garyprimer: I'd call you a moron for your stupid comment but it would only be insulting the morons ... they are much smarter than you could hope to be.

That carbon footprint is being offset by the millions of people not driving to work because they have no job.

BUT....!!!
what of the giant carbon footprint of these flights???

Inconsiderate people grinding the earth under thier carbon impregnated soles!

Won't someone think of the CHILDREN!!!

DaWolfman: I was not trying to criticize the writer. I have family members who spent a good part of the 1980s away from their spouses and children because of the economy back then. It stunk, especially for my sister who gave birth while her husband was stuck in a blizzard in Iowa while trying desperately to get home to Milwaukee. Then she spent most of the next two years alone raising that infant and a toddler while also working full time as a teacher. Her husband (an electrician) was grateful for the work he found in the Dakotas and Illinois during those years, but I am not sure if he felt it was really worth the money vs. what it cost him and his family in non-monetary things. But they also learned that one can survive if there is a will. Thirty years later, my sister and her husband are still happily married and both their children have obtained master's degrees and are starting their own families. As far as commuting daily, DaWolfman, I hear you. I commute 90 miles to work five or six days weekly right now. But I consider myself lucky because I love my job. Unfortunately, my family is scattered across the country anyway.

to raise a family you need money. to make money, you need a job. so yes sarahB1 her husband is in fact doing this for money. to keep his family fed. as far as selling their house. i've known a person who';s house has been on the market close to 2 yrs. not a sniff of getting sold. job market? yea, highest unemployment in the state in this area. been looking since i got laid off in June. not a sniff of a job so yea, i'll prolly have to relocate to. some of my friends already commute up to 90 minutes to get to work.

Two questions- How much, if anything, does GM provide workers for relocation? How much advance time did workers get before they started in K.C.?

"Just be glad that it's Kansas City and not Iraq or Afghanistan. What a bunch of ingrates."
Just so I didn't misunderstand, who are the ingrates?

Just be glad that it's Kansas City and not Iraq or Afghanistan. What a bunch of ingrates.

I agree with burbanmom in the aspect that it is quite difficult on the family structure to have a parent/spouse commute. As a child, it stunk to have Dad gone most of the time. He lost out on 11 years of activities with my sisters and I. THEN, it was also all that time he missed out with my Mom!

I have trouble with this whole GM/Jville thing, BUT I do understand how much more difficult it is on the families, especially the kids and spouse left to raise them.

jowner, your math is wrong. The drive takes 8-10 hours. The total flight trip will take about 4 hours. That's 4-6 hours less, one way.

The $175 air fare is round trip. The cost of fuel to drive the 8-10 hours both ways is AT LEAST that much, not including the wear on the vehicle, and having to sit in a car for 8-10 hours. Even if you could car pool with three other people, the cost would be about $45 round trip. Spending at MOST $130 more once a week for quicker and MUCH safer travel makes complete sense, and it's only temporary.

aprilgal I agree, my brother transferred to Michigan a year ago and it was the hardest decision he had to make, like he said I have a wife and 8 year old to take care of. It was his family he worried about first not the money. I wish you good luck with everything. I know what it is like to have a family member move and how hard it is, so I sympathize with all the GM workers who have transferred and who are getting ready to transfer. I wish them all the best and they will be missed by family and friends.(and you all do have people in Janesville that do care about you.)

It takes money to raise a family. So, to say that you are moving away from your life just because of "the money" is a bunch of hogwash-it is about your family. I honestly believe the working families who were Janesville GM Employees are moving away to "support their families" so lets see . . . sitting around collecting unemployment until it runs out or going to school to get a job to support your family, or making the choice to move with a company you may feel will give you an opportunity to continue supporting your family is yes about money, it is about survival and yes it is for your family - to me they go hand in hand. Not all GM workers are going after the signing bonus - which if that was the only motivator there would be more people leaving Janesville. The motivator in our case is survival. Yes, kids understand more than us adults are giving them credit, they will adapt to change better than we are-we can't judge another families reasons for moving or staying.

aprilgal: You also forgot to mention that a part of you is likely doing this because of money. With this economy, a good share of people understand and would probably do the same. But please don't say you are only doing this for the family's sake. The commuting, etc., is stressful on the family too. Hopefully, the houses will sell soon and the kids will accept the fact that moving to another area and school are sometimes just a part of life. And, old vet, please don't use this situation as only a way to vent your dislike for President Obama. Better yet, google about his efforts to improve life for "old vets" ...

Think about it. Instead of car pooling for an 8 hour trip, you are going to the airport 2 hours ahead of time, taking a 1 & one half hour flight, driving home from Rockford after waiting for your bags, you are going to save 3 hours of time for $175 dollars. I don't think that makes any sense. And if the weather is bad, the airline won't fly anyway, or be on time.

How dare this airline propose this without first going through king obamamamamama !!

Do you really think people want to commute? Do you really think they want to stay in Janesville? People! we have houses to sell, that are not selling! We have built our home here - so yes, weekend or monthly commutes are needed for our sanity-When you have lived your life with a company many are not going to give up their seniority for the City of Janesville-They are getting our taxes on the homes that are sitting empty or half empty since your other half of your family is living in a different State! So we do what we have to until our house sells, or our children graduate, or we get all our matters in order because believe it or not the families who are going through this are thinking of their families - not the City of Janesville or the State of Wisconsin's loss or the uptight people who have this hatred for GM and the Union workers.

In an effort to collect revenue for the poverty stricken city of Janesville, local government officals have contemplated with the idea of taxing El Camino Airlines (the airline that takes GM workers to Kansas City) in Rockford for the reimbursement of potential money that the city could have collected if GM workers would have stayed in Janesville.

People are missing the big story. There is the potential for a business to expand by offering service to a select group of customers. A flight from Rockford to KC that does not exist currently. This is the beauty of our free market economic. If there is sufficient demand a company will come forward.

Another option is to move to the KC-MO, Johnson County Kansas Area-end the 10 hour 1 way commute. There are 200 people facing this decision. It is a tough decision-but these decisions are common today. What is not common are high paying union jobs. I would not look to an airline for sollace. Airlines hemorragh money, have 3 unions that can shut them down at anytime, and are rarely on time. No airline will operate a route that consistently loses money (years ago this was not the case-today its a different business model).

The question for SCott Huber is how long before retirement? If the answer is 5 or more years-then it might be easier to move.

aprilgal, being a GM'r that hasn't been transfered yet those of us still at home understand. My sympathies to all those in your situation. i know my time is coming, just a matter of time. to bad we don't have a support group in the city for this type of situation. i also tend to ignore the ignorant comments and just read the ones that are worthy of my time. good luck to you Definately!

Well said aprilgal!!!!

My husband is in Arlington. I am in Wisconsin. There are many families like mine. Do any of you understand how hard this is on the families who are affected. I haven't logged on and read these articles because of the attitudes of the people in this city. I only read it because my husband told me about the article. We would love to be able to fly into Rockford, and I think it is a great idea for those workers in Kansas who still have family here. I feel sorry for all you people who carry such hate in your hearts for GM families. To all my GM families-May God bless you all-I for one understand your stress, your tears-I just don't understand the majority of the people in Janesville

I can't believe comments are allowed on this article. There is no issue to discuss here. It's simply a nice gesture being made by RFD.

(This comment was removed by the site staff because it missed it's flight and was a week late for work.)

"Maybe they could have flights land and take off from the empty GM plant parking lot. All commuters certainly would know where that is."
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Surely you must be joking??
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"No, I'm not joking, and stop calling me Shirley."

What, exactly, does Ron do for his ching?

Frusion & Hannah: Certainly the big planes can land at the Southern Wisconsin airport. Remeber Airforce One landed there when Bush was in town. But, your idea would require airport administrator, Ron Burdick to get off his backside and do some work. Not going to happen!!

Can't we all just get along?

Maybe they could have flights land and take off from the empty GM plant parking lot. All commuters certainly would know where that is.

Thank-you, this whole situation is hard enough on the kids and I, wondering if I am doing it right or not. Just trying to provide for the kids and get my time in. It's just frustrating when I read comments like some of the first ones posted here.Thank-you truly to the supporters those who are mature enough to understand the real world.

Is it crazy ask why Rock County airport couldn't do a charter type agreement to do this?

I agree, quit bashing GM! My dad worked at Jatco and he was our sole provider. A wife and 5 girls! If it weren't for GM, Jatco, Lear, LSI,,etc., would not be in Janesville. Alot of businesses fed off of or feed off of General Motors. So, suck it up and realize you come from the city that was built around this fine car manufacturer!

burbanmom I couldn't agree more with you, I have lived my whole life in Janesville my whole family from grandpas my dad, uncles and now brothers who work for GM. GM did alot for this city and so have the employess that worked there and for this city to treat its own citizens and citizens that transferred to different plants the way they are is shameful, these people are giving the city of Janesville a bad name not GM or the employess that work there. Good luck in Kanas City.

How can you know if it pertains to you if you don't read it?

Not everybody who commutes to work commutes on a daily basis. Sometimes it's weekly or bimonthly.

Oh, and I didn't get the idea that this was a daily trip. . . . Obviously, not.

I know 3 or 4 that come back together (sometimes more) an average of every other weekend. Leave Thursday nite or Friday AM and go back Sunday noon or so. Even with the extra time on the road, I don't know if I would fly on a regular basis when the fuel is split that many ways. . . JMO.

melstew47...it's news so that the people who might be interested in it can hear about it so that they can express their interest to the guy at the airport. If it doesn't pertain to you, then don't read it!

Yeah . . No papers needed!

I think that this is a great idea. Next they will be looking into setting up some commuter flights from Mexico City.

Stop the crying and cut the apron strings.Just having a good paying job should be enough in this tough economy.

Did Obama okay this???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

You GM basher sure make yourself look sad, you should be happy they are working but no ... your too childish to do that. You must be some very poor minded people .... you really need to get a life of your own and not worry about theirs. I wonder if people who envy really are green, it sure would make you losers stand out better.

What about all the employees & families that went to Arlington, TX? They have a 17 hr drive one way. Not that they come "home" every weekend. I think it would be nice to have a flight start in Dallas to Kansas City to Rockford on Saturday morning, returning back on late Sunday afternoon or night. Maybe they could fill the plane if the prices were more reasonable for a family plan.

Why do you whine and bitch about former or current GM employees? In terms of jobs you say, "the rest of us are pretty much sucking dirt." The next time you conduct business with anyone that holds a higher level position or visit your doctor or dentist I would just like you to be fair and bitch and whine at them since they have "better jobs" too. I don't believe these GM employees are complaining, it is just a nice gesture by the Rockford airport.

I have made the trip back home (although i am embarassed to call it home) every weekend,and sometimes twice in 1 week since july 27th with the exception of 1 weekend.7 1/2 to 8 hours on the road and about 150. in gas. Lately this has been split with other riders.And i do it to spend time with the family and the kids really are not ready to move yet and i feel comfortable with them being in the jville school system.But after reading some of the comments here i really don't feel comfortable with them being in the jville community.Is this city ever gonna grow up and quit throwing negative comments towards the GM workers.When i tell people here about all the negativity towards Gm workers they are like your kidding right? sorry to say i am not.Maybe someday you can all grow up and yes i think i need to consider moving everyone down here. Thank- you for your support.

maybe we can convert the million dollar road, from beloit ave to gm, to a air strip. this could also aid in bringing all those hockey fans to janesville.

why is this even news?who cares if they fly or drive,as long as both are done safely.these people have good jobs while the rest of us are pretty much sucking dirt,an the complaining still continues,are we ever going to stop hearing about gm and their poor unfortunate employees?

This whole commute thing came well before GM and Obama. My dad commuted from Cleveland, OH to Chicago with the airlines for 11 years before we were able to finally move up here. The truth is, it SUCKED! But, as with all things that are luxuries (travelling and vehicles), there is NO guarantee of a job. What the guys had done was pay a specified amount and there were like 50 to 60 guys that shared this 3-4 bedroom apartment. It worked out real well with the airlines and the 3 rotating shifts as there were typically less than 8 of them staying at the apartment at a time.

In the whole midst of his commuting, he was laid off a couple times for a grand total of nearly 2 years. He was the only income for my family.

Why did he commute? The same as with these GM employees, they don't know when or where their jobs will take them. True, I'm sick and tired of hearing about GM, but I can understand the uncertainty with the families.

Fortuntely, there was an upturn and we were able to move up here and be reunited as a family.

or they could carpool.... I wonder how many roundabouts between here and kc ;)

Did Obama okay this?

Maybe they can get it in their next contract to have their GREAT union pay for their travel costs....

Yeah hannah, I know how that math works. He just has a buddy punch him in at the beginning of his shift, then he shows up and works 4 hrs, then leaves and the same buddy punches him out. That's "the SYSTEM" at GM.

there are many reasons why people are deciding to commute back and forth besides needing to sell their houses. hope they would offer flights with multiple departure times dut to the different shifts. it would be nice to only need to drive to Rockford vs. O'Hare to drop off/pick up, but it is also significantly more expensive than flights departing from O'Hare.

Is this flight to depart from Rockford on Sunday and come back from KC on Fri or Sat? I almost doubt that it would make a return flight to KC on Fri/Sat and come back to Rockford on Sunday, but that's not a bad price to go to KC for a nice weekend...
What if the families would like to visit KC vs only GM workers coming home? Just wondering. I love KC area for shopping and all the fountains...and the barbeque!

I pity the stews.

GM is a sinking ship.

Or they could move...

I am surprised that GM is not providing them with a private jet.