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Kens Famous Last Words for STAP


bodyman

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Look guys we did what we could. Oh by the way we will offer buyouts to make room for you guys in Oakville. I am sure Ken told that to the Windsor guys 2 years ago when they were closing.. How many Windsor workers are in Oakville now Ken.

 

They pulled the rabbit out of the hat with the 2 billion dollars, give you no time to think about, and want you to vote wit the idea that you might have a job in Oakville.. This is all bullshit and wishful thinking by our Union. If he wants to stop whipsawing, then we need to stand with the UAW to end concessions.

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Scott Smith also told the STAP membership he was going to everything in his power to make room for us at OAC last time. The bargining commitee for STAP is very usless form McGee all the way down but he gets his pension where many of us do not

Edited by noimports
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It's not surprising that St. Thomas is closing....after all, there is no product for the plant after the death of the CV/GM line. But where is the effort to find SOMETHING for the Plant to keep people working and the economy moving?

 

Through just nine months of 2009, Hyundai Canada and its 39% owned subsidiary, Kia, have sold 119,048 vehicles.......none of which were assembled in Canada. That's an annualized level of 159 thousand vehicles.....which equates to a full year of 40 units per hour on two shifts at a plant like St. Thomas. Hyundai and Kia also sold 580,787 units in the US through September.......an annualized rate of 774 thousand vehicles in what is universally recognized as a terrible sales year! These numbers will undoubtedly go much higher as market conditions improve. (Note: Hyundai has one U.S. assembly plant).

 

If we are, indeed, intent on maintaining employment for the St. Thomas crew and helping the local (and national) economy, our political leaders (if any of them is interested?) need to speak frankly with Hyundai/Kia management and encourage them to strike a deal with Ford and take over the Ford St. Thomas Plant. Ford is a responsible employer and I am sure that they would want to minimize the impact of any closure........and what better way to do that than to keep the Plant operating with a new owner? Armed with a competitive labour agreement courtesy of the CAW and the affected employees; and with $1.0-$1.5 Billion in forgiveable interest-free loans, I believe the Hyundai/Kia could be brought on board. Admittedly, $1.5 Billion is a lot of money but it's far less than Canada handed to Chrysler and GM; and it's far less than we will wind up paying in EI benefits, welfare payments, bankruptcy filings, and incalculable social and economic collateral damage.

 

But alas....there isn't one politician out there who is interested in actually doing something proactive. So down the drain goes 1600 jobs and another 12-15000 spinoff jobs. Tragic is too simple a word to describe the end result.

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Why didnt one of you guys run then?

 

Because if you didn't have the backing of the current "leadership", you had no hope. It's an old boys club, that was only interested in looking out for their best interests (how long before Scott gets a job with the National).

 

They told people they wouldn't stop fighting until they got commitment. They told people now wasn't a time for change of leadership at the top because the people there knew what was going on, and knew what it took to see the membership through.

 

The CAW is a disgrace. All those years of talking about fighting for the workers. All those years of saying how important union solidarity was. It was all a smoke screen. 1600 people (plus thousands more) have just had their lives drastically altered, and yet the people who orchestrated it will keep their jobs, and not lose a penny of pay

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You people do realize this is Ford Motor Co right? The CAW doesn't own it and are not the ones closing the plant. To say the CAW has done nothing for you is an insult to anyone who has lost their jobs and not received $125 000 in severance pay. This sense of entitlement in the Auto Industry is sickening. The fact is that we have good paying jobs,and still have great benefits for another 2 years....How many jobs in the real world give you 2 years notice? I'm no raw raw union guy, but to say they're a disgrace and don't fight for us is very shortsighted.

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You people do realize this is Ford Motor Co right? The CAW doesn't own it and are not the ones closing the plant. To say the CAW has done nothing for you is an insult to anyone who has lost their jobs and not received $125 000 in severance pay. This sense of entitlement in the Auto Industry is sickening. The fact is that we have good paying jobs,and still have great benefits for another 2 years....How many jobs in the real world give you 2 years notice? I'm no raw raw union guy, but to say they're a disgrace and don't fight for us is very shortsighted.

Good point.

This guys or most of them will be in trouble too, plant closing where are they going? Please don't bash them if they are trying to work something for all of you.

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