One guy gets it... (Political)

[planedick]

Letter from Troy Clarke, President of General Motors - followed by a response from Gregory Knox of Knox Machinery:


Dear Employees & suppliers,

Next week, Congress and the current Administration will determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis......................As an employee or supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.

Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.

Troy Clarke President General Motors North America

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From Gregory Knox,

In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for the United States automakers please consider the following, and please also pass this onto Troy Clark, the president of General Motors North America for me.

You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new "messiah" to wave his magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream"…
The dream is over!

The dream that we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without paying the price for these atrocities…and that still the masses will line up to buy our products

Don't tell me I'm wrong. Don't accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM's and Tier ones for 3 decades now throughout the Midwest and what I've seen over the years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.

Mr. Clark, the president of General Motors, states:

There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management. It is not…

You're right – it's not JUST management…how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass…so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time…for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour week.

How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics…for putting out too many parts on a shift…and for being too productive (mustn't expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?) Do you really not know about this stuff?!?

How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea:
over the last few years …we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors.

What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!?

Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them?

The K car vs. the Accord?
The Pinto vs. the Civic?!?

Do I need to go on?

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades.
Time to pay for your sins, Detroit.

I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money". Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems, but despite what people like George Bush and Troy Clark would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day… and something else would happen…where there had been greedy and sloppy banks new efficient ones would pop up…that is how a free market system works…it does work…if we would let it work…

But for some reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is right and that capitalism doesn't work – that we need the government to step in and "save us"…save us, hell – we're nationalizing…and unfortunately too many of this once fine nations citizens don't even have a clue that this is what's really happening…but they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams…yeah – THAT'S important…

Does it occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now in this country?...

How can that be???

Let's see…
Fuel efficient…
Listening to customers…
Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul…

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr W Edwards Deming 4 decades ago.

Ever increased productivity through quality, lean and six sigma plans…
Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like "the enemy"…
Efficient front and back offices…
Non union environment…

Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn't be telling anyone anything they really don't already know in their hearts.

I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into – my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did at their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) – I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work them through.

Radical concept, huh…

Am I there for them in the wings? Of course – but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.

I don't want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government.

Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins.

Bad news people – it's coming whether we like it or not

The newly elected Messiah really doesn't have a magic wand big enough to "make it all go away" I laughed as I heard Obama "reeling it back in" almost immediately after the vote count was tallied…"we might not do it in a year…or in four…" where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for the office

Stop trying to put off the inevitable …

That house in Florida really isn't worth $750,000…

People who jump across a border really don't deserve free health care benefits…

That job driving that forklift for the big 3 really isn't worth $85,000 a year…

We really shouldn't allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe…

That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn't be living in that $485,000 home…

Let the market correct itself people – it will. Yes it will be painful, but it's gonna be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it is a nation that appreciates what is has…and doesn't live beyond its means…and gets back to basics…and redevelops the work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world…and probably turns back to God.

Sorry – don't cut my head off, I'm just the messenger sharing with you the "bad news"

Gregory J. Knox
President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin, Ohio 45005

[Big Daddy Funk]

Atlas Shrugged

You have to admire a man who is unafraid to speak his mind in spite of the reprocussions. Ann Rand would be proud.

[madmax-im]

How refreshing!

I could not agree more strongly than that!Its as clear as your nose!And I just read something about Obama giving support to an additional $850 BILLION bailout JEEEEZUSIts really a sad legacy...we'll never get out of the hole.The sun will supernova before we would come clean

[planedick]

We are unique..

This is the only place in the world where you can get paid for poor or non
performance.

[Dsxs11]

Text deleted buy Moderator. Please try NOT to offend when posting. We ALL have an opinion, and almost ALL of them are different.
Political threads always bring problems, but if we can talk without name calling or cuss words, perhaps we can all LEARN from one another.

[ccogswel]

That about sums it up.

I bet part of the reason they are more insistant to help out all these banks compared to the auto industry is so they don't lose any of the money they may have in the banks themselfs. Just my 2 cents for what it's worth. I'd have more but they take it in taxes to bail out banks.

[fredintoon]

The Romans had an answer

Decimation.
take the politicians and the bankers and the top brass that got million dollar performance bonuses when their companies made a loss, select one in ten of them at random and hang them. The Romans used to crucify them but that's cruel. British long drop, crunch and the neck breaks. Tell the rest of them, "Try harder."

[Dsxs11]

Post editted

[trbig]

Dangit... I miss all the good stuff...

Member's reply hardly fit in with the Christmas spirit.

Scrooge is part of Christmas too ya know!

[Dsxs11]

I see we can't have a differing view point here without it being edited. SO EDIT THIS!

[madmax-im]

I see we can't have a differing view point here without it being edited. SO EDIT THIS!

Man you've got alot to learn...grow up

[LoserShoes]

I agree with Dsxs11, there seems to have developed a cliche mentality around here over the past several months. Might have to do with why the message traffic is down so much.
Used to be good place to hang out, maybe again someday when the tide shifts again.

Steve

[Dsxs11]

Yeah it's perfectly fine to offend the EMPLOYED UAW member. But god forbid he defends himself and others with actual facts. Being told to grow up by an unemployed 56 year old is laughable. I assume in the spirit of Christmas I'll be EDITED AGAIN then Banned.

[planedick]

Me too

I always wonder what was said that was so bad it had to be removed. Slam me, I don't care. Everyone is entitled to his/her view and it's impossible to get physical at such distances. Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names won't hurt me.

[TADracer]

I do have to agree with most of what Mr. Knox has written. I have been saying many of the same things for the past 15 years I have been a business owner. I also have been a member of a labor union and I never could agree with thier business philosophy. Most unions have outlived their usefullness and have the frog and scorpion mentality....You know, frog is carrying the scorpion across the stream and says you stung me now we both will die. Scorpion says I know but I had to sting you, I am a scorpion and that is what I do. So when the union came calling on my fledgling company about 13 years ago I was very nice, cordial and listened to them and then told them to get out of my office. But having said that I do agree that workers must be adequately paid for their time AND production. There is enough government regulation on labor practices that unions these days are simply an anchor on business, dragging them to the bottom.

The market will work this out on its own and does not need a bunch of government intrusion. Consider this scenario no one in the media or in congress or in the management of the big 3 ever brings up, but WILL HAPPEN if the big 3 go under. Say the big 3 go out of business today. We will have a major portion of the auto making capacity instantly gone and the other manufacturers that are left will not be able to fill the supply demanded by the martket, even in the economical downturn we are experiencing. So, within a very short period of time those jobs will be back in new plants or existing plants under new ownership. Yeah, the forklift driver might not make $85,000.00 a year because the workforce will probably not be union. But he will be able to work (if he WANTS to work) and make a reasonable living too.

I just see no way you can buy yourself out of debt by incurring more debt (especially government debt) UNLESS you make fundimental changes to the way you are doing business.