Gregory Knox, a supplier for the “Big Three” auto makers, received a letter from Troy Clarke President of General Motors requesting support for the auto bailout. His response is classic, and has to make you proud that there are still right thinking Americans who are not afraid to tell it like it is.
Here is the request letter, and the response.
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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
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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 wher e 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…
Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn’t be telling anyone anything they really don’t already know down deep in their hearts.
I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into – my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did when I was their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) – I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work through it. Radical concept, huh… Am I there for them in the wings? Of course – but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.
I don’t want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad news people – it’s coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn’t have a magic wand big enough to “make it all go away.” I laughed as I heard Obama “reeling it back in” almost immediately after the final vote count was tallied…”we really might not do it in a year…or in four…” Where the Hell was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office?
Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks … That house in Florida really isn’t worth $750,000… People who jump across a border really don’t deserve free health care benefits… That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn’t worth $85,000 a year… We really shouldn’t allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe…
That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn’t be living in that $485,000 home… Let the market correct itself folks – it will. Yes it will be painful, but it’s gonna’ be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it all, is a nation that appreciates what it has…and doesn’t live beyond its means…and gets back to basics…and redevelops the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world…and probably turns back to God.
Sorry – don’t cut my head off, I’m just the messenger sharing with you the “bad news”. I hope you take it to heart.
Gregory J. Knox, President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin, Ohio 45005
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/knox.asp
Tags: '08' Election, Constituents, draconian, Economy, Planned Economic Collapse, Federal Reserve, Fiscal Responsibility, libertarian, Liberty, Politics, Presidential Candidates, Social Engineering, Socialist Bailout B.S., Taxation, Taxes
Moliberty's Newsblog 
June 21, 2009 at 9:05 pm
If Mr. Knox received that letter from Troy Clarke, President of GM, I wonder why he didn’t address his reply to Troy Clarke, instead of to some unnamed “Gentlemen,” asking them in his first paragraph to “please pass my comments on to Troy Clarke.”
April 8, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Oh my gosh…………I am hearing a echo !!!!!! (in Mr. Knox’s letter) My father said the exact same things as Mr. Knox, except it was 50 years ago. My father worked in one of the GM shops in Flint back in the late 30’s and most of the 40’s. They made him a forman in the early 40’s. After the union came in it was very apparent to him what the outcome, waaaaayyyyy down the road, would be. He was right, and we are seeing ithe results of years and years of greed and laziness right now. One thing that I have always said (I’m 65), is that the auto workers were going to “wage raise” themselves right out of a job. Another thing they have failed to realize all these years is that Joe Schmoe that DOESN’T work for the Big 3, didn’t and doesn’t earn the big $$$$ to afford the vehicles that the Big 3 had to raise the price on every year, to PAY THE GROSSLY INFLATED WAGES. When a car or truck costs half as much as a person’s home…..something is slightly out of balance. (That statement pertains to the person that buys a house within the means of their income, which is what we did. Sure I would like a 200,000.00 house, but instead settled for 70,000.00 home that we fixed up, again to live within our income.) Unfortunately, this trend trickled, to some extent, to other parts of our working class. I also use the term “working” VERY loosely.
My father said that the union stripped the working man of his work ethics. No one knew HOW to work anymore. They have gotten to the point that they think they have “got it all coming to them”.This is a generalization of course, obviously, there were SOME men that WOULD go in there and work and put in a full days work, and not “milk the system”
Before the union came in, it was nothing for my dad, as forman, to jump on one of the lines to help get the production quota. But called on the carpet for it, after the union came in.
I could go on and on, but it would not do any good. But I sure applaud Mr. Knox for having the guts to speak his mind on this matter. The bail out? I agree with him. Let them start from scratch, although, as he said it would cause alot pain for everyone. The big wigs at the top of ALL these companies, (not just the Big 3), should step back and really ask if they are worth all of the big 6 and 7 figure salaries and bonuses, when all of this is falling away. But of course, the same thing is happening in government and all around us. Someone can’t see the tree for the forest. And I am tired, as a consumer, and as a taxpayer, of paying for all the toys for these fat cats and other over paid linemen etc., that I myself and my hard working husband, can NOT AFFORD. I am 65 years old, still working, (can’t afford to quit working) and still go out in the woods and help my husband (who also works at least 40 hour week at his job, but no where near 30 bucks an hour) get all the wood up that we will need for the winter,( 25 cords) because propane has gone so far out of sight. I drive a 2003 vehicle, and hope to get another 50 k miles out of it. Because we sure can not afford to replace it.
Further commenting on Mr. Howard’s letter. If he is making 30 bucks an hour, on just a 40 hour week, puts him somewhere around 60,000.00 plus, WITHOUT any overtime. Add in the (approx.) 12,000.00 that the Blue Cross is costing the company, (again added to the cost of my car). Then the life insurance, eyecare, dental, pension or 401K etc. seems to me would be pushing 75k AT LEAST. Agreed, that is less than the 85,000.00 fork lift job. In all fairness, Mr. Knox was trying to make a point of the exagerated incomes compared to the job and job PRODUCTION.
March 9, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Below is a letter in response to Mr. Knox. Feel free to forward this letter to everyone.
Mr. Knox,
First I’d like to apologize for not remembering you when we first met and that I didn’t leave you with a very good first impression. We have met haven’t we, because you seem to know me, I one of the people you refer to in your letter, “our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid,arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded “laborers” .
Lets address the overpaid issue first. I’m a Journeyman Tool and Die Maker, which means that I spent four years of my life going to school and at the same time working 40-60 hours a week at the expense of my family time, so I could make a better life for us. (I think that addresses the lazy part, I’m not sure). I actually finished in 3 years but I guess that’s beside the point. I’ve been a journeyman for 20+ years and my base salary is about $30 an hour. I guess you believe that with my schooling and work, just because I work in a factory I should make very little money.
I also hope that you are not one of these people that believe the media when they state that we actually make $72 an hour. Lets take one of your workers with an average salary, add in what you think that it cost you to provide health care, or maybe you don’t do that for your employees, add life insurance, and any other benefit that you seem fit. Then add in the cost of 10 years of pension cost, that’s right, they add this in too. With your calculator, add all this up and let me know what you actually pay your employees. If it’s it very much different then I guess I won’t be applying for a position at your company.
One thing bothers me about your quote above, you called me arrogant. Yet in your letter, and I quote, “Don’t even think about telling me I’m wrong. Don’t accuse me of not knowing of what I speak.” I have never met you, but you type like an arrogant person yourself. Another quote of yours is,”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?!?)”
It’s obvious that you haven’t been near a plant in quite some time. This may have been a practice back in the 80’s but things have changed a lot since then. For the past fifteen years I have worked 40 hours/week with only a handful of weekend days worked. It’s true, there are some people that work 6 to 7 days a week but it’s not because they are “drag asses”. I hired into GM in the mid 80’s and I know that some of my memory isn’t like it used to be, but I really don’t remember anyone threatening me for being over productive or anything else, and there you go again calling me a “lazy bum”, are you sure that we have met?
You also make some comparisons:” The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic?!? Do Ineed to go on? What a joke!” Do you realize that these comparisons aren’t even in the same era?
I’ll try and find a video that I used to have of some Chinese auto makers working in a press and send it to you. On your quote “Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the “competition” has been producingvehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country?… How canthat be??? Let’s see… Fuel efficient… Listening to customers…
Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul…” The video I’m looking for shows four Chinese men sitting inside a tryout press next to the die so they can transfer the part to the next station after the press rolls over. All of these men are sitting down and stay in the press and actually have to duck their heads as the press rolls over so the ram of the press doesn’t hit there head. Is this the proper “tooling and automation” that you are referring too?
We actually do agree on one concept. Your quote about young people of today, “I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) – I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work through it.Radical concept, huh… Am I there for them in the wings? Of course -but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults..” I also agree that the youth of today is held by the hand way too long and not held responsible for their actions. Hurray for that great comment!
Then you kind of slip again, “Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks … That house in Florida really isn’t worth $750,000… People who jump across a border really don’t deserve free health care benefits… That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn’t worth $85,000 a year… ” Although you are right on in saying that the people who jump the border really don’t deserve free health care, you slip in the next statement. Being a Die Maker I’m one of the top on the salary list and I don’t even come close to $85,000. Don’t get me wrong, there are people that make that much, but that’s at the expense of the family life because they are living in the factory working overtime instead. So when you say that a forklift driver actually makes $85,000 you once again don’t have your facts straight.
I heard you when you talked on 590 AM radio on the 9th of March when you said that you actually do work for the automotive industry. With all the attention that your letter has been getting, I actually hope that your arrogant words come back to haunt you. I know if I have any say in it, you would not be on my “list to call” if I needed any work done. I really don’t mean any ill to your company, I hate to see anyone lose their job, but I know that I couldn’t do business with someone like you who likes to talk out of the wrong orifice.
Sincerely,
Tom Howard
UAW Member
Journeyman Tool & Die Maker
tomh1963@jasnetworks.net
January 17, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Mr. Knox should run for U.S. President (if he can finagle his way through the Global Elitist’s acceptance protocol).
In my opinion, Mr. Knox uses his brain the way a human brain was designed; he uses common sense. It saddens me to know that so many folks waste the useful portion of their brains on keeping up with the latest results of a sports event, but when it comes down to our elected official’s unconstitutional and sometimes nefarious acts, they could care less. Yea, I know many of us work more hours a day and weeks to make ends meet. But damn it, that’s all the more reason to tell our elected employees…”STOP wasting our hard-earned wages on NON-GOVERNMENTAL PROJECTS!!!!!”
Here, the common-everyday citizens are working their asses off to make ends meet, while our supposed “Elected Officials” bailout some sorry-ass, no-account, incompetent businesses (with the money our rep’s stole from us) because they couldn’t figure out how to manage their business. If they’re not complying with the “Oath of Office” they took, they need to be fired, fined and put in jail or exiled, PERIOD!!!
The problem is the Global Elitists goal for total control of the monetary systems vs any particular country’s choice of monetary system. Many of our so-called representatives are on the “Special Interest’s Dole” to undermine our Constitutional Republic. The Globalists strive to make it a “One World Order”. Maybe it should be titled the “One World Money Order”. That’s what they’re shooting for; a Global Currency. Of course, the One World Government would be necessary to see this maniacal nightmare come to fruition.
This crap is happening in Europe too; they (the Globalists) can’t wait until the sovereignty of the U.S. citizen is dead.
Stay tuned, we ain’t done yet!!!!!