That's because today, while there may be a few exceptions, GM doesn't make crappy vehicles any more. And, for a while at least, in the last decade, from the 2008 bankruptcy/buyout until the bone-headed decision last November to drop most of the sedans, they had good management to go along with it. That changed last November though....management blew it.

 

1000s of new job openings at FCA:
https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...bs/3013266002/

 

good question. how about he start with questions to management when he first started as union rep, such as: "how do we make this plant so awesome you'd never dream of closing it? how can we increase the value of what we do, be it in sophistication, quality, innovation, savings, etc.?"

 

 

https://business.financialpost.com/t...roit-hamtramck

Why not Oshawa, Unifor questions after GM extends Impala production at Detroit-Hamtramck

General Motors Co.’s decision to extend production at its Detroit-Hamtramck factory will result in some extra work at its Oshawa, Ont., assembly plant, but the automaker said the “modest” increase will not postpone the closure of the Canadian facility.

Last week, GM said it would keep producing the Cadillac CT6 and the Chevrolet Impala at the Michigan facility for an additional seven months until January 2020, when it plans to halt operations as part of a larger restructuring that includes the closure of five plants in the U.S. and Canada.

The move sparked questions about whether the Oshawa plant could expect a reprieve since it also assembles the Impala, a brand GM will discontinue as it focuses on SUVs and trucks over sedans.

There will be “some modest Oshawa job and work upside in the second half of this year because Oshawa does some stamping work for the Detroit Hamtramck plant,” David Paterson, General Motors Canada’s vice president of corporate affairs, said in an email.

GM still plans to stop production in Oshawa by the end of 2019, roughly the same time as production ends at Hamtramck.

But this means some Oshawa workers will keep their jobs slightly longer, Paterson said, although he did not say how many or for how long. Nearly 3,000 people work at the plant, with approximately 2,600 in hourly jobs and 340 salary or contract workers.

Unifor Canada, the union that represents the GM workers, has vowed to keep fighting the closure despite GM’s repeating that it has no intention to change course. It argues that GM agreed not to close the plant for the duration of its collective agreement, which expires in September 2020.

In this heated atmosphere, the extension of production at the Hamtramck plant is “significant,” Unifor national president Jerry Dias said in an interview.

“It’s a significant decision they’re making in Detroit because ultimately it shows that when GM makes a decision, it may not necessarily be final,” Dias said.

“If they can extend the plant in Detroit, then they certainly can extend it here in Oshawa as well.”

Dias believes that pressure from U.S. politicians encouraged GM to extend production in Detroit.

Meanwhile, Unifor is in hot water for some of its tactics. Earlier this week, the Ontario Labour Relations Board ruled that the union engaged in unlawful strikes to protest the GM plant closure.

The fight to keep production going is also heating up south of the border. On Tuesday, the United Auto Workers union that represents American workers sued GM over the idling of three plants before their collective agreement expires in September 2019. The Hamtramck plant is not included in the lawsuit thanks to last week’s announcement that extended production beyond the agreement.

Unifor has not filed a similar lawsuit due to different legal regimes, and is instead in the process of arbitration with GM, Dias said. If the arbitrator sides with the union, Dias believes the workers will be owed pay until at least September 2020 when the agreement was set to expire. Ultimately, he said the union is trying to find mechanisms to keep the plant open in both the short- and long-term.

“They do have options. They can extend programs,” he said.

When GM announced the restructuring last November, it said the closures will save $6 billion annually, money it can invest instead in emerging technologies such as self-driving cars.

 

Interesting to read that GM in Canada and Unifor is in arbitration for payments till the end of the contract in 2020.

 

If it goes according to schedule, production at the Lordstown, OH plant will shut down today. That is where the Chevy Cruze is built, and where other Chevy compact sedans//coupes were built before it.

I have a cousin who lives in the area, not far from Lordstown. He is an attorney....at one time, a District Attorney. I'll have to call or E-mail him and see if he knows if there is any kind of relief-pool in the area being taken up for the employees at the plant who are losing their jobs, although the UAW itself may have some kind of program.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...ge%2Fstory-ans

 

this is pertinent since OH.

Again, an employer can only do so much, at some point, the individual has to help themselves too. Sometimes I feel that's misssing--all take, and then some. I can't speak for all of us, but for most of us, nothing is guaranteed. We can come to work on Friday, after being off tomorrow, and see two state troopers waiting to escort us out of the building.

"GM says that 350 Lordstown workers are eligible for retirement, those who transfer will get $30,000 in relocation assistance, and that it's working to find new employment for anyone who wants it."

https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/06/econo...ers/index.html

 

The article I just saw said $30k in relocation and assistance finding new employment for anyone who wants it. Sounds like a very good deal.

 

 

 

That's the same article I posted, Jill.

 

The world is very dynamic today. I don't own a business and I fully expect to be laid off at some point within the next decade, i.e. in the 2020's (it's more polite it's an early retirement, likely would have 3 years notice and severance plus benefits). Rather than wait for it to happen, I keep my eyes and ears open. My kid doesn't graduate HS until 2032.

We have friends who work for corporate Toyota, and I still didn't understand the entire deal, but it sounded like employees ripped off Toyota big time with the move to TX. It sorta goes that they got huge relo packages and assistance, have to stay for some fixed period, and never sold their homes in LA, and keep their LA salaries. Someone here might be able to correct what I've said, that would be great. I don't want to pry too much with the friends' compensations. Plus, we only know 2 couples, that's hardly scientific for me to go by what they said.

 

Look at this......laid-off workers at the Lordstown, OH plant draped the last Cruze off the assembly-line with a beautiful American flag. It was almost enough to moisten up one's eyes. It will show Mary Barra, and the world, who has to come first......something she has forgotten, assuming that she puts down her coffee and cell-phone long enough to even notice.

 

good perspective... i was laid off twice, neither was the end of the world. one time i had a new gig long before prior severance ran out giving a nice double dip for a while. the other one i had no issue with either, and landed another good gig pretty quickly thereafter. then 4 years later i left and started a business.

if they were offered that package, not sure how they 'ripped off Toyota big time'. nothing wrong with not selling their LA homes, making the most of the relo, and deciding where they want to be after the commitment period. sounds very wise to me. i had one relo that was very generous and even though selling my home was a pain and lost a bit on that sale, with the relo i did just fine.

back on specific topic, when those gm plants close, i've no doubt the people losing their jobs will get a decent package, and those people need to do whatever it takes, even moving if needed, to make their futures secure, instead of sitting around, moaning about the layoff, doing nothing, and wondering why they're broke in a few months or years.