Auto Supplier Tells GM Where To Go
This message says a lot about our need to stand up and be responsible.
Hopefully it will get a wide distribution.
This is one of the greatest responses to the requests for bailout money
I have seen thus far.  As a supplier for the Big 3 this man received a
letter from the President of GM North America, requesting support for
the bail out program.  His response is well written, and has to make you
proud of a local guy who tells it like it is.

------------- Dear Employees & Suppliers,
Congress and the current Administration will soon determine whether to
provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it
through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation's
history.  Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why
this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior
to the global financial crisis.
As an employee or supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be
one of our most effective and  passionate voices.  I know GM can count
on you to have your voice heard.
Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.
Troy Clarke President, General Motors North America
Scroll down...-------------

Response from:
Gregory Knox, Pres. Knox Machinery Company Franklin, Ohio
Gentlemen:
In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a bailout
for the Big Three automakers please consider the following, and please
pass my thoughts on to Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North
America.

Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the same
entitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW halls
for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping this
nation, awaiting our new "messiah," Pres-elect Obama, to wave his magic
wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing
our once great nation to keep "living the dream."  Believe me folks, The
dream is over!

This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while management
myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time
that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid,
arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded "laborers" without
paying the price for these atrocities.  This dream where you still think
the masses will line up to buy our products for ever and ever.
Don't even think about telling me I'm wrong.  Don't accuse me of not
knowing of what I speak.  I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW,
Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle, and countless other automotive
OEM's throughout the Midwest, during the past 30 years and what I've
seen over those years in these union shops can only be described as
disgusting.

Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states:  "There
is widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government, and
especially via the news media, that the current crisis is completely the
result of bad management which it certainly is not."
You're right Mr. Clarke, it's not JUST management.  How about the
electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times,
making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass so
they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time for a
job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour work week.
How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare
tactics for putting out too many parts on a shift and for being too
productive.

(We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting
overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?)
Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!?  How about this great
sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke's sad plea:  "over the last few years
we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors."

 What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!?  Did we
 really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us
 and them?  The K car vs. the Accord?  The Pinto vs. the Civic?!?  Do I
 need to go on?  What a joke!

We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the
United States auto industry for decades. It's time to pay for your sins,
Detroit.
I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist, Alan
Beaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research, surprised the crowd when
he said he would not have given the banks a penny of "bailout money."

"Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems," but despite what
people like politicians and corporate magnates would have us believe,
the sun would in fact rise the next day and the following very important
thing would happen.  Where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new
efficient ones would pop up.  That is how a free market system works.
It does work if we would only let it work."
But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of the
world is right and that capitalism doesn't work - that we need the
government to step in and "save us".  Save us my ass, Hell - we're
nationalizing and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation's
citizens don't even have a clue that this is what is really happening.
But, they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams.
Yeah - THAT'S really important, isn't it.

Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing
vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country?  How can
that be???  Let's see.  Fuel efficient.  Listening to customers.
Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul.

Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming
four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles
of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously
reduce costs.  Ever increased productivity through quality and
intelligent planning.  Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather
than like "the enemy."  Efficient front and back offices.  Non union
environment.
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