I saw this nonsense this morning on CNN, but it turned up in my daily Fark sweep, so they get the link. It would appear that an automotive plant is blacklisting and punishing its employees for driving the wrong car.
Workers at DaimlerChrysler's Indiana Transmission Plant I and Plant II better allow more time to walk in from the parking lot if they drive Fords or General Motors vehicles.Um, screw you, no. If it takes me an extra five minutes to cross the parking lot because of this crap, then I'll be five minutes late. If it's raining, my first stop after punching my time card will be the bathroom to dry off.
A new policy that takes effect Monday designates about 80 percent of employee parking spaces for Chrysler vehicles only and forces workers to park much further away if they drive a car or truck made by a competing manufacturer....I'm ashamed that this is coming from an American car company. I really am.
In case employees forget, there's new blue lines painted on the parking lot and signs that declare "DaimlerChrysler Parking Only" and "DaimlerChrysler Vehicle Parking."I'm seeing vandalism waiting in the wings here. Graffiti can be fun.
Workers have been told that non-Chrysler vehicles parked in the reserved areas will be towed to Indianapolis at a cost of $200, the Kokomo Tribune reported Sunday.Well, sure, that sounds fair. Um, wait, no.
Chrysler spokesman Edward Saenz said most Chrysler plants across the country have similar parking policies, but he did not know exactly how many. Both transmission plants have ample parking, and the new policy does not apply to vehicles with handicap plates, he said.Did you check that data against the percentage of employees who don't currently own Chryslers?"It is a management initiative, but we believe it has wide support from the employees," Saenz said. "It's a local decision."
Didn't think so. Bet you'll find that if 15% of your employees drive something else, then this policy will have 85% support.
The plants posted signs and painted the new lines about two weeks ago, he said. Employees began receiving non-compliance warnings last week leading up to this week's enforcement.Harassment, heck. Get this man a lawyer, wouldya?Nine-year employee Bill Parks considers the new policy "a form of harassment." He drives a Pontiac, made by GM.
"I think we have other issues going on in the company besides where to park your vehicle," Parks said.Undoubtedly.
He isn't disabled but has a back condition that occasionally flares up. He bought his Pontiac as a second vehicle because he didn't want to go into debt with two new Chrysler vehicles. "I tried to find a good Dodge vehicle when I was buying this one, but I couldn't find one at the time," he said.Obviously not good enough for The Big Boss Man.
Chris Koors said he has generally parked in an isolated area to avoid damage to his Chrysler truck. Last Thursday, he found it surrounded by non-Chrysler vehicles.See, it's even screwing over the guys that do have Chryslers!
"They need to buy what we build," Koors said, gesturing toward the non-Chrysler vehicles.Hmm... being from around Detroit, I can almost understand that...In the 1970s and early '80s, when Chrysler was experiencing layoffs, Koors said his father, also a Chrysler employee, would describe foreign-made vehicles that were flipped upside down if parked in the company's parking lot.
"It's not about American made or union made, it's about our company," he said. "Drive what you build if you want your company to survive."Go stand in the corner and think about what you just said. I worked at an A&W for two years. Loved the food there- but did I feel like a traitor if I went to Burger King?
I'm sure there's a few people there that refuse to buy Chryslers for purely spiteful reasons. But I'm willing to bet that most of the people that work there that don't own a Chrysler don't have much of a choice in the matter.
Listen, idjuts. I'm from frickin' Motown, where it's all about The Big Three. My dad worked for GM for fifteen years. I grew up indoctrinated with the idea that owning a Japanese car made you less of an American. I still carry a great deal of that to this day, as narrow-minded as that can make me at times.
I consider myself to be a Ford guy. My first two cars were Escorts. (First one was an old beater that Dad found for me and I paid for, second one was a hand-me-down from him- both purchased while he was designing chassis for GM. Hmm.) When I got married and we needed a car that wasn't well-worn like my beloved Escort, me and me wife (who is a diehard Dodge girl) bought a used Chevy Monte Carlo. Are we now "Chevy people"? No. It's what we could friggin' afford.
This policy is insane and ridiculous. You want your employees to drive your cars, fine. Make a reward or some kind of incentive program for employees that buy Chryslers. But you can't punish your employees for driving something else. This is America- we have that little thing called freedom of choice.
Idiots.
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