AAI losing B shift announcement

[hi-lo feva2]

I am temp. prod. at AAI and it seems there is a lot of concern at the plant.about where people will end up. I think all of us temps, have the first right to any posting because we are on ILO, I seem to remember a hierarchy of who gets placed first and I believe those on ILO go first. If no openings come up before AAI members go out on ILO then they will hop in line then.

 

I know this whole temp situation was created to keep people working and I would never want a fellow union member to go through what I have but, those at AAI had a chance to stop this a long time ago. Now they face the real possibility of being the ones who ride out their sub and tap, maybe then they will be offered a temp spot somewhere and feel what is like to have 95' seniority (the current cutoff) and zero plant seniority, stuck in trim on some bad shift in a crummy unit.

 

Like said earlier I would not wish that on my brother and sisters but lets show some foresight and stop this cycle now.

WTF are you talking about. AAI had a chance to stop what? It's not AAI fault your in whatever situation your in. You don't want to wish nothing bad upon your fellow bro's/sis's but you still say "maybe then they will be offered a temp spot somewhere and feel what is like to have 95' seniority (the current cutoff) and zero plant seniority, stuck in trim on some bad shift in a crummy unit". You could have gone somewhere else pal. I am in trim by the way, with more seniority than you, on a crappy job and night shift, soooo now what? Suck it up. You don't have my sympathy. Your working okay.

[wingzrule19]

I to work on nights in trim in a crappy unit, working across a crappy co-worker, with better than '95 seniority, without complaining. Suck it up Alex!

[billd9]

The info I've been stating for weeks (actually months) was right....AAI has been considering eliminating B shift for months and Monday they are supposed to announce they are going down to one shift by June. I found out for sure this morning at 6:20. To all the people who called me a fearmonger or a gossip spreader, I always said I wished I was wrong, but this already happened 10 years ago, and the signs were easy to spot when they all repeated themselves. Our sales are less then half what they need to be. Even though Fords' market share is growing and sales are rising company wide, Mazda 6 sales are horrible and people aren't buying as many muscle cars anymore (or even can get financing for them). We're hearing there might be a lot of openings at Michigan Assembly when they launch the new Focus, and that would be good news for most of us. They don't know exactly how many workers will be cut when B shift is eliminated, but usually around 60% are kept and the line speed is raised. I've always said the cut off date to stay would be late '93 or early '94, and that should be in the ballpark. We have to factor in all the Saline loan outs coming back, and most of those are lower seniority, who won't make the cut. About 55% of all our workers are the original '87 & '88 seniority members. Less than 100 transfered here with '84 or higher sen. and about half of those took the buyout last year. We have almost no '89-'92 members, and then a few hundred with '93-'94 seniority. I will be one of the higher seniority members to have to leave. The 3 years of seniority I was screwed out of would have placed me right near the bubble. I knew that would return to bite me in the ass one day! Good luck to all of us and maybe going to a plant that actually has good sales will be a good thing. Being on the bubble of losing a shift for years at a time is not as fun as it sounds. And in closing...what is it Die Wahrheit always says? oh yeah......TOLD YOU! It's not a rumor anymore....it's the TRUTH!

 

 

Yeah they did announce it monday roughly 9 to 950 cut, really sucks, I recently heard that they aren't touvhing the saline people, what did you hear. And have you heard of any openeings besides mi truck? I hear mi truck wont be up and running til around first of dec.

[hawksfankev]

I to work on nights in trim in a crappy unit, working across a crappy co-worker, with better than '95 seniority, without complaining. Suck it up Alex!

Hey wings rule,, what unit in trim? I work with a guy who volunteered for Woodhaven when told by many not to go, and his dumb a@# was out of work for almost 4 months. He is also a crappy worker.

 

By the way, I haven't seen any of our UNION people for 2 days now. Must all be scrambling to save their own asses. ( steve-o) et al. Funny thing, when we get a measly profit sharing check they are all in your face shaking hands and kissing babies, but when the chit his the fan they dissappear. WTF????

[ALEX4398]

It wasn't my aim to piss any one off with my earlier post. I understand that it takes alot of seniority to hold jobs at AAI but I have seen bids go up and I hope people were bidding them.

 

I am not looking for sympathy.I am speaking from experience when I say that I wish this on no one, 2 years on the street please don't give me this crap about "you have a job" and as of July 13 many of us won't anymore. AAI took us in on their terms to protect their own what happened to solidarity when they announced before we got here we wouldn't get our seniority I'm sure plenty stood up and pointed out how unfair it was to your brother and sisters. the Saline and Sheldon and any ACH bids should have gone to those on ILO. Why train, move, orient, 2 people when you only had to do this for one. Make those jobs temp at 2 plants instead of temp jobs at every plant.

 

This is all in the past and I hold none of this against any one and I'm sorry in my post if it comes across that way, and as I said before I was hoping to give people something to look out for in the future.

[chassisgrunt]

If this is true, once again the Contract not being followed and the Company allowed to make the rules up as they go!!!!

 

how is that against the contract? if you want to go, you can go. if you don't they won't force you to decide and give a strike and cut your pay and benefits off.

[lackanookey]

Why is everyone bashing the union already? Inverse layoff???? hahahahahahahahahah good luck with that. Inverse layoff would mean the plant will be closing in the near future. I heard from a guy in unit 18 b-shift that the mustang will end up in wayne in 2012. Leave the union out of this wingzrule19. Besides, everyone knows the Blackhawks are the best.

looks like we have a volunteer to go to chicago! LOL

[VDTRANSMAN]

according to our union officials down in louisville, they DO NOT expect anybody to be forced to chicago. ford would rather continue paying the sub/tap and hire $14 an hour employees up at CAP than force people.

 

Nope they cant force anyone and wont have to. You'll have plenty of volunteers once they realize the SUB CLOCK is about to start ticking. They are going to be forced to volunteer.

Edited February 17, 2010 by VDTRANSMAN

[jerrymaker]

It wasn't my aim to piss any one off with my earlier post. I understand that it takes alot of seniority to hold jobs at AAI but I have seen bids go up and I hope people were bidding them.

 

I am not looking for sympathy.I am speaking from experience when I say that I wish this on no one, 2 years on the street please don't give me this crap about "you have a job" and as of July 13 many of us won't anymore. AAI took us in on their terms to protect their own what happened to solidarity when they announced before we got here we wouldn't get our seniority I'm sure plenty stood up and pointed out how unfair it was to your brother and sisters. the Saline and Sheldon and any ACH bids should have gone to those on ILO. Why train, move, orient, 2 people when you only had to do this for one. Make those jobs temp at 2 plants instead of temp jobs at every plant.

 

This is all in the past and I hold none of this against any one and I'm sorry in my post if it comes across that way, and as I said before I was hoping to give people something to look out for in the future.

 

you are right. i'm in the same position you are, i'm in body dept. why didn't they move us to saline and train us. no, they took people from aai and sent them to saline and brought us to aai. theres training x2. they wont give us our pay or seniorty, what gives.

[deflep1]

I asked my dist. rep at AAI today about the 550 RTBU for Mich. Assem. He said however many people return to their home plant of MAP would be subtracted from the 550. For instance: if 300 former Mich Truck workers return to MAP, then 250 jobs would still be open for laid off workers to pick by seniority. This could also open up some jobs at plants they leave. IE: if 50 workers return home from Dearborn Truck, then those 50 jobs could be open. MAP and Chicago are going to have the most openings by far, but some other Michigan plants should have a small number of openings. I know most people would take ANYTHING in Michigan rather then move to Chicago, myself included. Most workers would lose a fortune selling their houses in a depressed market, if they could sell it at all. Maybe the Saline situation will be clarified at the Sunday union meeting. Our local says the low seniority below the cutoff date would be laid off when we lose the shift, but Salines' local says they all can stay. This could become a big problem. Say you had late '93 sen. and you miss the cut by 50 people, but there's 100 loan out workers with lower sen. at Saline and they let them stay there, it would violate the contract and those workers could file major grievences. I asked Bob King at the Region 1A meeting if the affected Saline loan outs (below the cut off date) would have to leave and be laid off.. he said YES, you can't contractually have higher sen. workers placed on ILO with lower sen. people still working on a loan out. Our plant seniority list shows that if they keep 1380 workers (like the AAI spokesperson said) it would take April '93 sen. to stay. If they keep 50-100 more people it moves down to late '93. The company simply calculated 2281(total hourly workers) - 901 cut = 1380 to stay. This is if no Saline loan outs are laid off. If 100 or so are laid off from there, then 100 more '93 workers get to stay. When a plant drops to one shift they usually keep around 60% of all workers. This means approx. 1400 is all that will remain. It could be a little higher or lower, but the company's number won't be official until all union negotiations are finished. The Det. News and Free Press both reported that around 600 Ford workers nationwide are on ILO, and they would be combined by seniority with AAI's laid off workers to pick jobs offered to them. So basically by the end of the year, you'll either be working or using up your Sub and TAP. I hope everyone gets to pick a plant, but both papers said however many low sen. that do not get a plant offered to them, a buyout will be offered. I pray for everyone affected by this and please pass along info you get to help us make informed decisions. Thanks.

Edited February 18, 2010 by deflep1

[stevend]

you are right. i'm in the same position you are, i'm in body dept. why didn't they move us to saline and train us. no, they took people from aai and sent them to saline and brought us to aai. theres training x2. they wont give us our pay or seniorty, what gives.

[stevend]

I asked my dist. rep at AAI today about the 550 RTBU for Mich. Assem. He said however many people return to their home plant of MAP would be subtracted from the 550. For instance: if 300 former Mich Truck workers return to MAP, then 250 jobs would still be open for laid off workers to pick by seniority. This could also open up some jobs at plants they leave. IE: if 50 workers return home from Dearborn Truck, then those 50 jobs could be open. MAP and Chicago are going to have the most openings by far, but some other Michigan plants should have a small number of openings. I know most people would take ANYTHING in Michigan rather then move to Chicago, myself included. Most workers would lose a fortune selling their houses in a depressed market, if they could sell it at all. Maybe the Saline situation will be clarified at the Sunday union meeting. Our local says the low seniority below the cutoff date would be laid off when we lose the shift, but Salines' local says they all can stay. This could become a big problem. Say you had late '93 sen. and you miss the cut by 50 people, but there's 100 loan out workers with lower sen. at Saline and they let them stay there, it would violate the contract and those workers could file major grievences. I asked Bob King at the Region 1A meeting if the affected Saline loan outs (below the cut off date) would have to leave and be laid off.. he said YES, you can't contractually have higher sen. workers placed on ILO with lower sen. people still working on a loan out. Our plant seniority list shows that if they keep 1380 workers (like the AAI spokesperson said) it would take April '93 sen. to stay. If they keep 50-100 more people it moves down to late '93. The company simply calculated 2281(total hourly workers) - 901 cut = 1380 to stay. This is if no Saline loan outs are laid off. If 100 or so are laid off from there, then 100 more '93 workers get to stay. When a plant drops to one shift they usually keep around 60% of all workers. This means approx. 1400 is all that will remain. It could be a little higher or lower, but the company's number won't be official until all union negotiations are finished. The Det. News and Free Press both reported that around 600 Ford workers nationwide are on ILO, and they would be combined by seniority with AAI's laid off workers to pick jobs offered to them. So basically by the end of the year, you'll either be working or using up your Sub and TAP. I hope everyone gets to pick a plant, but both papers said however many low sen. that do not get a plant offered to them, a buyout will be offered. I pray for everyone affected by this and please pass along info you get to help us make informed decisions. Thanks.

Well the temp situation is going to open up a whole can of worms. If as you were told, there are dearborn truck people that return to michigan assembley, which I know there will be, then that will not create an opening for us. You have to remember there are many temp workers at saline from dearborn truck. They cannot take aai people and place them in their slots. Dearborn truck is the permenant home for many temp workers at saline. They would have to return them before they can offer those open jobs to anyone else. Otherwise you would just be putting people there on a temporay basis. Which is what created this situation in the first place.

[oogravyoo]

Everyone keeps saying MAP is going to be needing lots of people...How is that so, when all they are doing is moving the people from WAyne to the new building?

The most I've heard they would ever need would be 200................But if they cut the 3rd shift at Wayne Stamping and body there's your 200...

 

trim is getting a 3rd shift.. they are going to need 500-515.. there are 400 people that have call back rights.

[billd9]

Actaully 3 shifts is not the magic number- most plants run 2 shifts, and management wants it that way. three shift ops are good profit wise, but they are a killer trying to maintain.

 

 

AAI ran ! shift for 4yrs and didnt lose money, so 3 shift operation, not true to be viable, in these times, whose not in trouble! AAI will come back again

[billd9]

trim is getting a 3rd shift.. they are going to need 500-515.. there are 400 people that have call back rights.

 

 

 

and not only that, aai announces that map will need 550 ppl

[billd9]

Nope they cant force anyone and wont have to. You'll have plenty of volunteers once they realize the SUB CLOCK is about to start ticking. They are going to be forced to volunteer.

 

 

u can bump ppl out of their plants once your sub/tap is exhausted, ford cant continue to pay sub/tap and have ford employees out on the street then turn around and hire 14 an hr ppl. you have to make sure all ford employees r placed or have taken buyouts first before the 2 tier starts

[KH1]

I asked my dist. rep at AAI today about the 550 RTBU for Mich. Assem. He said however many people return to their home plant of MAP would be subtracted from the 550. For instance: if 300 former Mich Truck workers return to MAP, then 250 jobs would still be open for laid off workers to pick by seniority. This could also open up some jobs at plants they leave. IE: if 50 workers return home from Dearborn Truck, then those 50 jobs could be open. MAP and Chicago are going to have the most openings by far, but some other Michigan plants should have a small number of openings. I know most people would take ANYTHING in Michigan rather then move to Chicago, myself included. Most workers would lose a fortune selling their houses in a depressed market, if they could sell it at all. Maybe the Saline situation will be clarified at the Sunday union meeting. Our local says the low seniority below the cutoff date would be laid off when we lose the shift, but Salines' local says they all can stay. This could become a big problem. Say you had late '93 sen. and you miss the cut by 50 people, but there's 100 loan out workers with lower sen. at Saline and they let them stay there, it would violate the contract and those workers could file major grievences. I asked Bob King at the Region 1A meeting if the affected Saline loan outs (below the cut off date) would have to leave and be laid off.. he said YES, you can't contractually have higher sen. workers placed on ILO with lower sen. people still working on a loan out. Our plant seniority list shows that if they keep 1380 workers (like the AAI spokesperson said) it would take April '93 sen. to stay. If they keep 50-100 more people it moves down to late '93. The company simply calculated 2281(total hourly workers) - 901 cut = 1380 to stay. This is if no Saline loan outs are laid off. If 100 or so are laid off from there, then 100 more '93 workers get to stay. When a plant drops to one shift they usually keep around 60% of all workers. This means approx. 1400 is all that will remain. It could be a little higher or lower, but the company's number won't be official until all union negotiations are finished. The Det. News and Free Press both reported that around 600 Ford workers nationwide are on ILO, and they would be combined by seniority with AAI's laid off workers to pick jobs offered to them. So basically by the end of the year, you'll either be working or using up your Sub and TAP. I hope everyone gets to pick a plant, but both papers said however many low sen. that do not get a plant offered to them, a buyout will be offered. I pray for everyone affected by this and please pass along info you get to help us make informed decisions. Thanks.

[KH1]

Does this apply to the low seniority at Sheldon Road that went on temp. loan from AAI?

[zj3]

u can bump ppl out of their plants once your sub/tap is exhausted, ford cant continue to pay sub/tap and have ford employees out on the street then turn around and hire 14 an hr ppl. you have to make sure all ford employees r placed or have taken buyouts first before the 2 tier starts

from my understanding the only way people can "bump" somebody out on seniority, is if you are on ilo and they offer you a position at another plant, say chicago for example, you can say no and then be able to force out a lower senior person at another plant within your zone, then that person has to take the job to chicago or be able to do the same thing to someone lower.But i believe we also have the 1 strike rule, so you turn down that option to work , you are eliminating yourself at ford, they will cut off your pay and benefits, because it will be reported to unemployment you turned down work. If i am wrong about this info i am not trying to provide false information, just my understanding of the contract

[gatorman925]

Don't you worry about the Saline people. You had the chance to leave and you didn't. That is your own fault.Deal with it.

[lostinohio]

Pretty sure it would violate the national agreement if a person on loan to Saline or Sheldon works while a higher seniority person at AAI is put on ILO. It sucks but its one of the few times seniority can be used like this. If you were that higher seniority employee, you would want the same thing.

[deflep1]

Our plant chairman at AAI issued a newsletter today explaining the shift reduction and job cuts. He said because of negotiations in the 2007 contract, there won't be a cut off date because they will have to let EVERY AAI worker pick (...starting with highest sen.) if they want one of the job openings at other plants. High seniority never got an opportunity in the past to go another plant,(when there were job cuts) low sen. was always forced out. I wasn't fully aware of this provision and the union didn't mention it before today. All those calculations on when the cutoff date would be just get tossed out! So now the original '87-'88 workers have the option to go somewhere else...something they never had before. A lot of people here are worried that the plant might close in 2 years, so I guess it's fair that everyone will have the option to leave. I doubt that many workers with high sen. would go anywhere, unless they thought they could go to a better plant with a positive future and maybe easier work. This new process of picks will create much more complicated decisions to be made. Do you stay at AAI and be the lowest sen. and worry about plant closure, or go to Chicago? If all the MAP spots get taken early in the picks a lot of us will have a tough choice, hope for another opening in a Michigan plant and give up our job at AAI. 900 workers will be cut, approx. 1400 will be left regardless of their seniority (it will be the 1400 highest sen. workers who don't leave) Just when I thought I had this figured out, another curveball is thrown at us! I don't have all the answers, but I'll keep trying to give out the correct information. There's never a dull moment at AAI, I wonder what NOT having to worry about your job all the time feels like!

[Skilled1]

And when are these job posting going up and will they be available to everyone on ILO and not just AAI?

 

His Chairman informed him of the 2007 language that locations with ILO/JSP will have the ability to sign for job openings.

 

The openings will be available for all active and ILO at ILO locations.

[ALEX4398]

His Chairman informed him of the 2007 language that locations with ILO/JSP will have the ability to sign for job openings.

 

The openings will be available for all active and ILO at ILO locations.

 

If these imaginary posting come up before middle of july when 900 go on ilo. Then would everyone on ilo including those working temp/ilo at AAI be able to bid before AAI members because they won't officially be out on ilo till July. The reason I ask it seems that Chicago would need people before then

[ReDemption]

Here’s yet another way to look at all this mess:

 

When AAI loses its second shift, the only way any member on loan will be affected is if there aren’t enough offered jobs at other facilities or too many high seniority members leave AAI. If either of the two is the case, then only the ones affected by seniority will be affected. (this is just an opinion because you never know now a days what the IUAW will pull out of their ass’s)

 

Here are some numbers for those that are pondering it. At AAI we have 2281 members and will need 1400 for 1 shift. Out of the 2281 nearly 300 are on temporary loan status in our plant (to cover temporary loans out of our plant, lol). Take the 300 from the top and you are left with 1981 now subtract the 1400 and your left with 581 affected. These numbers are not perfect, but close.

 

Here’s a twist; For arguments sake lets just say that everyone affected at AAI gets a bid to another plant (this meaning nobody with greater seniority took the offer) and a few weeks, months or years go by and Sheldon Rd, Saline or both close. The AAI members left at these plants have to hold seniority at AAI in order to return (bump someone out) or they themselves will be placed on indefinite lay off (ILO) and exhausting sub benefits. I say this because some are of the belief that we can bump lower seniority members out of other plants. This is not case, the only time we can bump someone from a facility with no openings posted, is when an out of zone opening occurs and nobody in-zone wants it. The lowest in-zone member will be bumped out of zone and then the senior member will take his/her position. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t the IUAW combine zone 1 and 2 during the 2007 negotiations?

 

With the national language now speaking to inverse seniority canvassing, this will be a long rollercoaster of canvasses. As members leave plants they might leave openings (manpower dictated) and then this becomes yet another canvass.

 

Hope some of this helps, good luck to you with what ever you decide to do.