Machinists Union Local Lodge 735 blog, Nashville, TN. Nearly 1000 members strong at Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. in Nashville TN.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The news is, there's no news!
The company has told your Negotiating Committee they are working issues within the offer, and informed us a short while ago we would not be meeting today. Plans are for a meeting tomorrow morning.
No news huh? since there is no news I'm sittin here thinkin that when we starting off negotiating, everyone ,including company and union negotiating commitees, were talking about having a great contract and plant manager, Dan Tharpe, says he has instructed company negotiaters to negotiate a fair and acceptable contract, but it seems every day we hear about negotiations going bad because they are trying to take away from us instead of giving us anything to possibly buy on September 27. We have employees with forty years seniority that have already fought for these rights. It feels like the company's negotiating commitee wants us to strike. I don't want to strike, and I don't want to lose money or give up privileges that I already have. Like I said, I'm just sittin here thinkin...
It wasn't very smart for the company to opt out of a very important day of negotiating, with only 2 days left on our existing contract. The next thing they will want to do is start crying to you that they need more time and may ask for an extension. If they wanted to settle this, they would have been there. That is, unless they had to meet with the devil himself or maybe play a few rounds of golf. Who knows, maybe Maxi didn't have a clean pair of pants to wear. Whatever their reason will be, is bull#*%%!!!! All I know for sure is that lots of people are checking their things out at work and preparing for a strike. We are furious with the companys' lack of professionalism and greed! But we are very pleased with our Union Negotiators! Thanks!
(From B,Bob)It seems nothing ever changes with this Vought bunch. They are still trying to screw over the very people that made them what they are today, a huge profitable company and fat pockets for upper management. Doty acted like he was really HIGH on us and in many meetings has said over and over again how much we are appreciated. God forbid what he would do to the people that he didn't appreciate! I guess we will have to teach them a lesson on appreciation. We are hard working, honest Tennessee folks who want to be treated as such. If Vought would spend more time training people instead of trying to screw them over, then they would have all of the flexibility they need. Thanks to the Union Negotiators for working so hard on this!
From the perspective of the companies previous actions, one could conclude that it's a bluffing game that is being played in hopes of making the Union workers feel that somehow, we will accept the paltry contract that they have ready when it goes to vote this Saturday.
Need both sides be reminded of the past?
1. The fact that Dallas could NOT perform the specialty work that Nashville does.
2. The fact that the Gaining Ground program that gave management a lump sum, for a management mistake, that left the Union workers with the short end of the stick.
3. The fact, that thus far, the negotiations are nothing more on the companies behalf, to make the hourly people contemplate a strike, in hopes that they will accept a low ball offer that has no merit to the accomplishments of the Union workers.
4. The fact that management is playing nothing more than mind games in this whole negotiation, when it was stated that they wanted a to offer fair contract.
When the definition of fair equals dividing the pension plan between Union workers, it's nothing more than trying to divide and conquer techniques being used on every level, in order to weaken any contracts in the future.
We as the Vought Nashville Site, must also know that with the Cessna program coming in to our facility, have an impression to make to them (Cessna) and when the management team doesn't want to play fair with the Union, what message will that send to Cessna, if they see us on strike.
Clearly another poor decision is being made by the upper elitist in management at Nashville, that could effect any future business with other perspective programs that would be considered by Dallas' board of directors.
Stop playing management mind games and do what is going to benefit all of us in the years to come, or ruin any chances of having a promising future here, at the cost of having all the buildings torn down. Was that a subliminal message that was trying to be sent as a display that you could level a building and create fear? Will you be impressed when your salary is leveled from making bad judgement calls and you are gone from being hard headed and causing discontent, even in lower management?
Look beyond our Southern accents and stereotypes, oh Great Ones in the upper tiers and make a proper contract that will reward you with the work force having a higher moral, which will also profit the shop floor managers, that are your sacrificial lambs in the past.
In closing, this has been an indicator of the sloppy and shoddy work done on managements behalf once again. That has resulted in overtime refusal and productivity lost. IT IS TIME. Time to rethink your arrogant strategy.
4 comments:
No news huh? since there is no news I'm sittin here thinkin that when we starting off negotiating, everyone ,including company and union negotiating commitees, were talking about having a great contract and plant manager, Dan Tharpe, says he has instructed company negotiaters to negotiate a fair and acceptable contract, but it seems every day we hear about negotiations going bad because they are trying to take away from us instead of giving us anything to possibly buy on September 27. We have employees with forty years seniority that have already fought for these rights. It feels like the company's negotiating commitee wants us to strike. I don't want to strike, and I don't want to lose money or give up privileges that I already have. Like I said, I'm just sittin here thinkin...
It wasn't very smart for the company to opt out of a very important day of negotiating, with only 2 days left on our existing contract. The next thing they will want to do is start crying to you that they need more time and may ask for an extension. If they wanted to settle this, they would have been there. That is, unless they had to meet with the devil himself or maybe play a few rounds of golf. Who knows, maybe Maxi didn't have a clean pair of pants to wear. Whatever their reason will be, is bull#*%%!!!! All I know for sure is that lots of people are checking their things out at work and preparing for a strike. We are furious with the companys' lack of professionalism and greed! But we are very pleased with our Union Negotiators! Thanks!
(From B,Bob)It seems nothing ever changes with this Vought bunch. They are still trying to screw over the very people that made them what they are today, a huge profitable company and fat pockets for upper management. Doty acted like he was really HIGH on us and in many meetings has said over and over again how much we are appreciated. God forbid what he would do to the people that he didn't appreciate! I guess we will have to teach them a lesson on appreciation. We are hard working, honest Tennessee folks who want to be treated as such. If Vought would spend more time training people instead of trying to screw them over, then they would have all of the flexibility they need. Thanks to the Union Negotiators for working so hard on this!
From the perspective of the companies previous actions, one could conclude that it's a bluffing game that is being played in hopes of making the Union workers feel that somehow, we will accept the paltry contract that they have ready when it goes to vote this Saturday.
Need both sides be reminded of the past?
1. The fact that Dallas could NOT perform the specialty work that Nashville does.
2. The fact that the Gaining Ground program that gave management a lump sum, for a management mistake, that left the Union workers with the short end of the stick.
3. The fact, that thus far, the negotiations are nothing more on the companies behalf, to make the hourly people contemplate a strike, in hopes that they will accept a low ball offer that has no merit to the accomplishments of the Union workers.
4. The fact that management is playing nothing more than mind games in this whole negotiation, when it was stated that they wanted a to offer fair contract.
When the definition of fair equals dividing the pension plan between Union workers, it's nothing more than trying to divide and conquer techniques being used on every level, in order to weaken any contracts in the future.
We as the Vought Nashville Site, must also know that with the Cessna program coming in to our facility, have an impression to make to them (Cessna) and when the management team doesn't want to play fair with the Union, what message will that send to Cessna, if they see us on strike.
Clearly another poor decision is being made by the upper elitist in management at Nashville, that could effect any future business with other perspective programs that would be considered by Dallas' board of directors.
Stop playing management mind games and do what is going to benefit all of us in the years to come, or ruin any chances of having a promising future here, at the cost of having all the buildings torn down. Was that a subliminal message that was trying to be sent as a display that you could level a building and create fear? Will you be impressed when your salary is leveled from making bad judgement calls and you are gone from being hard headed and causing discontent, even in lower management?
Look beyond our Southern accents and stereotypes, oh Great Ones in the upper tiers and make a proper contract that will reward you with the work force having a higher moral, which will also profit the shop floor managers, that are your sacrificial lambs in the past.
In closing, this has been an indicator of the sloppy and shoddy work done on managements behalf once again. That has resulted in overtime refusal and productivity lost. IT IS TIME. Time to rethink your arrogant strategy.
Sincerely,
Some shop floor hillbilly
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