ReDemption

Toolmandano, did you not read the post about how many trades have been put back to work due to added product gained in 07? Or are you choosing to just bypass that entirely? You say that I’m just like the family member that bitch’s about wages, what are you talking about? The only people on here saying “I” deserve more are the trades. I have said time and time again that “We” all deserve more pay. So let’s not try to twist the facts here brother on the “Me – Me” clause. Show me one post where it’s said different from your side, just one. I have said time and time again, we need product, jobs, job security, added shifts, in-sourced work, and more Union members. The rest will fall into place when we obtain these things. I would expect any true Union brother/sister to agree with this through and through Union concept. I understand you’re upset because you have to work production, I get it. But to come on here and say that the Union has screwed you guys over by allowing you to work production instead of allowing the Company to put you out on ILO and hire 2nd tier, sorry I don’t get it. I do however remember when the issue was the fact that the company “wasn’t” going to allow trades to go into production. I wonder who fixed that? You guys said that you didn’t get your full trades seniority in production. Guess what brother, neither do we when we become trades. Did you once say this should also be fixed? Let me answer that for you “NO” you didn’t. Why not do the same for both, just saying. Like I said, it’s easy to hate. Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping & DTP Body

I guess what Im trying to say is this, I would never dream of pushing for pay increases for only part of the Union workforce or a certain group of members within the Union. We are in this together, in Solidarity and in Union. Im not in any way shape or form saying that we dont deserve pay increases. However, Im saying that if any increases are obtained, we ALL deserve it. But the cost cannot be more closed plants and more of our brothers and sisters out on the street, including more trades. That my friend is Union - for Union -about Union. Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping & DTP Body

Ok help me understand this, youre saying that adding product is not going to fix the issue of our trades being in production, but paying you an increase in pay will? If there are no products going into the same areas youre speaking of, we are all out of our jobs. So what the hell are you talking about? We have lost shifts, plants and all do to product. Where are you not grasping this concept? We were going to have more people in the streets (ILO) from both sides if we dont obtain more products. You have bitched and bitched about how the IUAW screwed the trades, yet you have eluded to say it is that youre even in the production workforce from trades. Wow, talk about the Me Me concept gone wild. How about we try getting back to the Union concept of looking out for each other, just as the IUAW did for our tradesmen to be picked up in production before all of them were out our nearly out of sub credits. Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping & DTP Body

NeedTradesJobs, I have said it time and time again, we need product, and job security as our main focus in these negotiations. So please be more careful when you’re thrashing Local 600. Not all Committee’s are as you say they are. Also, I think you’ll be surprised to know that out of all the facilities with tradesmen working in production, Dearborn has the most. When you speak of past Leadership being upset about how things are going with our tradesmen, please remember that in their time, our tradesmen would have been on ILO without the option of working production. I have spoken with a few past IUAW Representatives and they all said (prepare yourself, this may surprise you) that this is a huge accomplishment obtained by our current leadership. Like I have said, it’s easy to hate and or jump on the hate wagon. But I do remember when the number 1 concern by our tradesmen was the fact of being granted the right to work in production before people were picked up for production from the street. Understand, I want to see each and every one of our trades back to their respective SOG’s. So how do we accomplish this as a Union? (Certainly not by trash talking our Union). We push them (IUAW) toward obtaining Product Commitments, in sourcing our work, opening shifts including trades jobs and not just production. When our numbers increase, the rest will fall into place. It’s called a win- win by and for the Union. Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping & DTP Body

I call it the 3 “its” 1. It’s easy to hate, 2. It’s easy to jump on the “hate” wagon. 3. It’s hard for those that follow the first two steps, to tell the truth. The membership left is the same membership that did what they had to in order to save the companies they work for. Do we deserve to get the concessions back that we gave? Yes we certainly do. But we as a Union must be smart, and our IUAW and Local Leadership must be smart. We can’t accept any formulas that cause us to loss more jobs and close more plants. With us being just 3 dollars away with labor costs with our competitors, we must start getting the huge gains back that make us stronger as a Unionize Labor movement. These gains I’m speaking of are: Product commitments, Job Security, added membership (getting our kids, and family hired), in sourcing our lost work back to the US, workloads (production standards strengthened), Ergonomics etc. Trust me, being 3 dollars out is a huge accomplishment and I’m hoping we don’t miss out on the possibility of making huge gains in our contract for it. We as Unionized workers made this possible with the concessions with stepped up to the plate and made happen. Now let’s start demanding the right gains for us as a Union that enable us to be stronger as a whole. If we gain in the areas that I have listed, then we start having a voice back in our Government, Local – State and Country. We also prove to anyone on the outside looking in, that we care about each other and not just ourselves. I know that some will take the “me – me “road, it’s been the norm for too long. We need to get back to “we”. Please don’t misunderstand me, I want the same things back that you do, I just think we need priorities our list of demands. Just my opinion, for what’s its worth. Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping & DTP Body

I couldn’t agree more Empire. We need to focus on product line commitments, job security and the possibility of getting some work generated with our next National Contract. I hope this is the main emphases with our National Negotiators. About the Tradesmen working in production with 07 user Seniority Entry date: Let me ask you a couple questions: 1. Had the IUAW not fixed the contract to allow our Tradesmen to enter into production, what happens to them? 2. What happens if a production member is selected to become an apprentice, what do you think happens to their production seniority? 3. Would production member get the 2007 user entry Seniority date when they graduate to a Journeyman from Apprentice? Just asking. Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping & DTP Body

Wow, this post has become popular. Ok the 3% pay increase started back in 1987, so for those of you who think it was never a part of the contract, guess again. I wasn’t saying that we have lost 20k or 30k net. My point is that had they kept with the “Pattern” we should now be at a higher pay grade. So don’t come on here and say that you haven’t lost what you “think” you haven’t. You’re not making what you should be making, and that’s an income loss. For those of you that think Ford Motor Credit isn’t or wasn’t the largest sum of money in the profit sharing formula, take a look at the 2000 and 2001 profit sharing vrs profit vrs number of workforce in the formula. Then take the same formula and put it toward the profit sharing last year. I’m sure you figure out the only difference is the fact FMCC was removed. But we do have good news: Ford’s total labor cost for a worker, a combination of wages, benefits and pensions has been reduced more than 20 percent and is now about $59 an hour, compared to $56 at Toyota, according to the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. So, as I have said time and time again, we workers did what we needed to do to save the Company we work for. Do we deserve to gain back many of the things we lost, yes and we should. But we must be smart as Union workers and our Union Leadership – both IUAW and Local – must be smart. We can’t go back to losing jobs and closing plants and with our pay being so close to the foreign competitors, we should be pushing for more work and more factories in the US. When our numbers are greater, we as a union are stronger, then and only then, can gain as a whole. The number one goal of the Union is and always should be, our job security. Think I’m wrong, I suggest you talk to our Brothers and Sisters on ILO, or about to be put on ILO due to their plant closing. As for the person(s) that said Ford Motor Credit was never a part of the profit sharing formula, answer this question; why is it listed as “excluding Ford Motor Credit” in the Profit Sharing Formula on Page 879 of Volume 4 – in bold – in parentheses. Let me help you, it was a change in the contract, meaning it was language in the previous contract. Be Good Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping & DTP Body

Ok, let’s figure this out. 1. We lost wage increases 2. We lost performance bonus’s 3. We lost X-Mas bonus’s 4. We lost 10 minutes of break time 5. We lost ETAP for us, then they returned it but not for our kids 6. We lost a large part of profit sharing (Ford Motor Credit) 7. We lost COLA increases (yes its correct, increases) 8. We lost overtime after 8 hours 9. Gave back the Monday Holiday after Easter I’m sure I have missed a few things but let’s view these monitory net losses as they are. First off, we can’t count the overtime after 8 as a loss before it is a loss. So, unless you’re working short work weeks, then it becomes a larger formula that’s nearly impossible to calculate. So rule out number 8, just so we can simplify the formula. Let’s rule out number 4 because we are still being paid, I know we aren’t sitting down taking our deserved breaks from the line, but you still can’t calculate that as a loss in pay. So the let’s look at the rest. 1. Wage increases where 3%, so if you go back 8 years and do the math. Average wages were $25.78. Currently our average is $28.38. So if you take the 3% per year and do the math, we end up with: Year 1 = $26.25 or $50,976 annually Year 2 = $27.35 or $52,512 annually Year 3 = $28.17 or $54,028 annually Year 4 = $29.05 or $55,776 annually Year 5 = $29.92 or $57,446 annually Year 6 = $30.81 or $59,155 annually Year 7 = $31.73 or $60,921 annually Year 8 = $32.68 or $62,745 annually Currently Ford UAW auto workers earn $54,028 annually (or same as year 3) that puts us at a loss (without including overtime) $8,727 you then take item number 3 (xmass bonus) and add it 600 and you have $9,327. Now take item 2 (use year 8 for formula) and you have $2,091 this puts us at $11,418. Now our formula gets tricky. We must put the Ford Motor Credit back into profit sharing. Many have said that it would have earned us nearly 7k more just last year. So let’s use a rounder figure and put it at 6k that puts our figure at $17,418. If you then take the average COLA increases over the past 62 years (its inception was in 1949) we have rolled into our wages nearly $14 dollars. So on average COLA was right around $1.21, so let’s just round it off at $1, that’s $1,920 annually. We are now at $19,400 annually per worker. That’s $795,400,000 in savings to Ford Motor Company alone. Now take your VEBA that on average saved nearly 30B (all 3 included) and that doesn’t include the 2nd largest savings we agreed to, that being the Holiday we gave back. All plants were shut down on this day, we stayed home and received pay. This single act alone was a huge cost savings to all 3. Think about it, take each plants cost to run loss because they not only are they paying us while off, they are not running. So in all, I think we have done our share. We deserve to be compensated for our actions, the single largest act of personal loss ever taken by any group of workers, in order to save Ford Motor Company. Bottom line, we lost nearly $20K annually. We produce the finest automotive products anywhere, and we make more than we ever have with 20% of the membership. Our CEO’s make more than they ever imagine. Has anyone ever wondered where all those savings went? We were nearly 1.5 million strong at one time, and in no way shape or form did anyone ever imagine producing 650 + car/trucks in a single shift. How many billionaires do we have to produce before us as workers (we are the people that make them their money) start gaining back what we so deserve. How long are we going to listen to “we need to be competitive” so it’s up to you workers to cut more? You’re making billions each quarter, so enough with the “we are not competitive” horse shit slogan. If my math is off, I apologize. I believe that I’m pretty close. Help me out if I’m not. Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping and DTP Body Vice President and Bargaining Committee

Ypsirat, thanks for the info. I’ll make sure that it’s not up in the DTP Body and Stamping buildings. I heard from one of our District Reps that he also got this info in his email from someone. I’m wondering how many other reps at Dearborn received it. Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping and DTP Body Vice President and Bargaining Committee

Ypsirat, I totally agree with you brother. I can’t understand why anyone would do that, Lord knows you trades have endured enough, and now false profits. I’m a representative of the production members in Dearborn Stamping and DTP Body. Since there are so many different buildings, with different committees, could you please be clearer (if possible) with what committee and building you’re referring to. Thanks Brother Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping and DTP Body Vice President and Bargaining Committee

What is a Union? Really? Collective bargaining performed impressively after World War II, more than tripling weekly earnings in manufacturing between 1945 and 1970, gaining for union workers an unprecedented measure of security against old age, illness, and unemployment, and, through contractual protections, greatly strengthening their right to fair treatment at the workplace. The postwar labor movement targeted the treatment of minorities and women who flocked in, initially from the mass production industries, but after 1960 from the public and service sectors as well. Labor's historic commitment to racial and gender equality was thereby much strengthened, the afl--cio played a crucial role in the battle for civil rights legislation in 1964-1965. That legislation might be directed against discriminatory trade union practices was anticipated (and quietly welcomed) by the more progressive labor leaders. But more significant was the meaning they found in championing this kind of reform: the chance to act on the broad ideals of the labor movement. You say you are an American, yet you feel that you have the power and the right to say what another should and can earn, how much is too much and too little. So please tell me exactly who your really are. We, the American people are living under a “concessionary” façade etched into our minds by the rich. Everybody has to be “competitive” even when they are earning billions on top of billions. So ask yourself this, what is competitive, and how do we define it so that it places more burdens on the worker and less on the company structure. That’s what they are trying to sell us on, this competitive trump word that ends our rights to prosper as Labor Unionist. Competitive to what, who made the most in Billions? Here’s a thought, let’s start viewing “competitive” as in keeping your workers safe, ergonomically comfortable, happy and gainfully employed. How about “competitiveness” is targeted as the company that pays the most, gives the most to the public sectors, and employees the most workers is the one that wins. What’s a Union, here is just a few items that have came to fruition from the Labor Union movement • Eight-Hour Day (10 – 10.7 in AWS plants) • Five-Day Workweek (4 day in AWS plants) • Health Insurance • Good Pensions • Paid Sick Leave • Fair Treatment for Women, People of Color, & Workers with Disabilities • Higher Wages • Overtime Pay • Job Safety • Paid Holidays • Job Security • Severance Pay • Paid Vacations • Family & Medical Leave I’m sure I’ve missed so much more that can be added, but I think you get the point. Everything I’ve said can be found with a simple search or some time spent in the library. What I find depressing is the fact that no one seems to neither care nor give credit to those that earned us the right to share in these great accomplishments. I’m grateful for our IUAW and our Retirees that earned us these rights. I hope we as auto workers gain back the things we gave up to save the companies we work for, but I certainly don’t want the formula to cost us more of our jobs and the closing of more plants. The Labor movement has to have a new spark, before our middle class jobs are gone forever. Be Good Jeff Hodges Local 600 Dearborn Stamping & DTP Body

Its contract time guys, do you really think it helps coming on here and bashing our Union? When the first modifications hit, for many it was the first ever seen, there was a lot of talk about “they better not touch my pay” and “they better not touch my benefits”. Ford Motor Company – General Motors – and Chrysler were all in the toilet, we all knew this for a fact. If you didn’t, then you lived in a cave. The first mods hit, we as Union workers did what we should to help save the company we worked for. It apparently worked, we are now seeing more and more job opportunities in state and out of state. The out of zone moves carry a large cost, a cost that our IUAW maintained even with all 3 in the toilet, with 2 still struggling. How many other companies do any of you think will move their workers out of state, give them similar jobs, keep their pay rate (classification dependant), their benefits and give them $30 thousand on top to do it? Have you ever even thought about how much that will cost? Do the math, it’s an amazing amount of money, or a huge expense. That’s not including the back fill, the training, and the inner building job posting hierarchy. All obtained and maintained by our IUAW and our Local Leadership. We don’t always have to agree with what our Leadership does, that’s our right. But we really need to start looking at the big pitcher. In order to be a stronger Union we need more numbers, more dues and more VCAP money. Those are plain and simple facts. When you have more numbers, you then can gain in all aspects of a contract through negotiations. When you have more money in your Union coffers, you can push your Union’s weight around in the State and in the White House, when you have more VCAP money you have more politicians looking at you and wanting your support to support you. It’s simply about the money. I’m glad that many of our brothers and sisters, friends, are getting the chance to move closer to their families with the KTP, LAP, CAP and CSP openings. I’m proud of our Union for maintaining this right for us. I don’t always agree with the things they do, but most of the time it’s simply a misunderstanding of reason. I place the blame of this misunderstanding on them because it’s on them to explain to us, their membership, reasons why. So here’s a thought, IUAW have more meetings with your Rank and File and help them understand why you need to move in the certain directions. It’s really not a lot to ask for. I think you’ll find that many of us will understand, support, and even help you get there. I think you’ll find that we have many members with a lot to offer. I know you set up Sub Counsel Meetings and other meetings of this nature, but I don’t think your message is getting back to the membership as you intended to. I think it’s easy to hate, and because many will chose the easy path, it’s the reason most of us don’t hear the truth. Be good, stand in Solidarity and let’s get through this. Jeff Hodges UAW Local 600 Dearborn Stamping & Truck Body

Volume 1 / Article 10 /Section 6 Lunch (a) Length of Period A lunch period of thirty (30) minutes shall be allowed to employees not eating on Company time, except where different periods may now be in effect or may hereafter be agreed to locally, and provided that the Company may reasonably alter the length of this period in abnormal or unusual situations. Volume 1 / Article 4 / Section 4 Personal Relief On line operations relief men will be designated to make relief available at all times and in a ratio to provide each employee with at least 24 minutes of actual personal relief per 8 hour shift. UAW Modified Agreement Feb 09 / Second page / 3rd paragraph Relief Time Break time has been reduced to 40 – minutes of relief time per eight-hour shift and 50 minutes per 10 – hour shift. What you will have a hard time finding (or at least I did) in the Volumes is the language on two personal relief periods. So, I’ll assume that this language exists in unpublished letters language. I could only find it listed in the modified language agreement. As for the Hilo’s at DTP, I agree that they will have to set up a battery charging and changing area. We also have the Fast Charge systems, but they fail to do as they claim not long after you start using them. If you allow your battery to run down past 30% the battery becomes toast for holding any type of long charge. Hope this helps Jeff Hodges

Are some of you saying that the local Union committee at CAP better hold any and all open positions for you to arrive and bid on them? So in other words, your saying that at your current plant, bids open up, you would agree to the local Union holding these jobs until newly transferred members arrive? For those of you coming on here and saying it’s wrong that the local Union took care of its membership by allowing them to bid to open jobs before the members transferred in, who are you trying to kid? Of course they are doing this, they have done it, they are doing it, and they should if they want to stay in office pure and simple. I have 1987 Seniority, I didn’t expect anything other than being placed on the line when I transferred into Dearborn. When and if you decide to transfer, do yourself a favor, and understand that you’re no different than anyone else and prepare to work the worse jobs. When and if better jobs become available, then just simply bid for one of them. If you can handle that, and your family will benefit from the move, then go for it. For those of you that have decided to make the move, I wish you all the luck in the world. Jeff Hodges Local 600 DTP Stamping and Body

MTP’er, are you sure you’re under an MOA? I was told that MAP was under a COA with traditional classifications. Typically under an MOA you have 3 basic classifications. I do believe that they have now added a 4th - Tag Relief. (I’m trying to get verification on the 4th) 1. Maintenance Team members (Mechanical SOG’s are grouped together, the rest are as they should be by National Contract) 2. Production Team Leader 3. Production Team Member 4. Tag Relief Under the MOA at AAI, the Team Leaders, Tag Relievers and Production Team Members are within the same overtime equalization group. In a Traditional agreement building, and most COA’s, these classifications are separated and on different equalization groups. Jeff Hodges Local 600 DTP Stamping & Body

Eddie, you’re working in an MOA Local agreement plant. Under your MOA all production members are paid the same pay rate. Production members including Final Assembly, Body Shop, Stamping, Paint, Plastics, QC Weld Destruct, QC Parts, PDI, Final Assurance, Body Repair, General Stores and MP&L. From what I understood, your Tag Relief members received .10 more per hour. So this would be another class of pay rate, if it’s true that they did you might want to check on this before you list your classifications and pay without it. It’s much easier to tell you that if you leave your MOA agreement plant from a Production classification and go to a Traditional plant to Production Associate classification, you’ll lose .10 an hour. Note: In a Traditional plant, MP&L earns .10 less per hour then a Production Associate assembler. Hope this helped brother Jeff Hodges Local 600 DTP Stamping & Body

Thanks f150oderus, I think people deserve to be told the truth. I’m also wondering where all the thanks to our IUAW is? I certainly see all the bitching. Without the IUAW negotiating things like the enhanced relocation allowance what would we get? Nothing is what we would get so I’m certainly not afraid to say thanks. Thanks IUAW for negotiating and maintaining language that helps ease the financial burden of moving across the country to work at another UAW represented plant. Jeff Hodges Local 600 DTP Stamping & Body

No problem Wolf, after talking with many members that have selected option 1 in the past, they all had the same answer - within the first month of arriving they got the 2nd installment. The National agreement only states the time line of the first and last installments. The language on the second is very unclear. Heres what it says An additional amount of $16,000 will be paid to the employee at the new location The contract also states the following: Detailed information regarding payments and other Relocation Help Services regarding the Enhanced Relocation Allowance will be made available to employees. They should have had this information, as stated, up front when the posting went up? I think it would have helped greatly. I hope this helps, please understand that I have never transferred were either option was available to me. I have only transferred in zone. So, this is not a derivative from personal experience, its language from our National agreement and information from brothers and sisters that have in the past accepted and received enhanced relocation allowance. Jeff Hodges Local 600 DTP Stamping & Body

Wolf, the last payment is 8k, what “larger” installment you’re talking about. UAW National Agreement / Volume 1, Article IX – Sect 28. Option 1) Enhanced Relocation Allowance = 6k first up front, 16k after arrival and 8k after one year service at the same location. With this option you will lose your RTBU rights. Option 2) Basic Relocation Allowance = 1 payment of $4800 and you’ll retain your RTBU rights after 6 months of service at the new location. Hope this helped, good luck to you all Jeff Hodges Local 600 DTP Stamping & Body

Are some of you trying to say that your thinking of moving to LAP or KTP just because you where told your Seniority will land you the best job? Are you kidding me? Up-root your Family under the muse of a fairy tail, really? FYI for those of you that have product moving to LAP: 1. You don’t transfer with your job, you move with your product 2. You don’t transfer with your classification, but you could end up with it again. For those of you coming on here and saying it’s wrong that the local Union took care of its membership by allowing them to bid to open jobs before the members transferred in, who are you trying to kid? Of course they are doing this, they have done it, they are doing it, and they should if they want to stay in office pure and simple. I have 1987 Seniority, I didn’t expect nothing other than being placed on the line when I transferred into Dearborn. When and if you decide to transfer, do yourself a favor, understand that you’re no different than anyone else and prepare to work the worse jobs. When and if better jobs become available, then just simply bid for one of them. If you can handle that, and your family will benefit from the move, then go for it. I made a list of pluses and minuses, the pluses outweighed the minuses so I went for it. I figured that this was as much as I could do to try and figure if the move would be worth the risk. I fully understand that I didnt move out of state, so thats another set of factors I would have had to put on my list. For those of you that have decided to make the move, I wish you and your family all the luck in the world. Hope this helped. Good Luck Brothers and Sisters Jeff Hodges Local 600 DTP Stamping & Body

Thanks Daytrader, I hope many brothers and sisters will, as I do, appreciate the effort that our IUAW is putting into this grievance. I understand that some things are dealt with in a manner we feel to be wrong, but for the things done right, where is the Solidarity, support and thanks? I appreciate your post Daytrader, thank you again, and thank you IUAW for your efforts and due diligence with our much deserved “Equity of Sacrifice” grievance. In my opinion, what Mr. Settles and the rest of our International Representative team is after in resolve is spot on. Jeff Hodges Local 600 DTP Body & Stamping

Some of you may feel that the “Equity of Sacrifice” was just a facade or a tactic. But in fact, it is a part of the Feb 24, 2009 modification package to our National agreement. It’s listed on page 4 – bottom left. As for the Equity of Sacrifice grievance not reaching the 3rd stage, when a grievance is filed for the entire membership by our IUAW in it is in the 3rd stage. If not settled, then it will go to an umpire for decision. When you have a grievance of this magnitude, it’s not going to be an easy and quickly resolved run of the mil grievance. A grievance of this nature done quickly and easily means one thing, we get less if anything at all because due diligence was not served by proper research, factual findings, actual money amounts, net loss over time, etc etc. With that said, it’s of my opinion that our IUAW hasn’t wavered off this grievance, because if they had, I’m sure we would have heard about the miniscule grievance settlement we got because of it being dealt with quickly. They (IUAW) are doing due diligence and making sure that we are getting what we deserve, but this does and will take time, money and a hell of a lot of meetings. How many times in the past have we all heard that they (salary) are getting, this bonus, or that bonus, and we workers are getting nothing? Well not this time, our IUAW filed a grievance, one that spans across 41k (aprox) workers, and as far as I’m concerned, I damn sure don’t want it settled quickly without effort and proper research. I want to know that time and care was spent on this grievance and that we are all getting a large percentage of what we are entitled to Jeff Hodges Local 600 DTP Body & Stamping

Thanks for the history lesson Brothers. But you left out one detail. If your product transfers to another plant and you follow along with it, you take every minute of your Seniority. Transfer leveling seniority date, Oct 29th 1984 is for open transfers plant to plant or picked up off ILO. As for ACH plants, if you transfer for “temporary positions” or in other words “on loan” to another plant (created by the Saline and Sheldon Rd fiasco) you took your seniority, but were grouped together and set aside from the current workers at the ACH plants. If you back filled any member that accepted the “temporary loan” position at the two ACH plants, you received 2005 Seniority at the plant you went to because you also are considered “temporary loaned”. This is how I understand it so please correct me if I’m wrong. Thanks Jeff Hodges

Thanks Spine for posting that up, the person Deb "Peachy" Wilson is in a runoff with is Tawana Bruce-McGee. It was awesome to see all those that ran for leadership positions at Dearborn. This means to me that many brothers and sisters were concerned about how things are going for us in each unit and wanted to help. Now we just have one more election for a few of us to get through. The runoff election will be held Friday May 6th, ballot booths open 4am – 6pm (hopefully they will count the ballots that day). Hope to see you out there. Jeff Hodges Local 600, DTP Body MP&L DOP Right

Nick, I read your post, and I understand that you said in the past year. I never said you didn’t. I have no idea where you’re coming from with that rant. Re-Read mine then maybe you’ll understand that “realist” as you put it, that live on Earth, take a TEN YEAR SNAP SHOT when making investment in manufacturing. Take a look for your self, at some REAL figures: http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html As for answering your question: again re-read my post, but this time slowly and you’ll see I did in fact answer your question. As for Sheep, you certainly lined up to vote for Snyder. You say that you don’t have to be behind everything the person you support. Ok here are the five things (NOT ONE, FIVE) I don’t agree with your pal Snyder. A: He wants to tax pensions on Michigan retirees. B: He wants dictatorial power to terminate Collective Bargaining contracts with his bills HB4214 and HB4215 C: He wants to make Michigan a right to work state (please read B again) D: He wants to take the revenue gained from taxing retirees and the poor, and give tax breaks to big business (creating a larger deficit) E: He wants to sacrifice our childrens education by lowering school budgets by $500 per student. Here are my five answers to your question again. But let me point out Nick, you have never gave any kind of answers or solutions to any of the issues, that I have read yet. 1) Give direct tax credits for legacy costs (close the final gap between big 3 and competitors) 2) Give direct tax credits for manufacturing structures 3) Give direct tax credits for employment health costs (helps all employers) 4) Give direct tax credits for export shipping. 5) Last but not least, dump NAFTA or at least make it right. All of these bring back manufacturing jobs in the US. The demise of our jobs led to the mess we are in, bottom line. Manufacturing middle class jobs are the only thing that will EVER fix any of our issues. Step up to the plate Nick, lets see what you got. Jeff Hodges DTP Body Local 600