For over 30 years, General Motors has been a huge part of my life. My Daddy (Rest in Peace) gave 37 years to this company. I can see a General Motors Powertrain Plant from my house (no pud intended here (smile), really! Let's talk about where the blame really belongs.
I never thought a day in my life, until recently, that General Motors will be at a serious possibly of not being a company anymore. Today, with the news of the stock being downgraded to $0.00...zunich, none, nana...that reality of the situation has taken whole.
This hurts. As many people say that they are Military Brats, I was a General Motors Brat. All of my life, General Motors has been in it. My father, worked within General Motors most of my life. Daddy, a skilled-trade Toolmaker, worked at the plant not far from the house I currently own. In fact, the corner's my house sits upon are named, respectively, Buick and Chevrolet.
I was a little girl remembering my Mother making Daddy's lunch at night to go to work in the morning. Daddy came in from work daily, at 3:30 P.M. and I usually greeted him at the door after school. Daddy would proudly wear either a UAW hat with GM noted somewhere on it, a shirt and/or a jacket with the same logos. At a young age, I knew exactly were Daddy worked.
Daddy ran for his local Financial Secretary when, I believe, I was about six. I remember going to the lot on the plant of the old Hydromatic (now Powertrain) plant, lobbying fellow UAW members and co-workers to vote for my Dad. The co-workers was so proud of their work and union, and there were many of them. Half of the town I have lived in my entire life, worked at the local General Motors plant. I received so many hugs that day. Daddy won that election...I would later follow his lead at a future employer as recording secretary for my labor union.
The Christmas Parties at Local 735 were the bomb!! They had a "Real" Santa Claus with all the toys a kid could ever want..but, we were only allowed to take a selection of two each. These toys were nice..dolls, bikes, footballs, the latest games. The food was awesome and plentiful. As a young child, I always looked forward to the Local Christmas party.
Only second to the end of Summer Celebration at the Local. Daddy would ride on the many FREE rides with me and play the games, to win me a stuff animal or two. Daddy was great at the basketball game, were you take the ball to shoot it into the rim. I always got the biggest stuffed animal....in fact, I had a large collection of them from that annual summer event.
Daddy use to tell me that when he started at General Motors, he made $1.75 per hour. As I got older, I thought, there would have been NO WAY I would have stay at a place that paid me that low of a wage.
Then, later on in my life, I begged my Dad for a job at General Motors. Daddy would tell me that I could DO BETTER. I looked at his life as a young adult and thought "I could do just fine, without having to go to college, just by working with you". Little did I know what the future would hold for this company.
As I became a adult, in the early fall, we (the General Motors Brats) and other family members (including my kids) got chance to tour the plant. If you never have looked inside a plant, this is quite a experience. It is loud, dirty and full of big, huge, large machines, everywhere.
Daddy would say to me, "This is the machine I fixed yesterday". I looked at this huge heavy machine and the small space my Daddy would have to crawl under to fix the machine and wonder if it fell on my Daddy, he would be dead. That is when I realized that my Daddy's life was in the line, everyday at the plant and why Daddy did not want me to work there. He wanted better for me.
Daddy's pride and joy at the plant was his Tool Box. I still remember the day during the plant tour that Daddy took the kids and I up to the area where he kept his tool box. Daddy explained to my kids what each and every tool in the box repaired. I noticed that Daddy had pictures of me (as a kid, as a teen, as a adult) along with my kids all over the top of his tool box. He was proud to introduce us to co-worker after co-worker, by starting the conversation off with "This is my family I speak about all the time". I was so proud that day and will always remember it.
We rode in many Cadillac's during Daddy's years at General Motors. In fact, Cadillac's was Daddy's favorite car. Let's see, he had a red, white, black, green, black and white one...at different times during the years. He used to say that this was the finest car on the road. I still believe him, totally.
It was hard for Daddy to retire in 2005. I believed that plant (which was as large on the inside as some small towns) was as much a part of life to him as breathing, everyday. All of his friends worked either) in the plant (or at another plant), he defined himself by being a Toolmaker or (Skilled Trade), was happy to go to work everyday if nothing else to gossip with the guys and was proud of his company that he spend 37 years working for.
Also, Daddy knew the stats of people that retire from the plant, dying in five years after such retirement was about 60% or so. After five years of begging, I FINALLY got Daddy to retire....with a huge party of his MANY G.M. friends, at my home.
Daddy passed in 2007 and General Motors took care of my Daddy until the very end. He passed of Tongue and Throat Cancer...probably caused of years of drinking and smoking (a common thing among plant workers).
I saw the medical bills from Daddy's Chemo, Radiation and other medical treatments over that 6 week period before he passed. They easily totaled over $150,000. General Motors took care of it. Daddy only paid for some of the medications and we (my stepmother and I) was not left with mounting medical bills. General Motors was a good company.
But....General Motors does not need the bailout. See, as a G.M. Brat, I see where both the company and the union got greedy.
The Union believed that paying janitors $23.00 a hour with many fringe benefits were the correct thing to do and the company thought that paying a executive sitting in a chair millions of dollars right. The company failed to respond to the needs of the ever changing marketing place (smaller, fuel-efficient cars....remember the EV 1 anyone?) and the union felt as if the big trucks would secure more raises and perks, like the Job Bank program.
In the Job Bank program, the workers that were laid off would receive a salary (just like they were working) for years with full benefits; just for reporting to a "training program" one day out of the week. The "Training Program" included playing games, watching television or just "kicking it" with fellow Job Bankers. This was a complete waste of company dollars
The executives lived off of FREE company cars and housing. Remember earlier in this story, I told you all that my corner streets are named Buick and Chevrolet. What I did not method until now is that my entire neighborhood was build for the executives of General Motors back in the mid 1950's. Yes, at one time, many major General Motors executives, including the CEO and President of the company, lived in my future neighborhood during the 1950's-1970's. Work in the executive offices of General Motors...and they brought you a home...along with a car, salary and benefits.
Those benefits I spoke of earlier... also go to the husband and wives of the ex-worker when the worker passes away. That means, that if a worker passes at the age of 55 and their spouse luckily lives until the age of 95, General Motors will help pay for the non-working spouse benefits...including providing a income 50% to the former worker last wagel all the days of their lives as long as they do not remarry. That is 40 years of benefits for not actually working at General Motors. It works for both the Union and Executive workers.....respectfully.
Also, why is GMAC in existence? General Motors was in the business of making and selling cars. The finance/lending arm of GMAC to finance G.M. cars and trucks are one thing...but what about Mortgages, Student Loans, Personal Loans, Insurance and much, much more? Are these the proper investment risks a "car company" should have engaged in?
I believe that General Motors got way too big, the Union got too greedy and the people that will be hurt in the end are the General Motors Brats like me. Other people that did not leave Michigan, but work in another industry that will also be affected when General Motors go under.
The Brats that went to school, got their degrees and worked outside of the plants will crushed. The Brats that do not receive the "lifetime" benefits but worry about their parents that do and what will happen to them if General Motors go under. Will they have to take Mom or Dad in? What happens if they were to become sick...how will they pay for it?
General Motors at this point, probably do not have the money to survive until January 2009. In the same aspect, General Motors spends 5 billion dollars a month on operations, payroll and other issues...just to stay afloat. If the government approves 25 billion dollars for General Motors, without a decent stock price and future capital, General Motors will survive, I think, only a additional five months (April 2009). This will not help the people of Southeast Michigan but just delay the pain.
Instead of another "Bail Out", I believe the government should take over General Motors. Re-start and re-tool the company from the bottom up, rid the fat, build "Go-Green" fuel-efficient cars--immediately, make a profit in five years and give the taxpayers return on their investment.
I will miss General Motors as I knew it but times have changed and we (the Brats) have to realize that life will not be as we grew up within. In turn, to allow General Motors to totally fail would hurt the entire United States....not just us G.M. Brats.
Thank you for reading my dairy.
P.S. Happy Birthday Daddy...A Veteran, Union Member and Family Man born on Veteran Day. I miss you every day!!