[higelj2]

What is so humerous about millions of fellow americans possibly losing their jobs? Is there a alabama auto worker on this site that can say what his hourly wage is ? or is this forbidden by the company.

[Southlander]

Start at $17 an hour. At least at the local Delphi plant that makes steering gear. The plant is closing.
Starting pay used to be $34 an hour, but those times are long gone.

[Saintmarks]

Didn't I read that VW (the plant mentioned at the first of this thread) settled on a site near Chattanooga?

[Bluefly]

This thread is rather sad. There was a time when Americans stood by one another shoulder to shoulder for the common good of all.

The Big 3 and UAW made mistakes, but taking joy and justification in undermining the livelihoods of families in a region that made the entire auto-dependent sprawling South even possible is deplorable.

You all might want want to keep in mind that water in the South is running out and the Great Lakes are the largest reservoir of fresh water in the world.

There's going to come a day when your politicians and business leaders come begging for a handout from the seven Great Lake states and two Canadian provinces responsible for stewarding the water, islands, sand dunes, cliffs, and beaches of the Great Lakes.

We will ask why you deserve such a handout after years of mismanaged and uncontrolled suburban development in a region that clearly could not sustain such development.

We will ask how your leaders didn't see this coming and what a little water is going to do when the culture has proven unwilling to adjust over the previous two or three decades.

You, too, will not have answers. You, too, will just need help to get through another week.

The people of the Great Lakes will not soon forget how they were treated through this ordeal. Best not bite the hand that may soon be filling your water bowl.

[Keeper]

I don't think the ppl of AL wish anyone ill will, but wonder why the UAW won't make concessions to save jobs. I would rather make a little less each month than have no income.

AL has had its fair share of job losses in the past from clothing factories moved overseas to military bases closings. In many cities/towns they were the main employer. There have been RIF on military bases to the Space program. Many of those ppl lost their jobs and had to take a pay cut and lost $$ on their homes, couldn't sell their homes because so many ppl where out of work. I know I was one of those, not once but twice. We were lucky because we got someone to take over the payments, not everyone was so lucky.

I don't want to see anyone lose their jobs in the auto industry. It affects many ppl not just those in MI but ppl all over the US

[higelj2]

Originally Posted by bluefly

this thread is rather sad. There was a time when americans stood by one another shoulder to shoulder for the common good of all.

The big 3 and uaw made mistakes, but taking joy and justification in undermining the livelihoods of families in a region that made the entire auto-dependent sprawling south even possible is deplorable.

You all might want want to keep in mind that water in the south is running out and the great lakes are the largest reservoir of fresh water in the world.

There's going to come a day when your politicians and business leaders come begging for a handout from the seven great lake states and two canadian provinces responsible for stewarding the water, islands, sand dunes, cliffs, and beaches of the great lakes.

We will ask why you deserve such a handout after years of mismanaged and uncontrolled suburban development in a region that clearly could not sustain such development.

We will ask how your leaders didn't see this coming and what a little water is going to do when the culture has proven unwilling to adjust over the previous two or three decades.

You, too, will not have answers. You, too, will just need help to get through another week.

The people of the great lakes will not soon forget how they were treated through this ordeal. Best not bite the hand that may soon be filling your water bowl.

very well said sir!!

[Frankie117]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

This thread is rather sad. There was a time when Americans stood by one another shoulder to shoulder for the common good of all.

The Big 3 and UAW made mistakes, but taking joy and justification in undermining the livelihoods of families in a region that made the entire auto-dependent sprawling South even possible is deplorable.

You all might want want to keep in mind that water in the South is running out and the Great Lakes are the largest reservoir of fresh water in the world.

There's going to come a day when your politicians and business leaders come begging for a handout from the seven Great Lake states and two Canadian provinces responsible for stewarding the water, islands, sand dunes, cliffs, and beaches of the Great Lakes.

We will ask why you deserve such a handout after years of mismanaged and uncontrolled suburban development in a region that clearly could not sustain such development.

We will ask how your leaders didn't see this coming and what a little water is going to do when the culture has proven unwilling to adjust over the previous two or three decades.

You, too, will not have answers. You, too, will just need help to get through another week.

The people of the Great Lakes will not soon forget how they were treated through this ordeal. Best not bite the hand that may soon be filling your water bowl.

Why should we help the same people who laughed in our faces during our hard times? Where were you when the textile industry died? Thousands across the South lost their jobs, no one cared. When the cotton industry died, nobody helped us, instead we invested in new industry, new jobs, and focused on industrial diversification...

..Now look at Alabama. One of the top auto manufacturing centers in the country, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, etc. all climbing to the top of America's industrial ladder. We have a fall back position, why don't you?

If we can do it, why can't the Northeast or Great Lakes regions do it as well? Unions can't be that intrusive.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

This thread is rather sad. There was a time when Americans stood by one another shoulder to shoulder for the common good of all.

The Big 3 and UAW made mistakes, but taking joy and justification in undermining the livelihoods of families in a region that made the entire auto-dependent sprawling South even possible is deplorable.

You all might want want to keep in mind that water in the South is running out and the Great Lakes are the largest reservoir of fresh water in the world.

There's going to come a day when your politicians and business leaders come begging for a handout from the seven Great Lake states and two Canadian provinces responsible for stewarding the water, islands, sand dunes, cliffs, and beaches of the Great Lakes.

We will ask why you deserve such a handout after years of mismanaged and uncontrolled suburban development in a region that clearly could not sustain such development.

We will ask how your leaders didn't see this coming and what a little water is going to do when the culture has proven unwilling to adjust over the previous two or three decades.

You, too, will not have answers. You, too, will just need help to get through another week.

The people of the Great Lakes will not soon forget how they were treated through this ordeal. Best not bite the hand that may soon be filling your water bowl.

You start a thread saying how sad it is that Americans don't stand side by side anymore and then you begin a rant bashing the south and how when the tables turn, you won't help at all.

Where were the big three for Atlanta in the last couple of decades? GM Doraville, GM Lakewood and Ford Hapeville all shuttered. Where were you guys in Michigan when these people and their families were suddenly without employment? Where were you asking for a handout, bailout, blowout for these folks?

Not all situations in the south are equal. The big rush to AL, MS, KY, TN and SC by foreign manufacturers has by and large skipped GA, why? Because of the presence of Ford and GM in the state. Now they are gone, finally Kia has decided to build its first plant in GA.

The south learned the hard way that it is not wise to put all one's eggs into one basket as far as a local economy is concerned. It is not easy to wean oneself from one main source of income and to diversify.

If us poor backward uneducated inbred southerners without any water can do it, surely you highly skilled, highly educated northerners of vastly superior DNA and sources of H20 can diversify yourselves without so much crying and finger pointing.

[Bluefly]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

You start a thread saying how sad it is that Americans don't stand side by side anymore and then you begin a rant bashing the south and how when the tables turn, you won't help at all.

Where were the big three for Atlanta in the last couple of decades? GM Doraville, GM Lakewood and Ford Hapeville all shuttered. Where were you guys in Michigan when these people and their families were suddenly without employment? Where were you asking for a handout, bailout, blowout for these folks?

Not all situations in the south are equal. The big rush to AL, MS, KY, TN and SC by foreign manufacturers has by and large skipped GA, why? Because of the presence of Ford and GM in the state. Now they are gone, finally Kia has decided to build its first plant in GA.

The south learned the hard way that it is not wise to put all one's eggs into one basket as far as a local economy is concerned. It is not easy to wean oneself from one main source of income and to diversify.

If us poor backward uneducated inbred southerners without any water can do it, surely you highly skilled, highly educated northerners of vastly superior DNA and sources of H20 can diversify yourselves without so much crying and finger pointing.

1. Please don't project your insecurities on me. I never ever implied anything about uneducated or inbred or any hint of superiority in the north. That's how those horrific stereotypes get perpetuated - from within. I said nothing of the sort. This is about hard working class populations in both regions. Nothing more, nothing less.

2. My point wasn't about GM factories shutting in the south. Obviously, "we" were in Michigan with factories shutting down in Flint, Detroit, and Saginaw without any solution to help ourselves. It was not a conscious effort to screw southern states for our own advantage. It's entirely a different situation than southern senators actively choosing to block bridge loans to American auto companies because it's in their local self-interest to support foreign companies.

3. In response to another post, I never said people in Michigan WOULD withhold water. I hope there's a sustainable solution to the water problems. I just meant that it's best not to burn bridges with 7 states and two provinces that might have something you need in the future based on the same basic argument being used now to deny the auto industry support.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by Bluefly

1. Please don't project your insecurities on me. I never ever implied anything about uneducated or inbred or any hint of superiority in the north. That's how those horrific stereotypes get perpetuated - from within. I said nothing of the sort. This is about hard working class populations in both regions. Nothing more, nothing less.

2. My point wasn't about GM factories shutting in the south. Obviously, "we" were in Michigan with factories shutting down in Flint, Detroit, and Saginaw without any solution to help ourselves. It was not a conscious effort to screw southern states for our own advantage. It's entirely a different situation than southern senators actively choosing to block bridge loans to American auto companies because it's in their local self-interest to support foreign companies.

3. In response to another post, I never said people in Michigan WOULD withhold water. I hope there's a sustainable solution to the water problems. I just meant that it's best not to burn bridges with 7 states and two provinces that might have something you need in the future based on the same basic argument being used now to deny the auto industry support.

Perhaps these Senators (and others not from the south) are not interested in this country's rapid shift to socialism. A bail out without severe changes in the structure of these overweight companies is just throwing good taxpayer money at bad.

Delta Airlines, headquartered in my hometown, went through bankruptcy without a bailout and is now emerging as a leaner company. Why shouldn't the auto companies do this themselves?

Making this a regional thing is a rather simplistic argument in something far more complex. The Japanese and German auto manufacturers are losing money in this climate as well. Most of these companies have invested billions in American communities and they are losing money too. Many more dealerships nationwide are hurting, not just the big 3. The auto industry in America regardless of where the company is headquartered employs many thousands if not millions of people. Is it fair to Americans working for a company that happens to be based in Tokyo instead of Detroit see their taxpayer monies go to another company and not benefit them in any way?

Of course you didn't say anything disparaging yourself about southerners, but there was a tone in your message that was a bit on the snobbish side and it was extremely whiney. As for insecure attitudes coming from within, cmon! Go on any number of threads anywhere on this forum and see the southern bashers in all their glory. I made the remarks tongue in cheek. Sorry if you don't recognize a bit of sarcasm. I'll keep my comments plain and straight from now on.

You did come onto an Alabama thread to make your complaint, did you not? Do you not see how your comments would be taken?