we had been promised a new flex body shop at OHAP. This was to be in line with us getting a new product. This was the 2007 agreement. I asked Bob King at the meeting we had at our local if our body shop was being reneged on, he said yes, it was. Time and again, OHAP has been promised new product, new body shop, etc and every time OHAP gets left out in the cold. And even after we were told that our plant was not getting the new body shop, our local still passed the first round of concessions with the highest percentage in the system (FACT). We understood the need at the time. Not the case with the second round. OHAP for many years has been treated as a red-headed step child. Why, I have no idea. We have rumors of new product right now but as usual, nothing is ever committed to OHAP. So forgive me if I'm to the point where I say show me first! But let me assure you, product commitments made to OHAP have NOT been kept!

[louie]

'

 

Back up there, Louie! (and Happy Labor Day, by the way)

 

I have no idea.

 

We have rumors of new product right now but as usual, nothing is ever committed to OHAP.

 

Sorry Spring. You are right everyone did get the product commitments except OHAP. If you noticed that the trend is once a year a assembly plant is completely gutted and all new tooling is installed. CAP, MAP and LAP with body shops added at KTP and soon KCAP.

 

I hope OHAP will soon be on the list. Does it maybe have something to do with running out the Econolines for changes in safety laws or something of changes in 2013?

 

Thought I read something to that effect.

 

Anyways Happy Labor Day !!! Did you see Obama on CSPAN in Detroit today?

 

I thank God every day for Obama and the structured bankruptcy and the hundred of thousands of jobs he saved as well as many suppliers, retirees pensions and surviving spouses he saved.

[Empire]

Here is the video from Detroit today, very inspiring........... Obama is the greatest president of our times.

 

He speaks, preaches and acts UNION !!!!

 

He is on our side

 

4 more years!!!! 4 more years !!!!!

 

http://www.c-span.org/Events/Obama-Previews-Jobs-Plan-in-Detroit/10737423798/

[Weird Al]

very nice speech. Obama good man. come to my plant. visit shake hands. Keep work in America. 4 years more.

[Decker]

Not only have the politics of our country, given us the "two groups" way of life in this Great country. But, it seems the "two groups" way of thinking is very much becoming apart of our Great Union. The "two groups" are the "have" and "have not`s".

 

I can in no way try to imagine what kind of stressful work it takes to secure work for one group of members that have to live with the "no product" hanging over their heads. But, at the same time continue to negotiate something in the way of a reward for those members that have product and are working their asses off.

I`ve heard those that are working their asses off go on and on about "NO MORE GIVE BACKS", "we deserve this and that", "our products are selling like hot cakes and we should just vote NO unless we get everything back".... Never once, looking beyond their four wall`s

 

I for one feel the bitter sweet success of being at a plant that is going to be working overtime for some time. But, the overtime, is the main reason other UAW plants are not going to have product. We will produce, not one but two units that were at other UAW plants. We have gone from the possibility of closing the plant, to the loss of one shift and all the stress that comes along with that type of action. We have brought back a shift and at present ramping up for a third shift. All in a period of less than three years.

 

I can`t help but think of the members that will be losing the products. Will they be able, through their Local Leadership, to secure something for their plants? Will the International Leadership be able to help work things out through negotiations for these members? Will their Local Leadership be able to work with the company and the International Rep`s in the way our Local Leadership did almost three years ago?

 

I have been through more down turns then I want to admit too but, we the membership have always made it through. Lets not forget, the recovery is not over, at every plant. We still have big problems throughout the auto industry. If I, for one, can help in any way to get another member a steady pay check I will do it. For two years I listened to the problems that members were going through and helped by calling any and all the state and federal agencies to try and find any help these (my brothers and sisters) members could receive. But, through it all I never gave up. Because we had Local Leadership that fought among each other and fought both the International Rep`s and the Company. Three years ago these leaders always looked towards the future so as to secure the products we are building today.

 

My point is, after all these years we can not become a Union that can stop helping the have not`s. As a Delegate I listened to Gary at an International Convention and have heard his way of thinking through the newspapers and lately I hear Gary through a few elected officers at my Local. One thing is missing from his suggestions on how the International Union should proceed in their negotiations, he and those followers seem to come up short on how to secure the have not`s, something.

 

I can`t understand how any of us, can forget what it was like to be a "Have Not".

 

Schondecker

Chicago Assembly

[Armstrong]

Not only have the politics of our country, given us the "two groups" way of life in this Great country. But, it seems the "two groups" way of thinking is very much becoming apart of our Great Union. The "two groups" are the "have" and "have not`s".

 

I can in no way try to imagine what kind of stressful work it takes to secure work for one group of members that have to live with the "no product" hanging over their heads. But, at the same time continue to negotiate something in the way of a reward for those members that have product and are working their asses off.

I`ve heard those that are working their asses off go on and on about "NO MORE GIVE BACKS", "we deserve this and that", "our products are selling like hot cakes and we should just vote NO unless we get everything back".... Never once, looking beyond their four wall`s

 

I for one feel the bitter sweet success of being at a plant that is going to be working overtime for some time. But, the overtime, is the main reason other UAW plants are not going to have product. We will produce, not one but two units that were at other UAW plants. We have gone from the possibility of closing the plant, to the loss of one shift and all the stress that comes along with that type of action. We have brought back a shift and at present ramping up for a third shift. All in a period of less than three years.

 

I can`t help but think of the members that will be losing the products. Will they be able, through their Local Leadership, to secure something for their plants? Will the International Leadership be able to help work things out through negotiations for these members? Will their Local Leadership be able to work with the company and the International Rep`s in the way our Local Leadership did almost three years ago?

 

I have been through more down turns then I want to admit too but, we the membership have always made it through. Lets not forget, the recovery is not over, at every plant. We still have big problems throughout the auto industry. If I, for one, can help in any way to get another member a steady pay check I will do it. For two years I listened to the problems that members were going through and helped by calling any and all the state and federal agencies to try and find any help these (my brothers and sisters) members could receive. But, through it all I never gave up. Because we had Local Leadership that fought among each other and fought both the International Rep`s and the Company. Three years ago these leaders always looked towards the future so as to secure the products we are building today.

 

My point is, after all these years we can not become a Union that can stop helping the have not`s. As a Delegate I listened to Gary at an International Convention and have heard his way of thinking through the newspapers and lately I hear Gary through a few elected officers at my Local. One thing is missing from his suggestions on how the International Union should proceed in their negotiations, he and those followers seem to come up short on how to secure the have not`s, something.

 

I can`t understand how any of us, can forget what it was like to be a "Have Not".

 

Schondecker

Chicago Assembly

 

Bulls-eye

 

You are at CAP so you know first hand the importance of investments.

 

You were a "have not" 4 years ago and the UAW ensured that the CAP members had product and investment to protect jobs and build jobs

 

You get it and understand even though you have product and have no amnesia

 

As many as 10,000 UAW Ford members need product commitments in this agreement for job security, but you have people like you know who over at DTP that wants everything back that puts us all in danger

 

Thanks again for looking out for the "have nots" that need need investments of product

[ALEX4398]

I worked at Maumee stamping; closed. Flat Rock; in danger of losing product. Saline; 7-12 with no security. DTP; straight 40 secure as you can get. I don't think the idea of drawing a hard line on concessions means no product. The thread seems to be that one is exclusive of the other. Why can't we have our product and concessions back. Is the way to do this just vote NO or give in on important points to membership, of course not, that depends on what the contract looks like. My background from production to trades to unioin to trades ILO to back to production tied in with the multiple plants I have worked in has led me to the belief that the all union brother and sisters want the same thing. A good job that pays well with security. Is that too much to ask? Why not? We are the UAW stand up and be proud, be willing to be fexible and understanding and hardline and strike worhty. As a collective we can overcome theese tough times. We are hard working intelligent men and women we don't need anyone telling us how to vote or what should be important to each of us individually. Why bash a union brother for their opinion? There is room for all post. Read them educate yourself and make up your mind. All this discussion shows how great this UAW is. This forum wouldn't be possible at other companies.

[DTP Nick]

very nice speech. Obama good man. come to my plant. visit shake hands. Keep work in America. 4 years more.

Me think obama overated. Economy not his fault. Economy cyclical. Obama glorified cheerleader yesterday in Detroit. rah rah rah with no results. Dems like sheep. Me tarzan you jane

[FiredMotorCompany]

Me think obama overated. Economy not his fault. Economy cyclical. Obama glorified cheerleader yesterday in Detroit. rah rah rah with no results. Dems like sheep. Me tarzan you jane

 

Seems to me that Weird Al exemplifies the party he is supporting. Likely more than he intends or his brethren wish.

[Armstrong]

Seems to me that Weird Al exemplifies the party he is supporting. Likely more than he intends or his brethren wish.

 

Are you saying he is a Republican?

[Fatso]

I dont think its fair to point a finger at Gary Walcowicz and say "shut up you`re making us look bad in the public".What would make us look good in the public?Everybody taking a further paycut?The UAW is purposely made to look bad so that other workers can be made jealous of us and with all these divide and conquer games played by the rulers of America,its easy to understand why Americans hate each other.Look at this current hot issue of lowering taxes on large and small business.Placing even more tax burden onto the working-class will help the economy?Oh how convenient.Know what I think will help the economy?Fix the housing market but hey Im just a UAW member society hates me,for what exactly I am not sure.

[louie]

I am getting somewhat fed up with what some people, including our own, are saying about us. I need to vent, so here goes...

 

To Gary Walkowicz, Mr. "I'll spew my trash in the press":

 

SHUT UP.

 

When you spew garbage in the media like what you have been saying lately, and what you are saying when you put these letters out to the DTP membership, you are likening us to greedy bastards who will stop at nothing to get our concessions back. We are hard-working men and women who simply want what is right, not money-hungry lazy idiots who will go to all ends to preserve an unsustainable business model.

 

Ford Motor Company was $34 BILLION in debt just 3 years ago. This amount is now down to just $14 billion. Thanks in part to us, the company saved itself from going broke. Yes, we gave up certain things to help the company out and preserve our way of life, but now, you are saying you want every penny of what we lost back. As nice as that would be, it is not economically feasible to give every person an average of $20,000 back. Please explain to me where the company is going to come up with $810 million to do this.

 

Everything we lost may be given to us in due time. But, TIME is the key. You cannot say that after only 2 years, the company is fully healthy again and we deserve everything back. At a labor rate of $78/hour, with 40,500 employees working 40 hours a week, you are looking at labor costs per year ALONE of over $6.5 BILLION. Add this to the Salaried personnel around the company, and other employees around the world, and you are going to near the $15 BILLION mark for labor costs. Do you really want the company to earmark 5-6% of the company's global revenue just to pay for OUR labor? It's not going to happen, and you should KNOW it won't.

 

Modest raises and a nice lump-sum bonus, plus an improved profit-share formula that is based in global profits, along with guaranteed performance bonuses is a much better way of going at giving us a better standard of living than reverting to the broken business model of 4-5 years ago.

 

Stop spewing garbage in the media about how we want this, we want that, want, want, want.... it only makes us look like assholes and you an even bigger one.

 

To all these "labor professors" who "claim" to know how we think:

 

YOU DON'T.

 

You have no idea what we go through on a daily basis to get our jobs done. You sit behind a desk and teach a class. We bust our ass on a fast-moving assembly line for vehicles that sell like hotcakes. You cannot possibly know what is going through our minds unless you have done the work we do. We are under constant stresses of ungrateful company managers, supervisors who stop at NOTHING to discipline us for the slightest mistake, and production standards which are damn near impossible to achieve.

 

If you think you know what is going through our heads, think again. We can very easily trade jobs for one day and you will see it is nothing like what you seem to think it is.

 

Stop professing to the media that "labor wants this, but needs to do that, etc, etc, etc..." You spew as much trash as Gary does sometimes.

 

To the company, who seems to think we are all happy, satisifed and content with what we have now:

 

WE'RE NOT.

 

We are overworked, underpaid and WAY under-appreciated for the jobs we do. The slightest mistake causes us to be disciplined and thrown out of work for 3 days, usually more. You give us personal time to use, then deny it when we want to use it, forcing us to AWOL and create a mess. You will not let us use our personal time for the reasons we want to use it for. You create conditions in the company even a 2 year old would consider deplorable.

 

Wise up to what you are doing. If one of your measures of performance is Morale, EVERY PLANT would fail. There is such low morale in these plants I don't even know how people continue to get up out of bed and continue to come to work (myself included). You pit people against the union in every situation you can to attempt to break us, and you are somewhat succeeding in that.

 

YOU NEED TO STOP.

 

Done venting.

 

 

Fatso,

The OP as well as many on here enjoy our good wages, benefits and pension. The OP is not talking about pay cuts. He is just stating how Walkowicz, and his rhetoric is futher pushing public support against us.

 

In any social movement public support is needed in any win.

 

Walkowicz is the Detroit News and Free Press lap dog constantly calling them to print his antiunion vile.

 

I am just waiting for an expose’ on Walkowicz and his “views” on how to extort billions of dollars from the company and think that Ford will somehow continue to put products in our UAW plants

 

Walkowicz has not yet been exposed by the press or the press has not tugged his collar yet but I am afraid a full page expose’ may be coming with “Walkowiczs views” and make us look like overpaid, underworked, oblivious, greedy Autoworkers.

[qwertyuiop]

I dont think its fair to point a finger at Gary Walcowicz and say "shut up you`re making us look bad in the public".What would make us look good in the public?Everybody taking a further paycut?The UAW is purposely made to look bad so that other workers can be made jealous of us and with all these divide and conquer games played by the rulers of America,its easy to understand why Americans hate each other.Look at this current hot issue of lowering taxes on large and small business.Placing even more tax burden onto the working-class will help the economy?Oh how convenient.Know what I think will help the economy?Fix the housing market but hey Im just a UAW member society hates me,for what exactly I am not sure.

 

 

The problem is, if someone doesn't, he will keep doing what he does, and it will likely get worse, further telling people that we need this, need that, blah, blah, blah...

 

I want to feel as secure as I can with FMC. We lost some of that security when we signed those concessions into our contract in '07 and '09. Now that things are coming back, we don't need people saying "We want everything back, and now!"

 

As I said before, time is the key.

[Grim Reaper]

The problem is, if someone doesn't, he will keep doing what he does, and it will likely get worse, further telling people that we need this, need that, blah, blah, blah...

 

I want to feel as secure as I can with FMC. We lost some of that security when we signed those concessions into our contract in '07 and '09. Now that things are coming back, we don't need people saying "We want everything back, and now!"

 

As I said before, time is the key.

 

It will get worse

[novoter4life]

Sorry I walk with Gary, he knows whats best for the membership especially at DTP. Were not getting anything, we need to pay our bills, I don't care if the "limelight Vehicle" will be made in 2050 at the outpost of the outer limits, I care about the money I get in my pocket now to feed myself and my family in my home.

 

The IUAW better get us more then 5k, and more then what we been getting for X-mass bonuses and stuff, I want my day off back on the holiday, my break time minutes back and COLA. I don't care about product I will never see. Sorry but it's a fact. After being steam rolled and put away wet for so long, it's time to go the other direction and ask for the money.

 

Gary shows solidarity, and everyone should be about solidarity.

Edited September 23, 2011 by novoter4life

[dividedwebeg]

I am getting somewhat fed up with what some people, including our own, are saying about us. I need to vent, so here goes...

 

To Gary Walkowicz, Mr. "I'll spew my trash in the press":

 

SHUT UP.

 

When you spew garbage in the media like what you have been saying lately, and what you are saying when you put these letters out to the DTP membership, you are likening us to greedy bastards who will stop at nothing to get our concessions back. We are hard-working men and women who simply want what is right, not money-hungry lazy idiots who will go to all ends to preserve an unsustainable business model.

 

Ford Motor Company was $34 BILLION in debt just 3 years ago. This amount is now down to just $14 billion. Thanks in part to us, the company saved itself from going broke. Yes, we gave up certain things to help the company out and preserve our way of life, but now, you are saying you want every penny of what we lost back. As nice as that would be, it is not economically feasible to give every person an average of $20,000 back. Please explain to me where the company is going to come up with $810 million to do this.

 

Everything we lost may be given to us in due time. But, TIME is the key. You cannot say that after only 2 years, the company is fully healthy again and we deserve everything back. At a labor rate of $78/hour, with 40,500 employees working 40 hours a week, you are looking at labor costs per year ALONE of over $6.5 BILLION. Add this to the Salaried personnel around the company, and other employees around the world, and you are going to near the $15 BILLION mark for labor costs. Do you really want the company to earmark 5-6% of the company's global revenue just to pay for OUR labor? It's not going to happen, and you should KNOW it won't.

 

Modest raises and a nice lump-sum bonus, plus an improved profit-share formula that is based in global profits, along with guaranteed performance bonuses is a much better way of going at giving us a better standard of living than reverting to the broken business model of 4-5 years ago.

 

Stop spewing garbage in the media about how we want this, we want that, want, want, want.... it only makes us look like assholes and you an even bigger one.

 

To all these "labor professors" who "claim" to know how we think:

 

YOU DON'T.

 

You have no idea what we go through on a daily basis to get our jobs done. You sit behind a desk and teach a class. We bust our ass on a fast-moving assembly line for vehicles that sell like hotcakes. You cannot possibly know what is going through our minds unless you have done the work we do. We are under constant stresses of ungrateful company managers, supervisors who stop at NOTHING to discipline us for the slightest mistake, and production standards which are damn near impossible to achieve.

 

If you think you know what is going through our heads, think again. We can very easily trade jobs for one day and you will see it is nothing like what you seem to think it is.

 

Stop professing to the media that "labor wants this, but needs to do that, etc, etc, etc..." You spew as much trash as Gary does sometimes.

 

To the company, who seems to think we are all happy, satisifed and content with what we have now:

 

WE'RE NOT.

 

We are overworked, underpaid and WAY under-appreciated for the jobs we do. The slightest mistake causes us to be disciplined and thrown out of work for 3 days, usually more. You give us personal time to use, then deny it when we want to use it, forcing us to AWOL and create a mess. You will not let us use our personal time for the reasons we want to use it for. You create conditions in the company even a 2 year old would consider deplorable.

 

Wise up to what you are doing. If one of your measures of performance is Morale, EVERY PLANT would fail. There is such low morale in these plants I don't even know how people continue to get up out of bed and continue to come to work (myself included). You pit people against the union in every situation you can to attempt to break us, and you are somewhat succeeding in that.

 

YOU NEED TO STOP.

 

Done venting.

 

 

ever notice how the press always goes to the plants with new investment and job security and the interviewer always gets a wacky looking autoworker that says we need everything back plus bonuses and all kinds of other perks to further divide us in the public view

 

You never see these reporters going to plants like AAI that need investment because no one wants to interview someone with a need for job security

[Avenger]

ever notice how the press always goes to the plants with new investment and job security and the interviewer always gets a wacky looking autoworker that says we need everything back plus bonuses and all kinds of other perks to further divide us in the public view

 

You never see these reporters going to plants like AAI that need investment because no one wants to interview someone with a need for job security

 

 

Or they go to Gary as one of our "representatives". Yep, that's the media for you, not doing its job and making us look bad.

[louie]

Or they go to Gary as one of our "representatives". Yep, that's the media for you, not doing its job and making us look bad.

 

So far they have not exposed him in the news or on TV. I hope he stays away from the press,,,, I can not stand to see him quoted or on the news for they just use him to turn everyone against us.

[Avenger]

So far they have not exposed him in the news or on TV. I hope he stays away from the press,,,, I can not stand to see him quoted or on the news for they just use him to turn everyone against us.

 

 

Well, we know the media will go to that clown once there is an agreement. I hope something happens and he gets smart enough to keep quiet. Gary makes all union members look bad with his complaining.

[bustedknuckles]

I am getting somewhat fed up with what some people, including our own, are saying about us. I need to vent, so here goes...

 

To Gary Walkowicz, Mr. "I'll spew my trash in the press":

 

SHUT UP.

 

When you spew garbage in the media like what you have been saying lately, and what you are saying when you put these letters out to the DTP membership, you are likening us to greedy bastards who will stop at nothing to get our concessions back. We are hard-working men and women who simply want what is right, not money-hungry lazy idiots who will go to all ends to preserve an unsustainable business model.

 

Ford Motor Company was $34 BILLION in debt just 3 years ago. This amount is now down to just $14 billion. Thanks in part to us, the company saved itself from going broke. Yes, we gave up certain things to help the company out and preserve our way of life, but now, you are saying you want every penny of what we lost back. As nice as that would be, it is not economically feasible to give every person an average of $20,000 back. Please explain to me where the company is going to come up with $810 million to do this.

 

Everything we lost may be given to us in due time. But, TIME is the key. You cannot say that after only 2 years, the company is fully healthy again and we deserve everything back. At a labor rate of $78/hour, with 40,500 employees working 40 hours a week, you are looking at labor costs per year ALONE of over $6.5 BILLION. Add this to the Salaried personnel around the company, and other employees around the world, and you are going to near the $15 BILLION mark for labor costs. Do you really want the company to earmark 5-6% of the company's global revenue just to pay for OUR labor? It's not going to happen, and you should KNOW it won't.

 

Modest raises and a nice lump-sum bonus, plus an improved profit-share formula that is based in global profits, along with guaranteed performance bonuses is a much better way of going at giving us a better standard of living than reverting to the broken business model of 4-5 years ago.

 

Stop spewing garbage in the media about how we want this, we want that, want, want, want.... it only makes us look like assholes and you an even bigger one.

 

To all these "labor professors" who "claim" to know how we think:

 

YOU DON'T.

 

You have no idea what we go through on a daily basis to get our jobs done. You sit behind a desk and teach a class. We bust our ass on a fast-moving assembly line for vehicles that sell like hotcakes. You cannot possibly know what is going through our minds unless you have done the work we do. We are under constant stresses of ungrateful company managers, supervisors who stop at NOTHING to discipline us for the slightest mistake, and production standards which are damn near impossible to achieve.

 

If you think you know what is going through our heads, think again. We can very easily trade jobs for one day and you will see it is nothing like what you seem to think it is.

 

Stop professing to the media that "labor wants this, but needs to do that, etc, etc, etc..." You spew as much trash as Gary does sometimes.

 

To the company, who seems to think we are all happy, satisifed and content with what we have now:

 

WE'RE NOT.

 

We are overworked, underpaid and WAY under-appreciated for the jobs we do. The slightest mistake causes us to be disciplined and thrown out of work for 3 days, usually more. You give us personal time to use, then deny it when we want to use it, forcing us to AWOL and create a mess. You will not let us use our personal time for the reasons we want to use it for. You create conditions in the company even a 2 year old would consider deplorable.

 

Wise up to what you are doing. If one of your measures of performance is Morale, EVERY PLANT would fail. There is such low morale in these plants I don't even know how people continue to get up out of bed and continue to come to work (myself included). You pit people against the union in every situation you can to attempt to break us, and you are somewhat succeeding in that.

 

YOU NEED TO STOP.

 

Done venting.

Very well said !

[Avenger]

Very well said !

 

 

Couldn't agree with you more.

[louie]

Well, we know the media will go to that clown once there is an agreement. I hope something happens and he gets smart enough to keep quiet. Gary makes all union members look bad with his complaining.

 

 

Shhhhh...,,,,

 

Maybe we ignore it - it goes away - almost like a teenage horror movie