Fear Factor

For some reason, i just haven't been able to update this blog the past couple weeks.  Its not like there hasn't been a wealth of subject matter to comment on with the announcement of the closing agreement, the meeting at Convention Center and  the subsequent ratification.  I have  sat down here multiple times and started a post, only to walk away with nothing.  My heart just hasn't been in it. 

I have to admit something.  More for myself, really, than anyone who may happen to read this.  

The bottom line is......I'M SCARED.  

I think this fear has been growing inside of me for quite some time now and has begun to fully ramp up in the past two weeks.  First, our union left us hanging right up until the Friday before the big meeting.  During this lull, i began to grasp the reality that our union truly would not be there to support us.  Day after day after day, i drove into the parking lot expecting to see the congregation of union groupies handing out the information that we so desperately craved.  Day after day i clocked in and put my head down and went to work, hoping tomorrow would be the day.  And then Friday came and the "informational packet" was finally handed out.  Did anyone else notice the near silence across the plant floor during the first half hour of Fridays shift??  Stunned silence, as we came to the realization that 2 years of negotiations had resulted in virtually nothing.  Confusion, as we wondered how our union officials could hand out such a vague summary at a time when we desperately needed detailed specifics. 

And then came "THE MEETING".   A few details finally began to emerge.  Transfer Rights? "Wait your turn behind every member of the UAW before going one for one with a new hire off the street."  Service Time?  "Sorry, we couldn't get you that tenth you needed to get to retirement or anywhere else."  Health Insurance? "Use your 5 office visits wisely, after that you pay 100%...And oh yeah by the way, that VEBA? It will probably only last 10 years...15 tops." Alternatives? "Take this deal or be prepared to walk away with nothing."

That's when the fear truly hit me.  The realization that my GM career was really over. There is no other option.  All the math and all the common sense points to one obvious direction: BUYOUT.  

The problem with that is this: I AM A GM WORKER.  Its what i do.  Its what I've done for the past 14 years.  To some large degree, it has become a part of my identity.  My family is deeply rooted within the company. My Father retired from GM.  My Grandfather retired from Frigidaire.  I have 2 uncles and multiple great uncles that have either retired from GM or currently work for GM.  I have been fully aware for quite some time that i would never retire from GM, but i honestly never planned to quit either.  

The funny thing is that i have been preparing for this day for quite some time. I will graduate with my college degree in the near future and will hopefully be positioned to find another job beyond GM.  I thought this preparation would allow me to transition smoothly and walk away from this place without a second thought. I thought i would leave on my own terms.  I thought i would go out with my dignity, feeling good about the time i have given to this company.  I thought i would just stop being a GM worker and everything would be OK.  I thought i would not be scared.

I was wrong.

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Everything You Ever Wished For, And Then Some...

I realize that most everyone believes that the decision to close our plant was sealed during the 2007 GM-UAW negotiations. I, myself, believe that the final decision was made during those talks. However, several decisions were made LONG before those contract negotiations that put us on our current path. As early as 2006, GM announced an investment of more than $400 million in the retooling of the Spring Hill plant. As we know, that retooling would ultimately result in Spring Hill producing the Chevy Traverse. The Chevy Traverse is the logical successor to the Chevy Trailblazer. General Motors ended up spending over $600 million and idled the Spring Hill plant for nearly a year in order to accomplish this retooling. It is fairly well known that GM could have built the Traverse here in Moraine for pennies on the dollar compared to the massive rebuild necessary in TN. In fact, several members of upper management have confirmed that initial preparations for the then unnamed Traverse were being made here in Moraine as early as 2005....well before the UAW had their chance to kill us. Why then did we lose this product?? Who dropped the ball?? What determining factors led GM to decide it better to spend hundreds of millions in Tennessee rather than tens of millions here in Ohio??

Years from now, when i look back at my days at Moraine Assembly, this missed opportunity will continue to haunt me. I don't know what happened. I certainly don't know what would have happened. Maybe we survive. Maybe UAW kills us anyway. Its over and done with so i know there is no point in playing the coulda/shoulda/woulda game. That said, it still stings when i see this..........


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"We Tried."

The following is the official response from IUE-CWA President Jim Clark concerning the recent plant closure date announcement along with some of my own thoughts regarding this response.

DAYTON, Oct. 3, 3:00 PM “IUE-CWA is deeply disappointed in General Motors’s
Refusal to keep the Moraine Assembly plant open. The announcement that the plant will
be closed much earlier than initially stated will further hurt our members, their families
and a Dayton community already rocked by plant closings and layoffs.

‘The IUE-CWA Division and the Local 798 negotiating committee worked closely
together to try to rescue this plant. We had a strong basis to start from given the high
quality and productivity of the workforce. Despite offers to do whatever it takes to save
Moraine. GM was determined to shut down the plant.

“We are finalizing a package that we believe will give our members in Moraine options to allow them to transition their lives after this devastating blow. The package, which negotiators have worked extremely hard to achieve, will include buyout, retirement and flow back opportunities. We are proud of what we have won, but realize nothing compensates for the end of a career.

“Rest assured that the IUE-CWA and the Local 798 leadership left no stone unturned in searching for a way to keep Moraine open. From outreach to elected officials to a range of innovative bargaining proposals, we fought to save this plant. I commend Local 798 President Gaylen Turner and his entire team for their commitment and leadership in a most difficult situation.

I know that we can count on the professionalism of our membership to see that the last truck out reflects the quality they are known for. We are saddened and angered by what has happened to our plant. I call on our members to express their outrage by voting in November for an Obama administration that will work to keep good manufacturing jobs in the United States instead of a continuation of the same trade policies and lax regulation that have destroyed our economy.

Jim Clark
IUE-CWA President

What stands out to me most in this response is the use of past tense by President Clark. "The IUE-CWA Division and the Local 798 negotiating committee WORKED closely together to try to rescue this plant." "We HAD a strong basis...." "....we FOUGHT to save this plant."

Perhaps i am just being picky, but ARENT there still dues paying members of this union active in this plant?? In fact, unless every single one of us takes the buyout, wont there STILL be dues paying members even after the plant closes on December 23? Am i wrong??? If i dont accept the buyout, i will still have to pay union dues while i collect subpay after the plant closes? If there are still people paying union dues, DOESN'T PRESIDENT JIM CLARK STILL OWE US REPRESENTATION???????

Why then isnt President Clark telling us that the IUE-CWA will continue to work to try to rescue this plant? Why isnt he stating that we STILL HAVE a strong basis to present GM in regards to reopening the plant once it closes? WHY ISNT HE SAYING THAT WE WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT TO SAVE THIS PLANT???

Look, i am not blind to what is going on here. I understand that our plant will close on December 23. I realize that it is GM's stance that they have no intention of putting a future product in Moraine. I will even acknowledge that our union did actually do everything they can to save the plant from closure....lets face it, IUE-CWA doesnt wanna lose our union dues anymore than we wanna lose our jobs.

However, i believe that our top union officials owe it to us to continue to fight for this plant for as long as there are members from this plant paying dues. Okay, so you left no stone unturned...turn them over again! Okay, you made innovative proposals....make more! Okay, you fought to save the plant...keep fighting! I dont care if Rick Wagoner himself told Jim Clark that the situation was irreversible....keep pestering him until he is sick of hearing about Moraine Assembly.

I just cant understand this garbage where Jim Clark decides the situation is hopeless and therefore he declares it a lost cause and moves on to other matters. I do understand that state and local government officials at some point have to shift their focus towards finding ways to reuse the plant. That makes sense because those government officials have a duty to serve the entire populus of the City of Moraine as well as the State of Ohio. However, Jim Clark has only an obligation to those of us who pay dues. The way i see it, that obligation continues for as long as there are dues paying members, even if it does seem like a pointless waste of time.

Humor us here, Jim.
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Here's to You 798

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.

King Whitney Jr.

*** The images shown in the video above were used courtesy of KimFatBastard(http://www.flickr.com/photos/fat_bastard_/), www.daytondailynews.com and www.save798.com. The video was created for my own personal and non-commercial use.
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