[meford4u]

One thing I would like to correct a couple of you on. Yes, I work for Ford, am a unionized employee, and make way too much money for the job I do for Ford.

Having said that, the poor craftmanship that comes from the cars is part of the North American mentality in automanufacturing. Firstly, when a model is first released, the plant mentality of management is get it out the door and if there are problems, the dealer will fix it. I have seen this first hand with the Windstar. When it was first developed, the guys on the line were noticing cracks in the mounting plate for the transmission. After telling management about the problem and holding the assembly line for inspection, management deemed the problem too minor. 300,000 vehicles later=costly recall for FORD.

The unions do try and squeeze out every dime for us, no doubt about that. But did you know, for example in the F150, that less than $800 US per vehicle is from labour costs? Bet you guys thought it was a lot higher than that. It's not. Almost 60% of a vehicle costs are the parts. So when you say that the fuel pump was a problem, springs, etc., that has everything to do with the way every company works. Give us this product for the lowest price. The profit per vehicle for the F150 averages at $6000 per vehicle manufactured, one of the highest margining vehicles in the world.

Ford, along with many automakers, is starting to shift their thinking. They are a slow bastard at doing it, but they are starting to pay attention to what their employees are telling them. For years we have been screaming here in Canada for a new product, but when you have to compete against low labour costs in Mexico, Ford has not been listening. Until now. They are looking at closing the Mexico plant because of ----poor quality-- they build some Foci at this plant.

So when your neighbour boasts about the new import they just bought, thank them for not supportying the local economy. For every 1 union job in the big three, 7 directly related jobs are created. If you want to look at what happens to an area if we lose those jobs, St. Catharines is a prime example. When GM pulled out of there, the city and area were, and still are to some degree, depressed. It was tough finding work there, let alone housing prices are rediculously low.

In saying all this, it would be easy for you to think I love unions. Truth is, I find mine to be an arrogant pain in the ars. I believe they are there for a purpose, and I enjoy the benefits of a union, but there "outside" interest piss me off.

Buy North American Built vehicles and leave your bucks at home.

Please