I just don't understand the purpose of unions anymore. UAW, ALPA, etc. This is a different age we live in. :confused:

Keep in mind that the policy was instituted by the Ford plant MANAGER, not the Union. The Union did agree to support the policy, but it was the plant manager's decision.

Honestly, I don't know that I have a beef with it. Ford is telling its employees that if they want to park in the main lot then they should drive a Ford product. Otherwise, there is parking available across the street and those employees can walk a little further to get to thier job. Ford is in the business of making and selling vehicles, and if their own employees don't take pride in the product enough to buy it themselves then something wrong.

Call me crazy, but if I were that Plant Manager I would probably do the same thing. In fact, when I see employees where I work using cell phones from providers other than Cingular, they get an earful from me. I see nothing wrong with supporting the hand that feeds you!!

:iagree:

I think that they have the opportunity to possibly help keep their jobs.

I see what you saying, but what if Cingular does not have signal or a poor signal in areas where they use the cell phone. Same with cars, what if Ford does not have a car which drives like BMW(OK, that's a little stretched example:) ), or does not appeal to employees or their spouses/families taste, its a personal perference and convenience thing.

I understand what you're saying, but with both the factories' and the unions' records of stupidity, I'm afraid I can't view this in any kind of positive light. Factory employees already get a hefty discount (which the common man got a taste of last summer - but rest assured, we didn't get the FULL discount that they get!) on "their" brand of car. That's all the incentive they need. What happens to the guy that works at Ford, drives an F-150, but also owns a 325i? He can only drive his truck to work? Thanks, but I don't need that kind of crap from my employer.

Cell phone companies are not a good comparison - their products and services are so low cost as to basically be throwaways (sorry). A car is a much larger investment. You can't compare the two.

Well, honestly, i don't think there is anything wrong with it. It is something like that you work for Ford and you yourself don't trust the quality of it. How can others trust it? How can you promote the brand if you yourself don't trust it? it is something like if you work in a store, you are supposed to wear the clothes from the shop to promote it. Now if i know anybody working in Ford and driving a non-Ford vehicle then i'll get an impression that there is definetly something wrong with Ford and i'll never buy it. Rather i'll advise my friends as well telling them that my friend works for Ford and knows that it is not good enough to buy it for himself.

So friends, i don't know, i maybe wrong but i strongly think that Ford should atlesat make it compulsory for its employees to buy a Ford car before even giving them a job. They can give them incentives. And if people don't trust and believe in Ford then they should not work. They should not even bother to apply for a job there. They are giving you bread and butter and the least you can do in return is promote their brand by buying it.

No hard feelings folks. Just a thought.

Please My friend works for Cingular and his a-hole supervisor always yells at him because he has verizon like him, I just wanna slap him because verizon doesn't work where we live. Its just stupid ya know? I mean give me a break, I drive a BMW Because I want too. I actually used to be a brand rep for Ford Motor Company's San Diego division (Internet sales) and I drove my BMW to work and parked it out front every day with pride because lets admit it, its a FAR superior product and I've driven all of them :)

It's totally fair. Its not like Ford doesnt know their products are garbage. They're just saying it hurts their image - and pockets - even MORE when the parking lot is full of Accords and Camrys. Its not an attempt to bring people back to Ford, or they would make owning a Ford a prerequisite to being hired. They know the stuff is crap, but they also know that people gotta' eat.

Has anyone ever asked what the plant manager drives? Im willing to bet it ain't a Ford! (Or its not when his shift is over!)

This isn’t the first or the last time this will come up. Ford is giving the plant manager too much slack. This could very well end up coming back and haunting them. As for driving what you build, every employee in that works there would have to drive an F-150. That is what they build. I know people that work at the Wixom plant; do they drive a Lincoln? Nope and soon they will be out of a job, but they drive Fords. If Ford wants loyalty from its employees, then they need to be loyal as well.

There was another plant that tried banning foreign vehicles; it didn’t work. What is considered a foreign vehicle? Is it where it’s made, and if so, Honda has some more American made vehicles then something that says Ford, GM or Chrysler. Can you even say that Chrysler is an American company? The union says so, but face it, it’s German owned and controlled. Land Rover is owned by Ford, but made in England. So is it foreign or domestic? All this is a new twist because no one can define what foreign and domestic is anymore, so they are going to go to brand. Even though the unions have tried to ban all foreign vehicles in the past, regardless of whom it was owned by.

Vehicles are a personal taste. There is not a single GM vehicle that I would want; I think they’re all ugly. Ford, I would rather have a Ford over a GM any day. Chrysler, they look nice and that’s where it ends. I wouldn’t want a single vehicle from any of them though.

Unless you make them free, it’s hard to tell someone what to use.

I don't see what doing this is going to accomplish other than pissing off it's employees and thus decreasing productivity. They need to stop pullin crap like this and fix their shitty cars. They have far greater problems than the fact that some emplyees don't drive fords, if that really is a problem. :thumbdown :thumbdown :thumbdown