ReDemption

Glass, both your and our break systems equal 50 minutes. Our committee at body said that they are looking at a similar set up as yours with breaks. The company and the union committee I guess agreed to 2 minute intervals with the change up of tag relief operators at body. The reason I set my example up with 3 minute intervals is the fact we all know with the area the tag relievers cover, 2 minutes isn’t enough time. 3 minutes is still pushing the envelope. With the system you’re running in the afternoon, how do you handle the 10.5 and the 10.7’s. Shouldn’t you guys have set the system to have the 2 breaks in the afternoon seeing that there is more time to cover? Even if we change to having 3 breaks it would further support my theory of not having more then 7 members to tag out. I say this because you now have another set of interval times to cover. Jeff Hodges DTP Body Box Unit (outer)

DTP has different schedules for each plant (some might be the same) but DTP Body starts at 5:30. We have a 4 day work week comprised of 10 hour days. Most of the time we went 10.7 without the tag, with the tag we mainly do 10 (+ or - .3) yes this means short work week pay some days. 5:30am to 4pm = 10 hrs 5:30am to 4:42 = 10.7 hrs Issues with Tag: The rotations are screwed up when you have 9 members comprised as team for one tag reliever. If the plant calls for 10.5 hours and the tag reliever will start each member with a 28 minute break, the last person runs out of time. The company I guess has agreed to pay the remainder (I dont if this is true because it hasnt happened to me). But this fix (if true) has 2 unresolved issues. 1. The member didnt get there break. 2. The member receiving full pay on a SWW day might not be the senior member, this is seniority pay violation. Heres a break down on the issue of 9 members. On a 10 hour day after lunch: <25 minute break 3 minute interval> Operator 1 = 12:00pm Operator 2 = 12:28pm Operator 3 = 12:56pm Operator 4 = 1:24pm Operator 5 = 1:52pm Operator 6 = 2:20pm Operator 7 = 2:48pm Operator 8 = 3:16pm Operator 9 = 3:44pm On a 10.5 hour day after lunch: <28 minute break 3 minute interval> Operator 1 = 12:00pm Operator 2 = 12:31pm Operator 3 = 1:02pm Operator 4 = 1:33pm Operator 5 = 2:04pm Operator 6 = 2:35pm Operator 7 = 3:06pm Operator 8 = 3:37pm Operator 9 = 4:08pm On a 10.7 hour day after lunch: <30 minute break 3 minute interval> Operator 1 = 12:00pm Operator 2 = 12:33pm Operator 3 = 1:06pm Operator 4 = 1:39pm Operator 5 = 2:12pm Operator 6 = 2:45pm Operator 7 = 3:18pm Operator 8 = 3:51pm Operator 9 = 4:24pm As you can see in both the 10.5 10.7 hour schedules the last person to be relieved goes past the allotted time frame. Also if they decided to run less then 10 hours, you have the 8th member not receiving full break and the 9th member not getting break at all. Some will say that tag doesnt work, its not worth it, and people hate it. This is all do to the fact that management has assigned to many into a tag group. With a total number of 7, the system works and if you comprise a rotation that stops the person from going 7th then first the next day, its not to bad, its not great but it saves jobs. We all must remember Tag Relief saved jobs. A union job that other wise would have been placed on ILO running out of SUB benys quickly. At DTP approximately 300 jobs were saved, thats a huge IUAW accomplishment. We just need them to fix the issues. With a little effort, they can be fixed they arent that hard to figure out. Just dont go above 7 in a group and set up a rotation we can all live with. I have a program set up where you can just simply type in the first days rotation and it sets up the remainder of two weeks. Members wont have to go last and then the very next day go first. This seems to be one of the big issues we are having. Also with a maximum of 7 in a group, you have time to set up a 5 minute interval between members for unforeseen variables and we all know variables happen. If you want a copy of the program, just email me at Jefferyhodges@att.net and Ill send it over to you. Good luck (sorry for the size of this post) Jeff Hodges DTP Body Box Unit (outer)

Really you want your break time back before; 1. Job Security Program (JSP) restored 2. Lower Tier Wage’s stricken 3. Maintenance Mechanical SOG’s restored 4. Retiree Health care cost coverage restored in full 5. COLA Increases Restored 6. Performance Bonuses Restored 7. X-Mass Bonus Restored 8. Overtime Pay for work performed past 8 hours Restored 9. Vacation Pay In Lieu Restored Don’t get me wrong, getting the break time back would be nice, but certainly not ranked in my book before any of these. Ok maybe not the pay in lieu, I wouldn’t mind getting the break time back before that one. Jeff Hodges DTP Body Box Unit (outer)

Yes both Hourly and Salary total member numbers are apart of the equation to the formula used for profit sharing pay amounts. Here is how the formula works: • 6% for profits earned less then 1.8% • 8% for profits earned greater then 1.8% but less then 2.3% • 10% for profits earned greater then 2.3% but less then 4.6% • 14% for profits earned greater then 4.6% but less then 6.9% • 17% for profits earned greater then 6.9% We will call each of profits earned percentages = x We will call the total number of Hourly workers = y We will call the total number of Salary workers = z Once you have the x factor, you then take x/y + z = new profit share pay amount X%. You take the new X% amount and devide that by your yearly earnings for that profit sharing year. Fore example: if X factor moved us into the 8% X factor bracket, and you earned 70k that profit plan year, you would receive $5600. Please understand that this is my understanding of the language and if this formula has changed, please explain how and when. I do believe it’s been the formula used in the master agreement since 1982. Hope this helps Thanks Jeff Hodges DTP Body Box Unit (outer) I left a significant factor out of the equation earlier. Once we have the X % factor, we then divide that % by our yearly earnings for that profit plan year. Again, this is the best I could figure it out. It worked for me in this formula pattern with our last profit sharing check.

I agree that it’s hot over a stamping. I walked through the stamping shop just the other night and trust me it's hot. The air was filled with weld expulsion, fumes, and dust. I will admit that the “Bigfoot” system works in all those aspects. Why the union didn’t fight to have this very same system installed at stamping is beyond my belief. They could not have had a better case study for need of cleaner air then our stamping shop. As far as the Body shop goes, the Bigfoot system is great other then air movement. Air flow is needed in any shop, this is a well known fact. Station fans cure this issue fast and simple. In the heat of summer it’s a sweat box of humid, sticky non moving air. You start sweating even before you touch a part. I’m not saying that the Bigfoot system sucks, it certainly does not. All I’m saying is that we need air movement. As for the ergo mat issue, this issue is just crazy. Over at Assembly, I was told by a friend that every station that requested them got them. I contacted their committee and was reaffirmed that this statement was true. Wonder why the “wood floor vrs rubber study” didn’t come into the mix with the request for ergo mats over there? Ergo mats and station fans are definitely not the only issues over at body. A union brother told me last night that they have to squat down all the way to the floor and place a tab on each part before removing them from the rack. Try doing this 600 + times every day. How do you think your knees, thighs and feet will feel the next day? All that has to be done is to install a foot operated rack/palette lift and the issue is resolved. It has been an on going issue for nearly 6 years. Jeff Hodges DTP Body Box Unit (outer)

Pioneer, it’s obvious you have an issue with “Chuck”. But what ever happened to supporting a fellow brother that has a need for a better working condition? So you’re damn right, I just like many, want a fan at my work station and some ergo mats to replace the hard wood floors mounted on cement. Its 2010 not 1952 for crying out loud and we have a Union. So I say to you Pioneer, stop crying about members wanting a better work life. You talk about other’s ignorance, yet you chastise them over a fan. Do you honestly think with doing that, its proof of your superior intellect? Think about it ----- a fan. Jeff Hodges DTP Body Shop Box Unit (outer)

I agree LQ and Cheese. The wood might be ok installed on a skillet conveyor do to the fact that the framing flex’s when walked on. So the wood will actually give someone under the person’s weight. At Lavonia Transmission they installed wood floors in the early 60’s for better ergonomics over cement. In the late 80’s early 90’s they installed anti fatigue mats over the wood for (hold on to your hat for this one) better ergonomics over wood. I bet there where tons of studies performed proving that the rubber mats were and still to this day superior to wood. I’m sure there were many hard fought battles from our IUAW to win this ergo issue for us workers and now at Dearborn Body we are asked to concede without any battle. I’m not talking about Dearborn Assembly because it was brought to my attention that the Representation at Assembly fought and won this issue for the members that asked for the same ergonomic right that we have asked for. Let me also say that I haven’t called our Bargaining Committee people over this issue yet. I asked to speak with our Safety Rep to explain that the secondary safety cables on the hoist’s we use to lift the skids are installed improperly. Our Safety Rep agreed and said he would have them moved as soon as possible. I also told him that he might want to investigate the all of the hoists for this issue, he agreed. The Ergo Rep came out with our Safety Rep so I thought that I would just tell him that I would like to request ergo mats installed. Both of them instantly responded with “you’re not going to get them”. I will continue this battle until resolve. We should not be subjected to this type of fatigue and bodily pain, nobody should. I will not accept any study or survey without reading it myself, then given the right to contact the originator and challenge the merits. Our Union Representatives should do what they where elected or appointed and sworn in to do and its very simple “REPRESENT US”. Have a great Holiday all. Jeff Hodges DTP Body Shop Box Unit (outer)

Here’s an update on our ergo mat (anti fatigue) situation at DTP Body. I called the union out in order to request ergo mats. Here’s how the conversation went: • Me: I would like some ergo mats installed on my station. • Union: You’re not going to get them. • Me: The contract says I can request them. • Union: We have a study that proves that the wood floor absorbs more impact then the anti fatigue mats and is better on your knees. (understand that this wood is mounted directly to cement flooring) • Me: Can I have a copy of this so called study. • Union: We don’t have one • Me: Did you read it. • Union: No, they have it down town with VO and IUAW. • Me: So you don’t have the study, you’ve never read the study, but your running with it? • Union: We conducted a survey here in the plant and it unanimously passed that the members wanted wood flooring. • Me: Could I get a copy of that survey? • Union: We don’t have it. • Me: That’s shocking (sarcasm) • Union: We will send a person out from the company Thursday to do your study. • Me: Why would you send a person out to conduct a survey if you already have one? • Union: This all happened before I got here. • Me: I appreciate that, but if I tell you that the company has been kicking my ass for 5 years are you going to say its ok because it’s before your time? • Union: Look, the wood flooring is going to be the industry standard. • Me: Ok, well let me tell about industry standard; they used to pull the line manually by rope and that was the industry standard. • Union: Well, all I can say is that it happened before I was brought on. • Me: Don’t you think the members still working on ergo mats should have a copy of this study, because according to you, they are being subjected to more stress then those of us on wood and could suffer knee issues more readily. • Union: I see your point, but they couldn’t install wood on the metal surfaced platforms. • Me: Why not? • Union: It would slip around. But we’ll send the guy out to conduct your study this Thursday. End Thursday came and went, can you guess who didn’t show up with a copy of the “study” and an impact transducer to prove to me that wood absorbs more impact then rubber. You guessed it, “the guy”. It’s very freighting to me when our Union Representation starts listening to these so called “studies” without contacting the experts themselves. Anti fatigue mats have been installed on work shop floors since the 1960’s. All you have to do is look up the “wearwell” study and you’ll see that ergo mats increased productivity, lower absenteeism and lower the injury rate. At the factory in Tennessee where the "wearwell" study was conducted, ergo mats lowered the injury rate by 300%. http://www.antifatiguemats4u.com/safety-mats/wearwell-wearwell-study Its 2010 and we are being subjected to pre 1960’s ergonomic work standards. I guess pulling the assembly line manually by rope is next. But don’t worry, they’ll have a survey and or a study that says its better, but they dont have a copy of either of them, nor have they read them.

Yea Hosh, it’s a huge eye opener coming here to DTP and learning what has been let go and has/is allowed. But let me be clear there are some very good team leaders that care about their team and work with them. The issue is the ones that think they are Salary and above the rest of us union members. Have a good one brother

Hosh I havent seen anything remotely FPS since Ive been at DTP Body. Our Team Leaders assign jobs, canvass and update overtime, send you home, evaluate your work performance, update your pay sheet and post it, and report to management of your attendance. Could you please let me know if this is the same job description as your FPS Team Leader positions? Also, team leaders at DTP Body are on their own equalization and even get to work the shut downs out side of seniority of the production members, working in the production unit. Thanks

UAWXLT, we had the same issue with Team Leaders acting as if they are salary and that the plant couldnt survive without them at AAI in the bargaining. They where hand picked by the company and we really didnt have any language to remove them. At AAI (MMUC at the time) we negotiated language that stated that all team leaders will be selected by election from the team they service. Then, after this presented many issues, the largest being AWOL member coverage, team leaders with less seniority felt that if it wasnt the team they covered, then they didnt have to go online. So, in the next contract we set it up for the team leaders to be elected yearly by majority vote within the entire unit. This system worked well and is still in affect today. The Team Leaders at AAI were not in any way shape or form doing the salary job as done in the DTP Team Leader job description in both the Assembly Contract and the Body/Stamping contract. They dont assign members to there job or job rotation, they dont canvass for overtime, they dont schedule vacation time, and they damn for sure didnt evaluate anyones job performance. Hope this helps Be Good

995 – You say "upholding the current contract". If you’re over at DTP Body, our contract expired in 07. The only ones that are being held accountable to the language in it, is us workers. There are many provisions in the language that are not adhered to by the Company. I was told by the Local Union that the reason we don’t have a current contract is the fact that at negotiation time the company wanted to take things away because of economic conditions. Um duh, the Company has the mindset at every negotiation time period. But I have to ask, if it’s true that we would have lost many provisions within our local contract do to hard economic times at the time of negotiations, how did DTP Assembly negotiate a contract during the same time period? Please help me with this one, I'm at a loss understanding it.

Sorry to here about that 995. I agree that DTP Body is messed up. Walking on hard wooden floors mounted to cement is crazy. Its 2010 we have a thing called ergo mats, so get the damn things installed before others are injured. Something we all share is the fact we are getting older, the wooden floors are killing our legs and feet everyday. I will definitely be calling the UAW safety/ergo reps about this issue. Hopefully we’ll get some support from our brothers and sisters and they’ll also start calling the union about this. How about the station fan issue, this place is a sweat shop. I know we have the condensed air system (Bigfoot) but no air flow = sweating your ass off regardless of it being 84 - 86 degrees. Station fans was a long hard fight won by the Union many years ago, to just let it slip away so easily is just wrong. The other thing that shocks me with the Bigfoot system is that fact that we have it in every shop but stamping, if I’m wrong please correct me. 995 don’t give up the fight, and keep calling them regardless of your issues with your team leader. In our next contract some of us will want these team leader issues addressed. Here’s one way we can address it: Team leaders should be a yearly elected position. This will stop the “I’m the boss” mind set. The team leaders that do well by their members will have nothing to worry about, they’ll get elected and re-elected. The ones that have been shitting on their members will be back on line, or they can go salary as they act like they want to be anyway. I’m sure we will here from them with this post, they will be crying the blues and spitting all over this type of correction. But trust me this will definitely fix the issue and fix it fast. Here’s another issue; I was told by a member that in order to keep the lines running in his unit, underbody, they have to build up a parts rack (I think they call it the “tube job”) and in order to do so they have to completely squat down to the floor to get to the parts. Has nobody in UAW Ergo or in the Engineering department ever heard of a floor lift? How do you not address and correct such a simple issue as this? My name is Jeff Hodges and I’m on the box line outer, day shift. Please swing by and chat with me I would like to meet you. Or let me know when I can swing by and meet with you. I like to hear anyone’s ideas for change, issues, practices and things you had and did at your previous plant that worked. Or if you’re from DTP let me know about the things that worked here before all this craziness happened. Be Good

I understand all the frustration at DTP Body. We have an expired contract that’s apparently very liquid. Members tend to get frustrated when told time and time again “yea the company can do that” it gets very old. Point in case, last July shut down the members where forced 10.7 on all three shifts on the last day before the shut down. They where told that the master agreement only speaks to C-Crew, yet this shift was also forced 10.7 hours. Volume 4 – page 526 / clearly states 8 hours in any plant on a regular work schedule (5 days) and 10 in any plant working an alternative work schedule (AWS). We haven’t even seen any type of literature on our DTP AWS agreement yet. It must be another liquid agreement. Expired 03 – 07, DTP Body Local CBA states the following: Job Rotation, most units don’t or if they happen to, it’s only on a few jobs. Fans will be mounted and not on the floor, there are none. It states that we have a lunch room with hot meals, we have a roach coach. It states that we have ergo mats, we have wood mounted to a cement floor. It states that we will have cleaners in each unit. I could go on and on about a contract that has apparently changed so much that most of the words in it have no relevance as to what’s really going on today. As for the right to flyer an opinion, and or appeal, to the floor speaking in frustration or in good nature, welcome to America. There are now 3 letters floating around, two of them are signed, the other is not. In my opinion, I’ll never give any merit to any unsigned letter, if you’re going to run your mouth then back it up with your name or it means nothing to me. If you chose to give merit to rebuttal that’s unsigned, go for it, again welcome to America. Change is coming and that’s for certain. Point of information “A past practice is any long-standing, frequent practice that is accepted and known about by the union and management. A practice that meets the standards of being a bone fide past practice is considered to be part of the contract. Since it is part of the contract, grievances can be filed if management violates a past practice. In most cases management cannot end a past practice without first bargaining with the union. In some cases management must wait until contract negotiations to change a past practice.” Jeff Hodges DTP Body - Box Unit / Outer / Day Shift Have a great shut down all, and be safe.

As many of you already know, the company will start up their rebalance – task – 120 day clock very soon. So, just as a reminder; • Please do not have newspapers, etc. out as the company will use that as an excuse to say if you have time to read, then you have the time for another element. • Also, when the rebalance starts, if they add work to your job, you need to follow your OIS EXACTLY! • If they ask you “Could you try this”, you should ask them if they’re adding “this” to your job. • If so, then ask them for the sheet outlining what is being added along with element times and tell them that you need, in writing, the exact process for the added work, “The Prescribed Method”. • Then once that is done, ask them if you cannot complete the work, what do they want you to do? Let it go, stop the line, etc. • If quality related issues occur, please contact your UAW District rep and your UAW Quality liaison. • DO NOT REFUSE ANY WORK! • Make them give the answers! • And it doesn’t hurt to have witnesses! Good luck everybody, and remember to keep your hands and feet inside the car on this roller coaster. You can get your photo and the end of the ride.

I'm on Days brother, 5:30 to 4:00 unless we do 10.7, I look forward to seeing you. If your on another shift, let me know and I'll stick around. Hodgy

Deflep you have good reason to be concerned. The issue your talking about is the exact concern I told them (current committee and the IUAW) when they said that AAI was going to implement tag relief. I understand that Tag saves jobs and it’s a good thing, but at a plant that’s losing a shift and has no prospects for future product, implementing tag isn’t very smart. The reason I say this, it’s of my opinion that when a plant loses a shift they have a very small budget. Implementing tag onto the plant will just increase its manpower costs (onto a budget that’s already weak) and it will eventually lead to more lay-offs. There were plants picking up enough members so that none would have been placed on ILO (production speaking). So finding a job (at that time) wasn’t the issue. Now who’s to say that can be said when AAI again cuts the head count with eliminating tag relief because it no longer can afford 150 + extra members on the budget? Putting tag relief into a plant that’s viable with multiple shits is proper union representation, saving jobs is the union’s main function period. But to implement tag into a plant that’s cutting a shift and possibly sinking is something that should have not happened nor even be considered given the circumstances. They should have waited until the plant was sustainable and had future product. Now, as I had voiced my concern to them then, who will pick up our brothers and sisters if you cant afford the extra members (for tag) and are in need to lay off to stay afloat? Good luck and I hope it all works out for you brother. Hopefully AAI gets more products and restores your second shift. Until then, I’ll keep you in my prayers.

Michigan Truck_ Mafia, are you saying that you shouldn’t have a station fan in a union represented shop? Are you saying for a fact Michigan Truck (formally) and Wayne Assembly doesn’t have, or didnt have, station fans? I’ll assume they do, so how about the company just yanks them down and now you have work in a sweat shop like us over at DTP? I bet you’ll jump on the station fan band wagon then. This is the problem with the union today; we only feel the need to support each other when it directly affects us, otherwise the idiots amongst us say stupid shit like “man up” or “stop crying”. I support, and so should you, any union brother and or sister that have an issue with inhumane work stations in a Union facility. Oh and just for the record, supporting each other is manning up. Jeff Hodges - Dearborn Body / Box Unit (outer) Come on out and see me, it’ll be my pleasure to chat with you over the issues. Or you can keep hiding behind a screen name telling others to man up. Think about it.

As I said before, I just arrived to DTP Body from AAI Body, AAI Body is hot granted but you still have fans cooling you off (sweat with are flow = body temp droping). DTP just needs to create air flow at the stations. Simple solution, add fans. Union members’ sweating their asses off even before a part is touched is just stupid. Come on people you all know better then to act like this. You that stand against station fans please explain how your argument even makes sense in the year 2010 and represented by a Union. How can you argue installing ergo mats so our member’s feet and legs aren’t strained by the second half of the day? Come on people these are just simple request that shouldn’t even had to have been made, this shit should have been done years ago. Answer this one, how do you get around installing the same “Bigfoot” system over at Stamping and yet you have them install it everywhere else? Is it one of those “look what they have and you don’t” 8 year old kind of shit? Ergo mats and fans, and yet we still have Union people argue that they are not needed. God help us we are in trouble.

First off, let me dispel the inclination that the “big foot” system is a climate control system that works better then the roof installed suction fans. It doesn’t, it was installed to remove the weather threat from getting in as happens with roof fans. That’s it, nothing more or less. It was not designed to replace station fans and anyone that tells you different is simply lying. As for standing in a pool of your own sweat, that’s unacceptable it’s 2010 not 1930. We work in a Union shop not an Indonesian sweat shop. Asking Union representation for station fans and ergo mats is a no brainier. DTP Body has less then 90 members producing 600 + trucks per shift, for them to be ridiculed over simple humane station comfort is beyond belief. To see folks post on the BO saying “stop crying” do you job. That’s shameful weather your salary or hourly it doesn’t matter, your better then that. You need to grow up and stop hating so much. Life’s to short for all this shit, install some station fans, lay down some ergo mats and represent you members like you where elected to do. How many members does it take to fall out over heat exhaustion before someone realizes the Bigfoot system isn’t enough? It only took this simple Tennesseeian all of 3 minutes to figure out that little piece of quantum physics (quantum physics being sarcasm for those of you that didn’t catch on).

Look, I understand what you’re all are trying to say. It’s apparent that nothing has been done about the air flow issue. I haven’t been at DTP long enough to know about the other issues, other then the wood floors and rotation issues, but I do understand that if we continue to belittle each other instead of giving support as we should, then its true nothing will be done. If we start standing together “shit” just might happen. But even if it doesn’t, for now, we will seem as if we are apart of a union like it should be. Once the local committee and the company begin to see that we are acting collectively, I bet we’ll notice a change in attitude and representation real fast. Until this happens we can expect the same results. If not, then I guess we will keep fighting amongst each other, belittling anyone that has ideas for better working environment, separated and in hopes of gainful results, lol. Understand this: people become catatonic on issues and complaints when they see others belittled and chastised for speaking out. But if they see support and understanding they become empowered to join in support and be vocal themselves. Oh before I forget, Len those are called PM's (Preventative Maintenance tasks)

Vol 4 of the National Collective Bargaining agreement states the parties will discuss employee working conditions during high heat periods and the importance of maximizing ventilation and air movement. Each plant will establish a team to conduct a plant walk-through review to assure that ventilation and air movement equipment is working and maintained properly, consistent with the present plant operations. An action list will be developed to address requirements. Included, but not limited to, the team will ensure that: • Air make-up units are properly functioning as designed; • Cooling fans are operating and properly installed and positioned to maximize their effectiveness; • Ventilation units and fans are cleaned; and • Air filters are cleaned and/or replaced as appropriate. When is the last time this task was done at DTP? Or even requested to make sure we are all working in a safe condition during the high heat periods of summer.

Only a Company person would suggest that members are acting like cry babies when asking for humane working conditions. Its 2010 and not 1950, we supposedly have union representation. What ever happened to Health and Safety checking the heat index in the plant before a union brother or sister fell out with heat exhaustion? I guess that would be asking for to much. I understand that Dearborn Assembly and Body (not sure about the paint department) has Big Foot air circulation systems and they are costly systems. But not all systems are as good as expected or could be even worse then expected. It doesn’t take NASA to figure out that the air system at Dearborn Body isn’t working worth a shit. And why is it such an issue to ask for a station fan? Really you guys are going to bash a fellow union worker because he/she asked for something as simple as a station fan. Wow, I’m certainly glad 995 didn’t ask for his COLA raise’s back, or his 3% raise’s or his kid’s tuition. Oh and for the person that stated that we could bring in our own fan and plug it in at our station, you can also bring in your own gloves, safety glass’s, sleeves as well because you’re a grown adult right. What kind of moron says shit like bring your own fan into a modern plant to better his/her working conditions and when you’re represented by a Union? I’ll tell you what kind of person, salary. Oh just so you understand, many stations do not have electrical outlets, now what stupid? Anyways, I’m with you on that one 995, we need station fans and fast. We also need ERGO mats, what the hell is with the wooden floors? I guess next to come is tying a rope on the end of the line and pull cars manually?

Thanks Stang, but that wasn’t my point really. What I was trying to show was how easily we can all attach anyone’s pay. We as Americans need to start lobbing our Government for our middle class future by pushing the envelope of tax incentives for US manufacturing. Also a real health care reform and not a joke. We need to equalize the rules of NAFTA and if we and our Government really want to see the housing crash turn around, it can only happen with creating JOBS. I’m not talking about minimum wage jobs that they are all cooking the books with to seem as if jobs are increasing. I’m talking about middle class manufacturing jobs that we can be proud of. But if you want this Union brother to believe that the only difference between us big 3 workers and our competitors is the 10% of the total cost of the product produced, you can save your breath and blow smoke up someone else’s ass.

Well I got to say that I understand where 995 is coming from. Not the bitching about tag, tag save’s jobs and without would otherwise have our brothers and sisters on ILO. So we really have to get off what I call the “me – me” ticket with that one. Sometimes it’s about all of us and not just you. I’m not saying that I like tag relief but sometimes as union brothers we have to suffer hardships for one another and this one saves jobs. That’s what unionism is supposed to be all about. Sorry to burst your bubble it’s just the simple truth, truth being something that I feel we need to have more of. I along with some friends from AAI transferred to DTP and was placed in the body department. We were not afforded the opportunity to pick what unit we wanted (units with openings) nor what shift we wanted even thought we all have 87 seniority. We were told (by the company) that the members returning from Saline had preferential opportunities for day shift before us, even though they are not in the plant and they signed up for “returning to work available”. I’m not bitching that they are returning, or have that right, but we are there now (now being 12th) and have the seniority to hold any shift we want in the units we were placed in. So please don’t think I’m saying we should be afforded the right to walk around and bump a person out in units with no openings, that’s not the case here and it wouldn’t be right. The department MPS (salary) took us in the dinning area and called our names then told us what units we are placed in and on what shift. Nobody from the Union was present for any of this. They didn’t even call us in order of Seniority. We still haven’t even received local contracts. We seen our local committee all of 30 minutes during the second day of orientation and that’s it. What I’m trying to say is this: why couldn’t they list the units with openings, show us the work, and then by seniority let us chose them? Then by unit seniority, pick our shifts. This would have felt more like a union shop. This also should be afforded to the members returning from their assignments at other plants. But instead we got, here is where you’re going and we don’t care about your seniority rights, so apparently we have none. Please if I’m wrong or all screwed up in my thinking, correct me.