How to stop plant closings

[nvsked]

A bad worker is one who hides behind a system of carefully scripted roles. If a person is capable of performing a given task, and won't even for the welfare of the company or coworkers, he is a bad worker.

 

As someone who has heard more than once "Not my job" I have a question; who demands the carefully scripted roles?

 

Scripted Roles are determined by the process i.e. units start in body and progress through the various departments based on the vehicle being built, typical rotation is body, paint, trim etc. I don't understand the animosity, production is set up in teams and jobs rotate within a group, but a trim team person isn't going to jump on a fork truck because its not their role........Fork truck people require medical clearance to operate the machine, training and a license, so unfortunately its not their job, and you could get fired for operating illegally.... A repair person in pre-delivery is accountable for repairs, so it a pan gasket needed to be tightened its the repair person assigned to that area (scripted role) responsible for the repair....... Just like an electrician doesn't start making programing changes to an automated cell without the ok from automation engineer....(scripted role) Not throwing stones, just explaining the roles...

 

The level of accountability has changed considerably in the plants....quarterback has to make the throw, and its the receiver's role to make the catch, the coach called the play.

[Pioneer]

Just like an electrician doesn't start making programing changes to an automated cell without the ok from automation engineer....(scripted role) Not throwing stones, just explaining the roles...

 

Exactly. Just because I have access to the PLC doesn't mean I can program it. I use it for troubleshooting. If I change the logic and bad units are produced, or if somebody were to get hurt, it would be my ass fired for overstepping my bounds.

[RangerM]

Scripted Roles are determined by the process i.e. units start in body and progress through the various departments based on the vehicle being built, typical rotation is body, paint, trim etc. I don't understand the animosity, production is set up in teams and jobs rotate within a group, but a trim team person isn't going to jump on a fork truck because its not their role........Fork truck people require medical clearance to operate the machine, training and a license, so unfortunately its not their job, and you could get fired for operating illegally.... A repair person in pre-delivery is accountable for repairs, so it a pan gasket needed to be tightened its the repair person assigned to that area (scripted role) responsible for the repair....... Just like an electrician doesn't start making programing changes to an automated cell without the ok from automation engineer....(scripted role) Not throwing stones, just explaining the roles...

 

The level of accountability has changed considerably in the plants....quarterback has to make the throw, and its the receiver's role to make the catch, the coach called the play.

Exactly. Just because I have access to the PLC doesn't mean I can program it. I use it for troubleshooting. If I change the logic and bad units are produced, or if somebody were to get hurt, it would be my ass fired for overstepping my bounds.

 

I can't speak to car production specifically, since I've never been to an automobile production line, however I'd guess that your example of body, paint, trim etc. is in chronological order. Now if you are a person who comes in after another production step, and you find a flaw or error made in the previous step that you know how to fix, do you make the repair? If not, why not? If you know how to make the repair (let's just say you've done that job before), are you prevented by your "scripted role" from making the repair? What if you were a licensed fork-lift operator last week and your certification is still valid, but you've moved to another job within the plant. Are you now "scripted" (prevented) from going near a fork-lift?

 

What if Pioneer knows how to program the PLC (whatever that is), and discovers an error in the output it's giving him, but could be easily fixed using his own (non-scripted) skills? It seems to me that Pioneer would benefit from having a properly-operating PLC and Ford would benefit from Pioneer having functional diagnostic equipment, so why would it be overstepping his bounds if he is capable of fixing it?

 

This is what I'm referring to.

[nvsked]

2 issues here - free/fair trade with other countries and labor competition within the U.S.

 

I totally agree we need fair trade policies. Don't allow products to be imported here unless we're allowed to export products to them. Put us on a fair and level playing ground regarding labor costs.

 

If you want to know why corporations are using more and more cheap labor - look no further than your local Wal-Mart and the people who shop there. They want the absolute lowest cost for the stuff THEY buy and they don't give a rats behind where it comes from. And I'm sure there are some UAW workers and other union members in that bucket. And if that's what the people want to buy and that's where they're spending the money, how can you blame other companies for trying to compete with Wal-Mart by doing the same thing? They either have to compete or get out of the business altogether. What choice do they really have?

 

 

As for collective bargaining - that's ok as long as there are no extortion tactics such as threatening to strike over wages and benefits and no restrictive contracts that handicap the company's ability to compete. But what's wrong with compeitition for labor setting the labor rates? It seems to work just fine. Companies will pay market rates because if they don't then employees will leave and go elsewhere. If the market goes up for a particular skill then companies raise the compensation to keep employees. If the market goes down then maybe they lower it - maybe not.

 

It's like selling produce - what makes watermelons at the supermarket worth $4? Did somebody arbitrarily decide that watermelons were worth $4? Things are worth whatever people are willing to pay for them. A rare 60's muscle car may have only cost $3K new but now might be worth over $1M. Why? Because someone is willing to pay that much for it.

 

 

The problem with the UAW is that they got fat during a time when the entire automotive market was controlled by Detroit and everyone in Detroit played by the same rules (UAW contracts). So it didn't matter what wages were paid or what rules were put in place (like the jobs bank) as long as the Big 3 were all doing the same thing. That works fine until they no longer control the market and these companies have to start competing with people who don't have the same rules.

 

It's like the housing market - people were buying houses that suddenly went from $100K to $250K for no good reason. Now the value of those houses are slowly returning to where they should have been all along. Just because my house was worth $250K last year doesn't mean it has to be worth $250K next year. It's called a market correction and that's what the U.S. auto mfrs have been going through for years. They're trying to adjust from the monopoly driven extortion derived non competitive employment arrangements back to what the current market can sustain.

 

Back to the original question - if you want to keep plants open then make it financially feasible for the company to keep it open - which may not be possible due to the infrastructure even if labor costs are ok. In that case get the best deal you can for the displaced employees. Just don't think you can strike or somehow force the company to keep open a plant that it doesn't need because it won't happen.

 

"They want the absolute lowest cost for the stuff THEY buy and they don't give a rats behind where it comes from " I disagree, I try to purchase American products when I can. but it almost impossible to find American made products, due in part to trade treaties that have decimated our manufacturing base .... Supply and demand, less jobs, people forced to accept what they can get, now some of the people working at walmart can't afford to shop there.

 

The 8 million jobs lost since the start of our current recession are not coming back (entirely) in my opinion its more of a market correction, brought about in part by the short sighted trade pacts.

 

"As for collective bargaining - that's ok as long as there are no extortion tactics such as threatening to strike over wages and benefits and no restrictive contracts that handicap the company's ability to compete" Collective bargaining is not extortion.....I don't get that!! A group of workers together with a company agree to a labor pact, and its extortion.....A group of manufacturers, politicians, and foreign countries come together form a trade deal but this is ok.......Free market conditions.....I disagree, and current employment conditions suggest we are in the midst of a market correction.....housing, taxes, employment etc brought about by by artificial market conditions (Trade pacts)

 

"Back to the original question - if you want to keep plants open then make it financially feasible for the company to keep it open" If we want to see how low the market will go, we need a new trade pact to attack material cost.

 

Happy Holidays enjoyed the debate

Edited December 10, 2010 by nvsked

[nvsked]

I can't speak to car production specifically, since I've never been to an automobile production line, however I'd guess that your example of body, paint, trim etc. is in chronological order. Now if you are a person who comes in after another production step, and you find a flaw or error made in the previous step that you know how to fix, do you make the repair? If not, why not? If you know how to make the repair (let's just say you've done that job before), are you prevented by your "scripted role" from making the repair? What if you were a licensed fork-lift operator last week and your certification is still valid, but you've moved to another job within the plant. Are you now "scripted" (prevented) from going near a fork-lift?

 

What if Pioneer knows how to program the PLC (whatever that is), and discovers an error in the output it's giving him, but could be easily fixed using his own (non-scripted) skills? It seems to me that Pioneer would benefit from having a properly-operating PLC and Ford would benefit from Pioneer having functional diagnostic equipment, so why would it be overstepping his bounds if he is capable of fixing it?

 

This is what I'm referring to.

 

Sorry I thought based on some reply's people knew the process in assembly (kinda explains some of the comments)....Let me explain, a line worker has a station they work, no more than 5' x 5' in area (typically) all day long they put on a part or two (jobs are laid out by an Industrial Engineer I.E. for short) I have to put on these parts based on the process by the IE, they design a work station with the goal to be for an avg person to take 50 - 55 seconds to put on a part or two. With enough time to grab another part and repeat the process again on next unit ALL DAY LONG..... Make a repair!! No! I can't put on my part (50 seconds) and repair another process I have just enough time to put on my part and grab another..... Only have 50 seconds....If you build 75 vehicles an hour how much time is available to put on a part? .....If a part is made wrong (hole misaligned) line stops everybody knows when line stops.... Typically an operator cannot fix something because no time, the same reason I couldn't jump on fork truck to help out!!!! Nobody doing my job......we call this lean manufacturing

[akirby]

"As for collective bargaining - that's ok as long as there are no extortion tactics such as threatening to strike over wages and benefits and no restrictive contracts that handicap the company's ability to compete" Collective bargaining is not extortion.....I don't get that!! A group of workers together with a company agree to a labor pact, and its extortion.....

 

I didn't say collective bargaining is extortion. Threatening to strike if the company doesn't give the Union what it wants IS extortion.

[Noah Harbinger]

As an example - if a police officer was facing action from the police department because they didn't follow procedures and put someone's life in danger, the police department would probably fire them and you know what the police union would say? Good riddance! They would make sure the officer received whatever was coming to him but they would not try to protect that officer's job and prevent them from being dismissed. Their job is simply to ensure officers are treated fairly, not to protect the officers and their job at all costs.

 

And where exactly does this happen, Candy Land?

[Noah Harbinger]

I didn't say collective bargaining is extortion. Threatening to strike if the company doesn't give the Union what it wants IS extortion.

 

I see a strike as the gap between the supply (wages offered) and demand curve (wages considered acceptable) of labor. Both sides suffer in a strike; it's merely a time during which parties must adjust their supply curve ("Is their labor worth more than I was previously willing to acknowledge?") and demand curve ("If the strike never ended, could I expect to make this much elsewhere?") until they meet again.

[BrewfanGRB]

And where exactly does this happen, Candy Land?

 

Precisely. I can tell you from having seen it happen around here (actually, Milwaukee) that the union fights tooth and nail against all police officer firings. Being inept at your job does not earn the disdain you hope it would.

[Ford Jellymoulds]

Mondeo was #7 in September in the UK.

 

+ Shut a plant down just because you dont like the product? Drink much

 

That plant has to serve all of Europe, except for Russia and also major parts of Africa, Middle east, Australia, and Argentina. Not only just for the Mondeo but also the S-max and Galaxy.

 

 

Mondeo didnot make No 7 in the UK in September, its a crap car thats letting Ford down bigtime in Europe with piss poor sales shut the shitty plant down in Belgium and open a plant in Germany or Britain and reward those who buy Fords in big numbers and downsize it make it RWD and not such a dull bland boring looking shape.

 

Ford's RWD Cortina was smaller much better suited well tuned to the British market even as it faced the axe it averaged 16,500 sales a month just in the UK, the Mondeo will struggle to get that many sales in a year in the UK.

 

Some folk might say the Mundane Mondeo sales numbers 8,500 sales a month to the whole of Europe today make very ugly reading, when compared to the well tuned Cortina used to sell 16,500 a month in the UK as it faced the axe in the late 70's .

 

Today low volume producer BMW is the UK No8 best selling Jan-November 2010 and outsells the Mass produced Mondeo does not make our top 10. Ford of Europe management are a bunch of clowns that could not run a piss up at brewery they are not giving the British buyer what they want which is a RWD car. So RWD BMW leads the way in Mondeo class.

 

RWD Cortina was the No1 best selling car in nearly Britain all its life, the Cortina/Taunus was the No1 best selling car in Europe nearly all its life, l don't like the Mondeo because its sales are very ugly reading, the day it becomes UK/Europe No1 best selling car like the Cortina/Taunus use to year after year & RWD F-Series is No1 Stateside then l will be the dull Mundane Mondeo's No1 fan.

 

 

 

[Pioneer]

Now if you are a person who comes in after another production step, and you find a flaw or error made in the previous step that you know how to fix, do you make the repair? If not, why not?

You can't make the repair for the simple fact that you have limited time to do your own job, and a new unit is jammed up your wazoo approx. every 52 seconds.

 

Send it to the "repair hole". That is what it is for. If every employee tried to work the way you want them to, productivity would go down, and costs would go up.

 

What if Pioneer knows how to program the PLC (whatever that is), and discovers an error in the output it's giving him, but could be easily fixed using his own (non-scripted) skills? It seems to me that Pioneer would benefit from having a properly-operating PLC and Ford would benefit from Pioneer having functional diagnostic equipment, so why would it be overstepping his bounds if he is capable of fixing it?<BR itxtvisited="1"><BR itxtvisited="1">

 

I can program. I've done it before. But you don't completely understand the Ford culture. Mulally might be screaming "One Ford" to the press, but my supervisor looks for every reason in the world to write people up. Most of the time the fault is in the field anyway, and that is where I can do my job.

[RangerM]

Sorry I thought based on some reply's people knew the process in assembly (kinda explains some of the comments)....Let me explain, a line worker has a station they work, no more than 5' x 5' in area (typically) all day long they put on a part or two (jobs are laid out by an Industrial Engineer I.E. for short) I have to put on these parts based on the process by the IE, they design a work station with the goal to be for an avg person to take 50 - 55 seconds to put on a part or two. With enough time to grab another part and repeat the process again on next unit ALL DAY LONG..... Make a repair!! No! I can't put on my part (50 seconds) and repair another process I have just enough time to put on my part and grab another..... Only have 50 seconds....If you build 75 vehicles an hour how much time is available to put on a part? .....If a part is made wrong (hole misaligned) line stops everybody knows when line stops.... Typically an operator cannot fix something because no time, the same reason I couldn't jump on fork truck to help out!!!! Nobody doing my job......we call this lean manufacturing

Certainly sounds like a way to keep a body lean in any case.

 

Now I don't know how complicated it is for a person to install the part(s) you are referring to, but assuming you don't have time to make a repair, do you have time to identify a problem?

 

If you see something wrong, but don't have time to fix it, do you have a way of calling attention to it? I am a Chemical Engineer. When I am working on a technical report, and I discover an error (that I can't correct at the time), I put a Post-It flag on the page, so I know later to come back to it. Do you have something equivalent? If you're the guy installing the door trim, and you see that the window hardware is misaligned (or one of the pop-rivets is missing), if you install the inner facia, then the problem with the window hardware will be hidden. What do you do in those cases?

 

Like I said before, I'm not familiar with an auto assembly line. What I am familiar with is other types of industrial facilities. I am an environmental consultant who works under contract. Here's an example (I've experienced) of people hiding behind a carefully scripted role....

 

Watching an electrician drive off in his golf cart at 9:30 to "go get a part" to finish the job (a task that should take no longer than 10 minutes to accomplish), and not returning until 10:45, because his "carefully scripted break time" is 10:00 to 10:15. For some reason it takes 15 minutes to get ready for break time, and 15 minutes to collect onesself after.

 

A similar thing happens at 2:30, when the guy disappears because shift change is at 3:00, and the next guy who shows up at 4:00 has to start from scratch because the previous guy "didn't mention it". Somehow it takes 30 minutes to get ready to get off work, and miraculously it takes 30 minutes after the beginning of the shift to get ready to work.

 

This is something I've come to expect at most every plant I serve. The unionized plants are the worst for this, but the solution I've found is to give away company (baseball) caps to the workers, so the next time I show up, they'll be a bit more considerate, but why is it necessary?

 

I've had grievances filed against me for:

 

Unloading my own equipment off my own vehicle.

Plugging an extension cord into a 110V socket.

Pissing in the wrong Men's bathroom (I'm male)

Climbing a ladder to dust off a label (on a tank) that I couldn't read.

 

Needless to say this gets very frustrating (even when the plant manager himself has apologized to me), and makes the work rules appear all the more ridiculous.

 

Send it to the "repair hole". That is what it is for. If every employee tried to work the way you want them to, productivity would go down, and costs would go up.

 

I can program. I've done it before. But you don't completely understand the Ford culture. Mulally might be screaming "One Ford" to the press, but my supervisor looks for every reason in the world to write people up. Most of the time the fault is in the field anyway, and that is where I can do my job.

Based on a 50-second window, I can understand how an on-the-fly repair would be difficult, but do you have something like a "little red label" you can stick on the problem so it can be readily identified later?

 

Your supervisor needs to be more concerned with keeping things right, than looking for reasons they are wrong.

Edited December 10, 2010 by RangerM

[NickF1011]

Some folk might say the Mundane Mondeo sales numbers 8,500 sales a month to the whole of Europe today make very ugly reading, when compared to the well tuned Cortina used to sell 16,500 a month in the UK as it faced the axe in the late 70's .

 

How many vehicles built on the EUCD platform are sold every month? How many vehicles were sold every month on the Cortina platform? I think you'll find those numbers are much more comparable. For the bllionth time, different times, different markets, different results. Welcome to the 21st century, Jellymoulds.

[nvsked]

I didn't say collective bargaining is extortion. Threatening to strike if the company doesn't give the Union what it wants IS extortion.

 

OH my bad! So what do we call it when a company threatens to move production over seas if you don't accept a wage reduction? Legalized extortion, bully taking your lunch money!! No No I got it....Free Trade...... of course nobody represented labor during any negotiation of any trade pact

[mettech]

This will solve a lot of the issues noted here. No contract, no sick days, no grievances for Robonaut 2 on the production line.

GM - NASA developed robot

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g3qzOZLs6s

[nvsked]

Certainly sounds like a way to keep a body lean in any case.

 

After about 20 yrs people usually have significant bone and joint issues, some are totally disabled. Those 50 second cycle times are killer, a drop of water ripple effects

 

Now I don't know how complicated it is for a person to install the part(s) you are referring to, but assuming you don't have time to make a repair, do you have time to identify a problem?

 

Yes QAS system Quality Assurance pull cord system alerts supervision also lights up over head marquee to a concern...QUALITY IS PRIORITY ONE AT FORD

 

 

If you're the guy installing the door trim, and you see that the window hardware is misaligned (or one of the pop-rivets is missing), if you install the inner facia, then the problem with the window hardware will be hidden. What do you do in those cases?

 

NEVER happen too many checks and balances total system shut down QUALITY STAND DOWN heads will roll

 

Watching an electrician drive off in his golf cart at 9:30 to "go get a part" to finish the job (a task that should take no longer than 10 minutes to accomplish), and not returning until 10:45, because his "carefully scripted break time" is 10:00 to 10:15. For some reason it takes 15 minutes to get ready for break time, and 15 minutes to collect onesself after.

 

A similar thing happens at 2:30, when the guy disappears because shift change is at 3:00, and the next guy who shows up at 4:00 has to start from scratch because the previous guy "didn't mention it". Somehow it takes 30 minutes to get ready to get off work, and miraculously it takes 30 minutes after the beginning of the shift to get ready to work.

 

Where was the supervisor! Cannot speak for this situation, other than to say sorry would not happen at my plant.

 

This is something I've come to expect at most every plant I serve. The unionized plants are the worst for this, but the solution I've found is to give away company (baseball) caps to the workers, so the next time I show up, they'll be a bit more considerate, but why is it necessary?

 

WOW! The prejudice people have "The unionized plants??" This must be the situation at every "union" plant, any other group of people you care to vent on...

 

I've had grievances filed against me for:

 

Unloading my own equipment off my own vehicle.

Plugging an extension cord into a 110V socket.

Pissing in the wrong Men's bathroom (I'm male)

Climbing a ladder to dust off a label (on a tank) that I couldn't read.

 

Needless to say this gets very frustrating (even when the plant manager himself has apologized to me), and makes the work rules appear all the more ridiculous.

 

At my plant....Once you have a tag from security that establishes you are aware of plant safety and security practices (no pictures allowed, allowed in pedestrian isles only etc). You would arrive and no tools are needed, you may consult but to preform work you need to take it back to your shop, or explain the actions you want preformed to the trade assigned to the job. You need no extension cord we'll have our own. Use any rest room you want! Please stay off a ladder unless you have been through the Ford UAW safety program "Working at Heights"...Safety is job one! And! If the supervisor warns us ahead of time, we'll meet you at door with tools ready to go...cycle time its all about cycle time....get lean, continuous improvement

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences, have a good one

[nvsked]

This will solve a lot of the issues noted here. No contract, no sick days, no grievances for Robonaut 2 on the production line.

GM - NASA developed robot

 

GO ARMY

[RangerM]

After about 20 yrs people usually have significant bone and joint issues, some are totally disabled. Those 50 second cycle times are killer, a drop of water ripple effects

No doubt that repetitive motion contributes to wear on certain body parts. Of course, the IEs are supposed to ensure the fluidity of motion for a user/worker; the amount of effort required should be minimized not only to encourage speed, but also reduce the likelihood of exhaustion. I'm assuming you are able to (maybe even responsible for) pointing out deficency in your work area as it applies to your ability to perform a given task?

Yes QAS system Quality Assurance pull cord system alerts supervision also lights up over head marquee to a concern...QUALITY IS PRIORITY ONE AT FORD

It's good that you have a system to alert supervision, so long as supervision is responsive (in a positive way).

Where was the supervisor! Cannot speak for this situation, other than to say sorry would not happen at my plant.

 

WOW! The prejudice people have "The unionized plants??" This must be the situation at every "union" plant, any other group of people you care to vent on...

Rarely does a supervisor ever enter the equation. My interaction is usually restricted to the engineers or other process supervisors. They are the ones who interact with the plant techs. I can only observe what is going on. Remember, I'm an environmental consultant. My work is related to pollution, not production.

 

It's not prejudice when it's based on 18 years experience. No, I haven't been to every plant in the country (likely including yours), but I do know what the the worst ones (for obstructive work rules) tend to be (U.S. Steel was the worst).

At my plant....Once you have a tag from security that establishes you are aware of plant safety and security practices (no pictures allowed, allowed in pedestrian isles only etc). You would arrive and no tools are needed, you may consult but to preform work you need to take it back to your shop, or explain the actions you want preformed to the trade assigned to the job. You need no extension cord we'll have our own. Use any rest room you want! Please stay off a ladder unless you have been through the Ford UAW safety program "Working at Heights"...Safety is job one! And! If the supervisor warns us ahead of time, we'll meet you at door with tools ready to go...cycle time its all about cycle time....get lean, continuous improvement

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences, have a good one

I've been through more site-specific safety orientations than I could ever count. I used to have a collection of badges (different facilities) I'd received through the years. On top of that is the requisite Hazardous Waste Operations training, OSHA/MSHA, DOT, and several other certifications that have to be renewed every year.

 

I'm there for pollution control, and since my work is rather specialized, I'm better equipped to perform it myself, than to train another person. It's a waste to have a skilled person stand next to me so I can peer into a scrubber or baghouse, or take a sample of exhaust gas or wastewater. In those cases when there is someone there, they usually just stand aside.

[jpd80]

Ford NEEDS some over capacity. What happens when the market goes back to 15m or 17m a year. Ford could be caught with their pants down.

They have capacity, most of the sales growth will be in F truck and I heard recently that Ford

was looking at a second shift at one of the F Truck plants even after BOF Explorer finishes...LINK

While that's for new products coming, the F truck line is separate and could take a second shift if needed

Ford would be over the moon if F Truck went back over 600,000/year....

 

They have enough capacity, especially when a lot of products become consolidated on fewer platforms,

it makes those production increases and decreases much easier to control in existing plants.

Edited December 10, 2010 by jpd80

[akirby]

And where exactly does this happen, Candy Land?

 

St. Petersburg, FL. Father-in-law was a cop there for 35 years so he should know.

[akirby]

I see a strike as the gap between the supply (wages offered) and demand curve (wages considered acceptable) of labor. Both sides suffer in a strike; it's merely a time during which parties must adjust their supply curve ("Is their labor worth more than I was previously willing to acknowledge?") and demand curve ("If the strike never ended, could I expect to make this much elsewhere?") until they meet again.

 

 

OH my bad! So what do we call it when a company threatens to move production over seas if you don't accept a wage reduction? Legalized extortion, bully taking your lunch money!! No No I got it....Free Trade...... of course nobody represented labor during any negotiation of any trade pact

 

The company has to offer what the market rate is for labor because if they don't then employees will leave and go work somewhere else. If the company isn't willing to pay what the union thinks the job is worth then go find another job but don't strike and put the company under financial strain in an attempt to force the company to accept the union offer.

 

It's funny that the free market system works just fine everywhere else except the auto industry.

[RichardJensen]

The company has to offer what the market rate is for labor because if they don't then employees will leave and go work somewhere else. If the company isn't willing to pay what the union thinks the job is worth then go find another job but don't strike and put the company under financial strain in an attempt to force the company to accept the union offer.

 

It's funny that the free market system works just fine everywhere else except the auto industry.

A few comments:

 

You can't prohibit a strike unless the workers have voluntarily waived to right to strike as a condition of employment (emergency services, air traffic controllers, etc.)

 

Secondly, if the company has decided to put employees under financial strain, unilaterally, why should the employees not be allowed to respond in kind? If the company contemplates taking some action that stands to deprive employees of livelihood, it seems fair to allow the employees the freedom to respond in kind.

 

It is a negotiating tactic. Because infrastructure is expensive and because relocation is expensive, typically a solution can be reached.

 

It's worth recalling that domestic auto makers made terrible decisions that also contributed to their decline. The culture of denial at GM, for instance, was as much a factor in their collapse as was unsustainable employment contracts.

 

---

 

There are, in fact, many areas where the free market system fails or has failed:

 

Roads

Public utilities

Airlines

Mail delivery

Health care

Auto industry

Energy/Petroleum

 

In every case infrastructure costs are astronomical, raising a significant barrier to entry (have you priced a fleet of 737s lately?), or consumer expectations are not matched to a willingness to pay ("I want to send this check from Los Angeles, CA to Bangor, ME for forty-two cents, and I want it there in 3 days!")

[nvsked]

No doubt that repetitive motion contributes to wear on certain body parts. Of course, the IEs are supposed to ensure the fluidity of motion for a user/worker; the amount of effort required should be minimized not only to encourage speed, but also reduce the likelihood of exhaustion. I'm assuming you are able to (maybe even responsible for) pointing out deficency in your work area as it applies to your ability to perform a given task?

 

Ford VO (vehicle operations) has pages of ergro standards, hopefully some day an IE will read them....enough said

 

I've been through more site-specific safety orientations than I could ever count. I used to have a collection of badges (different facilities) I'd received through the years. On top of that is the requisite Hazardous Waste Operations training, OSHA/MSHA, DOT, and several other certifications that have to be renewed every year.

 

I'm there for pollution control, and since my work is rather specialized, I'm better equipped to perform it myself, than to train another person. It's a waste to have a skilled person stand next to me so I can peer into a scrubber or baghouse, or take a sample of exhaust gas or wastewater. In those cases when there is someone there, they usually just stand aside.

safety stickers for your hard hat...Shows you've had the "message"....Pollution control those were the days, electrostatic precipitators, bag house, lead, arsenic, stack compliance had my share of that, you should see some of the stuff that water screens collect Yum

[nvsked]

A few comments:

 

You can't prohibit a strike unless the workers have voluntarily waived to right to strike as a condition of employment (emergency services, air traffic controllers, etc.)

 

Secondly, if the company has decided to put employees under financial strain, unilaterally, why should the employees not be allowed to respond in kind? If the company contemplates taking some action that stands to deprive employees of livelihood, it seems fair to allow the employees the freedom to respond in kind.

 

It is a negotiating tactic. Because infrastructure is expensive and because relocation is expensive, typically a solution can be reached.

 

It's worth recalling that domestic auto makers made terrible decisions that also contributed to their decline. The culture of denial at GM, for instance, was as much a factor in their collapse as was unsustainable employment contracts.

 

---

 

There are, in fact, many areas where the free market system fails or has failed:

 

Roads

Public utilities

Airlines

Mail delivery

Health care

Auto industry

Energy/Petroleum

 

In every case infrastructure costs are astronomical, raising a significant barrier to entry (have you priced a fleet of 737s lately?), or consumer expectations are not matched to a willingness to pay ("I want to send this check from Los Angeles, CA to Bangor, ME for forty-two cents, and I want it there in 3 days!")

 

You get credit for the assist Richard....

[nvsked]

They have capacity, most of the sales growth will be in F truck and I heard recently that Ford

was looking at a second shift at one of the F Truck plants even after BOF Explorer finishes...LINK

While that's for new products coming, the F truck line is separate and could take a second shift if needed

Ford would be over the moon if F Truck went back over 600,000/year....

 

They have enough capacity, especially when a lot of products become consolidated on fewer platforms,

it makes those production increases and decreases much easier to control in existing plants.

Dearborn is 3 crew...KC has capacity....Super Duty capacity exist also