Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the closing of Ford Motor Co.'s 82 -year- old plant off Indian River Road in Norfolk.
Since then, hundreds of former Ford workers have negotiated the delicate transition to new jobs, some more smoothly than others. Many acknowledg e they haven't come close to matching the financial advantages they enjoyed at the truck assembly plant.
"I think a lot of people have done very well after Ford," said Tim Taylor, 50, owner of Tim Dogs, a hot dog restaurant in Moyock, N.C. "But I don't know anybody offhand that makes the same money and benefits they made at Ford."
Yet there are pluses: The opportunity to sleep in. The rest on the body. And, for those who started their own businesses, freedom and self-determination.
"I know that I'm controlling my own destiny now," sa id Ray Wicker, 44, of Virginia Beach, owner of Wicker's Cr ab Pot Seafood. "I don't have to worry about some corporate office saying: 'We're shutting you down.' "
Here are updates of five ex-Ford employees and their new lives:
CHRIS BARNES
When he was at Ford, life was less nerve-wracking for Chris Barnes.
"I didn't have to worry about a lot of things, like making sure the bills get paid every month," said Barnes, 34, of Chesapeake. "Now it's a struggle sometimes."
Counting overtime, Barnes said, he sometimes made m ore than $100,000 a year in his factory job. No w he has a $38,000 -a-year salary as a Virginia Beach firefighter. His wife, Christine, whom Barnes met at Ford, stays home with their six boys, ranging from 9 months to 12 years old.
He likes his new job better - the excitement, the power to help people at their neediest. But he misses the money he earned at Ford.
Barnes spent 13 years at the plant, ending in skilled trades, where he helped tend the combustion systems. When the news of the closing came out, he said, "I was scared to death at first."
He knew he didn't want an office job. He liked working with his hands. He was debating between firefighter and police officer. "My kids decided that for me," Barnes said. "They didn't want me getting shot at."
He took a battery of preliminary exams, from physical agility to psychological, and won entry to the seven-month fire academy. There, Barnes learned how to negotiate smoky buildings, how to break windows and ventilate roofs.
"At first, it was tough," he said. "After I got through a few hurdles, I really en joyed it."
In October, he joined Station 2 on Haygood Road. Barnes counts several benefits to the new job:
No worries about being laid off. The camaraderie at the station. The chance "to make an immediate difference in somebody's life, right then and there. When people call us, it could be at the worst moment of their life. You have to be on your game."
And, of course, "it's fun riding in a big, red truck."
The scariest, yet most exhilarating, moment came in February, when he helped battle a four-alarm fire. "You couldn't see your hand in front of your face," Barnes said. "It was fun and exciting and at the same time pretty creepy."
His boys are divided between considering his job "cool" and disliking the ever-present danger and the daunting s che dule. Barnes works 10 24 -hour shifts a month.
To bring in more money, Barnes has taken a part-time job at the closed Ford plant ("It's like a ghost town there"), working for a contractor helping to maintain the equipment. "Even with two jobs," he said, "the ends don't meet all the time."
The family has curtailed eating out. His wife "doesn't drive anymore if she doesn't have to."
But Barnes added: "I don't regret my decision as far as going to the fire department. I enjoy it. I think it will be a good career."
KEISHA JOHNSON and KIM THOMAS
Keisha Atkinson Johns on and Kim Atkinson Thomas envision a children's paradise: 10 "inflatables," including mazes, slides and obstacle courses. Four party rooms with names such as Elephant Safari and Monkey Business and murals to match. A concession stand serving pizza, hot dogs and popcorn.
The sisters, both Ford veterans, plan to open Jungle Gym LLC in partnership with another sister, Karen At kinson Hill, late next month at the site of a former warehouse and baseba ll batting cage on Dean Drive in Virginia Beach.
They've sunk about $250,000 of Ford buyout and their own investment money into the business. They plan nothing but success.
"I think we will do very well," said Thomas, 46, of Portsmouth, who's already talking about opening a second jungle gym.
Thomas had been with Ford for 12 years, working on the trim line; Johnson for 13-1/2, in chassis. "The Ford plant isn't a job you do because you like it," said Johnson, 40, of Suffolk. "It's a job you do because of the pay and the benefits. It allows you to provide a decent life for you and your family."
Nevertheless, the news of the closing helped them realize a decade-long dream to start their own place and capitalize on their business degrees from Norfolk State University.
The idea of the jungle gym appealed to the mothers in them; each has a 14-year-old child. For Johnson, it also made lots of business sense: "No matter what the economy is, kids will always be there. Second, most parents will do almost anything for their children."
They scouted jungle gyms, both locally and in Atlanta. Hampton Roads, they said, has a few, but none in proximity to theirs. Their goals to attract families, Johnson said, are "treating kids like they are kids," offering "great customer service," and providing a "clean and safe environmen t."
They will target children ages 1 to 10. The 15,000-square-foot space allows for as many as four simultaneous parties, the sisters said. They hope to connect with schools, day care centers, athletic teams and PTAs. They also will provide opportunities for "open jumps" for children who stop by.
The two seldom look back nowadays, though Johnson was astounded when a drug co-payment shot up to $21 under her new health plan from $5 with Ford. Otherwise, the sisters see the bright side of life after Ford.
"My body feels a lot better; I don't ache the way I used to," Johnson said. She used to "stay hoarse all the time." Not anymore. Thomas no longer gets sinus infections.
"You respect the little things - just going to lunch when you want and being able to see the sun during the day," Johnson said. "... You no longer have to depend on someone else. Your business is what you make it. If you sweat, you might as well sweat for yourself."
CHRISTOPHER PEARSALL
His salary has been cut by more than half. He's got to pay closer attention to what he spends, what he wears, what he says. But Christopher Pearsall is happier these days.
Pearsall spent 10 years at Ford, working most of that time as a millwright, fixing and moving equipment. "This is where I'm going to be forever," he reckoned - until Ford announced the plant would close.
Even before the shutdown, he enrolled at Old Dominion University, knowing only that he wanted "to stay out of manufacturing." In the spring of 2007, Pearsall applied for a $15-an-hour internship at Concursive Corp., a software company in downtown Norfolk.
It wasn't the best of starts. His resume had a few typos. Pearsall had forgotten to spell-check it. The executiv e vice president, Michael Harvey, responded with - in his words - "a fairly intimidating letter." Undeterred, Pearsall fired back a corrected resume. Harvey, impressed with his mettle, took him on.
Pearsall came to work at 6:30 some mornings and stayed late. "Chris is the very picture of someone who is a self-starter," Harvey s aid. "He's very, very hardworking and a very quick study."
So in what Harvey said was the company's most unconventional hire, he made Pearsall a full-time product manager in August, even before he got his degree from ODU. In the job, Pearsall scouts marketplace trends and helps decide which features to include in software.
At Ford, Pearsall said he worked 60- to 80-hour weeks, racking up gobs of overtime and annual pay of $140,000. His salary at Concursive is $60,000 a year.
The divorced father of four, who never used to worry about his bank account, last month sold a second house in Moyock, N.C., where he lives. He also sold his Jet Skis and gave up his Ford Excursion for a thriftier Ford Focus. His beloved skiing vacations to West Virginia - also gone.
At the same time, Pearsall, 34, had to shell out for new work clothes. No more overalls. Now it was dress and polo shirts and the occasional tie.
He's had to button up in other ways as well. The plant was a "puff-your-chest-out, really masculine place, where you did not have to be politically correct," he said. "Coming here, I would call it more refined. You definitely have to think about what you're going to say before you open your mouth."
Physical and mental pros and cons: Pearsall was in a lot better shape at Ford. But his job now allows him "to think a lot more outside of the box."
He works much less at Concursive - 40 hours a week. He can't, however, leave his work behind, as he did at Ford, when his day is done.
"It's fun and challenging, but it weighs on you. You're constantly thinking about your job. The to-do list goes home with you."
TIM TAYLOR
When Tim Taylor was a boy, his father joked all the time about wanting to start a hot dog place. The family loved eating at local haunts, like Jimmy's or Tony's. Tim's favorite was the tough-skin Norfolk dog.
His father, of course, stayed with his electrician's job. Tim became an electrician, too, and spent 14-1/2 years at Ford, primarily helping maintain the heating and air-conditioning systems.
After the plant closed, Taylor decided to start fresh - "I was trying to get away from the elements; I worked outside for too many years" - and embraced his father's dream.
In September, he opened Tim Dogs, which serves Hormel hot dogs and fries in Moyock, N.C., about three miles from the state line. He used "a lot" of his pretax $100,000 buyout from Ford to get the business going.
"Because of the money, it hasn't been so bad," said Taylor, 50, of Moyock. "It's been a decent transition."
Still, "I was hoping to be doing a little better than I'm doing," Taylor said. "The hardest part is the economy. It's not helping me right now."
Tim Dogs offers a cheap meal: Dogs run from $2 to $3; fries start at $1.75. But even that's been too much for some folks.
Business has recently fallen off from where it was over the winter, Taylor said.
He opened too late last year to capitalize on the summer crowds, but he's hoping the next few weeks turn around, with the rush of tourists headed to the beaches and students returning home.
"It's been a long year," Taylor said. "It's had its good and bad. I really need for this summer to be a good summer. Th is is what I've been working toward all year."
Financially, Taylor is behind since he left the plant. "I don't think I'll ever make the kind of money I made at Ford," where he received $32 an hour, he said.
And health insurance is taking a far bi gger bite. Taylor is paying about $600 a month under his wife's plan. At Ford, there was no monthly premium. "Most of the guys I know from the plant - they're struggling with it."
He is saving on gas, though. His drive to the restaurant is 1-1/2 miles, compared with 26 to the Ford plant.
Tim Dogs has six tables and eight bar stools. Jerseys from Currituck County schools and recreation teams decorate the walls. His customers, he said, include bank presidents, construction workers and county commissioners. Steve Jo nes, owner of Steve's Custom Golf Carts nearby, goes there about four times a week.
"The hot dogs are great," Jones said. "It's just a real nice place, comfortable and relaxing. Tim seems to be a great guy and will sit down and talk to you when it's not busy."
The most popular item, Taylor said, is the all-beef dog. The tough-skin Norfolk dog hasn't caught on as much in Carolina.
Taylor said he hasn't gotten tired of wieners yet. He eats one most every day.
STEVE TISDALE
It's been a rough year for Steve Tisdale, 44, of Elizabeth City, N.C., but he holds out hope for a better future.
Tisdale had worked at Ford for 11 years, ending as an inspector in the trim department in December 2006. Last July, the month after the plant closed, he and his wife separated.
The economic hardship "played a big role, and we kind of went our separate ways," Tisdale said. "We had two houses. She used one of them for a day care business, but we didn't have the money to keep both of them up."
Then, last month, he filed for bankruptcy. Even after the $100,000 pretax buyout from Ford, he was more than $100,000 behind on his house and car payments. "There's no way I can get my debts paid off," Tisdale said. "I'm trying to get the slate wiped clean."
The beacon that keeps him from depression is his pursuit of a marine biology degree at Elizabeth City State University. After he receives his bachelor's degree next summer, he hopes to get a job in a secondary school, following in the teaching footsteps of his mother and two uncles. Then, maybe, a graduate degree and a college job.
"Once I get my second degree, and I get my credit straightened out," Tisdale said, "maybe it will be a new chapter in my life. I'm going through a valley now to get to a brighter future."
Tisdale said he's always loved plants and animals. He even used to bring lizards and snakes into the house. His mother didn't mind "as long as they were small."
This summer, he's enjoying an unpaid internship helping restore sea grass to the Currituck Sound.
Tisdale, who said his grade point average is 3.3 on a 4-p oint scale, has impressed Thomas Rossbach, an associate professor of geology at the university. In his first class with Tisdale, "he consistently had the highest scores on every exam," Rossbach said. "He has a great wealth of knowledge and remembers an incredible amount of what he's taught. His whole attitude is: I want to do this the best that I can."
Tisdale's income at Ford used to be $70,000. He estimates his annual income this year will be $6,000 to $8,000. That would come from his 30-hour-a-week job as a cashier at Food Lion, which he acknowledges is "a big step down."
To get by these days, Tisdale said he eats smaller portions and doesn't go out to "fancy restaurants at the Outer Banks anymore."
"I don't really miss it," he said. "What I enjoy mostly is reading books, going out in the field and working on the ocean and the sound."
Tisdale readily acknowledges that he was better off at Ford than he is today. "If everything goes according to plan, I think I'll be better off in the future. And I' m enjoying what I'm doing right now more."
Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com
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Patriot and literacy
Keisha Johnson, Kim Thomas, and Steve Tisdale, 50% of the people on this page alone worked on the line, or directly in association with it. The others, lets see, we have a 14 year electrician making $32 an hour (BLS median wage is 21.53 an hour), a millwright making 140k a year (less then $20 depending on what you classify their duty as according to the BLS). We also have a combustion systems tender which is also less then $20 an hour depending on the trade, and who made over 100k. These positions do NOT require an "engineer" of any type. Even the "skilled" blue collar positions required little more then experience to get them. In all cases, every one of them were making 75% or more higher of a wage then the national BLS median wage for their position. In other words, they were terribly overpaid according to the market for their comparitive menial skills. Their colossal wages and insane benefits are the reason they are out of jobs, and one of the major reasons the American car manufacturers are sinking.
You "READ" !
Read what people in the know have stated not what you want to believe.
I am not saying who but the salary's listed were for Skilled Tradesman not "LINE WORKERS".
As a skilled tradesman/Engineer for many a year with a background in automation, controls, instrumentation, PLC's and Robots I can tell you that my rate as a Customer Service Engineer/Tech was $1000 for the first 8 hours plus all expenses and $150 an hour. Now this was the companies rate but m,y hourly rate was $24 in 1998 thats 10 years ago so what do you think that rate is now? (non union). The reason we could charge so much was $16 an hour tech's at the plants were exactly that $16 an hour tech's.
Good luck to all who worked at Ford and you personally had nothing to do with it's closure as many on here seem to think.
Cbr
These articles on these Ford workers are filled with examples of people making over 100k with overtime, maybe you should read them?
Any how, read over your reply closely....an elementary school principal quit his job, which likely means he had at very least a masters degree, to do a job that required zero education, and little skill. I cant imagine how you dont see a fundamental problem with that.
Pappy
Hah, I never said Id actually buy a Ford, I just said they have improved their quality, and are actually sitting near the top of the heap when it comes to "American" made cars. In that respect, they are still getting a bad rap where they probably shouldnt. However, they are still overpriced, under warrantied, lag behind in fuel efficient models, and have a tremendously long laundry list of constant recalls, and terrible ratings amongst their licensed dealerships and repair shops.
Ford
I would like to congradulate the Ford workers who are going on with their lives.
For the rest of you Im not sure were you get your information from. I cannot recall a single line worker who made $100k a year? For 13 years I never made that much money. I do recall working 58 hours a week for at least six years in a row. Thats 49 weeks a year 10 hours monday thru friday and 8 hrs on saturday. Oh yeah we did this and started at 6 am, night shift left at 430 am. You ask why we did this? So our familys could have the best in life. We did this yes for the money and the benefits, no person in their right mind would build 60 trucks an hour day in and day out. Dont hate us or bash us because we had good paying job with no education. Oh thats right the gentalman that woked down the lime from me had quit his job for this job at Ford. He was a princaple at an elemantary school, he was educated. Some of these people left their homes at 430 in th
coolguy81, cracked the top 12 did they?
coolguy81, cracked the top 12 did they? Wow! Out of how many who have been producing autos for as long as ford has? And since I understand everyone can have an off day and put out one bad car, they need to take care of it. ford basically told me to pound sand. If that is your idea of a good company, then you are free to give them your money. I wont ever do it again.
union???
And by the way, since when did VA stop being a right to work state, which means that unions have little to no effect here?
wow wow wow
So let me get this straight... there are all these people on here who want to bash the workers who were laid off by Ford and defend the company? I would not care if some ratings said that Ford was #1 in quality, I would never think about buying one again after the horrible car that they sold me and the even more horrible dealership that I had to take it to about 20 times in three years. And now that they jumped ship from VA, taking away tax dollars and revenue, people are still dumb enough to support it as a company? WHAT? The workers in Detroit are much worse, get higher benefits and should be the ones out of work.
Pappy
According to the latest reports on malfunctions per 1000 vehicles, Ford and its sister Mercury have both cracked in to the top 12 manufacturers, and are the two most reliable American manufacturers. Ford has actually improved their quality greatly, although, they still refuse to back it with a quality warranty.
Patriot
No you didnt respond to anything, you completely derailed the conversation by insisting I made some point I didnt, and this is the second time you did that (see your previous post where you not only demonstrate that you didnt understand my post at all, but then brought up some irrevalent comment about oil prices). I dont know if you are just having difficulty comprehending, or you really are that illogical.
I think I was
I think I was mis-understood. I don't care how much money they made, I care about the ford I bought! It is a POS and the dealer I bought it from refuses to fix it. So I wrote to ford who told me that the dealerships where franchised and they could do nothing about it. IMO, that makes all of ford suck. They do not care about their product nor the trash who services it.
The workers at ford of Norfolk priced themselves out of their jobs, how sorry should I feel for them?
What?
but that is due to rules and regulations set forth as law throughout the American workforce not just at Ford
What law requires $25 an hour with all benefits paid? I think that comes from the Unions. The Unions are nice, but when they force the wages to be so high the place shuts the doors, how helpful is that?
$71,500
"ME ME ME" attitude that is also destroying this country.
You actually defended line workers making $71,500 and then made accusation os "ME ME ME?" That's pretty funny. I never paid much atention to the Ford plant issue but you have helped me to form an opinion. They made their own bed via the union. I assure you there are more people than you can imagine(ex-Ford employees included) who would gladly walk away from their current position to take on your phone book/fridge scenario for $71,500.
In the end, as obvious as it appears Ford had no choice but to trim this fat, I am not angry. In fact, I am going to roll into that mans shop and buy a hotdog. Good luck to those who are moving forward.
Igorance rears it's head again!
Read or research for your self what a line worker earned, I posted it.
RN's earn in the upper 20's an hour so based on the amount of OT they earn the same or more than Ford assembly line workers and deserve every penny. The comment was made that the ford line workers earned what an ER Doctor earned, I responded to that comment.
Where did you come up with that?
RN's earn more then doctors? What are you talking about? Some of these line workers were making close to 150k with overtime. ER doctors make close to the same, and work close to the same hours. I do not know where the RN argument comes in.
Brick Mason.
Or brick Mexican? Ask my brother the life long brick mason fighting for a decent wage in NV!
Cable Puller! I pulled cable 12 hours a day 7 days a week for monthes on end at NNSY when I was in my early 20's and you can bet your A...... I was not happy with my check when it was taxed at 35-40% so striving for better pay was always a goal and the only pay in this area that kept up with inflation was Ford.
1982 oil was approx $34 now its near $140 and everything follows suit. So what you are saying is we should all just take it on the chin and give in to the corporate puppets in DC (all of them) who created this mess.
Rates.
So what you are saying is that RN's earn more than the doctors.
Patriot
75k a year would put your family of 4 in the top 20% of all households in income in this country. Forget about the fact that they were making that kind of money in the cesspool of Hampton Roads, which pays far worse then the average metro area in this nation. Some of those workers were firmly in the top 10-5% of household incomes in this country. I dont care how physically taxing the work was, there are many jobs that are far more taxing and dont pay nearly as much (for instance, CNA, brick mason, cable puller, welder, etc.). Some of these line workers salaries were on pace with ER doctors, who easily put in the same hours a week. You will never be able to justify those salaries in this economy, nor can you ever convince the average man that people making that much money a year endured some sort of hardship.
Line worker test. See how you like it!
Place 2 yellow pages phone books on your kitchen table. Open your fridge, now pick up the phone books turn lean into the fridge and put the books on the rear of the middle shelf. Now lean back in remove the books and put them back on the table, do this procedure once every 45 seconds for 10 hours and if you have to use the bathroom you must wait until someone relieves you so the procedure does not stop.
Please just try it before passing judgement.
Statements by the ignorant!
Many of them on here, refer to the facts!
Many of the salaries listed were skilled trades not line workers and included many hours of OT. These workers not only maintained all the equipment but also most modifications and installations to the plant that in most industrial plants is contracted out. Were all these workers worth this money? No but that is due to rules and regulations set forth as law throughout the American workforce not just at Ford.
So back to the "unskilled" "uneducated" so called neanderthals as many of you make them out to be. Lets just say the average line worker supporting a wife and 2-3 children works an average of 10 hours OT a week has been with Ford long enough to earn $25 an hour (you start much lower). 2080 x $25 = 52,000 520 x 1.5 = 780 x $25 = 19,500 + 52,000 = 71,500. $71,500 is a closer average figure for the line worker which hardly makes you rich in todays society and economy.
Why the plant closed...
I can see why the plant closed. Sounds like everyone was making at least 100k a year and Ford paid for all of the insurance. Ford found it cheaper to give everybody 100k in exchange for closing the doors. I wonder if the plant would have stayed open if people were making 40k a year.
No pity for this
Im gonna have to say, I have zero pity or compassion for someone making 100k plus a year, doing a low skilled job. Some of these people have been making 100-150k or the inflation adjusted equivalent for 15-20 years, and they lose that, and all the sudden have to sell everything they have to survive. Hell, give me 15 years of 100k, and Ill be comfortably retired, and Ill even forfit the pension. As is, it will probably be another 10 years or so before Im even close to being in a position to make that much money in the corporate world a year. I dont blaim these people for being overpaid, because you should milk every dollar you can out of your employer before they throw you away, but I do blaim many of them for being financially irresponsible, and not saving significant amounts of that huge paycheck for when the other shoe drops.
Complain about people who don't deserve the money
The best of luck to these guys picking up and moving on with their lives after Ford. However, to complain and say they deserve it because they were making more than you, that's just low. I remember too when you had to go to VEC and apply to be put on a list trying to get a job there too. These folks lucked out and got a good job that actually KEPT UP with inflation and all of the artificial living increases we suffer as a result of unfair taxation and big government. If you're so concerned about these guys making money to actually labor and do work in a union plant, then why don't you get off your duffs and look at your governments and what they make. You'd even find that your local mayors appoint the head of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, which is a 157,000 a year job plus another 12k and travel allowance. Let us not forget the 100k a year position for friendly felons too.
I'm a little surprised by some of these comments
I see nothing really out of line with these salaries. They may be a little inflated due to the union. Mr. Pearsall made $140K with OVERTIME. 60-80 hours a week means he was probably making in the upper 20's per hour. That sounds about right, considering that mechanics make in the low to mid 20's per hour.
Regardless, the comments surprise me. These are people who were willing to do assembly line factory work (I can't think of a worse job, myself), in probably less than optimal conditions, and so you can't fault the workers. If you have a beef with inflated salaries, then okay, blame the auto companies, blame the UAW, but don't blame these workers.
And I can't imagine that a single one of you wouldn't live according to the salary they were making. How many of you would think "Oh, I'd better live as if I was only making 30K per year because the Ford plant might close down".
This was a well done article. The
I won't forget the woman from Ford...
who said she'd SETTLE for $65K per year because she was making $80-90K depending on overtime. SHE WAS THE LUGNUT QUEEN. She held an air-powered lug wrench and drove in LUGNUTS! That was it.
I secretly laughed at her AND FELT NO PITY as I had spent years working full-time and getting my college degree at night. I had worked 18 years in business and was/am struggling in my lower management job making $45K. I literally choked at her statement. I have no chance of having the benefit package that was about to escape her hands.
I thought, "Sweetheart, welcome to reality... your skill set could net you $12-13/hour if you just SHOW UP and MULTI-TASK... new reality." You can't stand around and just do one job, you have to do whatever it takes to get the job done which in this economy means everything. There is no union to protect you if you don't like how a supervisor spoke to you. WORK!
She would at least have re
Wow. I'm constantly
Wow. I'm constantly reminded that I wasted 6 years getting a BS and a master's degree when apparently I could have just graduated high school, been an "equipment mover" and made over $100,000/year.
I'm so sorry some of these people have had to sell their second home. I'd like to be able to afford ONE and stop renting. Perhaps if they'd saved some of their substantional income they would be ok right now.
I'd like to know if their $100,000 severance is in addition to what they collect from any retirement accounts they/Ford paid into. Cry me a river...
Count your blessings
It's unfortunate some people are basking in others misfortune. Remember carma does exist. Not all of us were hired because we had family already at Ford. We were just "Blessed". With the economy the way it is anyone at any given moment can be in our situation. Why should we be held accountable for what we were making? We didn't make the pay scale. Congrats to all who are following their dreams and hearts. "Make it do what it do". Don't let them haters get to you. People will talk about you whether you're doing good or bad. We didn't choose to lose our jobs. We are not responsible. We're just guilty of buiding a #1 best selling truck. When and if the economy becomes more stable attitudes will change. We have children, homes and bills like everyone else. They didn't stop when we lost our jobs. Seasons and lifetimes...Aim for the lifetimes and ENJOY IT!!!Don't take what you have for granted because only one thing is guaranteed. Sincerely a single mom,college student, goal seeker and ex Ford employee. Thank you Ford.
FACTS.
Fact: No assembly line worker made $35 an hour as some state.
Fact: The F150 built at Norfolk Assembly was still #1 selling vehicle when closure announcement was made.
Fact: A new plant built in Dearborn MI continued building what Norfolk did after it closed.
Fact: Oil price Jan 1990 $21.42 June 2008 $129.44, put 2 and 2 together here.
Fact: 2008 F150 starting at $17,900, 2008 Nissan Titan starting at $23,700,
2008 Toyota Tundra starting at $22,390. www.edmunds.com
Fact: Norfolk Assembly closed in the second quarter of 2007. Fomoco made a profit of $750 million in that quarter.
Fact: The workers did not decide what to be building while oil prices continued to rise.
I could continue forever but the fact remains that no one individual or group is to blame but the same "US vs THEM" "ME ME ME" attitude that is also destroying this country.
Sunday School for Jason
Jason, quick google of Ford CEO Pay turns up headlines like "Ford CEO Mulally got $28 million for four months on job - Apr. 5, 2007 (CNN)", "Ford: CEO Turns Down Salary Again, Gets $18 Million Stock Package (2005)", "Ford pays new CEO $39.1M in 4 months - USATODAY.com." I don't know about you, but to me that's some serious jack to go golfing and read the script at the annual shareholder meet & greet. If you look up the stats, executive pay is far outpacing worker salaries. Heck, I saw numbers in 2007 where many execs got huge bonuses and RAISES after totally awful results for the year, mega losses (billions), and tons of fraud.
Ford used to build bad cars, but not now.
Ford used to build bad cars, but not now. Now they build good cars, but they need to move toward more fuel efficient models.