Hershey Highway (NAFTA)

Systems

EFFECTIVE: November 1, 2007

NEW OFFICE POLICIES

Dress Code:

1) You are advised to come to work dressed according to your salary.

2) If we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we will
assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a
raise.

3) If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better,
so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a
raise.

4) If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and
therefore you do not need a raise.


Sick Days:
We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If
you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.

Personal Days:
Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called
Saturdays & Sundays.

Bereavement Leave:
This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for
dead frie nds, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to
have non-employees attend the funeral arrangements in your place. In
rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should
be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to
work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early.


Bathroom Breaks:
Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a
strict three-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three
minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the
stall door will open, and a picture will be taken. After your second
offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board
under the "Chronic Offenders" category. Anyone caught smiling in the
picture will be sectioned under the company's mental health policy.


Lunch Break:


* Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more, so
that they ca n look healthy.

* Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal
to maintain their average figure.

* Chubby people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time
needed to drink a Slim-Fast.



Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a
positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments,
concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations,
insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation
and input should be directed elsewhere.



The Management

rskarvan

jdhdiggs wrote: »

Ron: You are forgetting that, typically, a union is formed of relatively uneducated and lazy folks that have no desire to compete and are indoctrinated from day 1 of coming through the door that the employee works for the union and only through the unions benificence would they have a job. Plus, let us not forget all the nice peer pressure and fear tactics used by the union in their voting. Added together, this makes a union virtually impossible to blow up.

You are forgetting that these lazy, uneducated folks with no desire to compete often make $100K/year with full benefits, and retirement, and COLA, and unlimited FMLA and know (very well) that they would have to work much harder without the union to make $30K a year doing something like driving a school bus.

Therefore, they see the benefit of joining a union. And, the benefit in the present far out-weighs the risk of losing their job. Because, if you lose a job where you are making market-rate for your skillset, have you really lost anything? Afterall, since you are at market-rate, you can very easily get another job just across the street doing pretty much the same thing for the same money.

Most of these union folks realize that the best money they ever spend is the 1-1/2% that comes out of their paycheck for dues. Because, those few dollars earn them MEGA-returns. Finally, union members typically don't just quit. They are encouraged to seek other opportunities when the company seeks their cooperation in downsizing by paying them $100K to separate themselves from the union.

Seems to me, given all the facts mentioned above, UNIONS ROCK!

steveinaz

jdhdiggs wrote: »

Only folks that don't are those who work for the government or are too lazy to do so.

Lazy, or...lazy like a fox?

You'll have to do way better than that, I've got really thick skin---and head.

Ricardo

rskarvan wrote: »

You are forgetting that these lazy, uneducated folks with no desire to compete often make $100K/year with full benefits, and retirement, and COLA, and unlimited FMLA and know (very well) that they would have to work much harder without the union to make $30K a year doing something like driving a school bus.

UNIONS ROCK!

Only one word comes to me: PARASIT

Which could be understandable in uneducated folks......

cfrizz

AMEN!!!!!

sucks2beme wrote: »

Damn. This thread still going on?

No unions here. My company isn't union. Outsourcing still going on.
Gee, must be the lower labor costs. Of course, the Indian guys screw everything up,
and it has to be redone. The real question is, is it really saving money?
I believe many management guys do it because it's the "in" thing to do.
Try it and see. The place is full of MBA's that don't bother to understand the
business. Go two levels up, and they are completely disconnected.
I spend too much of my life in meetings explaining basics of our business
to guys in terms that my kids would understand. Yet it shoots over their heads.
Is it time to retire yet?

jdhdiggs

rskarvan wrote: »

You are forgetting that these lazy, uneducated folks with no desire to compete often make $100K/year with full benefits, and retirement, and COLA, and unlimited FMLA and know (very well) that they would have to work much harder without the union to make $30K a year doing something like driving a school bus.

Therefore, they see the benefit of joining a union. And, the benefit in the present far out-weighs the risk of losing their job. Because, if you lose a job where you are making market-rate for your skillset, have you really lost anything? Afterall, since you are at market-rate, you can very easily get another job just across the street doing pretty much the same thing for the same money.

Most of these union folks realize that the best money they ever spend is the 1-1/2% that comes out of their paycheck for dues. Because, those few dollars earn them MEGA-returns. Finally, union members typically don't just quit. They are encouraged to seek other opportunities when the company seeks their cooperation in downsizing by paying them $100K to separate themselves from the union.

Seems to me, given all the facts mentioned above, UNIONS ROCK!

And you keep railing about corporate greed, what a hypocrite.... :rolleyes:

Thank you for pulling back the covers and showing what the modern union is all about: greed and sloth.

If companies do the same thing the government breaks them up and you're all for it.

Steve: You call that being "fair". Oh , and remember I said "most". There are excepetions, but not many in my experience. I can not think of one union shop where the workers were harder working or more productive than any non-union shop I've been in. At this point that experience would be in about 15 union warehouses/manufacturing sites and ~30 non-union sites.

steveinaz

jdhdiggs wrote: »

Ron: You are forgetting that, typically, a union is formed of relatively uneducated and lazy folks that have no desire to compete and are indoctrinated from day 1 of coming through the door that the employee works for the union and only through the unions benificence would they have a job. Plus, let us not forget all the nice peer pressure and fear tactics used by the union in their voting. Added together, this makes a union virtually impossible to blow up.

You know, I can respect your difference of opinion, but when you say assinine, generalizing statements like this, you not only destroy any credibility you had in the discussion---you also call out my father who was a union sheet metal worker---watch your mouth. There's no need to get personal.

rskarvan

I look at a UAW plant like a mother dog nursing her pups. All the pups know to do is come to the teat and suck. Yes, UAW members need to get weaned and grow up.

However, its not lazy when they are optimizing their long-term cash flow by going to work at a UAW job. I've known a few lawyers, and even a guy with a PHD in Math that have worked these uneducated jobs because they know what is best for their family.

I think of it as more/less a cult that values money above all else. When you have an entire society of people actively chasing after the Ben Franklins, they are going to accumulate quite a few.... so much so that they can even (almost) afford to pay these extraordinary wages for these jobs. In this light, the company and union (together) are almost altruistic in their support of the helpless in the community.

jdhdiggs

steveinaz wrote: »

You know, I can respect your difference of opinion, but when you say assinine, generalizing statements like this, you not only destroy any credibility you had in the discussion---you also call out my father who was a union sheet metal worker---watch your mouth. There's no need to get personal.

Hell, you've already called my father a greedy **** (He is the CEO of his company). I don't take that as a personal attack... :rolleyes: Again, unlike you and ron, I did say "most" because I do realize there are exceptions to the generalization.

Of course when YOU make asinine generlilzations that you know NOTHING about it's ok, when I do about something I DO know about it's not... Again, hypocrite much?

I mean Ron is proving that point that you object to over and over and over again....

Believe it or not, i have worked as a union employee, manager, and as a mediator between the union and the owners on top of the consulting work I've done. I do know how it works and that's why I think they are patently obsurd to the long term health for the US.

What are the first three unions most people think of (probably UAW, Teachers and Airlines). Which of those have done a good job in moving their field/industry forward in the US? Let's see, the big three are in the crapper, how many US airlines are in chapter 11 again? US education rank? Let's see, as of 20 years ago, we were #1, now we're what, 16 and dropping? Bang up job there! Of course open and free compitition would have been worse right?

hearingimpared

rskarvan wrote: »

This German guy was a real smart cookie. He agreed that Sadaam needed to go... but, completely disagreed with the lies that Bush (and team) fabricated to go to war against Iraq. Then, the conversation moved to the above quote. Finally, the German stated in disgust that he was embarrassed that the European Community still (to this day) mandates that their children are not permitted to say "the pledge of allegiance" in German grade schools (due to WWII). When asked about WWII, this German guy responded... "THANK GOD THAT WE LOST".

Anyway, there was absolutely no reason to try to defend Bush. This guy was way more educated than myself on USA issues and had already formed an educated opinion.

Oh Brother!!!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

MSALLA

This subject is getting beat to death. Look our system is the worst in the world........except for all the rest.

bobman1235

MSALLA wrote: »

This subject is getting beat to death. Look our system is the worst in the world........except for all the rest.

Thanks Churchill

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

Polkersince85

I would like to Thank the unions for making a $2000 car cost $40,000.

tonyb

jdhdiggs wrote: »

Ron: You are forgetting that, typically, a union is formed of relatively uneducated and lazy folks that have no desire to compete and are indoctrinated from day 1 of coming through the door that the employee works for the union and only through the unions benificence would they have a job. Plus, let us not forget all the nice peer pressure and fear tactics used by the union in their voting. Added together, this makes a union virtually impossible to blow up.

Pretty unfair statement here JD.Clumping everyone together.Funny,you sight fear tactics and peer pressure.....like that don't happen in non union buisness's.Maybe things are different where you are,I dunno.Nurses are soo uneducated and lazy that they need a union.C'mon JD,think about what you said my man.Or are you refering to a specific union?

rskarvan

Polkersince85 wrote: »

I would like to Thank the unions for making a $2000 car cost $40,000.

I would like to thank the Chinese children for making really cheap stuff that we all buy at Walmart (with the exception of all the lead-based-painted toys).

hearingimpared

Good come back.:rolleyes:

engtaz

and chemical sandals.

engtaz

nadams

I think an important fact here, is that Wise potato chips are still made 100% right here in PA. So, if you worry about eating a candy bar made in mexico, feel free to switch your snacking tastes over to potato chips and Cheez Doodles

And we're a union shop.... and to me that's not a good thing from what I've seen in this plant compared to non-union shops that I've worked in.

Systems

nadams wrote: »

I think an important fact here, is that Wise potato chips are still made 100% right here in PA. So, if you worry about eating a candy bar made in mexico, feel free to switch your snacking tastes over to potato chips and Cheez Doodles

And we're a union shop.... and to me that's not a good thing from what I've seen in this plant compared to non-union shops that I've worked in.

^^ I really like this post! Its good. I totally agree, Americans DO have a choice where to spend their money and if you feel strong enough about buying American, do it. If you want these kinds of jobs to stay in America then use your greatest power... the dollar in your wallet.

TroyD

I guess it all boils down to a pretty simple analysis.

A. Micro view: The overall goal is to maximize the benefit to the individual worker in terms of pay/benefits. Overall health/success of the company is not a concern.

OR

B.If you have a macro view, if a company can pay a wage that the market deems acceptable (remember, people are always free to choose thier employer)....produces a competitive product/service of sufficient quality and value that people will buy, that company will grow. As the company grows, the investors make money, the workers are able to make more money/advance/greater opportunities and the company is able to hire even MORE workers.

If you agree (as unions seem to) that the goal is to maximize the benefit to the individual worker....without taking into consideration the impact on the company/industry than you can begin to count the days until those jobs either go overseas or cease to exist. It has happened and IS happening. There are a lot of costs involved that a company can't control and the unions seek to put labor costs in that category. All you need to do is look at the American auto industry and the American steel industry. Ron, you've done a lot of tapdancing around this issue but you have not, can NOT refute the role of the unions in the demise of these industries.

On the other hand, like me, if you opt for option B.....which I think is a pretty realistic view of the way companies, without interference, will operate than everybody wins. For example, take Ron's premise of a union guy making 100K a year. Ok, fine. If you get rid of the union contract, what's to stop an employer from hiring TWO guys at 50K a year? It's a simplistic view (and because of benefits/taxes etc it doesn't work like that) but the same premise works. Now, before you say, well, it doesn't work like that....take a look at small businesses as they grow and it works EXACTLY like that.

BDT

rskarvan

Troy, I agree with your last post entirely.

What I've learned is that the long term is made up entirely of a series of very-short-term decisions. Therefore, if I maximize "the moment", I am simultaneously maximizing the long term benefit for the worker.

The other thing I've learned is that in the American Auto Industry, management has absolutely zero credibility. Therefore, I am forced into very-short-term decisions because anything my boss, or his boss, or anyone above him says must be regarded as totally suspect. Management follows no credible business model what-so-ever. And, the only thing that is important within management is rank and pay.

The only thing that is consistent within management is:
1. They will do anything necessary to achieve their target bonus with absolutely as little effort as possible.
2. They will react to outside business forces with the most simple response possible.
3. Just when you think things can't get any worse, management will surprise you and take WORSE to an entirely new level that any sane person wouldn't even consider as reasonably possible.
4. Your best friends in management are often, simultaneously, your worst enemies.
5. The only rule is that there are no rules.

Personally, I tend to like the UAW because they are a little more transparent/honest than management. To me, the UAW seems to be the lesser of two evils.

And, yes, you are right. The overall health/success of the company is absolutely not a concern. I have been told by managers that... "I can't help it if my leadership decides to sell my business unit all I can do is my job".

Lastly, the accounting methodology in big organizations is entirely politically driven. Whether any of the big 3 turn a profit is simply a political decision within the organization.

Automotive really is another world. And, remember, GM gets a healthy percentage of profits from the sale of quite a few foreign cars. Likewise, Ford gets a profit when every Mazda is sold. So, even the domestic automakers are benefiting from the sale of foreign vehicles.

Its really just an old boys club when it comes right down to it. It certainly isn't anything like it appears to be from an outside perspective.

rskarvan

TroyD wrote: »

I guess it all boils down to a pretty simple analysis.

Ron, you've done a lot of tapdancing around this issue but you have not, can NOT refute the role of the unions in the demise of these industries.

BDT

On the flip side, I don't see where Union concessions have ever saved an industry. Perhaps they have pro-longed the death of a company. But, once you are at the point of asking workers to "give back" what they have already successfully negotiated, you really are admitting that as management, you have failed to succeed.

Personally, I think a managers role is to provide an ever-increasing standard of living for his employees. The reverse is simply totally inhuman... asking your employees to produce more while you give them less.

Managing a down-sizing organization is an awful job. And, turning it around is rarely successful for more than a few quarters of short-term profit so that the CEO can secure his bonus.

TroyD

That's right, Ron. Everybody who isn't union is incompetent, is that it? That makes life SOOO much simpler. Of course, you know, if people are so smart...they could actually do something radical like, maybe start thier OWN business. No, of course not, it's much easier to sit on your **** and point fingers.

Maybe not saved but perhaps kept it afloat or extended the death sentance? By the time the union is willing to make concessions, the game is usually already lost, Ron.

BDT

jdhdiggs

Tonyb: I have seen, worked with, or worked for at least 7 different unions in numerous states in addition to the union-esque socialist policies from foreign countries on five continents. If you would read through all the posts, you would have figured this out. In almost all circumstances what I stated was true. A great, GREAT majority of the workers are pro-union/pro-labor laws because it means more pay for less work. (hance most are lazy, or you could argue human). I have yet to see a union shop anywhere have a majority of the people say that they work for the company that signs their check and not the union. I have sat at the end of assembly lines seeing product piling up and being damaged and when I ask the guy watching it if he's planning on doing something about it, I get the "not my job, but Joe should be back from break in 15, he can do it". If I step in an quickly palletize the stuff so nothing is damaged I get yelled at because I'm taking a job away from a "union man". Tell me again how these folks are enlightened and hard working? Not everyone at these shops are this way, but a grand majority of them are.

As for nurses, I thought they got nursing/medical degrees, not ones in economics or business. However, I would say that nurses do need the support because of external manipulation from forces outside their, or their business' control. Airline pilots are another group that should be applauded for their academic success, but they two are ignorant and uneducated when it comes to how to keep a business afloat.

Ignorant and uneducated is not the same as stupid, but unfortunately that's the first impression most people get.

Ron:

You ever think that management in unionized businesses looks incompetant because it has to deal with a union? Think about it, you took away managements best sticks and carrots and then force them to get the union heads or shop stewards to approve of every little change. Of course their going to look stupid: Only the dumbest or least radical ideas can get through those filters.

As far as union concessions, they are usually too little too late. Years of group indoctranation and entitlement prevent appropriate measures from being taken.

Oh, and your take that long term views are really just a serious of "get mine now" decisions is why this country is going down the crapper. If it isn't obvious to you why this is, I could expound but here's the abridged verion: US savings rate is negative

rskarvan

jdhdiggs wrote: »

Oh, and your take that long term views are really just a serious of "get mine now" decisions is why this country is going down the crapper. If it isn't obvious to you why this is, I could expound but here's the abridged verion: US savings rate is negative

I guess the opposite would be Japan. They have some of the highest savings rates in the world. This hasn't exactly ignited their economy or standard of living. In fact, Japan also has some of the highest suicide rates in the world. Therefore, savings (planning for the future) hasn't worked out so well for Japan.

There is a lot to be said for living in the present. If you have one foot in the past (education) and one foot in the future (savings)... all you are really doing is pissing away today!

tonyb

Obviously,you are refering to the manufactoring sector.Which I can understand.They have problems with cheap labor.Nobody who ownes a buisness in my area and field has to OK ANYTHING thrue the union that has to do with how they run their buisness.But like I said before,each area seems different in this country,judging by everyones comments.The example you gave,the assembly line,is wrong on so many levels and no one with any common sence could condone that practice.That was a great example of how unions fail and destroy an industry.Not all unions are good,but some are.Oh well,we form our opnions on our own experience's eh?

jdhdiggs

Yes, your right, Japan's economy is absolutely horrid. :rolleyes:

Lets see, in the sixty years since getting the everliving crap bombed out of them to the 2nd largest economy in the world (If you use GDP instead of GNP, they're 3rd). All while having virtually no natural resources of their own. Yes, great example of how not to do it...

Tonyb: You posted while I did. If you look back I have said that unions DO have their place and are certainly neccessary in some situations. The issue that I have is that in many, MANY industries they've forgotten that their role has gone from making sure the employees are fairly treated to an "us vs. them" methodology where all theye are looking for is bigger kickbacks to the union bosses with no regard to the long term sustainability of the industry/business.

That's what I deal with on a day to day basis: Companies without unions come here and say "how can I expand? Help me layout my new facility in Dallas" and unionized companies come to us and say "costs are out of control, help me automate/outsource my operations". When you see that all the time and you visit enough warehouses and manufacturing sites, you really don't get the point of unions anymore.

rskarvan

Note: This is a cut and paste from googling "standard of living in Japan":

Japanese homes, though generally newer, are often smaller than those in most other industrialized nations. Even though the percentage of residences with flush toilets jumped from 31.4% in 1973 to 65.8% in 1988, this figure was still far lower than in other industrialized states. In some primarily rural areas of Japan, it was still under 30% at that time. Even 9.7% of homes built between 1986 and 1988 did not have flush toilets.

By 1988 only 9% of Japanese residences had no bathtub, a figure that had improved from nearly 27% in 1973. The alternative for Japanese remains public baths (sentō), although these are gradually disappearing. The need for heating depends on the geographic location. Northern and central Japan can experience several meters of snow during the winter, while southern Japan hardly experiences freezing temperatures (but can get extremely uncomfortable without air conditioning in the summer).

In the metropolitan areas, houses are built extremely close to each other, with narrow straps of green doubling for a garden, if any. Apartment buildings with ten to twenty floors can be found even in suburbs. While lacking space, these houses offer all other amenities.

The cost of Japanese housing differs greatly between urban and rural areas. The asset price bubble of the 1980s inflated land prices in the metropolitain areas, but have stabilized since the early 1990s at about 50% of the peak. In the cities, housing is still expensive relative to annual income, even though the high cost is somewhat offset by low interest rates. Large companies often offer subsidies to their employees to pay for housing.

jflail2

The thread that just won't die...