StapRoboSitter

don't forget there were a lot of retiree's forced to retire at 65, rather than retiring when they chose to'... Early retirement can be a death sentence if you aren't ready... I'd MUCH rather see someone stay until they're 70 than see their name on the board 4 months after retirement... That being said..? i only know of ONE situation where a retired Hourly worker was brought back (Ali the Millwright in Body)... i can't imagine the scores of temps coming in will add workload to CAI...

I like your idea in Theory... wait.. Weekends..? What are those?? I'd been at home with my Family for almost my entire 7 year apprenticeship! (NO weekends for anyone) at STAP we have been on a shoestring budget for... well, my entire life here in the Trades... 20 year old Robots (run for 20 years 20 hours a day until recently) that by some Miracle are still hanging in there! when valves go, the only supply is a bunch of Portable Weld Gun timers that have been "stored" outside for 2 years... must admit I've enjoyed watching the pipefitters brave the foot of snow to go out and grab one At the end of the day? The plant produces cars without all these parts that would make our job easier... so budgets will be cut because we always find a way to make it work... We seem to be luckier than most (NOTE.. most, not all) critical parts have been properly flagged in Stores so they will never expire (many parts that have been on the shelf for 10 years, without which the plant would come to a standstill) anything else? There always ends up being a way around it...

The Current Police Interceptor is just as "Purpose Built" as the new one is... Any part that needed beefing up, was... any part that was extra? was removed... its been a give and take over 20 years converting the Crown Victoria into the Police Interceptor... and they seem to have taken that knowledge with them over to the new Police Interceptor... They truly are different animals, just a similar platform with the same sheet metal... The D3 Interceptor is the same, Sheet Metal will probably be the only similarity with the exception of some Nuts and Bolts With that being said... I don't want my plant to close so Bring over the Falcon!! hehe Just recently, an Officer In Toronto lost his life after having his Charger Wrapped around a light-pole... the loss is terrible, and I hate knowing that if he were in a Panther Interceptor? He would be alive today...

Ford was going to change PI Sheet Metal from Civvi Crown Vic for 2006 MY.. then Firestone happened... Cops need a steady supply of Facia's and Body panels and the more that are produced, the cheaper they are... so yes, it'd be nice to have different sheet-metal? $$$ rules at the end of the day... Not trying to stir the pot... just curious... at STAP we Build the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, Lincoln Town Car, Lincoln Town car LWB, Crown Victoria LWB and the Ford Police Interceptor... (wow 6 models from one plant!! hehe) it isn't the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor is is the "Police Interceptor" on the Invoice Sticker... isn't there some form of Contract Language about following work? getting to a very sticky point.. seeing as its just the name moving and the car itself doesn't share a single part... again we're also going between Countries and Unions... nor do I really want to live in the States so don't worry brothers and sisters.. I don't want yer job.. hehe :: EDIT :: OK that was stupid of me... there obviously isn't anything that crosses borders because the Town Car came from Wixom along w/the automation and nary a Wixom worker came... then again it was also a different Model year that came...? Help me out here guys...

as crappy as it is... Ford is outsourcing most of its Engineering... at STAP like 5 years ago we had almost 30 PVT (Project Vehicle Team.. I think?) we now have MAYBE 5.. a majority of Engineering is now done by the Supplier... Ford simply puts out a Tender saying "We want something that does This, and weighs no more than This, and fits in Here" its getting rarer these days for a major assembler to ask for bids for a pre-engineer'd product... (For Example, Stow-and-Go Seating for Dodge Caravans? Designed, Engineer'd and manufactured by Magna... Chrysler just said "we want seats that do this, you figure it out" Everyone even seems to be outsourcing Design!! All Major assemblers seem to be turning into just that... Assemblers, letting suppliers and consultants design the vehicle and build the parts... we just slap 'em together... Plant Level engineering seems to be limited to Automation and building Maintenance.. You are what this company needs... and I really hate to burst your bubble... you seem to be 10 Years too late for the job you want!!! The Bottom line is what matters now and its typically less expensive to pay another company to do all the figuring as the Big Assemblers whittle down their payroll numbers... Your best bet may to either join an Engineering Firm that Ford uses or even start your own and start the bidding..!! Or do some research and get a job with one of Ford's suppliers... Ford is also consolidating its supplier network to a few major supplier's rather than many little ones... Magna, Visteon, Delphi... those types

curious to see what % of Big 3 are still on the road (might be scared to see too.. LOL)... also curious how much was spent on maintenance to keep these cars on the road... Toyota's aren't cheap sticker-price, aren't cheap for parts either!! Are all these cars lease returns bought back by Toyota US and kept licensed just for statistical purposes? Ohhh love a good conspiracy theory... especially now

Its hard for me to seperate rumour from certain documents I've happened upon... it should be noted that when Ford moves the Explorer to the D3 Platform it will also have a Police Service model and from what I understand will be built in Chicago (Correct me if I'm wrong... hard to seperate the Wheat from The Chaffe around here!!) Ford was supposed to announce in the 1st quarter of 2010 the CVPI Replacement... running out of time!! Then again us here at STAP are closing "3rd quarter of 2011" so... They just don't like to commit to anything these days... Smart move in this Day and age!! Don't make promises you can't keep... Oh and based on what "everyone" says? There's still wiggle room for STAP to say open... Based on what I've seen? There's no money in Maint budget for ANYTHING... and the budget has been almost negligible for the past 4 years! So the amount of money they are putting into this plant... Either its going to the Scrapper or ... for the optimist in you... "Why spend money on something that is going to be torn out and replaced in a few years??" hehe (it should be noted that we have 2 seperate 20 year old Robot lines (with 20 year old Robots) and our bodyshop is flexible with the exception of a few Presses... Conveyors are conveyors and robots can do anything with a little imagination and new Weld-guns!)

Yes but the Union defends these people... and the cost/benefit ratio isn't there with the company to have someone's who's sole job is to ensure that the system is properly policed... There are hard rules, though the honor system still is in place... sure, we are all allowed to get Orthotic inserts... how many of us really need them? Just because the benefit is there doesn't mean it has to be used... They aren't doing anything wrong, its just wasteful... the concept of the Company owing you and trying to get every cent from their pocket that you can... Is that what our retiree's fought hard for to get these benefits? So spoiled little lazy bitches can take advantage of Papa Ford? Yes Management is a HUGE issue at STAP... last 2 plant Managers fired? (Sorry, Ken Ward "resigned"). People have been milking the Cash Cow before HQ could get their hands on it... and this is our punishment... who really knows how our workers are seen from VO's eyes... they only see the picture that is painted by our Salaried folk

Uneducated? Overpaid? Wow... thats a lot of pots you're trying to stir at once! Why exactly are you proud? You know what happened during negotiations? I know most of it is secret and will never see the light of day... my version? Ken: "STAP will remain open, if not fuck off" Ford: "STAP is going to close" Ken: "OK OK OK fine... we'll give in to what you want but STAP Stays open" Ford: "STAP is going to close" Ken: "OK OK OK fine... STAP is closing but we want our 13% footprint" Ford: "STAP is going to close" Ken: "OK OK OK Fine... we'll leave it at 10%... and you'll let us keep the product freshening that has already been in the books for months? Wow... we rock" ... Yes exaggeration... I wasn't there I have no idea either... the bottom line is we have NO Leg to stand on here... what we're going to strike, in the middle of a Contract? Ken can scream until he's blue in the face, he has no power here... Ford of Canada is reported to have the highest labour costs in the world... True? Who knows... the media says it so it MUST Be true... Ford has every right to pull out of the Country, plenty of excess Capacity in the States... so... am I thankful that we got something agree'd to that will at least be of benefit to SOMEONE? Yes... Unfortunatly for me, those that Benefit are the company that is poised to boot my ass out the door, and workers in another plant 5 hours up the road (assuming traffic)... The company's job is to make money.... its our job to build cars (or ensure our geriatric automation behaves)... Someone in Blue Oval HQ has decided that they've gotten tired of the CashCow that is St.Thomas... Taurus is going to be THE Ford Car of the late 2000's... of course no one seems to have remembered one of the big things that killed off the Original Taurus (90% production was fleet in the last year, so I hear) and the CV/GM... Why buy a car brand new for 40K when you can get a 1 year old one for 20K because of Excessive fleet sales... Oh wait... all the people who made those mistakes years ago were fired or bought out or left to work for Hyundai!! oh wait... The Taurus won't remain saleable after 2 years of Police-duty... so they'll have to buy new ones again!!! BRILLIANT!! oh wait... who wants a car that won't take the punishment? we all see how Impala's and Charger's are just FLYING off the shelves after their initial offering... BUT... once again we aren't paid to think.... even though a good 75% of us have much more effective grey matter than most at HQ... (the other 25% drink too much or spend their brain power screwing the system) oo another idea... (ADHD, bear with me) why not eliminate the Dead weight who are Benefit sponges (you know who I'm refering to... never at work, always bitching when they are or bending the system to get the best job or pissing off the foreman off so much they are told to wait in the corner) ... oh wait, that wouldn't be very Unionish of us now would it...

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No Matter the Vote, do any of you REALLY think Ford is going back to the bargaining table? STAP Will be shuttered when Ford wants it to close, concesssions or no concessions... They get a Yes? GREAT... they get to save some money and praise the CAW for their forward thinking... No Vote? They get to shutter a plant, make the CAW look like a bunch of retards for thinking from the Dark Ages... If Ford is not willing to promise to keep STAP open no matter what... is there a choice? Is this a Game? damned right it is... Fact remains we could all come up with a contract to work for Minimum wage and no Bennies and they could still close STAP... We can bitch and argue back and forth forever... We don't have the answers, we will never have the answers (Where are you Wizard?!) and we're fucked if we vote yes, fucked if we vote no... Can we at least agree on one thing? The Industry? Fucked Ford? Fucked CAW? Fucked STAP + Windor? Fucked (refering to everything that has been lost, not the peanuts they've been "promised") OAC? Who the hell knows... one thing is for sure SOMEone wants to build cars there for some reason... and don't talk to me about the Flex'ing... wouldn't take Ford 2 months to rip if out and move it down the road to wherever the hell they wanted (even if its just a warehouse somewhere in say, St.Thomas) ... so be wary Ladies and Gentlemen... No plant is safe, not here, Not in the US, not in Hermisillo, don't think for 2 seconds that most people really give a shit where their cars are built... Vote for Yourself, vote for your brothers and sisters... vote for your family... STAP is Dead if the company says it is, Concessions or no... We all know the property is worthless... Company writes our paycheque's... Do you REALLY think we have any power to tell them what to do?? Every STAP'r knows the quality we have produced with little/no investment... 2 major robot lines that are 20+ years old!! (w/original robots, not upgraded over time) We have nothing else to prove... Company makes a MINT off of us and our profits are used to fund every other platform out there... Yeah I know, I wander... ADD's a bitch oh... I forgot... Ed? Fucked

Lack of retail sales was not the cause... Lack of redesign caused a lack of sales... why buy new when you can buy a 5 year old that looks the same and will last just as long? There were plans for new Sheet-Metal for the retail Cvic to differentiate it from the Interceptor (was a go for 2006, cant remember if it was new skin for Interceptor or retail... assume retail since the police love that they can crack up a car and steal a fender off a 10 year old scrapped car) ... and then Nasser decided to scrap it and pay out $10 billion or whatever in Firestone lawsuits... then with the whole 90mph rear impact explosion, that was just the nail in the coffin, another excuse not to spend money on a "flawed design"... The Platform is aged and does have many issues in relation to a modern vehicle... How many cars out there won't let you fold down the rear seats to access the trunk? Ford has been trying to kill off the Panther since the 500 went on the drawing board... it has nothing to do with Retail sales, it has to do with Ford not wanting to update and spend any more money on the platform... Remember the Probe? Ford wanted to cancel the Mustang, so instead of cancelling it they hoped the probe would outsell it thus, the people have spoken and no one wants Mustangs anymore... Ford typically has an overlap of a few years with their "replacement" cars so they don't look like the bad-guy in cancelling a line... besides... why invest money in a car that is still highly profitable as-is?? Squeeze that turnip!! (I would love some major investment in either the platform... or at very least... STAP)

of course they can... what are we doing summer? not working... sure its a Temporary Layoff... we are all well aware that Ford is more than happy to cancel orders if it doesn't fit into what it is they want to produce... who's to say it won't continue until we resign the contract? There is always wiggle room in the contract... seeing as how in black in white there is no reason to be renegotiating.. other than the common sense issue of Ford workers costing more than GM/Chrysler... the union is all about equality right?

Please tell me you are kidding... the "Way Forward" was a result of Jac's business concepts (which he then shared with Polaroid) ... he didn't care about product development and you cannot blame the underlings, he's the CEO. He DID care about putting an Analog clock in the middle of Lincoln's... that had to have a sweeping hand but didn't want it to cost anything so... they eliminated the Vanity lights and a Map pocket... 3 complaints about the new Lincoln... They didn't like the clock, and it had no map pocket and no Vanity lights!! He was a business-man not a car guy... the whole firestone fiasco WAS Jac's work... "we have cash, buy 'em off and shut 'em up" Bill Ford came in when he saw finally the crap that Nasser had done to Ford... no, there would have been no "way forward" without Nasser... there would have been no need!! There are many many things that aren't easily seen.. Many things that are "Ford Standard"... any trademen in bodyshops know the cost of an "Aro" gun and the complexity... Aro a french company... Nasser a frenchman... co-incidence?? Nasser is the reason Ford went down the shitter... whether by action or inaction... when the Interceptors were getting the rep of catching fire after an 80mph impact... what did Bill Ford do? "You wanna sue us for a car? fine... we are cancelling your orders... go drive an Impala" Nasser would have just canned the Crown Vic... and maybe he did... Before Firestone there were plans to reskin the Crown Vic to make the interceptor totally different from the regular Crown Vic... 12 billion and 8 years later? Not a single change... I appreciate the things he did do... Volvo was a spectacular purchase, Land Rover, Aston Martin... were just something to spend cash on to improve Brand image... Thats what he was there for... find something to spend money on because no one else knew what to do with it!! Problem is he didn't spend money on things that mattered... Development so that we could KEEP making more money... he squeezed every turnip he could... Mulaly? Not a car guy... he's a brand guy and worth every damned penny we pay him... though I am curious about one statement he has made... I remember reading something about "We are no longer going to use one platform to fund another" ie... keep the profits where they are being made... Even on one shift and downweeks out the wazoo Crown Vic is still making a handsome profit... my question is, where is all THAT profit going..??

Ford's Market research also showed that people were weirded out by the feel of the CVT... They weren't comfortable without the lil bump of a gear shift!! Combined with the Cost... and people's reluctance to try "new" technology...