RougeWelder

I believe fmco was referring to upholding the written language in our UAW contract with Ford. It is only fair, and IS the UAW's job to enforce that language. In the past 2-3 contracts, the UAW has NOT enforced certain aspects of the contract and letting Ford "slide" on some of the agreements they had agreed to. To quit Ford for not abiding by the contract is just ridiculous. Also, to let Ford just do what they want, especially if it goes against what was agreed to, is just being naive and spineless. During the hard times, we accepted Fords need to bypass some of the language stated in our contract for their survival. But now, it seems that we are being taken advantage of while Ford rakes in the money and the UAW leadership stands idle when certain aspects of our contract need to be questioned and/or upheld.

Are you shitting me???? So if next contract, Ford cut your pay to $20/hr.... would you still be happy cause you still make more than the average earner? FYI...the average earner does not make enough $$$ to comfortably support a family of 4. For that matter, they cannot comfortably support themselves and their spouse.

You say Dennis Williams, UAW president is not well informed??? With automakers making record profits in North America, Williams held his fist high and proclaimed, "It's our time." Just so you are properly informed ....http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/chrysler/2015/09/30/uaw-didnt-get-through-members/73095526/

"Just heard from a friend" ?????? Well there ya go.....I heard from a friend last year during contract talks that "this was our time" and with all the things we gave up over the last 2 contracts to help our employer survive was finally going to pay off.

Yeah, I hear ya. They do the same with skilled trades. The philosophy that "a tradesman is a tradesman" and any tradesman can do another tradesman's job equally well. Tradespeople get trained to do a specific job well while adhering to stringent safety guidelines for their job. Then they want to throw you to work in another trades job and expect the same good job and safe work practices that they harp on in the conference room safety meetings. On the job, those exact safety practices of which they speak, are circumvented because of the lack of manpower of the proper trade for the job.

That article speaks extremely conservative, and even they say autonomous cars will hit the road in 9 yrs. or by 2025. . There are many analysts that say autonomous vehicles will start appearing on the road in 2020. The article basically agrees with my assessment, with the exception of the volume of autonomous vehicles. My opinion is in between the two. As far as electric vehicles, the public never wanted them. It was the extreme cost of gas that urged some to think they needed them. Government kinda mandated the research of alternative fuels which made auto companies comply with regulations. I think the majority of people want autonomous vehicles and it is a legitimate evolution to automobiles where the electric car is just not a viable option for everyday, normal use.

Ford is investing in this technology. Are they a leader in this technology? Not at this point in time. A fad???? Are you kidding???? I will guess you were fooled with the pet rock and do not want to feel foolish again, hence your inability to recognize plausible future technologies. Autonomous vehicles will be 50% of the traffic in 10 years. 85% in 15 years. http://www.driverless-future.com/?page_id=384

Please....bring that fancy certificate to the floor with you. I am sure it will help with actual maintenance work on the line. Plus if you fcuk up, it will shield you from disgrace. Everyone will be so impressed with the certificate, you will be the man that everyone will go to for answers. Your mom will be proud that you tell everyone what to do. The future of Ford Motor Co. awaits your arrival to the maintenance group. Just for extra incentive, I DARE YOU TO BECOME A TRADESMAN.

How rude.....Workingstiff asked a question on a subject he is not quite clear on. He did not ask to be tested on material he read. If you know the answer...let him know. No need to be a tool about it

The media is also stating that this is a record profit sharing for hourly. To avoid being dumped on......I could be wrong....I repeat, I COULD BE WRONG.....but I kinda remember a profit sharing of $10k+ back in '98 or '99. And that was when I was production worker. Anyone else remember that or am I wrong?

Admitting that you can not handle or understand your job requirements, plus asking/associating yourself in a helpless manner to us feeble, uneducated, and lazy hourly workers, you have put on display your inability to be intellectually superior to the ignorant minions you were appointed to manage. Using my 6th grade education and 21yrs at Ford, plus 12yrs experience outside the automotive sector, I have come to the conclusion that you will soon be promoted. Congratulations....I am sure that when it comes time for you to decide to promote an individual, you will make sure he is more ignorant than you so as your job will not be challenged.........and the ineptitude continues.

You have got to be kidding me.........You really think that you can enter a legally binding contract with a set timetable. Then break your contractual obligations within that time limit and balk your way to the end of the contracts lifespan.........and it is OK?????? Is this Bernie Madoff?? Have you not figured out why you are in prison yet?

Sorry...I strongly disagree. Using your reasoning, if your bank calculated your payments on a mortgage taken out 5 years ago due to incorrect accounting, do you really believe you should not be payed back or adjustments made because they are not that good at figuring out monthly payments??? Ford made an honest mistake, but that does not relieve them from contractual commitments. Their honest mistake from 2011 thru 2014 reduced our profit sharing, spelled out in legally binding contract, by a couple thousand bucks for each and every member.

I agree that it is a good thing to have union representation. But, the majority of the good things we currently enjoy was the work of the "old" UAW, including profit sharing. If the new "UAW" truly represented the workforce, they would question the non payment of the portion of profit sharing owed to the membership due to inaccurate accounting practices going back to 2011 when the accounting problems started by inaccurately stating pension liability. The amount would be significant and was lawfully earned by the membership under the contract that was in place at that time.

QUIET....I am trying to sleep.....you sound like a roman slave hauling 10 ton boulders to build a pyramid while being jealous of the stone cutter who sits there chiseling the boulders you haul. If it wasn't for the stone cutter, you would have nothing to haul and therefore you would not be needed. You would then be used as entertainment in the coliseum and end up being lion food.

Has it made it to trades supervisor for scheduling? I guarantee you if it was, and if it was then assigned to an electrician to complete the work order, your bulbs would have been replaced. My guess is your boss is just telling you that work order has been sent in cause he is tired of your whining and he has more important things on his/her mind. Lets just pretend you were allowed to leave your workstation to find a tradesman. I suggest you not wake them cause you might cause more problems than you fix.

We have a BINGO.......ford stock will rise significantly and hold a higher value ONLY if Ford has a major stock buy back. With nearly 4 billion outstanding shares, the stock will hover around the $15 mark. It could go up a couple bucks, but will not be able to sustain that price. I am sure Tier2 knew that but did not want to come across as a know-it-all.

FYI......you must first inform your stupervisor about the burned out lights. He must then request service for his area. Once his request is approved by manager, a work order is produced and given to trades supervisor who then schedules maintenance. Once maintenance is scheduled, the appropriate tradesman will wake up or put down his cards and address the problem. A tradesman cannot look at your burned out bulbs and decide to replace them without a work order. As far as a tradesman is concerned, those lights are supposed to be off. Just because tradesmen are not running around like production workers does not mean they are not doing their job.

Really????? Do you really believe a small group of people would complain about something and Ford would bow down to their wishes? You are talking about Ford Motor Company......not the federal government.

Dude.....do you really think tier 1 employee's came up with this second tier crap and forced Ford to enforce it???? You should do some research and study that your union and your employer came up with this and tier 1 people gave the OK in good faith to save our company from bankruptcy and ask for a bailout. We all thought, and were told, that the concessions we gave would be given back once Ford was back on their feet and the economy rebounded. It was Ford that kept all our concessions in place after the rebound because our union did not put the proper language in place to reward our sacrifice when good times returned. It is you, sir, that is responsible for someone making less for doing the same job because you accepted those terms. How could YOU be a union member and justify that you should divide our union into a 2 tier pay scale?

I can't believe I have to justify my point to this dweeb, but you are correct about an electrical engineer not repairing copiers. That would actually be done by a low level electronic engineer. My point was that with all fields of work, there is a range of compensation. Depending on the company that you work for, that range could be a difference of $50k or more. So, I stand by the point I was trying to make that some electrical engineers make more than we do and some make less. Same goes for electronic engineers. Your statement that says there are no better paying jobs out there is just plain ridiculous. Especially if you carry the credentials of an electrical/electronic engineer. I started working with Ford when I was 35 yrs. old. For 10 years prior to that, I was a mid level electronic engineer with a small medical information company and made $32k(2nd highest in my division) in my last full year before being laid off in 1992 because the size of the company I worked for could not compete with the large corporations that could do the same work for less. Six months after I got laid off, the entire hardware division was dismantled and they made their money strictly on software support. In the decade I worked as an electronic engineer, copier techs made as low as $17k / year and an electronic engineer working at microsoft, IBM, or any one of the other large corporations was making $75k/year. So.....my first year at Ford I think I made about $40k and was not even at full pay/benefits yet. The reason I decided to stay at Ford 20 years ago and not pursue a career in the electronic engineering field was I made better $$$ immediately, I didn't have to deal with customers or the public, I didn't have to wear nice slacks/shirt/tie to work, and my chances of landing a job with a company that paid electronic engineers decent money was slim because in the 90's, that field was saturated by the electronics boom of the 80's and I admit that although I was good at what I did, I could not compete for the higher paying jobs. Before my electronics career, I worked as a production welder at a small weld shop in Detroit and made $6 per hour. Before that, I was in the Navy. So....your comment that I have always had "one of the best jobs around" is about as wrong as you can get. More accurate wording would be that after all the work experience I have gained in my working life, "I now have one of the best jobs around" (for me, not everyone).....and I know it. And in 4 years I will retire with a pension and an excellent savings in my TESPHE. Not the pathetic 6% match (I admit I do not know if this is correct, but is close) they give you and that is only if you can afford to contribute to TESPHE, which for most family people making tier2 wages cannot. Please stop with your ignorant, know-it-all blanket statements. There are many ignorant things posted on this website, but have you ever, and I mean ever, noticed someone else be criticized as much as you in this forum? This reply is not meant to demean you or embarrass you, but to bring to your attention your youthful inexperience and ignorance. As you mature, you will see there is always more than what meets the eye and everyone's situation in life is different. Tolerance and understanding grasshopper. Peace

You must be talking about low level electrical engineers that repair copiers. I know....for a fact....that there are electrical engineers that make alot more than we do. Do I need to remind you that even you have said you got paid more in the job you quit to come to Ford? I would think that is proof enough that there are better paying jobs available. I know your response to that is to ask me why I don't leave Ford for a better job. So, the answer to that is I have 4 years to retirement and it would be foolish to give up my pension and begin work with a new company at age 58.

Because he(Tier2) is a dweeb that hates the job he once saw as a great opportunity when it was offered to him. Then, after living the life of a factory worker for a couple years and felt the pain, and then realized Ford is financially abusing him with lesser pay/benefits, he is disgruntled and feels cheated. He hides this by insinuating tier 1 people are greedy and over compensated, therefore elevating himself above those he works with. I would bet he works his ass off and goes above and beyond his job duties thinking he will be seen by management as a better worker/person than those around him and that he is "needed" by them. He believes management will pity him for his diligence and work ethic and give him preferential treatment for his performance. He has probably realized by now that he is under compensated for the work he does, and due to his embarrassment, feels the need to insult those who have fought for fair compensation and currently receive it. And since he has come to terms with being under compensated while working harder(under his bosses desk), he believes anyone making more than him should gladly forego pay increases so he can get the pay increase that, in his mind, is more in tuned to what he is worth to the company. I have also come to the conclusion from his posts on other threads that his embarrassment for being under compensated, is met with his usual response to others that have voiced complaints or are just venting, that they should just be happy to have a job and appreciate what Ford is willing to pay you.

Unbelievable........some people like OT, some people hate OT, some people need OT.......regardless of the individuals needs, if the contract is not being followed, it needs to be addressed. The way Ford forces OT on people needs to stop. If production can't be met with regular hours or voluntary OT, then they need to hire more workers....not force longer hours on those that do not want it. Under certain conditions I can understand temporary forced OT.....but making 10.5hrs. or 12hrs. the norm with no option is abuse. We are not China.

I understand where you are coming from and what you are saying. But, appointees get their positions by their buddies wanting to keep their own appointed positions, not what they want to do for the membership or how well they can do that. If the membership voted on IUAW positions, the people running would be forced to make their case to ALL UAW members over a preset timetable. Whatever the timetable, maybe 3 months or whatever, all candidates would inform members of their credentials and where they stand on major issues. I would think that debates between the candidates would be a good thing too. This way, even Joe Blow who works at some small UAW shop in New Mexico that has excellent idea's and is articulate, educated, well liked, has common sense, and has an understanding of how the UAW political scene works, has an equal opportunity of being elected. It would be much like presidential elections with a much shorter timetable and no lobbyist's to sway their opinions. Heck, working at Ford for over 20 years, I have no idea what the beliefs are of our current leadership with the exception of the buzzwords they use when they get interviewed by the media at the beginning of each contract negotiation. For example....at the beginning of the current contract, he referenced to what we gave up and the huge profits the companies are now making due to our concessions and stood behind the podium and stated with passion......"Now is our time". Well, that got him a standing ovation and it looked great on TV. And all they got was minimal increases.....just enough to appease some and keep the wedge in place between the others. True story......during the last contract negotiation, an entourage of people came through our shop, shaking hands, smiling and being friendly. Speaking vaguely on talking points they thought were of interest to us. I asked one of them about dividing our membership into tier1 and tier 2 while our union was built on the concept of UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL. That was answered with well rehearsed politi-speak that evaded the actual question. After they passed through our shop, I asked someone who they were and I was informed that it was our IUAW president and his upper level cronies. There is no doubt in my mind that somewhere in the rank and file of the UAW, whether they be from a large automotive factory or some back street shop with 50 employees that is represented by the UAW, is a person of high integrity and whose focus is on what is right and fair for the workers while keeping the companies profitable. With the way the leadership is put in place(not elected by people they represent), that guy from the small shop in New Mexico who has the know-how and ability and could legitimately challenge the current lame ducks in office, will never have a chance to get his name on a IUAW ballot while at the same time, allowing the current leadership to follow the status-quot with no consequences when they do the membership wrong.