OHAP Elections

[hemmer1]

hemmer1 I disagree, ignoring rantings from either side is more damaging because they gain in verosity as time goes on. If someone can attack you while you are not looking the will continue without you having the oppertunity to rebutt what they are saying. Micheal has it right, transparency is the best policy! Not all will agree with every discision you make! But as long as your intention is to satisfy the majority, when you explain even those who don't agree will understand! There is nothing worse then leaving your brother feeling like he was kicked, whithout the benefit of knowing what happened and why!

Other decent contributors are entitled to recognitation and where I can, I will respond to them.

However my personal opinion is that to get in the gutter with the garbage churners only adds to their egos which is the only thing they have going for them,so I will elect to ignore them.Ther are plenty of others who write on these threads who are more than capable to respond to them.Rumor has it that we reached a local agreement --anyone, any news on this?

[Spring]

I would encourage everyone to attend the local union general membership meeting tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. at the union hall. In as the bargaining structure has initialled off on a tentative local agreement, I am sure there will be important information conveyed. In addition, there is some talk on the shop floor that there will be a special election for the position of Bargaining Committeeman and Skilled Trades Chairman (congratulations to Chris Viscomi on his National Appointment and good luck).

[Spring]

General Membership Meeting

January 13, 2008

 

Meeting called to order.

Presentation of agenda – passed

Pledge of Allegiance

Prayer

Roll Call of Officers – NOT present

Ida Hess (asked to be excused), David Candelario (asked to be excused), Mike Piscione (asked to be excused), Michelle Schnur, Linda Hall (on vacation)

 

Reading of minutes of previous meeting – approved

Reading of financial report – approved

Recommendations from the E-Board to Membership:

1.To send the necessary delegates to National Ford/Sub Council – approved.

2.To have a special election on 2/7/08 for the positions of Bargaining Committeeman and Skilled Trades Chairman to run from 5:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. with run-off, if necessary, to be held on 2/14/08 in the T-Bird room in the plant – approved.

3.To give the Recreation Committee $400.00 for snacks for the Allegheny Casino Trip – approved.

4.To purchase 100 boxes at $3.50/box of girl scout cookies to send overseas to the troops – passed.

5.To purchase ¼ page ad for Danny G’s Elvis tribute – approved.

6.To donate $300.00 to Our Lady of the Wayside.

7.To donate $250.00 to the Lorain County Labor Agency.

8.Vic Santana – as for trailers to be placed on the East and West side of the plant for the upcoming general election. Issues with this recommendation were discussed as to how to keep track of who voted, issues with electrical feed, etc. Jerry Donovan made an amendment to the motion – that the co-chairs of the election committee, recording secretary of the election committee, the president and financial secretary all get together to ascertain the feasibility of the additional trailers and company permission and to report back at next meeting. Amendment approved.

9.Vic Santana asked to have the election on the 7th or 8th of May. Tim told him it would be done in compliance with the local by-laws.

 

Reports:

 

President’s report:

Congratulations to Chris Viscome on his appointment to the National Ford Department staff in the Skilled Trades Department. There are very seats left for the casino trip. Election committee nominations will be next month. You must be at the meeting to be nominated. Tellers will be appointed at the March meeting. There was an editorial in the Lorain Morning Journal regarding Local 2000’s generosity with regards to the Clothe-A-Child collection. Asked that everyone try to enroll in local website’s email alerts. Remember that when filing for unemployment, it can be very difficult and the chances of winning an appeal are remote. But you are still entitled to sub pay. Thanked the Women’s Committee for all of their hard work on the Lunch with Santa. It was held at the Sheffield Lake Senior Center. They do most of their activities on their own time. Round of applause from the membership. On December 6th attended the JDF awards ceremony. Plant was awarded the yellow slipper award – third highest fundraising award. Was the same night as the Retiree’s Christmas Dinner. We have a very bighearted membership. Had a meeting with all the Mayors/Mayors elect of the neighboring communities. K.C. Zuber used to drive a Saturn and just bought a Ford with an X plan from Tim. Would like to see all city vehicles be Fords. If community must take lowest bid, would like to see a deviation allowed to support local industry. Asked that we use our A/X plans.

 

Chairman’s Report:

 

Order bank is 22,139 units.

We are on an 8.3 schedule for the rest of January.

8.5 schedule for February with a Saturday scheduled for 2/23/08.

8.5 Schedule for March.

Letter on 120 Clock – jobs in protest. Reached a tentative agreement and initialed off on last Thursday. Joe Lee, Dave Maguire and Nick were in discussions to bring back 30 jobs that were currently being performed in Michigan. He’d like to hire but we have to let RTBU’s come back first. He hopes the new sourcing provides the opportunity. There is a req. in for 35 people with 12 coming from Sandusky and the rest from Brookpark. Walton Hills has a req. in for 22 people and if it is approved then we would have to increase our req.

 

Veteran’s Committee report:

 

Chris Ladikos said Old Navy had a sale on their jackets and they were able to get regularly priced $68.00 jackets for $11.20. They spent $1,830.00. They also purchased 105 hats and 100 scarves. The manager of the Sandusky store’s husband is the reverend of a Serbian Orthodox Church in Lorain and they donated 100 pairs of gloves. They will be going to Meyer’s (Local UFC 911) to buy longjohns, sweats, socks, and underwear. They spend about $13,000-$14,000.00 on clothes for homeless vets.

 

Pete Filiaggi said that they had a Toy Run at Wiley’s lounge in December in conjunction with St. Vincent de Paul’s church and were able to raise $1,000.00 for needy children.

 

Shop Problems:

 

Todd on the IP line on nights said he needed to have his job put into protest. He has 20 feet to do his job and it’s overcycle. John Pena said that it was an overcycle condition due to the rollover and that they were running 8 cutaways/hour for the month of January. He said the job was 5-7 seconds over cycle. This is the shift cable job. He has it in writing that the operator can shut the job down.. In 2009 the IP line will totally change and be floating and more hi-tech. There is a mix parameter on the job. If they don’t put the mix person on then the job goes down. Nick asked if there was a person there Friday night and was told no. John Pena said that dayshift is getting a person.

 

Randy Cooper asked if there was language in the new contract regarding relief persons being able to transfer or laterally move to other departments or equalize overtime. Nick said the jobs were bid by department and there were no lateral moves to other departments. He said you must know the jobs to equalize the overtime. He said the company wanted to make classifications plant wide.

 

Regina Butler said she tried to make a lateral move and was told it was a legal move from drive off at the end of Chassis to drive off at the end of the water line. Everyone had signed off on the mats except for Mike Piscione. The garage is still borrowing people everyday. She said that there people with ’94 seniority who were holding inspection jobs. A person with 11/92 seniority in incoming quality and a person who was a group three who had been acting as a group leader for the past year and the job had not been bid. She said there was a person in the garage acting as a g.u. and didn’t have the time to hold the garage. Bruce Yates said that there had been an opening but Piscione had asked to have it stopped. The move from Chassis to the garage should never have happened. He asked that she be sent back to her Chassis driving job. Regina said that everyone had blamed Fred Pena for all his lateral moves and deals being cut and those moves and deals should have been investigated. Nick asked who the g.u. was. Regina said she would tell him after the meeting. Nick said that one of the jobs was slotted to go away during the 120 clock but that if it is still there then it should be bid. Sister Butler said that Flash and Piscione had been told about all of this. Nick said that if they had been assigned there by the company and were covering temporarily then it was okay but if it was an open job it must be bid. Regina referred to rolltest and other places that she said had people who were supposed to be temporary and as of November they were now assigned there and were on the drots. Nick said some people were out there due to medical restrictions and he was trying to keep people working. He asked if anyone had restrictions. Regina said they did not.

 

Nancy Powers asked if were working under a new or the old local agreement? She asked about the group meetings and why we never had them. Nick said that the company wouldn’t pay for the group meetings and they had Brett Fox and Mike Oblack in to protest this. Nick said that Darryl Sykes wouldn’t pay for anything and that it would mean people having to hold them on their own time. Nancy said that the meetings would help circumvent many shop problems. Nick agreed that these meetings were important. He said that there was new language in the new local agreement but it has to be ratified first. Jerry Donovan asked if there was any money authorized at the local level for the meetings. Nick said no there was not. The meetings would be held if the groups met their jobs per hour. The meetings would be production related. If goals met then they could be held weekly. Jerry asked if they were using money allocated for meetings to offset line losses or perceived line losses. Nick said no, there was no money allocated. Jerry said that these meetings were the perfect opportunity to find out why they were not meeting objectives. Nick said that Sykes was not giving them the money.

Jennifer Bores introduced her daughter Anna who said it looked like ½ of the cars outside were not Ford vehicles.

Sophie Langer said that Jimmy Hall was her group leader and asked when there was going to be some accountability for people not showing up? She complained about them having to pull Jimmy partway through the shift. Nick said he can only replace a rep once the company notifies him. Sophie asked where they check in and Nick said Labor Relations. Sophie asked about the paint lab jobs and asked if these jobs were being saved for clean up people. Nick said he was looking into what jobs were going to be needed and that he wouldn’t overload the classification. He’s check each job bid out but isn’t holding up jobs to see what’s going on. He is trying to find out if clean up was going to be kept until Janauary ’09, if some of the clean up people would be hired by the company taking over the clean up department or if an enhanced package was going to be offered to clean up employees? Sophie said that some, not all, of the clean up people just sit around playing cards and that was probably part of the reason they lost those jobs. She would like to see the jobs put up for bid.

Jerry Matheny said that in December he was called by a supervisor and solicited for the g.u. job on the flat top. When he came back in January he was loaned into the garage. Later he was told to go to the pedestal line. He was told he was not needed on the flat top. He asked who determines where someone is assigned on a bid? Nick said the job was supposed to be listed on the bid but that lateral moves were often made. He asked if Jerry had spoken to his committeeman? Jerry said that 2 ’99 seniority people mysteriously appeared on flat top. He has ’94 seniority. He’s referring to the g.u. job on flat top between R and S. Flash said he didn’t know as he was not on nights. Brian Mitchell said that John Lynch came back from medical. Nick asked who called Jerry. Jerry said it was Todd Trockley.

Regina Butler said that inspectors that had come from nights and were supposed to take the open jobs but the company didn’t want to move the ’92 and ’93 inspectors and they were using them as back up torque inspectors. There are also temporary lift drivers. Nick said there were 3 people in stock temporary as 2 people had moved from stock to production. He said it was the committeeman’s job to get the job postings done and he didn’t want the membership asking him to put out the highlights of the local agreement or set up the ratification meeting if he had to do their jobs. He said that instead he would be investigating all of this. He said that the company had wanted to eliminate tag relief and he had managed to keep this and these jobs he had been holding up. Regina asked how long was temporary? Nick said over 30 days they would fight for it to be a permanent job, add in or whatever. He said that there were some labor pools with no base jobs and some TFTs on permanent jobs. He said there should be a grievance filed on this. Nick said that some people didn’t want to be placed on base jobs and wanted to float. He said that g.u.s were not being used properly. He said labor pools should cover labor pools and sub assembly should cover sub assembly. Regina asked how to make the company accountable? Nick said that now that things had settled down he would be out on the floor and said that people should also stop their committeeman. Many people called out that they don’t see their committeeman. Nick said that if the committeeman was not there he would replace them. There should be extra people in the areas so that alternates could be released. We used to have the luxury of having floating BCs but now they were assigned areas. People can page Nick at 054 or call his office.

 

Motion to extend shop problems – approved.

 

Marvin Jones said he was going to refer only to nightshift stock - the company had eliminated the dock jobs and that left 22 jobs open. He couldn’t get the bid at first and then the number had to be determined. The jobs finally went up for bid and they were soliciting now. It takes 1-2 weeks to train for the job and then when people finally find out how stressful, dangerous and difficult the jobs really are they want to go back to production. He said they were losing people as fast as they were putting them in. He was asked by an employee why he was raising so much hell to get people out of stock and said that if the person was a labor pool that they didn’t belong. He was very frustrated. He said that the membership was not supporting each other on the floor. He referred to an incident he had with a supervisor whereby he got written up. He said that the people on the floor actually went to the supervisor on Marvin. He said that was the reason why the stock bids were taking so long. He said that Nick was doing his job and he was thankful to have him.

Darlene Vukelic said that her job had been rebalanced and she couldn’t get her process sheet or a time study. She said that other employees were telling the company how to add work to her job. She said she couldn’t even get a bathroom break as no one wanted to do her job. She said nobody was listening. She wants documentation. She’s supposed to have a mix person but doesn’t and is having to spend her lunch and breaks trying to get help. Who can she turn to? She was told to figure out the process herself. John Pena said she was only building diesels. Darlene said that was not the case. John said that was what most of her work was on and she used to leave 1-1 ½ hours early. He said she had mix help and that she did very little on the gas engines. He said she had 7 diesels or a 1 in 4 mix to set up the mix parameter and she should get the mix person. Before she was doing 1 in 3. Nick asked if there was a process sheet or jsa on the job. When told no he said he would make sure she got that information. Darlene said that her gun was sticking and couldn’t be situated. She was supposed to be able to get with nightshift but that never happened. Chuck ? said they were getting a diesel then a d10 then a 54 and there was a lot to do on the job. He said that they had 7 feet to do the job where they used to have 40-50 feet. He said they were getting hammered. He said he was a hell of a guy and he couldn’t do the job. He said the motor line was absolutely screwed. John Pena said that it was a 1 in 4 mix and they were working with engine line 2 to keep an extra person. He referred to the 42 ways and headlight buildup. Nick said that the GOR buildup, inspector on line 2, 42 way, engine line, transmission bracket, grill install extra people were back in. Darlene asked about her e-stop not working. She said she pulled the yellow cord and the line still kept going. Chester said she didn’t have an e-stop but an andon cord. She said she needed an e-stop.

Gene Courtney said that he was going to nights as a stock g.u. He said he worked on the caliper job and that Tracy Novak was his dayshift counterpart. There is no process sheet or jsa on this job. Paul Reynolds was supposed to produce these but never followed through. Larry Rodak got injured on the job and may still yet lose his thumb.

Nick said that regarding the job bids, during the consolidation he opened the job bids plant wide. He did that to be fair even though it caused a lot of chaos. 487 jobs were posted.

Juanita Kilbron said that in order to get a good job you have to be like by your foreman. She said she was the only Hispanic on the IP line and was being treated very badly by her foreman and group leaders. She said that Bruce Yates was the only one who called her back. Nick never called. Nick said that he had spoken with her and she told him that Yates was handling her situation. Juanita said that her group leader would yell at her and wasn’t it his job to fix things? Nick said that it was the Supervisors’ job to make sure things were fixed. He said that the group leaders were not repairmen but the company wanted them to do everything. Juanita said she was a g.u. on the IP line. She was told to start on a job and then would be released to do the relief but the foreman got someone else to do it instead and she didn’t appreciate being lied to. The supervisor’s name is Dennis. Todd said that Dennis is very disrespectful to the employees. He’s from Virginia and doesn’t want to be at OHAP, that he is very vocal about how much he hates it here. Nick said that would be addressed. Juanita asked why it takes so long to get a committeeman? She asks her group leader to get the committeeman and she might not see him until the end of the shift. She turned on her yellow light one time and was told by Farley McDowell “Get your ass back on the job”. Then she got disciplined.

Jay Kiska called for motion to adjourn – approved.

 

 

**Please note: These are not the official notes of the union meeting. These are only the personal notes of the author. These notes are in no way authorized, recognized or sanctioned by the Union, Ford Motor Company or any of their agents.

Respectfully submitted by Mary Springowski

[WRH]

Thanks for the notes appreciate it

[hemmer1]

Thanks for the notes appreciate it

Appreciate the union meeting notes.Sometimes some of us just can't make the meetings,so your notes keep us informed.

[houseoftherisingsun]

What was up with Jerry and Tim's letter? Jerry trashing Michael like that. What does "back to the future"mean? Does that mean we can look forward to losing product and closing plants with those 2?

[jester13]

What was up with Jerry and Tim's letter? Jerry trashing Michael like that. What does "back to the future"mean? Does that mean we can look forward to losing product and closing plants with those 2?

 

To answer your question...Our plant won't close - We'll be building DeLoreans....Better days are coming!

[Virgil]

What was up with Jerry and Tim's letter? Jerry trashing Michael like that. What does "back to the future"mean? Does that mean we can look forward to losing product and closing plants with those 2?

 

I didn't read Jerry trashing anybody. Jerry and Tim didn't lose any product or close anything. Jack and Ken did. I think you got your administrations confused there brother. I believe Brother Donovan negotiated bringing in the Escape and Mariner during his administration. If you all want to look at it that way then should we be blaming Nick for losing the clean up department? I think you're twisting some things there brother.

[Jasper]

I didn't read Jerry trashing anybody. Jerry and Tim didn't lose any product or close anything. Jack and Ken did. I think you got your administrations confused there brother. I believe Brother Donovan negotiated bringing in the Escape and Mariner during his administration. If you all want to look at it that way then should we be blaming Nick for losing the clean up department? I think you're twisting some things there brother.

Well the election is moving right along.Have seen two letters and some new Gallogly hats.Gonzalez shirts have been about for some time now. A lready can see who's supporting who.I'll hold my comments for now on the candidates until I see or hear some more but rest assured I will have something to say before it's all over.

[Furious1Auto]

What was up with Jerry and Tim's letter? Jerry trashing Michael like that. What does "back to the future"mean? Does that mean we can look forward to losing product and closing plants with those 2?

And I suppose that removing a overflow product when sales volume is reducing and consolidating a product into one facility didn't make good business sense! I suppose Ford should have continued to build one product in two different facilities, right! I'm not protecting Tim and I hardly know Jerry, but let's keep it real. You are fear mongering, this quote I'm replying to suggests that if Jerry and Tim get elected that our plant will close! If Ford wants it closed it will happen, but it will be because there is no business case to keep it open. If you want to see OHAP shut down let defects out of the plant and into the public. Right now with Ford intentionally reducing their capacity the only thing we can offer is quality! We cannot control the quality of the materials but anyone who works in chasis can see the upgrades Ford has done with the 08' over the 07' (beefier I beam suspention, heavier shocks, oversized brakes, dual tranny coolers with heavier lines, Ect.Ect.Ect) but we have total control over whether or not they are assembled correctly and defect free! If we stay focused we can become the prefered brand, if we don't then Ford will default on their loan and we can negotiate a new contract from scratch with our new owners if they choose to keep our facility open! (they could cut our plant like Cerberus Capital Management is doing to many Chrysler facilities) The old days of ignoring a defect just because it is not an element on our opperation are over, any opperator who identifies a defect and doesn't report it is jepordizing the future of our plant. Ford corperate has given us (the assemblers) the authority to pull the yellow cord on all quality issue's and not doing so would be the nail in our coffin. The future of OHAP is ours to determin! If you think that letting a defect go just because it is not on your opperation is O.K. just because it is not you they will hold accountable, you are mistaken and need to take the buyout if it is offered to you again so that those who do care about their job can see to it we build the best product we can! Our quality is increasing company wide, and passing Toyota in TGW is the only thing we should be focused on. Luckily we lost allot of worthless sh-t bags through the first round of buyouts, it is easier to reach our targets without having to carry dead weight! Within my group we went from having two chronic medical abussers (with an I don't care additude) to having none! Also I work on the line with the best quality and least downtime in the plant. We can either work to build the best auto company in the U.S. or look for another job in the future. Ask the employees from Norfolk, Twin cities, Atlanta, Brook park, Ect.Ect.Ect. if those guys would like to have a plant to work at.

Edited January 17, 2008 by Furious1Auto

[wakeup]

And I suppose that removing a overflow product when sales volume is reducing and consolidating a product into one facility didn't make good business sense! I suppose Ford should have continued to build one product in two different facilities, right! I'm not protecting Tim and I hardly know Jerry, but let's keep it real. You are fear mongering, this quote I'm replying to suggests that if Jerry and Tim get elected that our plant will close! If Ford wants it closed it will happen, but it will be because there is no business case to keep it open. If you want to see OHAP shut down let defects out of the plant and into the public. Right now with Ford intentionally reducing their capacity the only thing we can offer is quality! We cannot control the quality of the materials but anyone who works in chasis can see the upgrades Ford has done with the 08' over the 07' (beefier I beam suspention, heavier shocks, oversized brakes, dual tranny coolers with heavier lines, Ect.Ect.Ect) but we have total control over whether or not they are assembled correctly and a defect free! If we stay focused we can become the prefered brand, if we don't then Ford will default on their loan and we can negotiate a new contract from scratch with our new owners if they choose to keep our facility open! (they could cut our plant like Cerberus Capital Management is doing to many Chrysler facilities) The old days of ignoring a defect just because it is not an element on our opperation are over, any opperator who identifies a defect and doesn't report it is jepordizing the future of our plant. Ford corperate has given us (the assemblers) the authority to pull the yellow cord on all quality issue's and not doing so would be the nail in our coffin. The future of OHAP is ours to determin! If you think that letting a defect go just because it is not on your opperation is O.K. just because it is not you they will hold accountable, you are mistaken and need to take the buyout if it is offered to you again so that those who do care about their job can see to it we build the best product we can! Our quality is increasing company wide, and passing Toyota in TGW is the only thing we should be focused on. Luckily we lost allot of worthless sh-t bags through the first round of buyouts, it is easier to reach our targets without having to carry dead weight! Within my group we went from having two chronic medical abussers (with an I don't care additude) to having none! Also I work on the line with the best quality and least downtime in the plant. We can either work to build the best auto company in the U.S. or look for another job in the future. Ask the employees from Norfolk, Twin cities, Atlanta, Brook park, Ect.Ect.Ect. if those guys would like to have a plant to work at.

 

 

Thats telling it like it is......great post.

[Virgil]

I've seen the first couple of campain letters and have been listening to folks in my area talking. One question that keeps comming up is why Robert Gonzalez doesn't have more support especially since he has been campaining for about a year now. Well I came from Lorain and can shed a little bit of light on this. I don't support Robert Gonzalez for a very simple reason he doesn't know the contract! Just talk to him about it. He hasn't ever negotiated a contract though he's trying to say he did. He didn't because he was only a health and safety guy. He doesn't even to know that the chairman/president and bargaining reps do that! He's going to try to sell you that his name is on it. Don't buy it! Everybody signed it, Rowe said he did it as a courtesy to everyone. He tries to make it like he did all these great things in Lorain like posting job bids and the employment lottery but that was done by the president/chairman. It had been done that way for years! Even when he was health and safety everybody knew it was really Too Tall doing the job! Maybe that's why Too Tall is running with Robert for BC so that he can tell Robert what to do. I don't know who all is running yet and I haven't totally made up my mind who I'm voting for but I'm going to wait and talk to ALL the people running. I want to make sure that I vote for the person I think will do the best job for all of us, not 425 people, not just old Local 2000 people but ALL of us! The way things are going I don't think we can afford to make any mistakes this time!

[hemmer1]

Have asked the same question myself. Most former Lorain people that I talk to say the same. They say he's a nice enough guy but that he's way out of his league in this race.They do all say that while he may have been on some committee that he never negotiated a contract.I suppose the easy way to find out is to ask Tim Rowe.I agree we can not take a chance in this election.Too much riding on the outcome.However there is still plenty of time to hear from everyone whose running,so let's hold judgement for a while.

[jbores6511]

Anyone know why the "temporary full time employees are still on days? They have been doing open jobs for months and they have been on days for almost a year. Nick said we have the right to bump them by seniority, however, that seems to be just talk. The company said they will just move all the tpts or stpts or fttpts (whatever they are these days) to nights and not move anyone else days. I say fine just do it!

[integrity]

Don't hide behind a fake name. It makes you ball-less

 

I was elected four consecutive terms and held the job 12 years in a row. That is a record for any skilled trades chairman, especially here. Can you say that? One thing all elected people need to remember is that you can't make "everyone" happy "all" the time. I have sure learned that lesson in my 12 years as Skilled Trades Chairman. But I kept the majority happy and I damn sure kept work in house.

 

I am leaving, so it doesn't do me any good to play word games with you on the computer. I expect to keep fighting for all of us to the best of my abilities in my new position.

 

What I do want to say before I leave, is that this forum makes Ohio Assembly Plant look like the biggest joke in the system with all of the bullshit politics played on here by a few folks looking to pump up themselves by making others look bad.

 

Everyone reading this needs to ask themselves one question. Why is it that some people are not doing things to make themselves look good in the eyes of the membership, instead of making others in their race look bad? You should run for office on your own laurels, not on others "alleged" mistakes. Especially when the "allegations" come from opponents. Half truths, twisted tales designed to make them look better in the eyes of the membership only tear apart this plant and this local.

 

Salary people, hourly people, V.P's, the whole damn world can come on here and reads this assinine bullshit. You air our dirty laundry to the whole world, and half of it isn't even true. It shines a bad light on our plant that is uncalled for. Most of you don't have the balls to say any of this to anyone's face in public, because you would be called on it. Ford owns this website, it should be either be pulled down, or you should have to log in with real info and prove you are an employee to view it IMO.

 

Many of you do not see the inner workings of the Union structure, you work your job every day and base your opinions on what you hear. It is a shame that most of the work that is done, is unknown to the membership. 90% of the membership never goes to the Union with a problem so they really don't know what goes on or what they do. The game is changed, it is all defense right now.

 

The biggest problem with the Ohio Assembly Union is the lack of solidarity on some of the structure's part. I am not knocking anyone in particular here, as I no longer have any political motives. But when elections are over, the Union is expected to put aside politics and work for the betterment of the membership, not spend the next three years in office trying to make someone above them look bad so they can move up, or make someone below them look bad so they can't move up.

 

Whoever gets elected should remember that, or you are doing a disservice to the membership. The membership should make decisions based on actions, not on hype or accusation.

 

You all have a great future at Ohio Assembly, I will miss the plant dearly, it was my home for 17 years. I wish all of you the best of luck with the new product and hope your sales soar through the roof.

 

I hope in my new position I can be of service to all of you once again.

Chris Viscomi

 

God bless you Chris.

I feel you are very deserving of the opointment.

Not only do I consider you a friend, but a damn good rep.

If people only knew all that you did for them. Most only understand one thing, Me Myself and I.

They don't understand all that you do in order to represent.

You see the big picture.

I will always be grateful for your friendship.

Take care

[wakeup]

God bless you Chris.

I feel you are very deserving of the opointment.

Not only do I consider you a friend, but a damn good rep.

If people only knew all that you did for them. Most only understand one thing, Me Myself and I.

They don't understand all that you do in order to represent.

You see the big picture.

I will always be grateful for your friendship.

Take care

 

 

I hope we get Chris for servicing...hope someone reads this and has him service the sterling plant. Lol unlikely tho.

[overcome]

Don't hide behind a fake name. It makes you ball-less

 

I was elected four consecutive terms and held the job 12 years in a row. That is a record for any skilled trades chairman, especially here. Can you say that? One thing all elected people need to remember is that you can't make "everyone" happy "all" the time. I have sure learned that lesson in my 12 years as Skilled Trades Chairman. But I kept the majority happy and I damn sure kept work in house.

 

I am leaving, so it doesn't do me any good to play word games with you on the computer. I expect to keep fighting for all of us to the best of my abilities in my new position.

 

What I do want to say before I leave, is that this forum makes Ohio Assembly Plant look like the biggest joke in the system with all of the bullshit politics played on here by a few folks looking to pump up themselves by making others look bad.

 

Everyone reading this needs to ask themselves one question. Why is it that some people are not doing things to make themselves look good in the eyes of the membership, instead of making others in their race look bad? You should run for office on your own laurels, not on others "alleged" mistakes. Especially when the "allegations" come from opponents. Half truths, twisted tales designed to make them look better in the eyes of the membership only tear apart this plant and this local.

 

Salary people, hourly people, V.P's, the whole damn world can come on here and reads this assinine bullshit. You air our dirty laundry to the whole world, and half of it isn't even true. It shines a bad light on our plant that is uncalled for. Most of you don't have the balls to say any of this to anyone's face in public, because you would be called on it. Ford owns this website, it should be either be pulled down, or you should have to log in with real info and prove you are an employee to view it IMO.

 

Many of you do not see the inner workings of the Union structure, you work your job every day and base your opinions on what you hear. It is a shame that most of the work that is done, is unknown to the membership. 90% of the membership never goes to the Union with a problem so they really don't know what goes on or what they do. The game is changed, it is all defense right now.

 

The biggest problem with the Ohio Assembly Union is the lack of solidarity on some of the structure's part. I am not knocking anyone in particular here, as I no longer have any political motives. But when elections are over, the Union is expected to put aside politics and work for the betterment of the membership, not spend the next three years in office trying to make someone above them look bad so they can move up, or make someone below them look bad so they can't move up.

 

Whoever gets elected should remember that, or you are doing a disservice to the membership. The membership should make decisions based on actions, not on hype or accusation.

 

You all have a great future at Ohio Assembly, I will miss the plant dearly, it was my home for 17 years. I wish all of you the best of luck with the new product and hope your sales soar through the roof.

 

I hope in my new position I can be of service to all of you once again.

Chris Viscomi

.

 

 

I will miss you Chris.

You are a good man.

I also consider you a friend.

You are Deserving of your oppointment and I wish

you all the best. I believe international got the best.

[WS6JJP]

.

I will miss you Chris.

You are a good man.

I also consider you a friend.

You are Deserving of your oppointment and I wish

you all the best. I believe international got the best.

you had to make a new screen name to say the same thing twice?? at least you could do is misspell a different word or something???

[overcome]

you had to make a new screen name to say the same thing twice?? at least you could do is misspell a different word or something???

No actually I did not think it posted under integrity.

What are some punctual freak?

Or just an asshole?

[Furious1Auto]

One question that keeps comming up is why Robert Gonzalez doesn't have more support especially since he has been campaining for about a year now.

Great spin, He's been trying but to no avail! He actually has more supporters than you know, their is a world of difference in opinions from dept. to dept. and sift to shift for that matter! I'm trying to remain unbaised, but this is what I know. Robert is spending a ton of money to try to secure the race. I was told he is having the infamous "J.D. Current" local cover band performing at his upcoming steak fry. I don't know that that qualifies him to be a chairman, but I do know they don't play cheap and it shows he reallly wants the chair.

Well I came from Lorain and can shed a little bit of light on this. I don't support Robert Gonzalez for a very simple reason he doesn't know the contract! Just talk to him about it. He hasn't ever negotiated a contract though he's trying to say he did. He didn't because he was only a health and safety guy. He doesn't even to know that the chairman/president and bargaining reps do that! He's going to try to sell you that his name is on it. Don't buy it! Everybody signed it, Rowe said he did it as a courtesy to everyone.

Interesting, I would like to see Tim touting a new BOF account so that he could respond to that publically! Whether or not it is true, it would work in Tim's favor to be the one to make it known!

He tries to make it like he did all these great things in Lorain like posting job bids and the employment lottery but that was done by the president/chairman. It had been done that way for years!

Yes and no, while the lottery was in place many were snuck in along with those who came in through the legal lottery. For instance the last batch of 50 employee's that were hired in 04' at Lorain assembly had 9 workers that were made full time that had never even served as a TPT or TFT. I know because I was at the local 425 meeting that all of these people were initiated into the UAW. Tim Rowe and Jack Hall had words in front of the attending membership about his kid who was a TFT and had a good record not being hired, while Jack let people walk in off of the street! I can tell you that all were connected from on high, but this is still evidence that things in Lorain were also not on the up and up.

Even when he was health and safety everybody knew it was really Too Tall doing the job! Maybe that's why Too Tall is running with Robert for BC so that he can tell Robert what to do.

I was not aware that he was Too tall's running mate, but I dought he would be on Gonzales's ticket if he did not think he was competent. That was a good jab though.

I don't know who all is running yet and I haven't totally made up my mind who I'm voting for but I'm going to wait and talk to ALL the people running. I want to make sure that I vote for the person I think will do the best job for all of us, not 425 people, not just old Local 2000 people but ALL of us! The way things are going I don't think we can afford to make any mistakes this time!

Agreed on all points! Edited January 20, 2008 by Furious1Auto

[Jasper]

To Tall and Robert Gonzalez are real close personal friends.As for hiring,wasn't Robert's son hired in at a time no one else was hired. I remember some talk in Lorain about this.So what about the lottery.We're not all fools.Every one else should be in the lottery, so why not them?Don't know about him trying to buying the election ,me think's the people are too smart for that.Let Robert start discussing issues and telling us what his solutions are,if he has any.I think that people are already realizing that he has no solutions as all he seems to say is"I'm for the people".He never gives you any answers.Maybe people should start asking more questions.Just because somebody gives me a shirt or hat doesn't mean that they have my support or vote.I have a collection of old shirts that I wear to work,but I didn't vote for everyone who's name is on the shirt.Some of the people that I work with are hoping that sometime some opposing campaigners will be in our area at the same time.Maybe then we will find out who the best candidate is.

[Furious1Auto]

As for hiring,wasn't Robert's son hired in at a time no one else was hired.

Yes, and so was John Inglehop's brother Kevin along with Nick Galogally's step son and son in law! So those who made the cut were both hand picked by the union and the management for various reasons. Seems like they had a close relationship! Edited January 21, 2008 by Furious1Auto

[OHAP_Stumpy]

Don't forget that tomorrow is the the vote on the local contract, Q & A is from 10:00am to 12:00pm (noon) and Voting takes place from 8:00am to 5:00pm

[E-250]

I went to Lorain for 2.5 years in 2001..and went back voluntarally at the end of production.

and from what I remember,we just kept using the previous contract..Now I'm not 100% sure,cause I was a trouble maker from Avon Lake,and information wasn't easy for me to get...but I would like to know the date of the last negoiated contract,not just a new date put on a previous contract.

that's why I think it's kinda early for all of this...there won't be many from Lorain that I'll vote for..

and after being back in Avon Lake-not many on the floor now that I like either...

so I guess right now-I'll be watching Hillary & Obama fighting it out...and of course reading blue oval forums..

[Jasper]

I went to Lorain for 2.5 years in 2001..and went back voluntarally at the end of production.

and from what I remember,we just kept using the previous contract..Now I'm not 100% sure,cause I was a trouble maker from Avon Lake,and information wasn't easy for me to get...but I would like to know the date of the last negoiated contract,not just a new date put on a previous contract.

that's why I think it's kinda early for all of this...there won't be many from Lorain that I'll vote for..

and after being back in Avon Lake-not many on the floor now that I like either...

so I guess right now-I'll be watching Hillary & Obama fighting it out...and of course reading blue oval forums..

We never did negotiate a new contract which obviously raises questions about a certain candidate's HONESTY.This among other things are why he's not getting great support from the Lorain folk.