F150MANBDV

At NAP I just got mine auto deposited TODAY in my Wachovia account from week ending 9/23.....so 11 days then I've been getting the VA state portion the next day so tomorrow I should get the rest by check. Of course we've been down so much I guess they have had time to get it right !

wow ! I wish they would speed it up like that at NAP, Im ready to go now ! Our signup period lasts 1 1/2 months....and we're only working 3 weeks each shift the rest of the year....crazy ! Good luck

Just my opinion but if you read success stories of entrepreneurs there are common threads to be found. Stick with what you know and are passionate about seems to be the foundation of alot of these stories. In other words, concentrate on finding ways to take what you are passionate about and creating a business around that passion. If you can explore your own desires and passions, then finding a real need, next develop a way to fill that need the money will come. It may take months, it may take years but if it is something that you are truely passionate about it will burn within you and your drive and energy will drive you to put forth the effort required to make it happen. You cant force yourself into some "cookie cutter" formula. the true essence of the American entrepreneur is one who has an idea, a service, a product, and improvement but more importantly has an "all-consuming" burning passion within you to persue your dream, never turning from the path no matter how many times you fall on your face because you believe in your dream. You also need to develop a trusted "brain trust" of professionals who you can bring to your side as your own "dream team" to help you achieve your dream. Finally keep your dreams close to your vest, while it may be tempting to confide in freinds and family about your dreams, those same well meaning folks will usually be quick to throw cold water on those dreams out of a sense of trying to protect you from "making a mistake" You would be challanging them out of their comfort zone when you declare that you will be starting a business because everybody is an "expert" and moost people simply dont have the heart to take a chance on something like this. Lets face it, if it was that easy, everybody would become a Bill Gates, a Conrad Hilton, or a Ray Kroc. Most people are happy to stay in their comfort zone and when you announce that you are NOT comfortable, that you want something different, something more you make them question their own decisions. Find your passion. Develop a business around that passion. Find your "brain trust" circle. Light that fire in your belly. Surround yourself with other successful people. ASK QUESTIONS. NEVER STOP. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER QUIT. God bless you and good luck !

Hmmm..that's interesting you're probably right then about somebody being there the whole time, well hopefully either way they will have a sense of urgency about everything and get us some real "exit dates" by the middle of December so we all can at least plan things a little better. Its a real pain in the ass right now....I need to get down to Texas but I really can't even make offers on homes or anything else until we have some firm dates....its frustrating ! No more restaurants for me....been there, done that....twice.....lost my life savings.....went through hell and probably cost me my marriage ! VERY TOUGH BUSINESS ! For every Emeril, Mario, and Bobby you see there are 1000 guys like me who have risked EVERYTHING to open 1 or several places and have gotten chewed up and spit back up. I have alot more fun now trading stocks, little or no overhead, no employees stealing from you, no unreliable vendors, no 80+ weeks....hell I could trade anywhere in the world if I wanted to....laying on a beach somewhere....sitting in my swim trunks at home by the pool....anywhere....its great for me.....alot better than being stuck in a hot kitchen EVERY weekend, EVERY holiday, never seeing your family, with so much stress you are just ready to go postal any minute ! Yeah. no comparison. Its not for everybody but for me it works that's why Im really just looking foward to taking the buyout cash and walking away. Ill be 47 next month so for me it will be like retiring from working for somebody else and finally working for myself. Ill always love to cook but now its just for family and freinds. Good luck to you !

It goes without saying that if you know for sure your plant is closing it will definately affect your decision making. At NAP now that we know we will be closed in less than 1 year now I would suspect people who are not close to retirement, and dont want to relocate have had their decision made for them....either cash or education options that's about it. In my group 14 out of the 16 line ops on 3rd shift fit into that group; younger than 50 with less than 15 years so all of us are either taking the cash or education and that's it....adios !

Our current down weeks scheduled for NOVEMBER are for the 3 weeks from Monday the 6th through Friday the 24th....now unless that has or will change I would be kind of surprised if they are going to make an effort to have anybody there from Labor and/or the Union for the purposes of buyout signups when the entire plant is to be laid off. Now if there will be then so be it, but what Im saying is that I would NOT assume is that is going to happen and if you want to signup I for one would not wait until after the 3rd of November to do so. I for one will be in line on Monday morning the 16th ! Im not saying everyone is going to be able to walk out the door Jan 1st, what I am saying is that we know certain things for sure. They will need enough people for just 1 shift come Jan 1st....is that NOT what they said on WEDS ? The transfers wont even be looked at until next Spring, so that is another 500 right ? We are to be closed in the 3rd 1/4 of 2007. When you factor all those things in one could figure they would need to unload around what 500 or 600 people asap unless they want to keep paying sub and health care well into 2007 for all of us. What Im saying....and hoping... is that I think they should have ample time to work through the list quickly enough to at least let those of us,who just want to take the cash and leave, our last days worked whether that is before or after the end of the year obviously depending on your seniority. Also keep in mind that the current work schedule is still based on expected sales.....what if the sales continue to drop as they have been ? As far as stock picking Im looking forward to it, Ive invested in a very good software with a proven track record and it is 100% mechanical, Ive used it with what limited funds I have to use up to this point with some good results so Im kind of excited about the potential to have a $50k account with the best online brokerage out there to trade with. Its not get-rich-quick....but rather slow and steady and can give you a real nice living. After 20 years as a chef and 11 with Ford Im kind of looking forward to being my own boss ! Here's hoping that everyone will have a great 2007 and beyond after Ford. Im choosing to look at it as a real opportunity, but that's just me. :shrug:

I think more than anything this is just 1 more example of how out of touch Ford is with their customer base, and a Texas - sized one at that. I lived in Houston and Dallas for more than 3 years and I can tell you that nothing sticks out quite as much as some "yankee" trying to come down there and trying to hard to be just like them by wearing cowboy boots and in this case some ridiculous suede suit ? Geeez..SUEDE ! ? Most native Texans would'nt even wear one of those, also keep in mind its still in the 80's and 90's down there.....duh ! Toby Keith was a good choice but they were at a State Fair for God's sake ! What's wrong with bringing in REAL PEOPLE who actually drive the damn trucks for a living instead of some painfully obvious "city slicker" trying too hard to be just one of them ! Who thinks up this ridiculous BS....they need to fire the damn PR firm, the same one who probably came up with the current stupid "Bold Moves" BS I agree with the article, where it said it looked like they were "over compensating" The people that go to State Fairs are good middle America "salt of the Earth" folks who can smell USDA choice Grade A BULLSHIT. Ford probably came off as trying way too hard while jumping up and down and screaming.....hey Y'ALLLL....loookie over here at us ! Ford should be embarrased..... Our trucks will continue to sell themselves IF we continue to LISTEN TO OUR CUSTOMERS ! Toyota did years of research just talking to people who need work trucks for the new Tundra, Im sure GM isn't sitting still either. if dont continue to listen it wont matter who they get to do the sales pitch...our loyalcustomers will have already left ! We dont need this kind of Hollywood city slicker showmanship !

I would think that for those of us who want to take the money and run should have a good idea of our last day by mid Dec. because the signup period is effectively over Friday Nov. 3rd due to the current down weeks scheduled.They want to be on 1 shift by Jan 1st so they know they have to move rapidly to get as many people out the door as they can. Also I would think those who are close to 30 years will just stay until the end in Sep 2007 to max out their pension and those looking for a transfer will have to stay because they wont have those worked out until next Spring so that pushes alot of us looking for cash buyouts higher up the list to walk. Good luck to all as we move on without Ford.

Just my opinion here but for those of us who just want to take the money and run I think we have several things working for us.... 1. Those wanting to transfer, as many as 500,may have to wait until Spring/Summer '07 to find out their status, so take them off the list for buyout checks. 2. Now that we all know that NAP will be closed for good in the 3rd 1/4 of 2007 I would suspect a good number of high seniority people may just stay until they throw the padlocks on the front gate, especially those who will hit their 30 year mark during that time. 3. I would think that Ford wants to unload as many people as they can from health coverage so they may release people who just want to take the cash and separate first to get them off their books asap. 4. We now know that they need to be at 1 shift come January and did'nt they say Weds. that knowing this they know they have to expidite the release process ? Why would they want to pay all of us sub pay and healthcare when they can just expidite our release and get rid of us who want to leave ? 5. I think when you add what...1200 to run the dayshift + 500 or 600 people between transfers and the education options you're probably left with about 500 or 600 folks who want to take the money and run who they can concentrate on releasing now or asap. 6. When you look at our current work schedule we really only have until Friday November 3rd to signup because we will be down the rest of the signup period. They should have enough time to go through everything by the end of Novemeber which means we should be hearing some details on specific "last day worked" dates by the middle of December, which would work out just about right. I think if you are ready to leave asap you might be able to be out the door by the end of the year so they can get you off their books. This might be total wishfull thinking but who knows. I see it playing out something like that based on what we know for facts right now. As far as actually getting the check from others that have already received theirs it looks like about 3-4 weeks after your date of separation to get your check. I guess Ill be relocating to Texas after New Years.....hopefully ! Good luck to everybody !

OOOOPS ! Sorry guys...here is that US State Dept. List. http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/health/health_1185.html Good luck to everyone ! Here is another link for those interested in seeking another option for retirement....lots of good information and been around for quite awhile.....its a big world out there...I have been looking at Panama for years, it has alot going for it, the below link has alot of good information on Panama. http://www.escapeartist.com/expatriate/resources.htm

It begins and ends with the US Constitution. The ultimate law of the land. Both Amendments clearly state...." US Citizens " Women's Right to Vote. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/co...endmentxix.html Right to Vote if Over 18. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/co...ndmentxxvi.html HR 4844 clearly gives until 2008 as the deadline to obtain your ID. It even provides means if for some reason a US CITIZEN was unable to obtain an ID before the election. If someone wants to participate and are a US CITIZEN then they have more than enough time to get an ID...no excuses. The Democrats efforts have, once again, proven that they are more interested in being obstructionists than standing up for what should be a very easy descision. HR 4844 merely calls upon legitimate US CITIZENS to prove that they have the right, as US CITIZENS, to participate in the greatest representative Democracy ever conceived by man. If they choose not to obtain their respective ID's, that is their choice. There are layers upon layers of social services out there, both government and private that exist which can be availed upon to help the poor, huddled, masses out there to obtain the required ID's, and I have no doubt that in the end the US Taxpayer will get the bill. The privilage of the vote in this country has been taken for granted for far too long. If HR 4844 reminds people that it is a privilage, one that has been paid for, IN BLOOD, to vote then I believe that is a very good thing for the continued health and strength of this blessed land. Compared to those efforts of our ancestors who have risked everything, life and liberty to protect our precious right to vote, obtaining a photo ID pales in comparison. It is worthy of total support and deserves better than partisan politics ! The UAW should be ashamed.....again !

HMMMM ? That is interesting....I wonder if Norfolk Southern right here feels the same way ? I was curious so here is the link to the UP employment oppy. page if anybody's interested. Looks like a ton of possibilities.... http://careerlink.com/0/0/5/7/interfac.htm

The only hard facts we know from Weds is signups from 10/16 to 11/27 * After that everything else is just rumor and speculation. * If you look at the current work schedule you'll see that really we just have 10/16 through 11/3 because we are to be down those 3 middle weeks right now.

I was curious about this so I did a search on the US Dept. of State Consular office website. Here is a huge list of links I got, some are for medical insurance companies. its alot of information. Hope it helps. Good luck. Im jealous ! I would love to retire to Italy !

11 yrs. in Jan at NAP. Hey I hope for our sakes alot of these 28 + year folks will just decide to stay put now that they know they only have until next Sep to walk out and close the place when they throw the padlocks on the gates, especially if it means another year for their pensions calculation. If I was in their shoes I probably would too. Im ready to just take the $100k and walk away. Good luck to you.

Here is the link to the article in Detroit Free Press. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...1/1002/BUSINESS

McFarlene was here at NAP yesterday for our "town hall meeting" to discuss buyout details. He said we have a "9th option" and that is transfers to DTP. If Im not mistaken I think he said they are looking for 500 people to transfer to DTP because they will be going 3 shifts @ 4 - 10 hours each. He also said though that they wont probably have all the details worked out for transfers until next Spring. Im taking the $100k and relocating, I only have 11 years in Jan when NAP goes to 1 shift. Good luck and God bless to everybody and your families. Time for me to move from Ford.

Taking the $100k and relocating. If I heard them correctly they said transfers would'nt be worked out until next Spring so I would suspect, at least I hope it would work out that if you wanted to just take the money and run that they would be able to get you out the door by years end since they said they know they have to move fast to get to 1 shift by Jan. Did'nt they say something like they are hoping about 500 will take the transfer ? So if they are going to keep NAP at 1 shift until contract 2007 I would suspect the will, by seniority, go early retirees, then lump sum cash people, then educational buyouts, finally transfers, just a guess here but Im just thinking that they would want to get early retirees and lump cash people out the door first to get the off the books as fast as possible to cut long term health care costs. Hopefully it wont take them too long into December once the signups stop on 11/24th ? 11/27 ? Maybe they will have a better idea earlier considering we are going to be down so much I would think most people will get signed up early on because you basically only have 3 weeks in October to sign up if you look at the current work calender, and I could be wrong here but I thought I heard McFarlene say something like "first come first served" on the signup list ? Anybody else hear that ? Good luck to everybody

If you claim single 0 you are giving the govt. an INTEREST FREE LOAN on your money. Yes, I agree, its a stupid idea if you just take the extra and piss it away, but if you take the extra and save it or better yet invest it wisely you are that much farther ahead. Why would you just voluntarily give the IRS more of your hard earned money than you absolutely have to ? Everybody has different situations and what might work for 1 would'nt be smart for another. If you are not a disciplined person with your money then I agree, claim single 0, allow the IRS to take it all now, give the IRS an interest free loan on YOUR money and I guess you'll be happy when you file next year thinking that you got over on them when you get your big return.....but did you ?

Just bad grammer. Taxes taken out. 6 mos. of continued medical coverage provided like normal then it ends, no money deducted. Max out your W4 so they take the least amount of taxes, why give those IRS bastards any more of your hard earned money ! Good luck to you.

HEY GOOD IDEA ! ARE YOUR SURE ABOUT THE 199 DEPENDENTS ? IM ASSUMING YOUR FREIND CLAIMED MARRIED TOO ? I WOULD DO IT IN A HEART BEAT ON BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE TO KEEP FROM GIVING THOSE BASTARDS ANY MORE MONEY ! $80K IS A BIG DIFFERENCE FROM $65K ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE TRADING STOCKS WITH IT !

OK. THANKS. We are having some sort of "town hall meeting" at NAP tomorrow morning at 11am. Im DEFINATELY asking that question then, that's my only question because everything Im trying to plan hinges on my last day worked.

Yes you can change your W4 to max out your net from whatever cash buyout option you take, if you know you only have a few more weeks or months it could save you thousands out of your pocket in taxes, why gave those bastards at the IRS any more than you have to ?

Bring your questions...hopefully they will have some real answers !

I guess with NAP scheduled to be at 1 shift by Jan 1st they will have to do things a little differently and more quickly with us especially since we are only working 3 more weeks each shift the rest of the year.