mechanic

meetings will be held. preparations made. etc. the uaw will NOT call a strike.

dont be afraid to vote how you think best. there will be no immediate strike. no lockout and no replacement workers. negotiations will reopen. we will work and get paid. a new deal will be reached. uaw and ford want this to pass so they dont look bad. i dont think its terrible but it has issues so im voting no. if you are in favor of it thats fine too we are all in this together. if it passes i saw its a decent deal. if it fails i say get back to table and do better. we, the uaw workers will decide.

anyone know if vacation pay will be issued lump sum july 2nd?

I thought bill was ok, that he does the financial, and stays out of the small group power struggles. is he close to mod and ken?

well, van dyke focus line is going on ot starting next week, 9 hours per shift. new target supposed to be 1950 per day after july shutdown. that includes foreign sales as well as wap.

at van dyke they posted 112 saline, 278 sheldon rd. and 40 dearborn truck says posting open to anyone zone 1 or 2.

that is good news. hope we can hang on until things turn around.

I have heard that, but I also heard that the 2012 will be pushed up to jan or feb of 2011, which means production of the old focus will end in late 2010, just over a year from now. the transit job will not support two shifts, and the euro focus is also going to switch over to the new trans. with gas prices and fuel standards going up, there is no future for a 4 speed.

AND,, we also have to worry about the fn line shutting down in a year or two. the new focus will most likely not use this trans. we may get the new trans job, but rumors and business mags are guessing the dual range getrag trans will be used and made in mexico.

not much good news here, almost all sales are down, and down from sales that were already starting to tank last year.

well, official notice in writing today. 44 ILO, with continued rolling tlo's. but there are 50 openings at romeo that we can put in for, along with anyone in east zone.

any deal that ceases layoffs is worthless. it is a good thing to have it, but it all depends on selling cars. if sales dont pick up soon, and really soon, people with a lot higher sen. aren't going to be safe. ford has recently said that if sales don't pickup by dec. they will be on the same path as gm and chrysler

it will be up to aa to decide when and if they need more bodies. how many got cut, and what seniority did it hit?

not 100% but I think I read that getrag makes our manual transmission for small cars in germany.

Ford and Getrag are building a new trans plant right now in mexico. according to news stories the trans will go in all of fords new small car lineup. the fiesta, focus, transit, etc.

we always pat ourselves on the back about the f150 sales, (i have two of them) but the truth has always been that combined chevy and gmc sales are almost always higher than ford trucks. It's really a non issue. we sell a lot of good quality trucks that make a good profit, it doesn't matter is a car outsells our trucks once in a while.

I read the link, is there anything new there? sounds like the tax breaks have just been approved for what is already in the works for moving the focus to mtp, and revamping stamping.

I need a little help understanding what you are saying, if the wap focus is ending nov 2010. then the new focus will start in jan 2011 at mtp, where and how long will the overlap be? why would they make and sell the old technology focus when a new model is available? then again they did that with the 04 f150 heritage didn't they.

Know about the getrag trans, but was hoping it was only for the fiesta, or that maybe they will offer the current trans as an option for those who prefer a traditional shift trans. I am sure that we can look forward to more cuts here.

thinking about the jan 2011 new launch, how long before that date will it be when the current production is shut down? ball park number would be ok, a couple of weeks? month? etc. thanks here at van dyke trans we are wondering if the focus will get a whole new trans and who will build it. so any info would be appreciated.

is the 6f shift reduction a sure thing or still up in the air?

Mod and a bunch of the local leaders came around last thursday and talked about the pending shutdown of afternoon shift. that part is not rumor. the only question is the final number. about 115 people are associated with the 6f afternoon shift, counting assembly, material handling etc. the final layoff number will be affected by the current round of buyouts, and how many people they decide to keep on 3rd for a skelton crew for repairs, prep and clean up, etc.

looks like the 6F line (taurus, edge, flex) will be going down to one shift for now about 100 ilo's is the rumor.

well the list is up,, good news.. you don't have to choose between lance and lawrence- you can vote for another stefani!

I am ready, I have plans, but I am not going to leave until I have to. If I am wrong, and I don't leave, even better. I like my job, and the people I work with. A lot of the people who took the buyout are unemployed and broke. some are doing well, the ones that had a good plan and stuck to it. In the northern counties of metro detroit (lapeer, genesse, st clair and sanilac) unemployment is well into the double digit range 14% or more. so I have no illusions about finding work here, especially when there are much better opportunities in other places. lots of places have half the unemployment as we do. I wouldn't tell anyone else what to do, but unless you can commit to an educational plan, or some business opportunity, I would stick it out and see what happens.