Skilled Trades Association, CAW Local 199 St. Catharines (General Motors Unit) | ||||||
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February 22, 2005 Quality Extraordinaire?
Recently the trades on the Agile Block line were invited to join the managers and production people in a quality pep rally. It was the first time that the skilled trades were invited to one of these. It may be the last time!
We were taken through a lengthy dog and pony show outlining the specs of our preceding year and its overwhelming high marks in quality, throughout the industry. The object of this exercise was to stimulate everyone in attendance to become more proactive and caring about our present and future quality, and to work together in harmony to accomplish that end.
I’m not sure when I was lost to the presentation, but I began to realize that this rhetoric was a one sided love affair. I thought of all the people and their families that this company had disrespected. I thought of the twenty years of dedicated loyal service that we had given only to be discarded at every opportunity.
I am a calm person, not given to outbursts, but the pain and suffering of my friends and their families at the hands of disrespectful managers lumped up in my throat. When the presentation was over, and we were asked for questions, my disbelief at what was taking place, started me talking. My words went something akin to what I have written next.
I am proud that we have achieved the quality numbers that we have in the past. I can see that management would like our continued and renewed caring input? I’m sure that we all realize here today that it has been a cooperative effort on the part of our friends in production, the skilled trades and management that has taken us to this point.
At this point, I can see our presenter and other managers nodding their heads in approval at my statements. Then I carried on to say, Catharine, someone is falling short of their responsibility to uphold their end. The nodding stopped, and managers faces became sombre.
GM is asking for our loyal, cooperative input to keep our products high quality and competitive. The problem is that thousands of us, and our families, have been discarded over the past few years. There are few of us who have not been threatened by layoffs and fears of plant closures.
The stress on us and our families has been monumental for over 12 years now and this situation gets worse every day.
At this point Cathy attempted to dissuade my tirade by injecting, “I understand what you are saying but, we need help to remain competitive”. I cut her short at this point. Cathy, I said, I have used the “I understand what you are saying” line myself. It is not defusing this situation. What you are failing to realize is that you are asking people who have and are suffering at the hands of a company who does not put its people first or even a distant second. Laying us off remains this company’s first option to reduce hours per unit.
We continue to receive no respect for our contribution to GM’s prosperity. How can this company expect to garner our cooperation when we get nothing but threats to our future and a continuous show of disrespect?
The meeting went quiet, and for me and many others it was over. | ||||||
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