Using Randy V's logic, if we run the company into the ground, so what! it's agreed upon! Idiot.

I think most of us could take a lesson from ohiohud21. Someone who speaks their mind, but does so eloquently and without nastiness to anyone else.

Let us do what we can to rebuild America. Let us not only buy American cars, but also American goods in general. It may take a little effort, but it sounds like most of us are use to hard work and should be up for the task.

We can come together. Not just for the autoworker, but for all those in need.

It saddens me to see so many negative comments about the GM situation. I am an employee and on lay-off. I became employed in 1994 in Defiance. I was hired off the street. I had no pull to get in. All I had was a degree that I financed myself. I was working at Zeller's previously. Seeing they've went out of business, it seemed a good move. We moved our family to the great city of Defiance. We call it home. Defiance is where we shop, attend church, support charities, and pay our taxes. Many posts have said we have it too good. If you've never been in a foundy, it could appear that way. The press and television news only show the assembly plants. Tennis shoes and shorts are their attire. We wear long sleeves pants,and gloves to eliminate burns. I myself have melted the soles of my work boots in hot sand. I've had burns on my face from only being near the furnaces with temperatures greater than 900F on the exterior. I've been in areas where you shine a flashlight and you think you're in a snow globe but it is metal dust. When you get home from work you sneeze and the mucous is black. Our life expectancy is losing 1 year for every 5 years working. It's an oven in the Summer and you freeze in the Winter. We deal with fires, explosions, and very hazardous situations. Yet even with these hazards, I wish I was working. I don't like being laid off. I cringe every time I see a KIA driving down the road, or in the Meijer parking lot. So many of the foreign cars have no US parts. I have relatives on permanent lay off from suppliers to the big three. GM only stamps the body and builds the powertrain. Everything else in contracted out. Many small businesses supply everything else. I've read that for every domestic auto job lost there will be five others lost. This is affecting or will effect our fragile national economy. I know many posters say I've led the good life and shame on me for complaining. However, I remember my life before working for GM. We've always felt blessed and have tried to pass these blessings on to our community, neighbors, and family. We've never led an extravagant life. We still cut coupons. We don't drive Cadillacs and we don't have toys. Our children weren't spoiled and have developed a good work ethic because of it. They have become better citizens because of that. I just wish the negative posters would consider the hurt they are injecting into everyone's lives. We, the employees, have had no control over management's decisions. We've built what they told us to. They built what the American public wanted to buy. It's that plain and simple. America wanted big, safe, SUVs for soccer Moms, sporty trucks, and high horsepower cars. I believe, GM and the entire industry's downfall happened because of fuel costs. I'm not saying this as an excuse for them not being diversified with fuel efficient cars. They've had winners in the past and have some now. But everyone's scared of losing their job and the last thing they need is a payment on a car they can't afford. So many families are losing their homes, how can they afford a car. The entire economy is unknown. I don't blame them. I just wanted to reply with a different view on the situation. I understand the anger directed at us, but just remember we have had no control over the business decisions that have gotten us to this crossroad. Our contract was negotiated and agreed upon by both Union and Management to be fair to all parties and to benefit the business model GM wanted to achieve. It's been reopened with givebacks to keep the business afloat. The Union has given but our costs to the business are minimal compared to the top heavy management costs. I truly wish, and I know this is just a wish, that everyone could buy a new American made vehicle. We could put America back to work and make America the great industrial powerhouse it once was.

Good Job Randy V!! keep up the good work and your doing it well while your even laid off from GM!!

Well put Randy V !

Amen Randy V Amen

Wow! What hippocracy!! Revierira states "...doesn't owe you a dime." That's quite an interesting theory considering how much money GM just took from the tax payers!!!

Wow! Can you feel the love here! Talk about class envy, greed and equivocation. If you angry posters used half of the energy you waste on worrying about the grass on the other side of the fence, and put it toward more productive and enriching endeavors, you would be enjoying a much brighter outlook than those employed by GM currently face.
First of all, on the extremely rare chance that "Duece (sic) McCallister" is anything other than a cowardly pseudonym used by a grieving Saints fan too ashamed to identify his persona along with his non grata, I would like to thank Deuce McCallister for taking such a keen interest in the Automotive Industry, and GM Powertrain, Defiance in particular. Certainly being a free agent now must afford quite a bit of free time to bone up on local news and events, (even if it isn't local to Louisiana/Mississippi geography.) Umm yup, now that mess is cleared up
I would like to agree with Steve Lamb and his comments concerning higher education. The more education you have, the more potential you have; the more potential you have, the more salary you can earn. Notice that these are opportunities, not guarantees. Just having an education doesn't guarantee untold riches. You have to go out and apply your knowledge where it is valued to get your piece of the pie, so to speak. The paradox is that it's ambition not education that is the key factor in success. You can be ambitious and not have a four year degree and still succeed, while in contrast, you can have a four year degree and no ambition and you will NEVER succeed. Bill Gates was a college drop-out and he can easily shake $10,000 in the face of every Liberal Arts graduate that ever posed the question, "would you like fries with that?" Now if you really value success, add tons of ambition to a viable 4 year degree and you can write your own ticket.
In direct response to "hmlsadvcte", yes the truth does hurt. And the truth here is that you are uninformed, misinformed, and misguided in your attack on GM and/or its employees. (Ouch, what a painful condition!)
You can work at GM with your 4 year degree if you were qualified to work at GM. In most cases, however, your 4 year degree will not earn you nearly as sweet a salary as the average hourly worker is compensated. The 4 year degree is considered an "entry level" qualification in a corporation as large as GM. If you want to work a salaried position and make the "big GM buck", then you have to continue your education further! That is, of course, if you have a talent, skill, and college degree that is suitable to the automotive industry. There are numerous BA's and BS's that are extremely valuable and reputable but have little or no worth to the automotive industry. As for "knowing someone" at GM to put your name in, well that is called a referral and it is NOT an exclusive method of application. There is nothing evil or nefarious about utilizing a referral system to develop a qualified employee pool. In fact, much like word of mouth advertising, a glowing academic, character, or employment referral is quite a valuable and accurate method of weeding out the weenies in a group of wannabe employees. Certainly someone of your elevated education and civic status ought to be able to find at least one glowing referral.
As for the percentage of the Plant's workforce that are Defiance natives Well, native status is something normally conferred upon the indigenous tribes of the Americans, however, I think the numbers you are looking for are somewhere in the 15th percentile. That is to say that approximately 15% of the employees of GM Defiance actually live in the immediate Defiance area. This is just an educated guess, however, if a more accurate number is required, see the reference to ambition above and look it up.
On your last self-gratuitous point, "hmlsadvcte", "The town itself may benefit from GM dollars, but my family & I have not. Wow, lucky me. Thanks GM." Get real amigo! Take that grubby little hand of yours that you are holding out expecting some "entitlement", and wash it with lye soap, then look in the mirror and slap some sense into the person you see! GM, like any other employer, has an obligation to its employees, and, by extension, the community it resides in. It does not have any obligation to any other local entity. GM doesn't owe you a dime. Your employer doesn't owe you a dime, your community doesn't owe you a dime, and your state doesn't owe you a dime. And as for your federal government, the Constitution states that it is incumbent on them to stay the hell out of your business except where so noted.
Now, if you slapped that person in the mirror and his head is now clear, digest this GM didn't raise the cost of living in your community; it raised the STANDARD of living in your community. You have a variety of retail and grocery stores in which to shop. Your school, and/or your child's school had new computers, state of the art athletic facilities, and top shelf academic instruction. You're roads are paved and have working traffic control devices and lighting. You have a police force to protect and serve you and a fire department standing ready in case you have a medical or fire related emergency. Those are the "benefits" of GM in your community. It's called serendipity, because it isn't expected, nor is it required, it is just a pleasant outcome of having the influence of a global corporation in your back yard.
Finally Will everyone quit the belly aching about the GM hourly workers wages and benefits package please. These are negotiated benefits. Contractually agreed upon terms. The bargaining unit said I want this and I'll give you this in exchange, and then corporate said , I'll give you that , if you give me this and drop that. Nobody had a gun to anyone's head during this process. If it is grossly out of touch with reality, so what! It is agreed upon. If it is cumbersome, so what, it is agreed upon. If it is lucrative to one or both parties, AWESOME and So What! It is agreed upon. All of you people who complain of how out of sorts and touch the pay scale at GM is need to re-evaluate your own worth and start negotiating your own deals. Maybe the job is only worth so much to the employer, or maybe the employee is only worth so much to the employer. If it is the latter, (and it usually is) see the reference at the beginning of this post concerning education.
Sign me Randy V.

Steve I was simply pointing out to Truth Hurts that his idea that if everyone simply went out and got an education, that they too could earn GM wages. Unfortunately, it isn't true. Each of us is blessed to live in the United States. We were fortunate enough to be born here rather than in so many other places. However, we are still called to work to make things even better here. More equal here. There is nothing wrong with making a good living, but I think many of our concerns is that the media portrays the auto worker as poor and deprived if they are shut down for 9 weeks. Why can't the auto worker "cry babies wake up" and realize they've got it pretty good? How many others are permanently laid off with no prospect of return? How many would be thankful to accept only a percentage of their wages while sitting at home waiting for a call back?

Concerned American, Proud Christian

At the risk of sounding partisan,what would the UAW have said to former President Bush if he had said,if you want more bailout money,you have to re-negotiate your lawfull contract with GM.
Jim Blosser
Defiance,Ohio
United States of America