nonunion slug

Yes, but in the salaried world, most salaried workers think they are the best worker ever and Ford Motor Company needs them to survive (LOL!) or they are too afraid to even talk about a union. Many think they are the next in-line for supervisor, manager, director and VP or they are so afraid, they take whatever supervision and management does to them. It would be great to have a union and get improvements, but I don't see that happening.

This statement is very simplistic. Yes, as a salaried employee, I have received some merit increases. However, every year, I receive an increase in the costs of Benefits, that I have to pay for. Most years my pay increase doesn't cover the benefit increases. With my merit raise, I take home less pay than the year before because I have more that comes out of my paycheck for benefits. So, if I had a choice I would rather have no merit pay increase and not have to pay for benefit increases. Also, hourly profit sharing has been more than GSR (General Salary Roll) employees. I would trade my profit sharing for yours any day of the week. I think hourly employees believe all salaried employees are making a killing. You are wrong.

It's great to have high expectations and wanting and probably believing you will get everything you ask for. But, that's not realistic. Being salaried I have received some raises in the time frame you have not. What you aren't told is that at the same time we have received raises, we have received benefit increases that are usually equal to or greater than the amount of the raise. So, you get a raise and pay for your benefits with it. You might have some left over, maybe not. I think it is wrong or misguided when hourly point at salary and say we got raises and don't know or don't understand it was just shifting monies for the Company and placing more burdens on us to pay for our own benefits. Be careful what you ask for because maybe the company will give you a raise and maybe you will end up paying for your healthcare--then whatever increase you see will disappear.

Wow, I'm surprised to see no posts about what the UAW & Ford Motor Company are doing to help those in need in communities today. Just wanted to say that this is great! You don't see too many organizations helping on such a large scale. This can't be all the UAW is doing,can it? If not, can someone post a link to their humanitarian activities? Also, if this happens again next year--can someone please post it? Maybe others who don't know about this program can be reached.

Just a thought, you don't make any friends by quoting Adolf Hitler.

I agree the UAW does a lot of good and a lot of good for those who don't pay union dues. I don't and I benefit greatly. I am glad the UAW negotiated to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. by having this Monday designated as a Holiday and I am also glad for all the other Holidays the UAW has negotiated. Those who complain and bicker about the UAW have no clue what it's like in the real world. Go to another Company, where you may get one or two paid holidays a year. That is reality.

I am not a union member but am not dumb enough to vote Republican. Just because the UAW's presence, I (a lowly salaried employee) gets all the vacation and holidays the UAW negotiates. We also get a similar amount of vacation, too. I compare myself to others my age and they don't come close to the benefits that I get--because of the UAW.

With the hourly's new contract, profit sharing has been made clear. Can anyone explain salaried profit sharing? The information booklet is confusing.

On, I'm crying. I have had my healthcare costs increase by 20% every year since I've been here. You have not. I would trade my health care costs that come out of pocket with your health care costs any day of the week. BTW, the company matching stock is a voluntary program, you have to participate in the program to get the benefit. It is an option, it is not a given. And we did get bonuses, just like the hourly, but I believe for most of the GSR's it was less. I wish you morons would understand there is a difference between salaried and management, but it seems like the hourly morons on this site cannot understand that idea. It would help you quite a bit if you did. I'm not holding my breath for you to actually understand it. Oh yes, the hourly just got $6,000 and the salaried got zero except increased costs in our benefits. The company giveth to the hourly and taketh from the salaried.

You know, if you could actually ever respond to what I write, we might agree. But, you must feel it's your job to respond with nonsense BS. Well, you are doing real well at it. LOL!

You must not read what I write, read it again I do say line workers work their asses off all day long. In fact, the salaried workers I'm with do, too. Geez, get a life!

I kind of remember health care costs being lowered and you get at least $17,000 guaranteed not including other profit sharing throughout the life of your contract. Doesn't sound stagnant to me. Oh, BTW, your health care costs being lowered equalled my health care costs being raised. You are welcome from salaried world.

People are desperate for work and $12.50 an hour with benefits seems like a godsend at this time.

I have no problems with what you are saying. I think the UAW workers on this site believe they are getting screwed all the time, when they are getting a much better deal than us on salaried. From wages and paid OT to their benefits, hands down, they have a better deal. But, from reading their comments on this site, they act as if they are in a prison with bread and water.

LOL, good one. Me and my salaried counterparts work a lot harder than the skilled trades who have their hiding places, disappear or are playing cards all day long. If you want to go tit-for-tat on this, you will lose. Those on the line definitely earn their money, they work their asses off all day long.

So I have been looking at the menu to pick benefits. While looking through the menu and seeing costs associated for all benefits, except a few, I was wondering what comes directly out of the hourly workers paycheck compared to salaried? For example, how much does an hourly worker have taken out for health care? In the salaried world, we can have $0 taken out, but with enormous health care costs if you get sick or you can have about $500 a month taken directly out of your paycheck for the "best" healthcare plan and you still have co-pays and deductibles on top of the $500 a month. Then, we need to compare plans because I would bet that hourly workers have a much better plan than salaried. How about dental? What comes out of an hourly workers pay check for that? We have to pay monthly out of our pay for dental. Our dental insurance isn't too good. Hope you don't need braces (for kids), crowns or root canals. Look at paying most of those bills on your own. Hourly has an automatic vision plan, correct? Salaried you have to pay for it. How about life insurance?

Low and behold, a few days after the hourly agreement is ratified, guess who ends up paying? The General Salary Roll workforce. Basically, the salaried equivalent to hourly workers. Ford rolled out an email that two of our six health care choices have been dumped. Which two? The best two in cost and coverage. So, we are left with the most expensive HMO and three pretty bad PPO plans. All four plans are either costly up front or on the end with out of pocket or both. I understand that hourly don't have to shell out $500 a month for decent health care. Salary either shell that out now or gamble and then would have to pay over $3000 out of pocket and then 40% of everything above that. I am beginning to suspect that Ford is having the GSR workers subsidize active hourly health care costs. I am pretty sure that in a group plan of thousands of employees, it doesn't cost $6,000 per family to be covered. I would guess Ford would negotiate rates at least that low or below that rate. Bottom line, salaried gets screwed once again.

Ford has other options. They have numerous plans if this vote goes down.

Ford will make sure they get product out. The question is whether the UAW wants to be the one building it or do they want it to go to other countries?

I have had launch assignments at both CAP and Oakville Assembly Plant. I have been going to Chicago on and off for its latest launch. I also have been to OAP recently. The Canadian auto workers and management were pretty giddy that the UAW will vote down its contract. Management there has told the workers they will get either the Explorer or new Transit (scheduled for Kansas City) if the UAW votes it down. When asked about engines and transmissions we were told Essex Engine plant could make some of the engines scheduled for the US plants in this contract. So, take your pick it could be Romeo, Lima or Cleveland or a combination. Future transmissions may come from Canada, but If its voted down, I heard Getrag. Also, the work scheduled for Romeo would stay at Linamar. This is for those who want to keep work in the USA with a YES vote because if work is not insourced, I don't have a job either. I am a US citizen and I want work to stay here and for Americans to be employed.

A friend of mine who works at WHQ just called me because he overhead management talking about replacement worker training will start next week due to the no vote. They will not stop production and will not take chances. Everyone seems to forget that Mulally fired over 40,000 union members when he took over Boeing.

That is terrible. You guys eat your own.

I used to agree with you. Now, my gut tells me this will be voted down and the work lost.

This is true throughout a lot of American corporations. At Ford, salaried workers can "buy" vacation if they want to. If you don't get to use it because of your schedule--especailly plant launches, you lose it. We do get vacation based on years work, too. But, that probably will be limited in the near future. Why should Ford pay us to take vacation, when Ford can have us pay them to take vacation?

Management may get buyouts, but General Salaried Roll do not. We either retire or quit or get fired. We don't get money to leave.