posted on June 24, 2004 01:05:57 PM new
Well, for all the jobs that are supposedly being created (you know, like McDonalds, Burger King, etc.), there are still a lot that are kicking the bucket. This area has been very hard hit and it keeps taking more hits:
1,200 Jobs Will Be Lost As Ford Plant Closes
NewsNet5.com8:14 a.m.
EDT June 24, 2004 - Ford Motor Company's Lorain Assembly Plant will close in late 2005, resulting in the loss of about 1,200 jobs.
Ford spokeswoman Anne Marie Gattari says production of the plant's E-van will shift to the Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake.
She says production of the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner at the Avon Lake plant will be transferred to a Kansas City, Mo. plant in August 2005.
Ford announced the closing of the Lorain plant last year. This is the first time details have been given by the company.
United Auto Workers director Lloyd Mahaffey says Ford has broken a commitment to keep the Escape and Mariner in Avon Lake.
Many of the Lorain workers will be eligible for retirement and some could find work at the Avon Lake plant.
posted on June 24, 2004 01:18:16 PM new
Sorry to hear about that Cheryl. Since the plant isn't closing until next year all we will continue to hear is how the economy is improving and how many new jobs have been created.
Re-defeat Bush
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posted on June 24, 2004 09:57:30 PM new
No one really knows IF jobs will be lost at all...in the total scheme of the job market.
The plants are closing...those workers MAY be unemployed or they may move and regain their jobs at the other plant.
If none [or few] do move then quite possibly the unemployed in that area will get the newly created jobs.
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Plus I always wonder why the left complains about jobs but when the estimate of approx 750,000 jobs would be created by drilling in Alaska....oh heavens no...we can't do that.
Well then....imo you're the ones keeping those who COULD have work umemployed.
posted on June 25, 2004 12:25:25 AM new
American car manufacturers used to counter outrageous salaries & benefits won during very fat years (funny, they never go the other way) with great productivity. The side mirrors may fall off, but they made a lot of cars! Well now productivity is way up around the world and the day of the guy making 100k/yr (salaries and benefits) to put on rear view mirrors is over. Very few tears are shed for UAW workers.
posted on June 25, 2004 12:38:23 AM new
We had that happen in our city where Chrysler pulled out. Disaster, well not really. That's what everyone thought. Many employees transferred to other plants in the US, many retired. The ones that elected to grip just stay around. Now Chrysler is back, but for how long.
The car industry is getting way out of line with their prices and people are going to the used car lots. One of the reasons car prices are so high are the wages that are being made because they have a very strong union. They need a reality check but it will never happen.
posted on June 25, 2004 10:33:49 AM new
The largest automaker is GM, followed by Toyota, though Ford claims it's No. 2 and the numbers are wrong.
And all I'm proposing is rather than the endless "we want more" is to pay what the job is worth. I'm surprised auto workers can go on strike and keep a strait face.
posted on June 25, 2004 10:47:15 AM new
Reamond, we have a big Freightliner (trucks) plant close by that just went unionized last year. It's been there for decades but since the union got in, there's talk of the plant closing and moving to Mexico because it can no longer be competitive with a $30.00 hr. starting salary and bigger pension funds. IMO, unions seem to ruin everything they touch - at least here in Canada.
posted on June 25, 2004 10:55:04 AM newPlus I always wonder why the left complains about jobs but when the estimate of approx 750,000 jobs would be created by drilling in Alaska....oh heavens no...we can't do that.
Um, not exactly Linda...60,000 is a far cry from 735,000. You must have missed WEFA's restatement of their goof.
60,000 jobs, not 735,000 jobs. Drilling proponents cite a 1990 report prepared for the American Petroleum Institute (API) by the Wharton Economic Forecasting Association (WEFA) Group that projected 735,000 jobs would be created if full development were allowed in the Arctic refuge. Inaccurate assumptions and model inputs provided by the oil industry, however, resulted in a biased WEFA analysis that dramatically overstated the potential job creation from drilling in the Arctic refuge. In September 2001, WEFA admitted that flawed assumptions were used in the report.
According to the Congressional Research Service (RS21030, October, 1, 2001), under the most likely scenario, full development of the Arctic refuge would result in 60,000 jobs.
On March 14, 2002, the Joint Economic Committee issued a report which found that drilling in the Arctic refuge would produce relatively few economic benefits and that the oil resources would not be large enough to enhance national security. Drilling in the Arctic refuge would "create 65,000 jobs nationwide by 2020, an employment gain of less than one tenth of one percent of the U.S. workforce as a whole."
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When a dog howls at the moon, we call it religion. When he barks at strangers, we call it patriotism. - Edward Abbey
posted on June 25, 2004 12:20:18 PM new
Toyota is the largest car maker in the world - surpassed GM last year.
It's been there for decades but since the union got in, there's talk of the plant closing and moving to Mexico because it can no longer be competitive with a $30.00 hr. starting salary and bigger pension funds.
So what you seem to be saying is that unless the workers make about $9 a day including benefits, the work goes to Mexico. It has NOTHING to do with unions. Non-union workers make more than Mexico or China workers.
posted on June 25, 2004 01:26:26 PM new
Libra is right about Toyota (LOL, Libra, we agreed!) They can move wherever they want. Look at working conditions BEFORE unions. They were deplorable. People died while working, people burned to death in clothing factories. Or do we all forget about that? Do you think unions are only for the benefit of union workers? Not likely. They help to get some of the issues important to the American people passed. They are a huge voting force in the U.S. I was a typesetter for a union newspaper producer for two years and got to meet a lot of the union reps here in Cuyahoga County - Ford, Chevrolet. I read the newspapers. I would say that the union worker is far more informed than your average person. Have you ever been inside a plant? If so, you wouldn't consider working there for $10 an hour (and that is what some make). It's stinky, hot, dirty, tedious work.
I worked for a plating company once that plated wheels for the auto manufacturers. I worked in the front office, but had to go into the plant quite a few times during the day. These people deserved every benefit afforded to them by the union. If anyone thinks the unions have ruined this country, I suggest you do some serious reading and brush up on your history. Many of the benefits you have in your non-union jobs and many of the safety rules now in effect (OSHA) are thanks to the unions.
posted on June 25, 2004 01:41:20 PM new
Unions serve to keep wages and working conditions at a level where workers can survive in the U.S. Greedy corporations want to increase their profits by moving to Mexico.
