'F--k you!" Workers react to news jobs going to Mexico

[ttt]

I don't blame them. And I love how the workers are supposed to be somehow appeased by being told that, well this is the best way to stay competitive. Like they really care about that when they're losing their jobs. 

Video at the link. 

www.nydailynews.com/news/national/f-k-workers-react-news-1-400-jobs-leaving-article-1.2530470


An Indianapolis manufacturing plant is shipping hundreds of jobs to Mexico, and employees told about the move are not pleased.

Carrier Heating and Cooling announced that it was transferring operations and 1,400 positions to Monterrey, earning a chorus of jeers and shouts during an announcement to workers soon to be unemployed.

“F--k you!” one man is heard yelling in a YouTube video shot while employees were told, “the best way to stay competitive and protect the business long term is to move production from our facility.”

"How long does it take for people to start tearing s--t up?" another voice is heard saying.


The meeting remains peaceful as a mildly frazzled speaker asks the assembled crowd, which just learned that their livelihoods were being sent abroad, to quiet down.

"It hurts a whole lot, that I have to go home and tell my fmaily that I lost my job," 13-year veteran worker Dominique Anthony told WISHTV, adding that steelworkers are "still going to fight as a union."

Others beyond the HVAC equipment factory voiced anger at the possible impact on the community and individuals.


“Today’s surprise announcement was without warning and incredibly disappointing,” Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said.

Carrier’s Chris Nelson told the Indianapolis Star, “This move is intended to address the challenges we continue to face in a rapidly changing HVAC industry, with the continued migration of the HVAC industry to Mexico, including our suppliers and competitors, and ongoing cost and pricing pressures driven, in part, by new regulatory requirements.”

The 1,400 layoffs will begin in mid-2017 and are expected to continue into 2019. 

United Technologies Corp, which owns Carrier, will also move another plant run by subsidiary United Technologies Electronic Controls in Huntington, Indiana, will also move.

The departure will cost another 700 jobs.

Indiana state officials had given nearly $530,000 of taxpayer money in training grants to United Technologies through the Indiana Economic Development Corp., but told the Indianapolis Business Journal that they are now looking for ways to get that money back.

[jillboston]

I wonder how many of these guys are anti-union. 20 years ago my brother's company in upstate NY moved to Mexico as well and they shipped he and his family to El Paso TX to work in Juarez. And the only reason that happened is because he was in a union.

[lilibet]

I hate when companies give the "this is best for the company" line and actually think that should somehow make the employees be ok with this. I get that the company does think that but you'd think there was at least one person who might go "maybe this isn't the best thing to say to these people when we just told them they were losing their jobs..."

My company did this last year when they let go an entire department and sent those jobs overseas. Then they wondered why the employees "didn't take it very well."

[redheadbaker]

Feb 13, 2016 10:24:01 GMT -5 lilibet said:

I hate when companies give the "this is best for the company" line and actually think that should somehow make the employees be ok with this. I get that the company does think that but you'd think there was at least one person who might go "maybe this isn't the best thing to say to these people when we just told them they were losing their jobs..."

My company did this last year when they let go an entire department and sent those jobs overseas. Then they wondered why the employees "didn't take it very well."

Like the employees are supposed to stay loyal to the company, even though the company isn't loyal to them.

[ttt]

Feb 13, 2016 10:24:01 GMT -5 lilibet said:

I hate when companies give the "this is best for the company" line and actually think that should somehow make the employees be ok with this. I get that the company does think that but you'd think there was at least one person who might go "maybe this isn't the best thing to say to these people when we just told them they were losing their jobs..."

My company did this last year when they let go an entire department and sent those jobs overseas. Then they wondered why the employees "didn't take it very well."

Why would anyone think "yes you're losing your jobs and livelihoods but, on the bright side, it's good for us!" would be an effective or sensitive way to deliver this news?

[iammalcolmx]

Damn Whirlpool did the same thing with their plant in Evansville.

[ttt]

Feb 13, 2016 10:14:44 GMT -5 jillboston said:

I wonder how many of these guys are anti-union. 20 years ago my brother's company in upstate NY moved to Mexico as well and they shipped he and his family to El Paso TX to work in Juarez. And the only reason that happened is because he was in a union.

It sounds like they actually are union - it said in another article that they still have to discuss the move with the union. 

[lilibet]

Feb 13, 2016 10:32:22 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

Feb 13, 2016 10:24:01 GMT -5 lilibet said:

I hate when companies give the "this is best for the company" line and actually think that should somehow make the employees be ok with this. I get that the company does think that but you'd think there was at least one person who might go "maybe this isn't the best thing to say to these people when we just told them they were losing their jobs..."

My company did this last year when they let go an entire department and sent those jobs overseas. Then they wondered why the employees "didn't take it very well."

Like the employees are supposed to stay loyal to the company, even though the company isn't loyal to them.

Right?

So I work with a mix of people who have only been with the company for a few years and some who have worked here longer than I've even been alive. You can definitely tell a difference between those of us who are newer and have had to deal with searching for jobs in this economy/dealing with layoffs at other jobs/and just the general unstable-ness of the world now vs those who have been with this same company for 20+ years. The newer ones realize that the company doesn't care about us, it just cares about itself so we weren't too surprised by them sending jobs overseas. The ones who have been with the company for years and years were so shocked and outraged and "how can they do this to us?" They've always considered their jobs totally secure and thought the company would always be there for them.

The jobs that were outsourced last year were a lot of the ones with those multi year veterans and that really shook a lot of people.

[ttt]

Also, I'll point out that Indiana became right-to-work in 2012. How's that working out for you, Indiana?

[zelda25]

I want to know more about the regulatory requirements that they're blaming.

[ttt]

Feb 13, 2016 11:14:59 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

I want to know more about the regulatory requirements that they're blaming.

I want to know about these too. I haven't seen it mentioned anywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't actually any but everyone loves to blame evil, evil government regulations. 

[nikki25]

Feb 13, 2016 10:59:05 GMT -5 lilibet said:

Feb 13, 2016 10:32:22 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

Like the employees are supposed to stay loyal to the company, even though the company isn't loyal to them.

Right?

So I work with a mix of people who have only been with the company for a few years and some who have worked here longer than I've even been alive. You can definitely tell a difference between those of us who are newer and have had to deal with searching for jobs in this economy/dealing with layoffs at other jobs/and just the general unstable-ness of the world now vs those who have been with this same company for 20+ years. The newer ones realize that the company doesn't care about us, it just cares about itself so we weren't too surprised by them sending jobs overseas. The ones who have been with the company for years and years were so shocked and outraged and "how can they do this to us?" They've always considered their jobs totally secure and thought the company would always be there for them.

The jobs that were outsourced last year were a lot of the ones with those multi year veterans and that really shook a lot of people.

It sucks to be so jaded but you need to be jaded to protect yourself. I work for the government and we all know they don't give a fuck about us, lol but it still sucks when you work your ass off, care about your job, and you are just a liability.

Private sector is the same info am sure. Capitalism at its finest.

I need the honeybadger gif. Honeybadger don't give a fuck. The best, lol.

[Cicero]

Feb 13, 2016 11:00:50 GMT -5 ttt said:

Also, I'll point out that Indiana became right-to-work in 2012. How's that working out for you, Indiana?

I actually don't think this has much of anything to do with it. The NLRB has a lot less of a say in a plant moving overseas than it does when one moves from a union friendly state to one that isn't. When you put the NLRB against NAFTA the NLRB doesn't tend to win. That is to say that Boeing would have had an easier time opening a plant in Mexico than it did in South Carolina.

[lilibet]

Feb 13, 2016 15:07:53 GMT -5 nikki25 said:

Feb 13, 2016 10:59:05 GMT -5 lilibet said:

It sucks to be so jaded but you need to be jaded to protect yourself. I work for the government and we all know they don't give a fuck about us, lol but it still sucks when you work your ass off, care about your job, and you are just a liability.

Private sector is the same info am sure. Capitalism at its finest.

I need the honeybadger gif. Honeybadger don't give a fuck. The best, lol.

I was surrounded by layoffs at my first job after college (I left before I was laid off but I was clearly the next to go, imo) so I'm so aware of what's going on lately. It does suck to think that way but you have to do what's best for yourself.

[iammalcolmx]

Feb 13, 2016 11:00:50 GMT -5 ttt said:

Also, I'll point out that Indiana became right-to-work in 2012. How's that working out for you, Indiana?

You know you are my girl and I would fly thousands of miles to see you. However, I don't see what this has to do with a right to work state. We have a shitton of manufacturing in Georgia. 

[ttt]

Feb 13, 2016 15:59:49 GMT -5 iammalcolmx said:

Feb 13, 2016 11:00:50 GMT -5 ttt said:

Also, I'll point out that Indiana became right-to-work in 2012. How's that working out for you, Indiana?

You know you are my girl and I would fly thousands of miles to see you. However, I don't see what this has to do with a right to work state. We have a shitton of manufacturing in Georgia. 

Only that when the law was passed, it was touted as The Solution to keep jobs in Indiana and that the only barrier to an abundance of jobs was the unions. I don't think this is quite the kind of thing the public was expecting.

[YeahSure]

Fuck them!

[msmerymac]

This might be a touchy point, but blame NAFTA. Almost immediately after its passage, my Dad's company set up their headquarters in Brownsville, TX, and a plant right across the river. That was 20+ years ago, but things change, and even today, companies see that there might be a benefit to moving when certain regulations or costs change in the US.

[ttt]

Feb 13, 2016 11:14:59 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

I want to know more about the regulatory requirements that they're blaming.

Here you go. When directly asked, they couldn't name a single regulation. 


www.ibj.com/articles/57217-officials-point-fingers-on-carrier-utec-layoffs


Are onerous federal regulations the reason that Carrier Corp. and its parent company, United Technologies Corp., made the controversial decision to ship 2,100 jobs from Indiana to Mexico? The blame game is already starting.

Gov. Mike Pence on Friday said news that a Carrier plant in Indianapolis and a United Technologies Electronic Controls plant in Huntington would close was “disappointing” but ultimately said Washington was to blame—a sentiment echoed by Connecticut-based UTC in its initial statement.

“While our administration continues to foster an environment within the state that is attracting record investment, federal regulations continue to stymie our national economy,” Pence said in a written statement. “The fact that these companies are leaving the United States speaks broadly about the need for reform in our nation’s capital.”

Pence’s spokesman did not immediately reply to IBJ’s request for comment about which specific federal rule was problematic.

But Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly blasted the assertion that federal rules were negatively affecting the Fortune 500 company, which has annual revenue of $56 billion and in 2014 accepted a $5.1 million taxpayer-funded federal tax credit.

The company said at the time the tax credit would help it “expand production at its Indianapolis facility to meet increasing demand for its high-efficiency gas furnace line.”

Indiana taxpayers have separately paid the company nearly $530,000 over the past nine years in economic development incentives, some of which the state says it will seek to recapture.

Donnelly said he asked Carrier executive Chris Nelson to cite the specific regulatory issue.

“He couldn’t tell me a single regulation that was causing him any issue,” Donnelly said Friday. “The only discrepancy so far is on the fact that the minimum wage in Mexico is $4.19 a day. It’s certainly not that they’re not making money and they’re not succeeding. What they’re trying to do is to sell heating and ventilation products to [Americans] but aren’t willing to pay those same wages to the people who build the products.“

The average wage for union members at the Indianapolis plant is about $23 an hour.

An official for Carrier Corp. told employees that relocating operations from Indianapolis’ west side and Huntington to Monterey, Mexico, would “allow us to maintain high levels of product quality and competitive prices, and continue to serve the extremely price-sensitive marketplace.”

“I want to be clear, this is strictly a business decision,” the unnamed official said to a crowded room of employees, according to a now-rival video circulating on YouTube.

Employees boo in the video and even shout expletives at the employee.

The layoffs are supposed to begin in 2017 and continue until 2019.

[eclaires]

MH used to work on the engineering side there when we lived in Indy. The plant was right by there.

He said he wasn't surprised, but I didn't ask him why.