Comments on: UAW: Job Bank “not gone yet but it’s almost gone”

By: Bailing out the Detroit automakers - BuckeyePlanet Ohio State Forums

Bailing out the Detroit automakers - BuckeyePlanet Ohio State Forums — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:26:03 +0000

[...] It seems that some of those "job bank" workers aren’t exactly sitting on their asses, nor is such idleness now promoted. [...]

By: willman

willman — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:59:37 +0000

“… it’s almost gone”

-said the Scorpion to the Frog.

–
otherwise: So Dr. No… you’ve lived to ‘Die Another Day’.

By: Dr. No

Dr. No — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:40:17 +0000

Largely symbolic in $ terms, the jobs bank has to go. No ifs, ands or buts. For UAW to be “considering” its elimination is why I am coming around to Chap 11. Are you kidding me??? This is BRAIN DAMAGE not to cut this welfare.

Now that the news of GM’s perilous state is front page news and blather for talking heads at CNN, CNBC, etc., the stigma of bankruptcy is losing its punch. Filing C11, on strictly financial terms, is probably the way to go now. But they need killer marketing to keep customers inside the F&I office. Perhaps putting warranty reserves in trust to shore up fears of solvency later. It will be a hard sell.

But, Wagoner doesn’t have enough tricks in his bag to do this on his own. It will take a magician, and I for one am tired on Rick’s lousy card tricks. C11 will clean house like nothing else –it will be no sleight of hand.

By: golf4me

golf4me — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:05:47 +0000

Lesseee…1000 workers * $70/hr * 2000hrs = 140 million/per year for doing NOTHING. Yeah, then they complain that a guy who actually went to high school and college makes a few million a year…jagoffs.

By: Geotpf

Geotpf — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:19:50 +0000

workerbee:

You’re not exactly the type of “jobs bank” employee that people are pissed off about.

This is the type that people are pissed off about:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/28/business/28jobsbank.html

G.M.’s Jobs Bank Looms as Major Obstacle on Road to Survival

By JEREMY W. PETERS
Published: March 28, 2006

At the General Motors assembly plant on the barren outskirts of Oklahoma City there are 2,300 reminders of why the company needs to persuade tens of thousands of workers to take the buyouts it offered last week.

Each day, workers report for duty at the plant and pass their time reading, watching television, playing dominoes or chatting. Since G.M. shut down production there last month, these workers have entered the Jobs Bank, industry’s best form of job insurance. It pays idled workers a full salary and benefits even when there is no work for them to do.

By: workerbee

workerbee — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 00:29:29 +0000

I am currently employed by one of the “Big” 3. The one that starts with a G. Anyway, I am in the job bank. I am still at my plant, I’m not on layoff status. And I haven’t sat a single minute since being placed in the bank. I am on the floor, working, either covering vacations, sick leaves or absences. Once you are placed in the bank you basically have to do what they tell you to. Many do not realize that we were understaffed going into this, so extra bodies are just that. We are there to free up “more important people” ie: UAW reps, or people with knowledge of the entire line. Those people are presently called CI’s or continous improvement. They were previously referred to as AR’s or absentee replacements. New contracts, new names. But, they, obviously, have more knowledge regarding jobs, therefore more “valuable” than me. Any other questions?

By: KingElvis

KingElvis — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:40:33 +0000

I’m acknowledging TTAC’s far right bias, but really, do you have to keep promulgating the “$77/hour” myth?

How many people compute the ‘real cost’ of their wage, particularly hourly workers?

Give the Freeper ideology a much needed rest.

By: AG

AG — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:13:39 +0000

I’m not going to rip the UAW for doing its job: getting the most for its members. That being said, CEO’s cant be the only ones thinking about not killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if states started a jobs bank program for their residents? Maybe we can get some pot holes filled in a reasonable amount of time?

By: Michael Karesh

Michael Karesh — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:07:54 +0000

They’ll need to make larger concessions than this.

By: JT

JT — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:09:22 +0000

“In the past, laid-off workers could be paid for nothing indefinitely … there are about 1,000 union members in jobs banks … compared to the 12k of about three years ago.”

With aplogies to Woody Guthrie, Utah Phillips
and Pete Seeger…

Oh, you can’t scare me, I’m sticking to the union,
I’m sticking to the union,
I’m sticking to the union.
Oh, you can’t scare me, I’m sticking to the union,
I’m sticking to the union
’til the day I die.

[Tune: "Redwing", trad.]

By: thalter

thalter — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:59:47 +0000

Guaranteed Income Stream??? Talk about socialism!

By: autonut

autonut — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:15:43 +0000

Does anyone remember episode of “Sopranos”, when mobsters were sitting in Newark looking at construction and workers in order to collect? That was the definition of “job bank”.

By: 1996MEdition

1996MEdition — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:09:49 +0000

Did someone put “GM” and “China” in a title again? I can’t seem to post.

By: 1996MEdition

1996MEdition — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:08:05 +0000

derm81:

That type of work would not be in their job descriptions. Before Delphi closed up in Anderson, IN, it was nothing but a days worth of butt time. Some of the few entreprenuial folks actually ran side businesses out of the jobs bank.

By: autonut

autonut — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:04:44 +0000

@derm81,

Union rules prohibits them from doing anything but their job (the one assigned to them). Those poor souls can’t do anything else legally.

By: derm81

derm81 — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:41:59 +0000

I always wondered just how many of these job bankers are actually doing “things” when they arrive each day? Are they really reading papers and dorking off, or are they put to work with United Way and Focus Hope to help in Detroit’s destroyed core???