NAFTA had nothing to do with the closure of our plant. They also closed plants in Canada and Mexico. I don't know how much more simple the message can be:
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NOBODY IS BUYING THE PRODUCT

ooops I meant doc0430 not dock0430 Sorry
I know the spelling police are watching so I fixed it before the caught me!! LOL
Good Luck to all those at the plant
STAY SAFE!!

WTG dock0430 You nailed that one on the head.
STAY SAFE!!

NAFTA is one of the worst trade agreements ever its cost so many jobs and one thing most have forgoten about it, November 1993 it was signed by who?, BILL CLINTON A Democrat! What could this be? Yup you bet it is don't believe me check it out youself look it up....... Now does everybody still think the Republicans are to blame for all the economic downturn problems?

kb0740:

Negiotiating free tade agreements may not be your strength. NAFTA has no bearing on asian or european markets. NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT. Asian markets do not recognize NAFTA, ASEAN on the other hand....

As you and "agree again" probably know, if you were to examine all of the parts that went into a product produced at the Janesville Gm assembly plant you would find parts built from nearly all corners of the globe. The failure of Gm has very little to do with NAFTA or any other global trade agreement. There are many issues but NAFTA is not one of them. The first issue is to build products people want.

There are no guarantees in life, such as life time employment for unskilled labor and you cannot roll back the clock to 1960 when GM owned a stranglehold on the US auto market. Consumers want choices and those companies that meet that demand will thrive. Those companies that fail to meet this demand will perish. I drive Gm products-and I am happy to drive them.

I wrote this response using an apple computer I purchased this week (apple is a great american company)-however, this product was made in asia. The coffee I am drinking is jamaican blue mountain. Not made in America either. I look around and I see a variety of products not made in america and consumers are better because of the global economy.

But your concern is a matter of economics. Economics is a science of incentives. That what you incentivize you receive more of. That what you tax you receive less of. On balance does NAFTA work? yes I think it does. Go to Woodman's or your grocery store of choice in February and tell me if you find any fruit from Mexico or Chile. How much are you will to pay for fresh fruit in the middle of winter? $10 a pint or perhaps $2.99 a pint? Close this import and you will see a meteoric rise in the price of winter strawberries. You may disagree but your solution to close off the borders and force people to buy products they do not want is not a solution to what ails our US economy.

Oh Wah! About your children not being able to attend. What about the people of the future not being able to attend? If it so important for you to take your child to a piece of history....take them. But, the future will NOT change, it is going, going, gone. That is the real tragedy....and the real thing to complain about. TOO SAD!

I spent 10 years getting a good look at the inside of the Janesville plant. I whined and complained about how much I hated being there everyday too. I finally woke up and confronted reality in the summer of 2007 when I came to the conclusion, it wasn't GM's fault that I was so miserable for all of those years.....IT WAS MY OWN FAULT! They weren't forcing me to stay, my own personal love of the almighty dollar is what made me stay. I'm very glad I saw the light when I did and took responsibility for my own situation and got out of there. I certainly don't look down on others who weren't as fortunate me to get out when I did either. I pray those people will find it inside themselves to go out in this world and find the success they desire. As for me, nothing personal against GM or anyone else, but, I got my last glimpse of the place in Dec. of '07 and it's a mere dot in my rear view mirror now and simply a faded memory. I truly wish the best for others and that they may one day see what I see now! God bless you all.......

I agree. NAFTA is not good for U.S. products. Our products are federally taxed to the U.S. Comsumer, yet becasue of NAFTA, imported products are not subject to the same taxes. Also, NAFTA makes our products unaffordable to European and Asian markets.

Unfortunately kids in 20 years will be doing case studies in college that compare the american steel industry to the american auto industry. They will be learning that increased labor costs caused the American auto industry to fall behind Japan (just like steel).

Angry - Good points, but:
1. America has lost many industries, making it hard to find american products.
2. Tarifs should be imposed on others like they impose them on us! Some can call that protectionism, I call it fair trade.
3. NAFTA needs revision. America got shafted on this one.

If the US is going to survive this crisis in my opinion two thing need to happen:

#1 WE NEED TO START BUYING AMERICAN PRODUCTS! If we don’t buy products made by American workers, with American materials, Transported by Americans to American retailers we cannot and will not turn the economy around. Not many people in the US have patriotism anymore or naive to the effect of buying foreign products have on our economy and overall our lives.
Industry drives it all.. Our industry has slipped away because we have allowed countries who don’t have worker protection and fair wage laws to flood in at a much cheaper price than American product can be made at. This leads to my next point

#2 Import tariffs need to be raised much higher for a while to promote new industrial growth in the United States by making products imported into our country cost more to consumers, and make it a more logical choice to buy from within. The reason this must happen is because NO ONE CARES THAT THEY BUY FOREIGN products, and will not change their ways. They defend their choice, and this helps no one.

This economy, especially in Janesville now, will be tough for anyone to get a good paying job. Yes, there are jobs out there, but you can't make a good enough living flipping burgers to support a family and house/car payments. Those are entry level jobs for young people to make money at. (and I am not cutting down burger flippers, used to do similar stuff myself). Hopefully things will get better, but it will be a hardship for many for a long time. Not something people should make fun of or look down at other people for. This is America at it's bleakest.

Chad, I didn't mean to disparage anyone. I've never worked at the plant, and I didn't know it offered optional training. I didn't mean to imply that everyone should have a college degree; what I meant was that people should have something to fall back on. It seems like you followed that strategy, and I wish you the best.

I think what was meant by "they'll find out now" is this: many of those workers are older. Face it, it's not easy getting a new job when you're in your 40's and up. So, now you've got all these people, along with those who have already went to college, looking for jobs when things are so bleak for the economy.

Eksreigh- you make it sound like one cannot learn new skill sets in a plant. Various classes were always offered, some went into trades, I was trained by a tech school on auto repair, learned how to weld, learned about torque and specifications, and much more! One does not have to just an ignorant plant rat like most like to believe we are. There were areas to advance with learning in a plant which usually ended up with more mental than physical work. Sometimes even in more pay. And the physical work down there was a great incentive for some to quit and go back to school. Why do you need to disparage a job that helped so many in so many ways? Plus, when I hired in there were also many who had teaching degrees but could not find work or one that paid as well. I would always encourage education, but that is not always a guarantee in economic downtime's like now .

Jqpublic- your first statement seemed inconsistent, hence the "lie", but your second statement cleared that up. It was just the way it was stated here. Still, that ONE person who ruined the day could have been used as an example of the best one could get without an education but with limited resources should that job go away. One who wants to teach children lessons can always find a way to get the message out from good or bad examples.

As a child from a GM family for the past 40 years I am sad to see it go! Good Luck to all the unemployed! I think the Gazette should just print one article and get it over with "Everything to GM to Close in Janesville" reading this stuff is getting depressing! GM was great to our family and we were loyal in return....

Yes The Public Schools still take certain grades to the GM Plant last year,my 4th grader could not go because they do a behavioral goal for each month at school my child is a great child in school but talked out of turn and so that is what caused him to miss this great opportunity which I think was very educational no child should have to miss something like this to important!!!!

For all those who think Toyota is is smelling roses, think again:
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http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/11/0...
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The real question is; when will the US government bailout and take over (nationalize) the US auto industry?

chad_vader: You're right I did only take students on one trip to the plant. I never did return with students. However have been back with others groups besides students. The overall tour is educational. As for the lies remark, What reason would I have to lie about a ridiculous comment made by one idiot on the line? JohnDoe, as for the golden learning opportunity, it was discussed with students! My comments to them were, what would that person do if the plant closed? I guess he is going to find out!

I agree with iqpublic. Teaching kids that education isn't necessary in order to succeed in life is sending the completely wrong message. I know that GM provided a good living to many hard workers for decades, but in the whole scheme of things it's an aberration. In the rest of the country outside of union-based factories, one's knowledge and skill set determines one's paycheck.
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Generally speaking, if it takes years to become good at your job your pay is higher than if you can become an expert in a few days or weeks. What you know and what you can do sets you apart from the other people in your line of work.
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I mean no disrespect to the workers at GM -- I know the work is physically demanding. Some of my good friends are at the plant. But despite its importance in this town, GM wasn't here to provide jobs for Janesville; the company was here become it made sense to them financially. Now it's no longer profitable for them to be here, so Janesville workers must face the real world.
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It's unfortunate for workers who put all their eggs in one basket and never learned any new professional or trade skills (other than those learned at GM) after high school. Hopefully, they can find a place to utilize those GM skills somewhere else. If there's any doubt, I would enroll at Blackhawk Tech or UW-Rock pronto!

jqpublic - you say you took "trips" not just a trip, yet after the insult you were horribly exposed to you say you never went back.
At least check your lies for inconsistencies!

Thank you for apologizing about misreading the post. I really don't know who on this blog is a lineworker based on the comments.

jqpublic....even though that comment by a line worker was inappropriate, do you really think your reaction to it was appropriate?
To never return because of the comment of one worker...out of how many?
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Would you say my reaction would be appropriate if I were to hold one inappropriate comment by a teacher against ALL teachers...especially at contract time?
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What, really, did you teach your students in that situation?
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What presented itself as a golden learning opportunity...you seemed to have bungled...and in the process, denied future students what could have possibly been a once in a lifetime learning experience.

GM didn't have to offer this to the community. I, for one, appreciate the opportunity. My great-grandfather, grandfather and dad all worked and retired from Industrial Drive. I wanted to work there, but my dad told me to go to college. I can't wait to take my last visit into the building next week. Best of luck to all employees.

tim4me, I misread your comment, I thought you were removing them from school completely. Sorry for not reading your post clearly.

tim4me,woodsman: Do you believe the comment made by a line worker was appropriate. I do understand how valuable GM is/was to this community. However in times like these I believe education for many will be far more important. Where would your children go to school? (tim4me)

"Gone with the Wind." An era after WW2 when somebody could make a decent wage for a decent days work. When the UAW built a great organization that looked out for the best interests of its members. When health insurance, dental insurance and a great pension were guaranteed to the average American willing to put in a hard days work on the line. Take one last look. It is a lifestyle now "Gone with the Wind”. God bless all you hard working GM employees.

I will most likely take my children out of school for this. This plant provided for my husband and I to start a family and raise one here in a wonderful community. It is part of our family history as well as the community.

I remember going into the plant with my mom when i was younger. It was always around 9:45pm or 10pm when my dad would go on lunch. I had fun. i also met alot of people down there through the years.

Why would closing County Stadium be history? It is just a ball park.

Last chance to scare the kids and ensure they will go to college!

Did you ever stop and think that the reason the tour is offered during school hours is because thats the only time the plant is running now. I don't think it would be that much fun taking a tour when the line is not running.

Mary - thank you very much for setting the record straight. You can't please everybody, so do your best with what you have. Good luck to you.

I'm the Communications Manager at Janesville Assembly and will attempt to monitor the concerns posted regarding UAW/GM "Heritage Days" and respond accordingly. First, I'd like to reiterate that we only produce vehicles on one shift, so tours must be delivered during the day. We realize this may not be an ideal situation, especially for families, but it is all we are able to offer. Second, public tours have been conducted for years and we've hosted hundreds of school field trips, but next week will be reserved for community members, retirees and inactive employees; tours will cease November 14, 2008. Our workforce is outstanding, and we have consistently been complimented on how friendly they are to tour participants. Lastly, the comment provided by 'Progressive6' is false information. Thank you for your interest and support, we look forward to seeing you next week!

Am I missing something here? There are so many area families that have been financially devastated by the closing of the plant both directly and indirectly. History is County Stadium closing down in Milwaukee. GM closing is a dark day and something I don't think should be celebrated. However I do credit the GM PR crew for a great attempt at brightening up this dark dark day.

iqpublic; To make a statement like that,is just plain gooooofy!!

How long are the tours? Can you just show up at anytime during the above stated times?

In the past I have taken students on field trips to the General Motors plant. I have never returned because on the first trip, the very first worker on the line stated, to a group of 60 students that "I make $27.00/hour and did not even graduate high school." I did not feel this was the correct message to send to today's youth.

I seem to remember that the only time I saw the inside of the plant, it was on a school field trip. Don't they do those anymore?

I wouldn't keep my kids out of school to go and see the GM plant. I don't see the correlation to children and an GM plant closing as educational. However, when I was a young child, our school took the tour. I don't know if schools still do it.

You parents that say,the kids can't go,they got school. Do you say that when they get a snow day? What really are they going to miss in school that day? By NOT going they will miss being able to say they witnessed the LAST days this historic life blood of Janesville, before shutting down,and the way of life here is about to change. History was made tuesday,But History was made 100 years ago,when Janesville was born,because of GENERAL MOTORS. So you parents decide,learn how to tie your shoe,or a memory that WILL last a life time,when they tell the story about when general motor made life good here,and helped build this town. Seeing the first schools were built,and still are,by the money some way,that G.M. payed out to the tax payers.I'm sure they wont mind, this tour the kids can go on!! It IS educational you know!

The tour was wonderful. It's been offered to the public for years(Check the phone book-there is a # listed) I took my children through last winter during one of their days off from school. The plant is clean, well maintained and so interesting see. All the people working made the tour fun for our group too. The vehicles made down there are top of the line, beautiful vehicles. It's hard to believe it will soon be shut down. THANK YOU JANESVILLE GENERAL MOTORS FOR A GREAT PRODUCT!

I think this tour should be so our children can have the tour too but they did not plan that so I think my kids may just have to miss half of day or all day cause this is something I don't want mine to miss.

My thoughts exactly. I'd take my kids, but they are in school!

Kinda strange that they have kids activities planned, but are only offering the tours while most children are in school.

It's too bad they couldn't have offered these tours when the kids were off of school. I know many that would of loved to tour GM but unfortunatly all the tours are schedualed durring school time.