bogya

Hello to all! This is your friendly night nurse Renae. I am letting you all know that it is Jane and I's last day on Wed. 2/28/07. It has been a pleasure to work with you all. I will miss you all! If anyone is still wondering what "bogya" means it is what we have been forced to do as part of the UAW membership and Ford employees. That is "Bend Over and grab your ankles!" I must thank my local 879 for all their support on the matter of wanting us included in the packages that we were not. I appreciate your smiles when I needed them and wish for all everything that life has to offer you. As I have said to so many, when adversity faces us, it often forces us to pursue that next level that we have been fearful of "jumping into"and things turn out better in the end. We are busy in the clinic doing pre-employment physicals so likely will not be able to come out on the floor and say good-bye, please stop by the clinic and wave. I hope that we have made your life a bit better. I hate saying good-bye, so maybe the best statement to say is one that you will remember from me. TAKE CARE and BEHAVE!!!!! :shades:

"We as membership", remember Stang "we" nurses are members. Solidarity? That means what? Equality? Oh, but only for part of the membership? Why should we be penalized because we came to Ford/UAW with a degree? Is this really something that we need or should be penalized for? We nurses or any trades person has worked darn hard for our degrees and licenses, they are not given to us. Yes, if Ford would be staying open at TCAP, I would stay another 27 years for my retirement. I enjoy Occupational Health, believe it or not there is much action in this position, Not one day is ever the same. I enjoy helping people, and also enjoy the fact that I do have weekends and holiday's off. Yes, I can get another job fairly easily, however not one without the lifting and benefits. (even though we have to pay for them) We are no different than the skilled trades, they too likely will be able to go anywhere and get another job for as much or more pay. Change is hard for any field you are in, in nursing normally when we get another type of job, you start all over at the bottom and have to be re-trained to your new position. :yup:

The funny thing is the fact that this should NOT be a separate issue from the "hourly" buy-outs, I said this earlier and I'll say it again. We are ALL Full Time UAW/Ford workers, the buy-out issue is NOT in the hourly or the salaried contract. The requirement for these buy-outs were to be given to FORD/UAW workers, when I checked last, my UAW membership card does not specify that I am salaried. Yes, Chuck has just recently advised us that they are still meeting on this issue, however, it would have been sooooo easily specified as "ALL" rather than quickly changing the newsletter to read, "hourly UAW/Ford members" I do have an original copy of this letter. :yup: I personally do not feel that our International did their job back then or this would not be an issue now. Yes, I have already shared this with the International as well, or I would not be airing it here first. This issue alone seems to have divided the membership and the proof is in the pudding right here, hourly, salaried, red, purple or green, we are UAW!!! I do hope they come out with fairness and equality to all of us UAW members; this is why we are union and we are PROUD. We have strength in numbers and I was hoping to hear support from my membership that we will not allow our fellow brothers or sisters to be unfairly treated.

:happy feet: Hey Wixom, You have your stuff together!! You are already assessing the behavior and reccomending ways to improve it. :D I agree that possibly some could learn from anger management clases. :angrymirror: I said it before and I'll say it again... I AM PROUD to be a nurse!! I love the field and more so, I have really enjoyed working in the Occupational health field. I am also proud to be a member of the UAW. I as well as all the nurses and the engineers that belong to the "salaried" UAW are only asking for equal treatment under our union rights. Wixom, Good luck in your nursing career, we need more like you in this field!!

Thanks for your support J-150! :hyper: We do all need to support eachother and I am so grateful that there are people like you that understand what union is supposed to be. :D

I second the above note!! :hyper: Thank You so much, Our Local 879 members are the BEST!!! :P

Tradeslady- I do not want to work for an hour or a week on the line, I am not saying you all do not do hard work out there, Lord knows I see the injuries because of the repetitive work and lifting etc. that you do. However, as your union sister I would sure hope that you do not feel that nurses, forklift driver's, electrictians, pipefitter's, millwright's etc do not work hard as well. We all have different type of work that we perform and must do it to the best of our ability and training. We all pay the same dues and belong to the same union, just because there is differences in our job titles, does not account for any one of our positions to be unfairly treated by our own union, far less our brothers and sisters!!!

Thanks for your support!!! :hyper: I am a nurse, and I am proud to state that I am an Occupational Health nurse. :happy feet: Yes, a license is the main hurdle to jump when becoming a nurse, but when you specialize in an area of nursing and then lose that job, you need to be retrained in a different area of nursing until that time you start at the bottom all over again. I planned for this to be the last job of my life. I now am in the same place as anyone who works on the line. Tradeslady- I do not want to work for an hour or a week on the line, I am not saying you all do not do hard work out there, Lord knows I see the injuries because of the repetitive work and lifting etc. that you do. However, as your union sister I would sure hope that you do not feel that nurses, forklift driver's, electrictians, pipefitter's, millwright's etc do not work hard as well. We all have different type of work that we perform and must do it to the best of our ability and training. We all pay the same dues and belong to the same union, just because there is differences in our job titles, does not account for any one of our positions to be unfairly treated by our own union, far less our brothers and sisters!!!

Thanks for your support!!

All I have to say to you is you are very ignorant. The Company can enforce whatever fricken policy they instill, they can and have the policy to obtain a release from your MD so the diagnosis can be placed on the work excuse. We have NO CHOICE in the matter either. Why didn't YOU fight it? We are no Labor Relations branch, get that through your thin skin. As for hard work, yes we are busy all the time. We choose to be nurses, to help people, even sorry ass ones like you, and we have to grit our teeth and deal with this kind of attitude. It is your attitude towards your union brothers and sisters that I find appalling.

In the last contract (I was not the rep at that time) The vote to go hourly did not carry. I am unsure as to why? In the next contract this is precisely what we will be going for. (likely will be a mute point if they succeed at outsourcing us- It is obvious that the UAW will not fight for our jobs) I have been at Ford for 3 1/2 years, perhaps the nurse that you speak of is a Sr. Nurse, or she/he does not carry the insurance for the family. This past year it changed to the fact that if we had husband's on our policy, we have to pay an extra $110.00 per month for health insurance and an extra $10.00 a month for dental insurance besides the premium we paid in the past. To add to that we also pay $20.00 for a co-payment ($50.00 if it's for an ER visit), and $10.00, $20.00 or $30.00 co-pay for prescriptions. They have already informed us that this will go up another 30% next year! I have a strong feeling that this is what the hourly contract will also be in 9/2007. Hopefully not, but it is a known fact that the medical coverage is the excuse that Ford is using to state their case of financial loss. My personal feelings is that the policies need to be changed at the Federal level to reward the employers that provide their employees with an affordable health insurance plan. This however is a whole together different topic.

Yes, This is so very true and sad. The last sub-council meeting we were asked to recruit members into the UAW and to concentrate on the salaried members. My question to the International Union is, "What can I tell them is the benefit?" To date I have not received a reply. Unfortunately for the longevity of the UAW, this will be an example to future members that Management will use against the UAW. The membership will continue to drop. I personally have written the International on this concern. I sincerely hope that what the UAW is doing now will not affect future retirement benefits, as well as benefits in General. This next contract is going to be giving up much more than the nursing units. Thank You so much for seeing the bigger picture!! :happy feet:

Again, I am very sorry you feel this way. I can personally say that I feel our membership at TCAP for the most part are very supportive of our expertise and our support to them. They feel that we are being screwed as well. Again, we are in NO WAY a member of labor relations. At times I realize that people who do not meet Ford's Written policy are upset with us when we cannot approve a note by an MD due to missing information. I think perhaps you have had some poor experiences, and I can tell I will not be able to change your mind. You are indeed entitled to your own opinions, just for a minute try putting the shoe on the other foot, and imagine if we were the ones getting the package and "hourly" UAW members were not. Would you feel like you have been unfairly treated at that point?

You're right, however Ford has stated that they do not have to excuse the absence without the diagnosis, it is called signing a release of information with your MD to allow the diagnosis to be released. Again these are Ford's rules, we had them write it down on letterhead with a signature to give out to employees to show our UAW membership that these ARE NOT our rules, they are Ford's. Again, it is unfortunate that members of the past have abused the attendance policies to force implementation of these rules. I am not saying this is right, however, if this is company policy we do have to follow it.

The International also sold out the salaried union members, and yes I have already thought of your advice. Sounds like us who have been sold out need to get a class action suit together! The UAW International has been misrepresenting us. Shame on them!! How can Mr Gettlefinger and all sign their letters "In Solidarity" ?? or look in a mirror when they know how many peoples lives they have totally screwed over.

My point is not one of licensure or training. It is on fairness. The perks we have as salaried is to pay almost $500.00 a month for our benefits because of the differences in our contracts. The true "Perks" you are talking about do not come until you reach a leadership level, needless to say no-one is a member of the UAW in this rank. We do not get the EDTP programs either. ANYONE on the line could've and many did obtain their college education while employed at Ford on the line and under the hourly contract. (This is free to whomever chooses to use it) This I am glad for. We do have a different contract and I respect that, however we are UAW members and we are an active Full Time employee of Ford. These were the two requirements that had to be met for the buy-outs, the buy-outs are not noted in anyones contract. We pay the same dues as anyone else does, and NO we do not get paid even as much as a person who has been on the line for over a year when you deduct the amt. that we pay for health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance, vision, etc. As nurses we came to the Ford Motor Company and became members of the UAW with a college education, should this penalize us when it comes to a buy-out package ? :slap:

I am sorry that this has happened to you, you are right, that any nurse RN or otherwise, should know how to care for any type of chest pain, and should NEVER give out a dosage of a medication that is not advised. The dose you are stating is not even a prescription dosage. The only dosage we can advise is what you can take over the counter, any other dosage is prescribing which we are not authorized to do by our licensure. (Unless there are signed Doctor's orders that are called Standing Orders) I would hope that this matter was examined closer. Any where you go you can find excellent nurses and unfortunately you can also find substandard nurses. The fact that we choose Occupational Health Nursing as our profession, is the area of nursing that also enabled us to get out of the crazy schedules and the poor health insurance, lifting, etc. I have a spotless work record and feel that I am an asset to my profession. It is not an area of nursing that is easily found in the Midwest area, so by definition we are a displaced worker. Yes, we do have a different contract as well, however neither of our contracts stipulated any buy-out packages. This is where we were unfairly treated. At first the buy-out notice read, "All UAW/Ford workers will be entitled to one of the following packages...." It was quickly changed to "Hourly" when they figured ut that they did not represent the salaried work force. Just an FYI. The salaried work force actually represents more engineers that are unionized by the UAW/Ford Contracts than it does nurses. Thanks for your sympathy, but we do need support as well, that is supposed to be coming from our International Union as well as ALL our UAW union brothers and sisters.

We are the same as any other nurse who works for Ford and are required to belong to the UAW as a condition of our employment (just like you are). We are part of the union, and have to go by Ford's rules when accepting a doctor's excuse or not. Unfortunately, so many people in the past have abused the policy so an excuse now has to include the date they were seen, the diagnosis, the statement of disability and when they can return to work. As well as whether or not it is work related if it is an injury. The nurses do not make up these guidelines but we have to follow them. We DO NOT discipline anyone. If the notes are not acceptable we state which part is missing and LR I believe gives you 48 hrs. to get the proper information in, if they do not then at that time Labor Relations deals with it further. When you say "screw them" You are screwing your union sisters or brothers. Shame on you!! :slap:

The UAW represents many different types of workers, not just Auto workers. The name of the UAW is NOT "United Auto workers " It is, "United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Wokers of America." They represent everyone from Auto workers, Food services, nursing, and even some lawyers just to name a few. The security guards were not represented by the UAW now or at the time when they were outsourced. We have been paying our dues just like anyone working on the assembly line, We care for you when you are injured, happy for you when you were offered a package, but have been discriminated against by the UAW and Ford when we were not included in these buy-outs. We are supposed to be United. I do not think this is a difficult issue to understand. I do not understand your comment, please clarify, Do you feel we are being treated fairly when we have been paying the same dues as everyone else and clearly are not being represented like everyone else???

When I started as an RN at Ford I was so proud to be a member of the UAW. :yup: This I thought was a strong and a fair union. I felt secure in my job, I can actually say I enjoyed my job. Now I am feeling like the one who has been screwed in the bargaining process. :rip: I am very happy for all of you who have a choice of packages. However I thought I was also a member in good standings. My membership card does not state "salaried" member. Does the hourly membership card state "hourly"? I have just been informed that "they" are still in Negotiations on this matter, but this does not appear to be a hopeful area. There are approx. 600-800 salaried members of the salaried units. I do not understand why we were not included in the initial packages? :shrug: This would have been an easy task to add this small amount of people unto the 75,000. However now if we do not get a package... The bigger question is how is the UAW going to recruit future salaried UAW members? :reading: Ford management will certainly use this as an example to show them that belonging to the union don't account for the card that it is written on. I feel we have been strongly misrepresented by our own union. My name bogya stands for "Bend over, grab your ankles" I guess I thought I would need to do this for Ford, Not my union!!!! :slap:

We as nurses do not get "time off" when there is down time, we must work (Unless it's a Holiday). We have our vacations by senoirity,we can buy up to 2 weeks of extra vacation time per year, but it is taken out of our checks dollar per dollar. Bonuses?? (we also do not get a Christmas Bonus), pension??? We have a retirement based on years worked and very simular to "hourly." 401K- only what we want to put in it, company does not match, We do not get Blue days, we do have the equivalent of "personal" days. Vacation and Personal days do not carry into the next year, if you do not use them you lose them. As to our benefits, we buy them. We do have more of a choice in the matter, but they can change the price of them at any time. My personal choices cost me approx. $500.00 out of pocket. This includes my healthcare (HP), dental, vision, long-term care, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment. When we go to the MD an office visit is $20.00 co-pay, ER is $50.00 co-pay and prescriptions are $10.00, $20.00 or $30.00 per each Rx. Last year Ford decided that if we had our spouse on our insurance that the price would go up $100.00 per month for Health Insurance, and $10.00 per month for Dental insurance. This is NOT negotiated, we simply receive an e-mail as to how the benefits will change for the year that we sign up in. The same day that the packages came out for UAW/FORD members, the salaried involuntary packages were cut. Right now if I would be asked to go, I would be walked out and given 1 month pay, and 1 month Medical (I've been here less than 5 years) if I voluntarily leave I will get 3 months of pay, and I think at that point I will need to pay for my own health insurance. These figures may not be 100% accurate, however, I can assure you that at the end of the day the nurses in the UAW/FORD plant are likely the lowest paid people here once you take out the benefits that we do not get. We still pay the same Monthly dues that everyone else does. In another words we get the worst of both world's. But we are asked to recruit other salaried members into the UAW. I honestly do not know what to tell them what their benefits will be. :shrug: Other than the fact that you will get to pay union dues and carry a card that states what Local you belong to. None the Less I am PROUD to be a UAW member and I hope that our International and our brothers and sisters will make them calls to support us!! :D

We are still waiting for an answer as to when we will find out what will happen to us. :shrug: The answer we get is "we're working on it" I am also told that we have different contracts. Yes, this is true, however, this buy-out package was and is not in ANYONES contract!! We still are paying our dues, still carry our card stating we are UAW members, this I am proud to state. I enjoy working at Ford. I intended on retiring and likely dying here at Ford, but will not have the opportunity to do so as my plant is closing (TCAP) The meeting is later today as to the Q & A session for the buy-out package options, we nurses (the only UAW salaried represented (?) employees at TCAP) are not invited. We pay top dollar for the benefits we choose to buy, we do not get the down times off, and all the other Kudo's that the rest of the UAW members receive; the absoblute only benefit that we get for our union dues is the fact that we can carry the card and state we are UAW members. Our membership is supporting us in the fact that we should be getting the choice of the packages like they are. Where is the support from our International??? I know they have received quite a few phone calls. If you all support your nurses and salaried UAW brothers and sisters :happy feet: Please call our International Reps at (313) 926-5000 and request that they treat us fairly!! We need your support! :bandance: Thank You!!!

Yes, Detroit has asked us to "WAIT", they are very busy. :blah: My concern is that waiting will allow the UAW International to hang us "salaried" members out to dry. I have been told that we WILL NOT receive the packages that the "hourly" employees are receiving. Again, I stress, We are UAW/FORD employees who happen to be paid on a salaried basis. We pay our dues the same as an "hourly" employee, we carry the same card, and with PRIDE I state that I belong to the UAW Brotherhood. We are to wait until they offer us a package. It is my opinion that whether we are "salaried" or "hourly" the major point is that we are all members of the UAW! This issue should have been a done deal with the statement on the UAW Ford Report given to us in Detroit, and I quote, "Every active UAW Ford worker will qualify for at least one of the eight programs...." unquote. This brings us back to the major question....."When is a UAW Member Not a UAW Member?" :shrug: I do not feel that we, as a "salaried" UAW member, should receive more or less of a buyouy package than an "hourly" UAW member. We are Brothers and Sisters in our UAW Brotherhood. I get upset when someone in my family is being treated unfairly! This is not the time to WAIT! Please call your representative and Detroit and demand that our brothers and sisters are treated fairly. Thank You, In Solidarity!!!

Hey All, FYI- Bogya is short for Bend Over, Grab your ankles!!! I am an Active UAW/Ford worker, who happens to be a nurse. I have paid my dues, and carry a UAW 879 member Card. Yes, there may very well be some contractual areas where the "salaried" members have a different contract, this however does NOT exclude us from being a PROUD member of the UAW Brotherhood. This situation however has really confused me. I was at the Sub Council meeting in Detroit. The first couple of days we heard about how great we are, how Ford MGMT has made poor decisions to be in this financial dilemna. We are all facing very difficult times as a result; and we need to stay strong and supportive during these trying times. We were also instructed that we must recruit other active members into the UAW brotherhood, with concentration on the salaried members. What am I to share with these future members of the UAW? "Oh yes you are strong within the UAW, You have a voice, but pay your dues and when it comes to the benefits of being a member, YOU are screwed" I am not sure if you are all aware, but we do have a different contract. We pay our dues, the same amount as all "hourly" members, but we do not get our benefits under these dues. I personally pay just about $500.00 a month out of pocket for the benefits that I have selected, these include healthcare, dental, life, long-term care, accidental death and dismemberment. So we do have slightly more options to BUY benefits, but we do not have options as to how much that will cost. We were informed (not negotiated) that our benefits for health and dental would go up by $110.00 out of pocket per month if we carried our spouses on our plan. There was no prewarning other than an e-mail prior to signing up for the benefits last year. That left either the option of signing up or going without insurance until my spouses plan has open enrollment. One more difference is the fact that we pay a $20.00 co-pay for MD appts, a $50.00 co-pay for ER treatment, and either a $10.00, $20.00 or $30.00 fee for prescription medications. On the educational benefit area, AKA EDTP, we are entitled to this ONLY if there are still spaces left AFTER all "hourly" employees have signed up. This business with "hourly" or "salaried" I feel is a very misleading term. It implies that us "salaried" members make such a great salary. This also is not true. After paying for our benefits, not being entitled for others, unless we pay more (free legal) we make much less than any "hourly" employee. We do not get any bonuses like the "True salaried" employees do, and we do not get the down times or regular vacation times as "hourly" employees. Breaks?? When we have the time to fit them in. Usually it is a quick smoke, I make it a must to have 5-10 minutes every 2 hours. I have been at Ford for 3+ years now, and I must say I LOVE my job at Ford and I fully intended on this being my last job that I would ever have. I planned on retiring here just like any other employee likely did. There certainly are some trying times, but if I had the choice, I would stay here until I'm too old and feeble to work. However, there is no longer a choice at TCAP we are slated to be "idle" in 2008. I, like any other UAW/Ford employee have been robbed of my future plans, retirement program and stability within my life and my families. To my benefit, nursing jobs are very plentiful, however, I have become very fond of Occupational Health Nursing and these jobs are not as easily found within our region. Therfore, I, like all other UAW/Ford workers deserve some type of a departure package. I will not have a choice in packages like my brothers and sisters of the UAW. (1-3 months pay/healthcare in my opinion is not a choice) I am very happy for those of you who will have a choice. It certainly does not make up for the anxiety for all of your futures, but as I have been saying that so often trying times like these force us to step up to the next level and take that leap into a new and even more positive life style, and may as the end result be an opportunity for improvement. OK, now this is beginning to be a book, I am sorry, I hope that I have brought some unknown facts to all of your attention. I am not saying that we don't have slightly different contracts which exclude the benefits of being a UAW "hourly" member. Despite this contractual agreement, this does not exclude us "salaried" UAW members from being just that. WE ARE UAW/FORD EMPLOYEES! PLEASE contact our International UAW Members and demand that us nurses be included in these buy-out packages, as well as ALL UAW/ FORD employees. We only want what is right. We are our brothers and sisters keepers, and we need to be assured of equality for all UAW members!!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!! In Solidarity!!