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Post by ktpschd on Aug 23, 2010 7:32:08 GMT -5
Thought I'd start a new thread to relate my first experience here at KTP: I had been here less than a week when my committeeman (whom I shall not name, but initials are W.S.) stopped by and asked me how I liked it so far here at KTP. I replied it was too soon to make an overall assessment but one thing I did notice was that Health and Safety was a bit more lax here than we were used to up north. (Our H & S Rep at Avon Lake on average got "fired" by the company monthly for his zeal in protecting the membership) My committeeman replied, and I quote,"That may be true, but ya know what we have down here that you don't up north? WORK!" It was exactly at that moment I realized that production and retention of product at KTP was more important than my health and safety. And right from the lips of my union rep no less. That was 12 years ago. How have things changed for the better for you?
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Post by ScottR@KTP on Aug 23, 2010 18:25:14 GMT -5
12 years of this shit, huh? That's what I plan on doing at KTP...about 12 years until I retire. I am beginning to grow numb to all the horseshit like those that have been dealing with it for 12 years. I know that's what they want us to do, but I'm all about making the bastages at least obey the contract...which seems like there may not be one. Highlights: Frame line upon arrival: reps telling me in their own words that they would not being doing much to assist me in any questions I may have. Bosses working in front of me, reps laughing about the idea of writing them up. Being an extra on a team that seniority meant nothing...most senior on team (and department) first to be loaned out, first to be shit on. Finally found a way off my team by loaning myself out everyday for over a month.  I was known as the "1/2 job legend". Got a bid: door fitter on chassis-nights...thought I found something good...great group of workers on the fit team, great guys for team leader and repairman...but messed up and rolled to day shift. Totally different bunch of guys, not to mention I hate day shift. Then I met some clown named Ken...tried the old-school bullying tactics, then wanted to be my best friend, while attempting to change my job by pulling the JSA/OIS sheet(s) and changing them in front of me...like that was gonna work. He insisted I start doing my new job. I only had to cuss him out twice to get him to stay the hell out of my work area. Got 2nd bid: reliefman on box line-body...the real fun began...for a period of 6-7 months, I had my pay pretty much screwed up almost daily. Boss insisted he could pay me what he thought was "fair"...not what the contract says I'm entitled to 'line time plus break'. Got fucked out of a team leader election due to a union rep's misunderstanding of the contract. Decided to roll to C crew. Same shit continues...boss repeatedly tells me I ONLY get line time...no break. He reminds me that it's up to me to get my break and if I don't, it's my fault. LOL So going against the contract, his leverage is and will always be..."you want to stay until 7am?" His way around fucking me whenever he wants is using my early out against me. But when I'm still working and the line stops...everyone goes home at 6 hours...I get 6 hours...no break time or nothing. I turned in my vacation request form on B crew in April...but I'm no where to be found on the vacation calendar. Nick Reid took care of it...but he didn't. After 3 more day off request forms, I finally have a vacation scheduled...not even my 1st five preferences...but who gives a shit. I remind myself I have a decent job that enables me to be in that hell hole as little as possible...and I keep gritting my teeth at all the bullshit that the union enables the company to get away with. I'm sure I left out a few things...if I think of them, I will add them soon. Good luck to everyone working at KTP! |
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Post by marcus on Aug 23, 2010 23:33:36 GMT -5
I was told today and I cant name names,that the company will weigh how many people get hurt or go to medical VS buying the proper equipment or changing jobs.Then they will see what one is cheaper for them.
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Post by catman on Aug 24, 2010 7:03:32 GMT -5
Scott, stop the damn whining and step up an run if your man enough. Make a change, you always talk a good game. If you don`t like Ktp, YOU CAN ALWAYS GO HOME BIG BOY. Can`t wait until they give u the chance to go back, then we all will see how bad you really hate KTP. I`m putting my money on that u will stay at Ktp. Don`t use the seniority is why u stay. Its because you have a great job.
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Post by marcus on Aug 24, 2010 8:17:13 GMT -5
He had alot better job at LAP.
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Post by ktpelec on Aug 24, 2010 8:32:23 GMT -5
We have all had bad times working in a large factory enviroment, it's comes with the territory. I grew up in a family with 2 parents that worked at GE, I've heard the bads and goods all my life. I try to focus on the good people I work with and the many extra things in life this job lets me afford. If you let management get to you, they've won.
On another note, LAP won't be the same place that it was before, many things will have changed. A new product with all new assembly procedures will take some time to get used to. For the most part humans resist changes.
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Post by gunnuts on Aug 24, 2010 12:03:27 GMT -5
Hey Bullwinkle, Im from LAP also and ive worked in trim my whole time ive been at ford. And ill tell you i think KTP is a big pile of crap... The people at KTP dont know what it is like working for a good FORD MOTOR CO. Ill i want to do is help the freinds ive made at KTP see the light and tell them that they dont have to take all the crap that KTP and the KTP union pushes down you neck. I will be going back to LAP as soon as i can, giving KTP the finger all the way out the gate. Wake up people and start making the KTP unoin work FOR YOU...
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Post by lgnikko on Aug 24, 2010 17:35:55 GMT -5
I am so tired of whenever someone makes a comment about KTP you hear the same bullshit. " Well if you don't like it go back where you came from." It's about the same equivalent as the union's most favorite saying, "They can do that." WAKE UP people.
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Post by ScottR@KTP on Aug 24, 2010 18:36:23 GMT -5
I've had great jobs and even better jobs, and I still hate both plants. When it comes down to it, the day they ask me if I want to return, who knows what I will say. It depends on my mood, what I'm doing, what LAP is projecting (as far as employment #s, shifts, etc...), and the biggie...where I am wanting to live. If I decide to build and relocate to my farm in Taylor County, I will have to go back to LAP...much closer. Either way, I don't plan on doing much at either plant. The idea is "to do as little as possible and be at work as little as possible"...that pretty much sums it up. |
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Post by ScottR@KTP on Aug 24, 2010 18:38:26 GMT -5
If I do go back, I will be carpooling with Joe Allen...he just doesn't know it yet. |
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Post by TonyV on Aug 24, 2010 19:22:41 GMT -5
WOW, what a thread!
I have to jump in at this point. The question is - do I like factory work or trim? (The answer is no.) So I have not really enjoyed either plant in that regard. I have enjoyed the working relationships with many great people around me at both plants.
Did I like the union at LAP? For the most part, yes. They had very good reps that shot you straight and I understood how the traditional contract was applied.
Do I like KTP? That is a loaded question. I feel I walked into a hornets nest of issues that started before I arrived. I do not understand all the ways that the MOA is applied. I do not understand the dynamic of the union structure - but they have been gracious enough to help this outspoken person.
Do I feel I have the right to complain about KTP in this circumstance?
------ No, I do not ------
I signed up for the right to come to KTP by seniority. Even though they did not bring me into the plant by seniority, they brought me in. I needed night shift for family needs.
Scott Eskridge could have very well told LAP to send only the lowest seniority in this instance. He put his neck on the line with his own people to work with Steve Stone. He ALLOWED us to sign up by seniority to come to KTP. There is nothing in the contracts I can find that said we had the right to sign up by seniority to come over. I personally thanked Scott E. for that at a union meeting.
Can there be improvement in the union? Yes.
Can there be improvement in our attitudes?.....................
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Post by lucero on Aug 24, 2010 21:03:11 GMT -5
Hey Gunnuts, give em the finger for me too!!! Give us a holler. Scott, went to our first Cubs game last Sat. It was awesome, perfect weather, cold beer, and a WIN!!! Shoulda been there!
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Post by bogeybush on Aug 24, 2010 21:18:00 GMT -5
KTP sucks
LAP sucks
but it beats the hell out of diggin ditches.
I am looking forward to going back HOME to LAP. (And I'm pretty sure that the a-holes I have to work with every day on the corner line are looking forward to that day too.)
;D
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Post by ScottR@KTP on Aug 24, 2010 22:41:19 GMT -5
Man, a Cubs game sounds awesome. Can you tell me if my buddy Ed Henry went to CAP...or did he get that job he was trying to get? Thanks!
If I could get paid correctly without consequences...and be able to mirror the tag men on A and B crews, I would be happy for 12 more years.
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Post by catman on Aug 25, 2010 6:54:15 GMT -5
TonyV, your post are always well written and having meaning. Some folks just don`t realize how good we all have it. Does it really matter what plant you work at or come from ? they all have issues. Every plant has its own local contract, some better then others. The local union elections are every 3 years, if you think you can make a change for the better step up to the plate. If not, stop bashing on the ones that are in office and vote them out. Actions are louder then words.
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Post by catman on Aug 25, 2010 6:57:48 GMT -5
By the way gunnuts and lgnikko, did the company or union force you to come to Ktp ? NO! you chose to, so suck it cry babies.
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Post by beenaround on Aug 25, 2010 7:22:00 GMT -5
I'd be willing to bet that LAP will not have a traditional contract next go around. Though I don't believe the union representation will change for the membership.
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Post by ktpelec on Aug 25, 2010 7:44:10 GMT -5
WOW, what a thread! I have to jump in at this point. The question is - do I like factory work or trim? (The answer is no.) So I have not really enjoyed either plant in that regard. I have enjoyed the working relationships with many great people around me at both plants. Did I like the union at LAP? For the most part, yes. They had very good reps that shot you straight and I understood how the traditional contract was applied. Do I like KTP? That is a loaded question. I feel I walked into a hornets nest of issues that started before I arrived. I do not understand all the ways that the MOA is applied. I do not understand the dynamic of the union structure - but they have been gracious enough to help this outspoken person. Do I feel I have the right to complain about KTP in this circumstance? ------ No, I do not ------ I signed up for the right to come to KTP by seniority. Even though they did not bring me into the plant by seniority, they brought me in. I needed night shift for family needs. Scott Eskridge could have very well told LAP to send only the lowest seniority in this instance. He put his neck on the line with his own people to work with Steve Stone. He ALLOWED us to sign up by seniority to come to KTP. There is nothing in the contracts I can find that said we had the right to sign up by seniority to come over. I personally thanked Scott E. for that at a union meeting. Can there be improvement in the union? Yes. Can there be improvement in our attitudes?..................... Great post Tony! +++ |
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Post by lucero on Aug 26, 2010 4:07:48 GMT -5
Man, a Cubs game sounds awesome. Can you tell me if my buddy Ed Henry went to CAP...or did he get that job he was trying to get? Thanks! If I could get paid correctly without consequences...and be able to mirror the tag men on A and B crews, I would be happy for 12 more years. I see Ed every morning in the mezzanine. |
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Post by ScottR@KTP on Aug 26, 2010 5:39:00 GMT -5
Tell Ed I miss him!
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Post by freaknnuts on Aug 26, 2010 8:09:44 GMT -5
OMG!!! Such Winers.... Yea I do wine to. I have been at KTP since day one. I have seen all the BS and many union changes etc etc etc. But just be happy you have a job here making what you make. Wether or not we agree with everything our union says or does. Believe me Im sick of all the Ya! they can do that BS as well. It hasn't changed for 15 yrs since I was hired in Do you actually think its going to change now!!
Hell you could be making the 14$ an hour and the crappy Insurance that the new hires would be making. How would you like that! Then what would you do.. So wake up and Just Be Happy that your making 30$ an hour and not 7$ at the local McDonalds.
Oh by the way you want some cheese to go with that wining!!!!
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Post by sjohn191 on Aug 26, 2010 12:31:46 GMT -5
freaknnuts, u wine, no way. "that is a understatement". lol! No one is crying or bitching, just want to be heard. Every body saying be glad u have a job. I bet back in the day before the union was organized , I bet people like ur self where saying the same thing " be glad u have a job". If we all think that well its matter of time before all of us are working for $14 hr. I'm glad to have a job but no way in hell i'm going let them walk over me or do what they want to my fellow union brothers and sister. If u want call it bitching or being winer so be it, but for change to happen people have to be heard and it starts here on the web site.
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Post by wplap on Aug 26, 2010 13:01:55 GMT -5
The "union" at KTP reminds me of a battered wife: They may take to beating us every night, but at least they put food on the table and keep a roof over our head. What more could one expect?
It's this same sentiment which seems to reverberate with most people's comments I have read. The union should be held accountable for their lack of upholding the contract. They should be held accountable for their laissez-faire attitudes towards those grinding it out everyday on the line. The company side is a collection of snakes, but the union is nothing more than the tall grass hiding the snake. It almost feels like collusion, but surely that is just a paranoid thought.
If we keep saying things like, "be grateful you have a job" then where do we go from here? Do we just stay in the trailer park and let BubbaJack whoop us real nice-like every time we raise our head? I am not for playing "whack-a-mole" with my life and I want my representation to REPRESENT that notion.
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Post by brizzel on Aug 26, 2010 13:13:50 GMT -5
Every election i hear the same thing about voting out the ones that don't do there job. And less than half of us go and vote. If we want change, then we are ALL going to have to get out and make it happen. We need turnout like the last contract modification. This is OUR union, we need to take it back.
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Post by lgnikko on Aug 26, 2010 15:22:40 GMT -5
Hey bullwinkle I think I'll stay at KTP just to knock you further down the seniority line!!! LMAO
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Post by ScottR@KTP on Aug 26, 2010 17:44:41 GMT -5
As usual...spot on wplap.
And Brizzel hit the nail on the head...will always be a popularity contest...talk a big game, but pass the hall instead of taking the time to vote.
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Post by nvsked1 on Aug 26, 2010 20:04:38 GMT -5
As usual...spot on wplap. .will always be a popularity contest... Hence the phrase "popular vote" |
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Post by JoePieper on Aug 26, 2010 23:08:35 GMT -5
Every election i hear the same thing about voting out the ones that don't do there job. And less than half of us go and vote. If we want change, then we are ALL going to have to get out and make it happen. We need turnout like the last contract modification. This is OUR union, we need to take it back. No vote = No right to complain. |
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Post by catman on Aug 27, 2010 7:28:59 GMT -5
I agree with Bullwinkle, just be happy we all have great paying jobs.
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Post by ScottR@KTP on Aug 27, 2010 7:52:25 GMT -5
I agree with myself all the time.  |
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I was known as the "1/2 job legend". 
