Let's just say that you bought a house a few years ago. The market tanks and values aren't as high and getting a sale isn't likely anytime soon. You now not only have a mortgage payment and house upkeep expenses, but if you move, you have expenses of moving on top of rent to pay. It kind of complicates things a bit. Add to it that GM employees are grossly overpaid for what they do. I have (had) family on my ex's side that did it. A job driving a forklift or checking inventory of parts pays more than some 4-year degree careers if you've been with GM long enough. If you were a GM employee, whose family is accustomed to such a payscale, you have the choice of retaining the job with benefits or basically starting over from scratch professionally. "Move" is a very gross over-simplication. I don't disagree that's a ******ed situation, but it is what it is.
That's really not that uncommon esp. in Va. I knew of State Troops that have homes in Souteastern Va and patrol DC. So they all rented an apartment in the pretty much in the center of overlapping where everyone patrols. I do know they didn't have any problems in that building with 6 or 8 state troops in it. Nurses and Doctors are another niche from Hampton Roads that do this. With the pay their bringing in from DC, renting an apartment and turning it into a barracks really isn't a bad idea as long as everyone cleans up and doesn't give management a problem. Just another sign of the times.
And for anyone not reading the article, the guy's wife is recovering from Chemo therapy. Not only would moving be a stress on her health, but the guy has medical bills in the tens of thousands dollars to pay. You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.
I lived near there when the Plant closing was announced and i can tell you from experience that people were in full on panic mode and the town as already hurting when i moved back to Minnesota and that was nearly 3 year ago and 2 years before it actually closed. People who worked there stopped spending the extra money they may have had and saved it for when the hard times came and the local economy suffered for it, I know efforts were made to keep the plant open but they went for naught. sucks that the guy has to do it but i can understand his reasons for it.
IIRC, i read an article that Chrysler is opening NEW plants in Mexico. Let me digest this- didn't WE bail them out last year? Didn't WE save them? but they can't partially repay us by keeping jobs here? ugh. I am not exactly a fan of Unions. I have family that used to go to the auto plants and pick up their cars and trucks straight off the lot. Was told that if a line worker picked up a piece of trash off the floor, the sanitation worker on duty could file a grievance for it. it's ridiculous. and in a time where a man has to kill himself driving that far to work, this is sad.
It's like that in Fort Macmurray. Guys have a home in the city and will drive up at 3 or 4 in the morning to get there by 8. Some really smart guys will rent an apartment in the Fort, so they can relax.
You hit the nail on the head there. But whats more, they can put some of the blame on themselves/union. How many offered to take pay cuts to keep the factory in Janesville? That selfish bullshit by the union not only cost the plant in Janesville, it cost all the little companies that supplied the Janesville plant. How many plants in Mexico did they shut down? One? Thanks GM, your my hero. Chuck
Shit, I got tired of a 20 minute (One way) drive to work and moved within walking. I'm a single guy living with just a pet bird, but... Damn. Stories like this always make my problems in life seem pale.
That is really tough. I guess his wife condition prevents him for working the week and coming home on the week end?
Jorod makes a great point. Some of the auto employees were making $70/hr with barely a GED or HS diploma. All because of the union. And considering we are a country that relies on automotive transportation to survive, its just crazy. We wonder why a car that costs $20K to build should only cost about half that, and it's because we are paying ridiculous salaries to install rear view mirrors, bucket seats, etc. Come on. Unions had a place at a particular point in time, now they are nothing but troublemakers and end up costing, as cavshock pointed out, more jobs, time and effort than the resolve.
You hit the nail right on the head. I loathe unions back in the day they served a purpose now they just help themselves to an employees paycheck. I had a chance to go union at the local Kroger store in Norfolk but I refused. Why the hell should I pay some shyster to sit on his ass for the priviliege of me going to work? Ha it was funny as hell to see FOP members getting a paid vacation to Mardi Gras off the members dues. Another reason why I refused to join the FOP. Anyway, when my import was totaled I went car shopping for an American SUV turns out I got more car for less money with my Nissan Xterra. So yeah the Unions did it to themselves. I equate buying a Ford, Chevy, Dodge, etc. to shopping at K-mart. You want how much...? There is no way I would pay over 21k let alone 33k for an explorer. The Unions have pretty much broken the Big Three here in the US. Hated to see it happen but oh well. But the funny part was IIRC that Chevy could have broke the Union had they filed for Bankruptcy or some other thing. Chevy failed to do it and so the Unions remain.
