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If the VIN# starts with 1, it's a U.S. product. 3 is Mexico and 2 is Canada. All Flat Rock Fusions are automatics for the foreseeable future. There isn't a manual listed on the OIS sheet at that station (just 2 different autos), and the unit trainer said only S and SE automatics for awhile. It may be added later, just as Titaniums might be added one day. Front wheel drive cars require an actual shifter that's hooked to a shifter cable. For the Mazdas we had manual and automatic shifters, they were put in at the same station. Mustangs are real wheel drive, there is no manual shifter installed, it's just a rod that comes out of the top of the trans and they put a sleeve around it and knob on top. The Mustang auto shifters slide into the tunnel housing and are connected to the linkage under the car. The same station, 100 Left, installs both Mustang and Fusion shifters. We are building the most popular lease package Fusions, and they are all automatics. The available 1.6L Ecoboost 4 cyl has a 6 speed manual option, but they are all from Mexico. The 2.5L non turbo 4 cyl are all automatics as are all the 2.0L Ecoboost 4 cyl Titaniums. I hope this helps.

My bad. I was half asleep and looking at a different post about the new Fusions and then opened this post and didn't see the Mustang reference. Don't type and sleep....you end up looking stupid and waking up on the keyboard!

There are no convertible Fusions and there are no V-6 sticks. All the engines are 4 cylinders. pre-production models will be built that week

Everyone is not yet on the floor training. 75 people are going through orientation this week and will hit the floor Monday. 150 part timers will come the following Monday. There have been over 100 new workers who have quit or were fired so far. No further testing has been announced, but it still could happen if a lot more of the new hires don't last. B shift is not yet fully staffed and is scheduled to start Sep 3.

The tentative date is August 26th. We have July 1-26 off, and need 4 weeks of a split shift for training, so that would be the earliest it would be. It could start one or two weeks later depending on training and maintenance being done. Ford won't confirm the date until everything is ready to go, so little country is right about that.

There have already been new workers fired for not being able to keep up with line speed and others for "having a bad attitude". The last group from Saline had some people who never showed up and were fired. The new hires are under probation for 90 days, even if they worked at an ACH plant for a year or more. With so many waiting to be hired in or even just to take the test, Ford isn't putting up with not being able to do the job you're asked to do. I predict they will have a few hundred new workers quit or be fired early on after b-shift starts. There are a number of referrals who were part time 3-5 years ago and did a good job, and are waiting eagerly to get to come back as full time. They should have been the FIRST ones to be hired in before the unemployment office people and veterans. They already proved they could do the job, but we now have to weed through all the ACH people to find the good workers. Some of them are good, but if they can't do a job by themselves (mainly in Trim and Final Assembly), they won't make it.

It's stunning, yes, but true. No child left behind has passed a lot of students into high school when they have been failing. Basic math skills have fallen rapidly, as well as reading comprehension in the last 10 years. They barely pass school tests that they've been coached on, so tests that they don't know what's on them are a big problem. Then 20% don't pass the drug test and physical, and 10% usually quit, so the attrition rate is absurdly high for a good paying job.

Our labor dept. says one month is normal to wait before they contact with test results. They have exceeded that time frame before and I don't know if it's their fault or the outside contracted testing company. As always, they say don't call us, we'll call you. I would only call if you don't hear anything for another few weeks. A group of 150 came in on Monday and some union big wigs had their family member referrals in that group. These would be our first referrals coming in. We were told brand new employees might be used on just Mondays and Fridays until we do the split shift (4 weeks before b-shift starts), then they will become full time. Our plant manager wants to save money by not having hundreds of extra workers who aren't trained yet just standing around, so if our referrals get hired quicker by this and have to wait a few months to work full time, it's better than not getting called in at all. The earlier you start, the higher your seniority is. So far about 10% of people coming in have quit, so that gives more of our referrals a chance at being called in.

No referrals have been called yet to start work, they've only been called to let them know if they passed the test. Testing should resume soon, the last test date was April 20th. We are getting ACH people every week now and when that is winding down, then our referrals will be hired in. We are hearing this will be in late May or June, but some of them won't be brought in until we start up B-shift in late August.

There were two testing times yesterday for Flat Rock Assembly. My referral talked to others there and found out a lot of ACH workers were there taking the test. He was told all of them had to take and pass the test to become second tier, just like our referrals. No one has a number yet of how many will be tested from ACH plants, but the thinking is now about 400 off our referrals will be hired, the other 1,000 being ACH/Ford transfers/veterans/Michigan Works(unemployment office people).The final numbers will vary, due to who actually passes the test. Some of our referrals were part time for 1-3 years under the old contract and were never given a chance at full time, so we do selfishly want as many as possible to be hired. Hopefully their experience is considered by the company when it's time to call them for full time employment. Some ACH workers were already tested at other facilities months ago, which we at Flat Rock were unaware of until recently. They might be the first to come here, as we are supposed to get a hundred or so people weekly,starting now.Testing is supposed to be concluded within a month or so and then hiring should start very soon, (2-3 weeks is possible) by groups right up until we start the second shift.

I believe it was our labor relations dept. We have a third party doing all the testing off site, but labor relations takes over from there and will be in charge of hiring our referrals. You might want to call Flat Rock Assembly and ask labor relations if they have a list of your test group. It can't hurt to jog their memory and have them look into it. Good luck!

My brother in law took the test Feb. 23 and was called yesterday to say that he passed and that they will call again to start the next step (drug testing). We have transfers coming in every week now, so probably in late May they will start hiring our referrals. There is a test group tomorrow,(the first since Feb. 23) testing was postponed for 6 weeks because we were 6 weeks behind on Fusion trial body build. The first one was built on Thursday, so the testing process resumed. You should be called soon, only the Jan 26 test date people were already notified previously. The Feb 9 and 23 test dates result calls started yesterday. The Jan 26 test was for unemployed / Michigan Works people and veterans. The 2 Feb. dates were for our referrals. Doubleserious....Sorry, I have no info on testing done other than by the company used for the above listed dates. The company plans to test all our referrals, but it looks like the 400 transfer-1,000 off the street numbers we had been told will be flipped and might be 1,000 transfers (including ACH workers becoming second tier) and maybe only 400 off the street (referrals/M. Works/veterans). Our labor dept. said 30% of people tested don't pass, 20% fail the drug test and 10% of new full time people quit, so some of our referrals will have to wait to have a chance when more spots open up. Good luck guys and hang in there!

We have the last week of June off and the first three weeks of July. Our local newspapers are stating a late August build date, but the company won't give an official date yet. We have to train everyone now and then get ready to do a split shift for training the new hires for a month to prepare for the start of b-shift. Our new model unit trainer said that we might build the pre-production models (PP1) starting the last week of July and then do the launch in August. They will want all processes working well and then have a quality hold before releasing to the dealerships, so it could be Sept. before they arrive there. Our one month off slows this process down, but it is what it is.

The first pre-production model was one day later, last Thursday, the second one ran today. It's usually 6-8 weeks from the first PP1 model to launch, then a few weeks for quality assurance before shipping to dealers. It will be a 2014 model from us and we don't have a confirmed start date for full production yet. Ballpark estimate 2-3 months at dealerships. We delayed PP1 launch 6 weeks because we didn't have the stamping dies from Mexico, otherwise they'd be available in about 6 weeks from now. Thank you for waiting for an American built Fusion, Willie. I know a lot of union members are waiting to buy one until we make it, sales should get a boost from that. The Fusion is on pace to sell 300,000 in production this year, which is great. We will try as always to put out the highest quality Ford products possible and I have the wait is worth it for everybody....THANKS

They resumed calling our referrals April 4th. The next testing date is this Saturday. They have been testing around 250 people each time. Hiring IS NOT done. We are supposed to get around 150 people every 2 weeks until launch, starting yesterday. The new people have 1 week of orientation, so we don't see them for a week (other then when they get the plant tour). I had stated in another post recently that a local 3000 member told me his higher ups were wrong to state no ACH people were coming, they claim now they were misquoted and they all knew the ACH workers per contract had to be asked to become second tier at a Ford plant that was hiring. He knew all along, they didn't. He said they didn't want to be wrong on guessing a number for the total of ACH workers coming to Flat Rock, because they didn't know how many there were in total and how many would say yes. I was told no one knows if it will be 300, 700 or 1,000 coming from ACH plants, but his guess was that 300-400 would be the lowest # for new hires, meaning 1,000 total transfers. It could end up being half and half, but the company still plans to test every referral, so when there is attrition and new people quit or get fired, they have enough people ready to be drug tested and start work as soon as they need. The new contract makes it easier for the company to fire second tier workers under probation who aren't working out or who AWOL. I believed we'd end up with way more than half of our referrals getting hired, it might take a little longer now to weed out the bad workers so that our referrals can get a chance. My referral has his test this Saturday, they didn't call anyone for 6 weeks because we were 6 weeks behind on the Fusion launch, so he finally got the call on the 4th. The first pre-production Fusion came down the line Thursday and the second one, today.

No one has been hired yet from any of the test groups. They were given the test, but not called back for drug screening yet. The testing was put on a 6 week hiatus because we were 6 weeks behind on the Fusion launch. (No stamping dies available) We are back on track and the calls resumed last Thursday, telling our referrals the next test is on Sat. April 20th. There will be mass testing in the next month, as they need to get those possible new hires ready to come into the plant. We run the first Fusion through trim and final on Wednesday, and then we will train on it. We got some workers (seniority and 2012 hires) in last week from Woodhaven, Rawsonville and a few other places to replace our workers who are transferring departments soon. Only about a third of the testing is done yet. (500 done--1,000 to be done yet...approx.) Labor says they will probably have all referrals tested, as there will be attrition due to people not passing drug tests and other new workers finding out that assembly line work isn't for them. We still don't know how many people will be hired off the street. The old thinking was 300 transfers and 1,000 new hires, but I was told by a local 3000 board member at the recent bowling tournament that he didn't agree with the local's statement of no ACH workers getting hired when it contradicted the contract's language. The hire ups have since changed their views on that and do not want to give a number on transfers vs. new hires, because they don't want to be wrong. After all the ACH workers are asked and then they find out how many can come, then we will have a number to go by. It might be 50/50. That would still be 650 new hires, plus more to replace the ones who quit early on. So g2marley, expect a call soon and good luck!

We are hearing people are coming on Mar 25th from the plants that were eligible in the last posting (MAP, Sheldon Rd., Rawsonville, former Monroe plant and a few others) Our local seems to be confused in the correct term for anyone coming from Saline who isn't first tier. They said no ACH hires, but if they are or become second tier, then we will see workers from there. Some people have said those Saline workers are coming either the 25th or early April, the union hasn't confirmed them coming yet, but I will ask Sat. at the Region 1A bowling tournament. It's one of the few times where you can ask different local presidents and plant chairmans the same questions at the same time and compare answers. Our local still says we will have about 300 transfers, but the Eboard meeting is tonight and maybe they will update that. We will welcome second tier along with the higher seniority first tier from those plants sending them. We can't start hiring our referrals and long term part timers until all eligible transfers are here. They have tested more than a third of them already and will continue with that soon. I will post how many are coming from each plant as soon as the union can confirm it. (20 from MAP...all other #'s aren't known yet)

I read that the same way, but our local says no ACH, but I will only believe it if no one from there shows up at FRAP. They often twist the language to fit the situation that they are in. We are due to get people in April, and we will see if they were lying to us. The Fusion launch is delayed 6 weeks, we are not training yet, so testing has slowed down for potential new hires and we don't have a firm date for when second shift starts. We are set to have Jun 24 - Jul 21 off. The 4 week split shift for training will probably be when we get back in late July. We will bring in a lot of people in May and June, and will probably have a better idea of who is actually coming here in 3 or 4 weeks. I will be at the region 1A bowling tournament on Saturday in Allen Park (Thunderbowl Lanes) and will be asking a lot of questions from the upper leadership. I hopefully will get straight answers.

Our local says we are not taking any ACH workers. Only first tier have rights to sign for our plant. Everyone else will be hired off the street. The international confirmed it. Whether or not they are both telling the truth remains to be seen. The company wants to hire veterans and the unemployed (per federal and state programs and funding), then former part timers and our referrals. They want around 1,000 new hires and that will probably happen unless they let our former workers who volunteered to go to MAP and DTP return. If the union is lying to us and cutting deals that aren't contractual, then we'd hire a lot less off the street. It wouldn't be the first time (or second..or third...or ....) that we ended up taking a ton of workers from other plants when it wasn't contractually required. I can only say what the union confirms from our plant and local chairmans and also what our labor relations plans to do. Other plants and locals have their own version of what they are told is going to happen. I do know that both the company (saves money) and union (more votes) want as many second tier as possible, and they aren't concerned with letting workers RTBU. Deals may still be cut, they always seem to manage to do some.

The average $8,300 check would be off 2,250 compensated hours. (2,250 X $3.68664 = $8,295) If you had a decent amount of overtime and didn't have down weeks of unemployment or short work weeks, then you'd hit that average check. I estimated in Jan. you'd need at least 300 hours of overtime to make at least the average check. I wasn't far off. There are a lot of workers like tool time getting giant checks for mega hours, but there are also a lot of workers who missed a lot of work with early outs and FMLA's and will be making much lower than the average. Most of us at Flat Rock will be above average, even with no production Saturdays.

Local 3000 said only the dark blue originals would be considered. They still plan on having around 300 total transfers and hiring 1,000 second tier. This could change if they allow the former AAI workers at MAP and DTP to return. Their locals told them when they volunteered to leave, they lost their recall rights, but a lot of people bitched until they got the international involved, who are looking into it. Our former workers were then told early this week that "nothing was written in stone yet". 20 MAP workers are supposed to come (the highest seniority that signed the recent bid) We will see who wins this tug of war, our plant has a history of taking people even when we don't need them. But because the company wants to hire as many second tier as possible for the second shift, the rules might actually get followed and they might stick to the 1,000 new hire plan. But as we all know...anything can happen and usually does!

We are working around 40 hours. The Fusion trial bodies and training are delayed 6 weeks waiting for the stamping dies. In April we start them and there will be some overtime before we add the second shift this summer.

I'm sorry I couldn't fit under either desk because YOU were already there! Real workers don't have to resort to calling someone a kiss ass, try looking in a mirror, little country...and you will see the kiss ass. I was commenting in this post about the positive reasons why the rumor at MAP dropping c crew won't happen. It wasn't a pro union OR pro company post. You just seemed to want to fantasize about some guys under a desk....maybe you need to seek a therapist about that and not spout off with unintelligent thoughts! Don't be sorry for the mistake.. your parents already are.

I'm not a fan of either the union OR the company, and I don't see how from my post you could jump to that conclusion for the union. I do my job well (as most of us do) and don't have to resort to have the union protect me or do favors for me. If the company violates the contract, then I make the union do their job and enforce it. I'm there to make a great product, make the company a great profit and get my paycheck, NOT to play games.

MAP will stay on 3 crews. Ford would not be testing 1,000+ people for Flat Rock with the intention of hiring them knowing that MAP would be dropping a shift and transferring those workers to FRAP. Focus sales are still hitting 250,000, even with the skyrocketing sales of the Fusion. Most families need the extra space that a Fusion has and that's why it has outsold the Focus. With gas prices near $4 a gallon in Feb. and probably hitting all time highs this spring, Focus and C-Max sales will rise because of their fuel mileage and lower price compared to the Fusion. More people can afford a $25,000 Focus than a $35,000 Fusion. They will want the extra space, but may not be able to afford it. With high fuel, food and energy prices, customers will need a lower car payment and high gas mileage. The Focus and C-Max provide that. Ford will keep 3 crews because 2 crews would have to have massive overtime and STILL not keep up. MAP would probably have floating down weeks like DTP does when production drops temporarily. The international told us at Flat Rock that MAP will stay on 3 crews, 50 MAP workers would be able to sign for FRAP, with around 300 total transfers coming there, and then around 1,000 new hires for b-shift. As long as your sales stay high enough, you'll need 3 crews. Ford wants to save money with less overtime and more new hires, so that favors you guys keeping 3 crews.