Even if you do not work for Ford Motor Company, you should be concerned about that state of the domestic auto industry, Ford in particular. The shortfall in the local tax collections and the money problems at the city level are primarily caused by layoffs and furloughs at the two Ford plants in Louisville.
I was an employee at Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant for nearly nine years, and I can tell you there is no better workforce in the city or the state than the UAW members inside that plant. Ford employees do not have it as easy as people think. I often wished the public could come inside and witness what goes on there day after day as life is lived on the assembly line. It is not glamorous work. It is not easy work. One essentially trades his/her physical well being for the pay and benefits. After 30+ years, you are considered the exception to the rule if you do not have some type of chronic degenerative or musculoskeletal disorder.
There are people in this city that are jealous and full of hatred toward the Ford employee because of what he/she makes per hour. This hatred has been in full display recently, because of the automakers weakened financial position. People think the employees are greedy, overpaid and overcompensated in benefits. This type of thinking is misguided and dangerous to our city's economic health.
On March 3, 1999, each UAW-represented Ford worker in Louisville received a record average of $8000 in a lump-sum profit sharing bonus check.
In that one day the city of Louisville
collected over $1,000,000 in occupational taxes. I did not hear anyone bitching about the wages then. Ford employed around 10,000 workers at that time, all working 10+ hours a day and some mandatory Saturdays. They paid a lot of taxes, and they spent a lot of money. And that is not counting the retirees in the community that rely on Ford-sponsored pensions.
Today, those same plants employ less than 6000 employees, most of which are frequently laid off and collecting state unemployment benefits. Employees are cutting back on expenses, leading to losses in the local restaurant and retail business. People have pulled their kids out of private schools and stopped taking vacations. Our local economy is in tatters.
It was during the slow-down period between 2003 and today that Mayor Abramson tried to slap additional environmental restrictions on Louisville's two Ford plants through the STAR program, ignoring the pleas of the company and the union. He did nothing to help slow the job losses. His well-publicized trips to Detroit have been ineffective. He and his economic team, along with then-Governor Fletcher met with an executive that had announced she was leaving the company the day before the visit. They were given the "bum's rush" out the door.
The thinking seems to be that Ford and other domestic automakers are asking for a "bailout". Not true. They are asking for a
LOAN. 4 out of 10 people that try to buy are turned away because the customer cannot secure a loan for the car. The people that whine "bailout" also say the employees should be forced to take pay cuts. The fact is, employees have come through and sacrificed for the company every time they were asked through contract giveaways and concessions. New employees hired will only make around $14.00 an hour, with no pension or health care benefits. Those types of wages do not put enough money into city coffers.
People also allege that the price of Ford vehicles is too high because the company pays high wages. Again, not true. Through UAW concessions at the national and local level, labor costs for a Ford vehicle have fallen 4% in 2 years. A significant savings for the company.
The city is going broke because of Mayor Abramson's inability to secure a good financial incentive for Ford, thus leading to layoffs, slowdowns and no new investment in the Louisville Assembly Plant. The Mayor has now proposed spending cuts for vital services and a hiring freeze for the city. These cuts in human services will affect the residents of Southwest Louisville more acutely than in other areas.
If we are to reverse this situation, a shrewd, evasive move by the Mayor is in order. We need to keep these high-wage jobs in Louisville and do whatever possible to put these people back to work, building the products that are the pride of Louisville. Giving money to the Cordish Co. to develop corporate franchises that pay minimum wage is not going to do it.
Instead of being jealous of the Ford employees in Louisville, we must insist that these high paying jobs
remain and
prosper. Replacing a $30.00 an hour manufacturing job with a $7.00 an hour job at an Applebees downtown is not an economic policy. It is a recipe for continued and prolonged disaster, and the shortfall has to come from somewhere. Property taxes are on the rise sharply in Louisville, in a desperate attempt to keep the boat afloat due to the loss of manufacturing in the city. How far will the Mayor go in using the Gestapo-like tactics of IPL and
Metro Animal Services to raise revenue? We shall soon see. The way to keep your taxes low is to keep high-paying jobs in Louisville.
For more information on the myths of the Big 3 automakers, please click
HERE, and stay informed. We need these Ford employees as much as they need Louisville's government to step up to the plate. Imagine a Louisville without Ford Motor Company. That should scare the hell out of you.
