Bad KARMA For Everyone!!!!!!!!!
Well, there is just great news all around! A co-worker of mine, Russell Freestone, recently had a bad fire at his place. His big barn completely burned to the ground, and his house suffered bad damage as well, the side, deck, gutters, roof, were damaged, as well as 7 windows. In his barn, he lost a CAR, thousands of dollars worth of tools, 1 kitten, his kids and grandkids baby stuff, his Christmas stuff, and other things. The people in our department, about 50, got a card and signed, and gave him a pool of money. NOT MUCH, by any means, but it is a great deal better than nothing. UNION PEOPLE STICK TOGETHER!!!!! DAMN FUCKING STRAIGHT!!!!!! The boss excused him a couple of days off, and this was his first day back. LUCKILY, his family, wife, kids, grandkids, ALL GOT OUT SAFE!!! THAT is the most important thing by FAR. Our thoughts are with his family!!!!
On to other things, I was eating on break at work, and my temp. crown came loose, and popped back in! FUCKING OUCHIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! MAN that hurt. I popped a darvecet, went to medical dept., and they gave me some stuff to put on a Q-tip, to put on my gum and tooth, that numbed it up. THANK GOD. That helped tremendously! I am going to call the dentist tomorrow, and tell them to GET ME IN DAMN IT!!! Whether they will or not, remains to be seen of course. I still have to get the tooth I had to get a root canal on crowned, and I still have another 3 crowns to get in. PLUSSSSSSSSS, I get to have my wisdom teeth pulled in Feb. SWEET! I got to set the appointment up first, (that might help).
On to other other things, work schedule has changed. Starting in December, we will going back to 8 hours per shift. Now this can be seen in a few different ways. First, this is SWEET! I get to spend more time AWAY from work, which is ALWAYS preferable. Second, this is a bad sign for the industry. On average GM makes about TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS PER TRUCK WE PRODUCE. That is AFTER other costs factored in. Namely, labor, parts, supplies, energy, and everything else. THAT goes STRAIGHT in their pocket. Now, factor in we make 70 TRUCKS PER HOUR. That is $700,000 PER HOUR. Factor in 10 hours a night. That is SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS PER SHIFT. We run 2 shifts, so that is 14 MILLION DOLLARS PER DAY, Monday through Friday, and occasionally a Saturday. NOW, if they cut back to eight hours they only make $11,200,000 per shift. That means GM, which is in NOT very good financial shape at the moment, will have even less money to play with, like in product development, pension funding, and other things. They are doing this, because the U.S. economy is in SHITTY shape, and nobody is wanting a vehicle that makes 10 miles to the gallon, when gas is so high. FOR OUR SAKE, I sure as hell hope that GM starts putting those hybrids out, and fast, or sales will suffer even more. Why should I care you ask???? Did I mention the fact that GM and the UAW are responsible for putting food in my kid’s mouths?
On to other other other things:
*GM misstated '01 income by up to $400 million*
*Oil Company Execs Defend RECORD Profits to Senate*
*Oil Execs Won't Help Lower Energy Costs*
*Japanese Whalers Aim to Double Usual Kill*
*Congo's Hippos Hunted, Eaten to Extinction*
WOOT, WOOT, WOOT. HOLLA!
On to other things, I was eating on break at work, and my temp. crown came loose, and popped back in! FUCKING OUCHIEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! MAN that hurt. I popped a darvecet, went to medical dept., and they gave me some stuff to put on a Q-tip, to put on my gum and tooth, that numbed it up. THANK GOD. That helped tremendously! I am going to call the dentist tomorrow, and tell them to GET ME IN DAMN IT!!! Whether they will or not, remains to be seen of course. I still have to get the tooth I had to get a root canal on crowned, and I still have another 3 crowns to get in. PLUSSSSSSSSS, I get to have my wisdom teeth pulled in Feb. SWEET! I got to set the appointment up first, (that might help).
On to other other things, work schedule has changed. Starting in December, we will going back to 8 hours per shift. Now this can be seen in a few different ways. First, this is SWEET! I get to spend more time AWAY from work, which is ALWAYS preferable. Second, this is a bad sign for the industry. On average GM makes about TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS PER TRUCK WE PRODUCE. That is AFTER other costs factored in. Namely, labor, parts, supplies, energy, and everything else. THAT goes STRAIGHT in their pocket. Now, factor in we make 70 TRUCKS PER HOUR. That is $700,000 PER HOUR. Factor in 10 hours a night. That is SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS PER SHIFT. We run 2 shifts, so that is 14 MILLION DOLLARS PER DAY, Monday through Friday, and occasionally a Saturday. NOW, if they cut back to eight hours they only make $11,200,000 per shift. That means GM, which is in NOT very good financial shape at the moment, will have even less money to play with, like in product development, pension funding, and other things. They are doing this, because the U.S. economy is in SHITTY shape, and nobody is wanting a vehicle that makes 10 miles to the gallon, when gas is so high. FOR OUR SAKE, I sure as hell hope that GM starts putting those hybrids out, and fast, or sales will suffer even more. Why should I care you ask???? Did I mention the fact that GM and the UAW are responsible for putting food in my kid’s mouths?
On to other other other things:
*GM misstated '01 income by up to $400 million*
*Oil Company Execs Defend RECORD Profits to Senate*
*Oil Execs Won't Help Lower Energy Costs*
*Japanese Whalers Aim to Double Usual Kill*
*Congo's Hippos Hunted, Eaten to Extinction*
WOOT, WOOT, WOOT. HOLLA!
posted by Walking Contradiction at 11/10/2005 03:01:00 AM
Hey Matt come on out here we got job up the butt, look at Val's hubby, he is working a great job now. There are many more where his came from. Why not? My hubby lost his job and Chrysler in detroit back when things were like this. The best thing we EVER did was to move out here. Give it a thought or two.
The economics of auto production, as you describe them, are fascinating. But does GM actually make a flat $10K on every truck? In other words isn't it a sliding scale of profitability based on amortized costs distributed over X quantity?
Ordinarily, one would think the more trucks produced the greater the top- and bottom-line benefit. In the production of printed paper, for example, your costs diminish precipitously with the addition of each gross, and your profits are inversely proportional to that falling cost. But I wonder if, given the high (relative to printing) labor-intensive costs of durable goods production, the math might be a little different.
If GM runs a lighter production schedule where they reduce labor (which has to be the single largest line-item cost as it is in every other business)...while their gross income would certainly go down, might their net profitability go up? Especially as the raw materials of auto production are also labor-intensive durable goods (steel, acetylene, rubber, lug nuts, airbag powder, etc.). If they order fewer of those, GM's top-line costs diminish, and, counterintuitively, their per-unit cost might also diminish (or if they rise, they might not rise dramatically). At the same time, by reducing the number of man hours on their own production lines, GM might eliminate their largest cost and increase profitability.
I'm not advocating this, nor do I know the first thing about your industry or how it works, but you just made me think of something I've never thought of before. Makes me want to go out and buy an economics book.
Thanks for that!
Meanwhile, the last car I owned I gave up in '92 when I moved to New York City. Since then, cars and the auto industry have become an abstract concept to me. Cars are something one rents in distant lands, or something one tries not to get hit by on 14th Street, or something producing vast quantities of politically charged emissions. The auto industry has become for me not something of families and micro economies, but of UAW disputes and Michael Moore films and fat balding rich white men in glasses announcing layoffs.
And then I read about Russell Freestone and your wisdom teeth and the tallied hours of your work week and the cars and the industry become something else.
Best to your friend.
OMG that sucks a$$ for that poor guy!!!! I don't really have much to say that is insightful or opinionated like everyone else. I'm trying to fight to stay awake for the last half hour at work.
I'm sending you a fifty thousand dollar check for dude right now. Expect it in the mail within a few working days. I wish. That is absolutely horrifying!! I could not even imagine losing so much of your life like that. My best hopes for him and his family.
As for you... Have you ever tried heroin? I hear you get a pretty numbing sensation from that. I've never tried it, so I couldn't say for sure, but let me know how that goes.
Congratulations on the ability to spend more time with your family come, what, December? That's fucking awesome!!! I hope the other areas don't fuck you over too bad. Take care!!
*-Val-sorry to hear about your friends, and thanks for stopping by again.
*-Mom-I will definatly keep that in mind-THANK YOU-Love you!
*-Derek-THANKS! You are definantly right about the cost differential, in that it changes constantly. I just gave an average. Pick up that economics book, and beat me over the head with it until I (1) die (2) end up in a coma.
*-Amy-If I make $700,000 an hour, I will be your sugar daddy, and probably a few others. Angi won't care, with that kind of money.
*-Kiki-Thanks for taking the time to stop by, I hope your stalker is leaving you alone. I am sorry about your (you know what)
*-Dawn-What do you mean you never tried it? Hell, I am buying it FROM YOU!!!!!!
HA HA HA!!!!!
My father in law also works for GM... in Cleveland. It's scary, huh?
NEW JOB?????? UMMMMM NO! We are very settled here and If the worst happens then we will take it as it comes I am sure. I have faith in GM that things will improve and our lives will remain as comfy as they have always been. I try not to dwell on the thing I can not change and just take life as it comes. Matt on the other hand will borrow problems to worry about and DWELL on EVERY NEGATIVE thing there is to dwell on. We are 100% percent opposites in our way of handling things. I personally think he'd be happier and lord knows more fun to live with if he would just loosen up a bit and not be such a NEGATIVE NELLY! Anyway just my take on it. Oh about the sugar daddy thing. Sorry but I wouldn't be ok with if not matter what kind of money he made.
YOU GO GIRL we will at some point have to get this guy loosened up, SOME HOW!!!!!! I know all about the complete opposites. Sugar daddy's don't give me grandbabies anyway. I am with ya on that one Angi.