I have no idea how accurate this is, it was emailed to me by a friend. I do like the sentiment, I hope you find it interesting.
P.
Letter from Troy Clarke, President of General Motors - followed by a
response from Gregory Knox of Knox Machinery:
Dear Employees & suppliers,
Next week, Congress and the current Administration will 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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Gregory Knox,
In response to your request to call legislators and ask for a bailout for
the United States automakers please consider the following, and please also
pass this onto Troy Clark, the president of General Motors North America
for
me.
You are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has bred
like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose
plague is now sweeping the nation, awaiting our new "messiah" to wave his
magical wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time
allowing our once great nation to keep "living the dream"...
The dream is over!
The dream that 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...and that still the masses will line up to buy our
products
Don't tell 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 and Tier ones for 3 decades now
throughout the Midwest and what I've seen over the years in these union
shops can only be described as disgusting.
Mr. Clark, the president of General Motors, states:
There is widespread sentiment in this country, our government and
especially in the media that the current crisis is completely the result of
bad management. It is not...
You're right - 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 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 (mustn't expose the lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for
decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?) Do you 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?
We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United
States auto industry for decades.
Time to pay for your sins, Detroit.
I attended an economic summit last week where a brilliant economist, Alan
Beaulieu 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 George Bush and Troy Clark would
have
us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day... and something else
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 let it work...
But for some 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, hell - we're nationalizing...and unfortunately
too many of this once fine nations citizens don't even have a clue that
this
is what's really happening...but they sure can tell you the stats on their
favorite sports teams...yeah - THAT'S important...
Does it occur to ANYONE that the "competition" has been producing
vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades now 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 4
decades ago.
Ever increased productivity through quality, lean and six sigma plans...
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 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 at 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 them through.
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 vote count was tallied..."we might not do it
in
a year...or in four..." where was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for
the office
Stop trying to put off the inevitable ...
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 people - 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 is a nation that appreciates what is has...and
doesn't live beyond its means...and gets back to basics...and redevelops
the
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"
Gregory J. Knox
President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin, Ohio 45005