speedy51

Spring, as a CAW worker I am very proud of what you said and I have sent this to all my friends here in Windsor and to my twin brother who is losing his job with the closing of the GM Transmission Plant. Thank you !!!!

The other day, I thought of the very same idea!! My second biggest payment is my 2005 F150; next to my mortgage. Since, we are hearing a possible paycut over here in Canada I was wondering if Ford could offer us a voucher for a new car or truck. Not the lame 25,000 but 40,000 and up. This way if they cut our pay the loss won't be so hard as your car or truck payment would be covered. Like Ford Stock!! Just an idea!! I don't want a paycut but any idea to curb the loss would be better then nothing. I know some of us would hate the idea but do all of us use all our benefits and some use none.

I am a proud CAW/Ford worker with over 25 years. I am proud of all the work we all do. I am proud to go to the United States of America on vacation to see a beautiful nation and all its people. I am sure there are plenty of Americans who think likewise of Canada. We are all brothers and sisters in this mess, not caused by us. Daily I take in crap that we are overpaid bums thats deserve alot less. I am sick and tired of this. My wife came home from a Poultry Processing Plant where she was bashed for being an autoworkers wife. She stood up and got very angry and let her rip. I am sick and tired of our local hospitals now overcharging us, after we gave dearly in gate collections for a new MRI. THIS HAS TO STOP!!! IF NO ONE SUPPORTS US, THEN I DO NOT SUPPORT YOU!!! My wifes cousin just bought a new Toyoda, my wife hung up on her!! Canada is going to help us and I am sure the US will too!! I think its time we unite in a BIG HUGE protest maybe blocking the Ambassador Bridge to show our unity and our total disgust in the peoples attitude toward all of us. When is the UAW going to bring up the legacy costs that the others DONT and WONT Pay!! If I don't get a pension then I am sure my MP's, MPP's and your elected officials should not either. I remember watching those Northwest mechanics losing their jobs at Metro Airport, Totally disgusting, or watching my 70 yr old neighbor losing his pension when General Chemical left Amherstburg!! Totally disgusting!! To end this, I am a proud CAW/UAW Ford Employee, God Bless us all, and Merry Christmas from my family to you.

Excellent letters!!! I work at Ford here in Windsor. Been here over 25 years, worked in some bad areas of casting, machining, etc. I have a 77 yr. old neighbor that worked 40 years for General Chemical/Allied Chemical. Retired a UAW now CAW worker. Two years ago General claims bankruptcy. He lost half his pension, all his medical. General stays open in the USA and walks away from a toxic mess in Amherstburg ON. I can see this happening to us!! When is the governments of the US and Canada going to guarantee our pensions. If I lose my pension; I am going to be pissed!!! I still say we should all think on one mindset UAW/CAW. The larger unions in Europe shut down everything when wages are slashed, gas goes up, etc. Nobody wants us to bring up working conditions, what were endured in the past and now. When they came out of the senate hearings and were heckled by those people, I wish i was there, LOOK OUT!!! I'm with all of you, trust me. Prime Minister Steven Harper said he was willing to help with aid.

When the idiot at the end of the table kept jabbing them over the buyout packages, Gettlefinger could not respond. The PROfessor was comparing us to an Indiana Honda plant which I am sure has been there at least 60 years. Yeah right!! Give the foriegn automakers 25-30 years and they will bail back to Japan because they don't believe in paying pensions. They work you to death and let you rot!! Ask the PRO how his pension is? Ask the senators how is their pensions?? It's always are fault. Butcher up our costs. Get ready everyone. Remember the roundhouse meeting they had on the TV locally here in Detroit a few months back. The one with the Big3, Gettlefinger, and Hargrove from the CAW, well sorry to say the ONLY one that spoke up was Hargrove. It all comes down to our Autopact, WTO, and future bad trade rules with Asian countries. I think if Hargrove was there somebody would have been upset. I don't think i would have answered the question to gettlefinger " who was the strongest of the three?"

Well, my first article on the blueovalnews forum. I have always been a proud Ford/UAW now CAW employee. I have been through tough times being told that after 7 years that I would never return to Ford, but we came back. I have never seen tougher times than this though. I thought my only son could work for Ford but this will never happen. I have seen Windsor fall from a high of 5500 employees to 1500 and more to come. I vacationed in the US more times than Canada and was always happy to shake the hand of a fellow UAW worker and I am sure he or she thought the same. Now what happened!! We went to Washington a few years ago for a vacation; Great City!! As we drove around looking for my motel we noticed that our big F150 stood out alot. The ONLY Big3 vehicle was my truck. When we leave Windsor and drive towards Toronto all you see is imports. It seems to be when you leave the Windsor/Detroit/Toledo area the amount of Big3 vehicle you see drops BIGTIME!! Don't ever tell me that GM/Ford/Chrysler don't make a vehicle that is the equivalent to an import. As they say up here " Take off Eh!!" Why should the Feds on both sides of the border give a hoot about us when we see what their driving. The governments of Michigan,Ohio, Ontario and others care because of plants that are located there and supply us with good paying jobs. When I go now to a Doctor's office or my dentist and he or she is driving an import, then I don't go there anymore. When an import comes into my driveway i ask them to park it somewhere else. My family drives Big3 ONLY!!! If they want to see all of us lose are jobs or get cut back to half our wages then fine. Let's see what happens to the economy. We have givin lots back to the survival of the Big3 how far do we go?? I say if anything right now, not down the road the UAW and the CAW better look at talking together because this is going to get tough and the bigger we are the better. I hope this article means as much to me as to you. A very proud CAW/Ford employee and I am proud of all the work we all do together. Thank you