Boycott Sears and Lowes

[BLU LUNCH]

Danaher Tool Group is at it again, they are the sole suppier for tools for Sears and does a Multi million dollar tool supplies for Lowes under the Allen name. They shut down the Springfield Mass plant last December because of the pay rates were to high You might of seen the plant on John Ratzenberger's Made in America they were the plant that made all the rachets. Now the West Hartford Plant is under the gun . we made all the Hex products there. How would you feel if you worked there for 15-20 years and today you were told that in 1 month that you have a choice either you get laid off of you give up all your benfits and money and you can keep your job working for a temp. agengy for $7.60 per hour. That what 35 assemblers and pack/ship people had dropped in there laps today. I dont know the whole plant is probley is going to Garland Texas soon They said they could pay the other southern plant manchinist 10.00 per hour vs 20.00 here. DONT BUY SEARS OR LOWES TOOLS AND SUPPORT US Last year the corp. had a 39% profit margin and they are still cryin'

 

[BigPoppaG]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

HomeDepot is my store.<br />Good Luck buddy

 

[Laddies]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

I have not thought much of Sears for a number of years, this is the kind of thing the bean counters have done to the American worker for the last few years. Ronald Reagen started it with the Air Traffic Controls and the cruds in Washington have not supported the American worker since. You have my support. I hope you don't drive a jap car as there are many out there that don't support the American Worker--Bob

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

Blu,<br />I feel your pain man. Had dealings with the big "D" company. They bought the small company I worked for here in the south. Difference is they closed us down (40+ employees) and moved the operation to Conn. They offered relocation to the wife and I, but one look at the home prices, cost of living and taxes up there and it was a no brain’r. Would have taken a 50% pay increase just to break even. Even with that, the prospect of lake front living was out of the question. I know the pay scale plus bennies in Conn. is almost twice what it was down south. But one of the big D's corporate directives dictated plant consolidation. So there ya go. Best of luck in the future. BTW, IMHO it ain’t Sears or Lowes that’s the bad guys in this case, their at least supplying product made in the USA. Its all on the big D and there corporate ideologies and principals.

 

[rosco_59]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

This kind of thing has gone on for years guy's, in the 80s we steel worker lost our jobs to never have one again with the company. They came around one day and handed us pink slips to 300 workers, and they were pink. they told us our services were no longer needed. Back then you could not buy a job, even if you were lucky to have money. So all I can say is "Been there, done that". I feel for you guys but as I had to do, move on and find a new job, start before they are all taken and you have to flip burgers at McDees for a while.

 

[NYMINUTE]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

I prefer Home Depot too, Sears can pack sand, Lowes can join them. Remembering that the Fuel Injector solenoids made in the plant I used to work in are now made in Mexico, by people who were trained by people at our plant, who then were let-go. NAFTA was a Bill Clinton follie.

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

Ok, so you own a company. It is a "For Profit" Corporation. Your goals are to make a profit and produce a quality product. You naturally want to maximize profit because you aren't in the business because you love your employees, your in it to make money, right? So you can pay folks in location A $20./hour or you can pay folks in location B $10/hour, or can have your product produced in Mexico, India or China for pennies. What makes the most sense? Why does the American worker feel entitled to make $20/hour in Connecticut for doing a job that pays half that in the South? The only reason to keep these in the US at all is that we make better tools out of better steel than the Chinese.<br /><br />It's like the arguments in favor of raising the minimum wage. Hell why not make the minimum wage $20./hour. Then change the tax code so that everybody who brings home more than that is taxed so that they only bring home $20./hour. Use the increased tax revenue to solve the world's problems. And there you have it, liberal utopia!

 

[jtexas]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

39% margin and laying off? Not nice people to work for, in my book.<br /><br />Won't make a difference to Sears (haven't spent a dime there in many years) or Lowe's (too far away) but I will continue to not patronize those businesses, only now I can feel noble about it.<br /><br />Sorry, didn't mean to trivialize your situation. That slip's had my name on it more than once; I'll keep a good thought for you.

 

[Elmer Fudge]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

A feller once said " Gentlemen you may all go to hell, i shall go to Texas".<br /><br />Well, that feller died in Texas, maybe Danaher will too.

 

[wilkin250r]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

Holy cripes, $20 per hour for machinist work?!?<br /><br />I realize losing your job is an unpleasant experience, but perhaps you should be looking at the flip side of the coin. Where I come from, $20 per hour is really high for machinists wages. REALLY high, usually reserved for the department lead or floor supervisor. I think most start around $7.50, average around $10-$12, perhaps $15 if you're good and have a lot of experience.<br /><br />I don't mean to trivialize your pain, but from MY chair here on the West Coast, it's looking like those 15-20 year employees had a good run at a well-paying job for a good 15-20 years, perhaps something to be thankful for rather than mourned over.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

First off, sorry about what you are going through. We laid off some really good people a year ago cause things were slow, not business has picked up to the highest in the companies history. It was stupid to lay those people off.<br /><br />But....<br /><br />At what profit level is too much profit? They better not brag too much, cause their clients will start to ask for lower prices.<br /><br />Also, just cause profits are high now, doesnt mean you cant try to save money. Predictions may show that something will change, and they need to consolodate to remain profitable 3 yrs down the road.<br /><br />If I can get the same product from two differnt places, one for 10 dollars, the other for 20, guess which one I am going to buy.<br /><br />Ken

 

[jtexas]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

I hear ya, SW. It's Finance 101 - there's only one objective for any commercial enterprise: maximize the value of the firm to its owners.<br /><br />But one of the key factors of production is a motivated, trained workforce. Reward your employees when times are good, they'll stick with you on the down-side of the cycle. Becoming a "bad place to work" can lead to "brain drain."<br /><br />Whether this particular move is short-sighted will take a while to find out. If it is, the executives who implemented it will have been rewarded & moved on to other things and will not be blamed for the consequences.<br /><br />BTW if the Connecticutters moved to Garland, they could get twice the house for half the money. And find two dozen lakes within a 100-mile radius to do their boating.

 

[Elmer Fudge]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

Originally posted by jtexas:<br /> <br /><br /><br />BTW if the Connecticutters moved to Garland, they could get twice the house for half the money. And find two dozen lakes within a 100-mile radius to do their boating.

Ahem! Don't go and spoil it for the rest of us

 

[Skinnywater]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

About 5-6 years ago I was bucking for a raise. I always got them but it was like an extra job fighting for it.<br />In one of the many "smoke screen" sessions arguing my case, my manager pulled this book from his desk and said I should read it.<br /> http://scottwater.com/blog/archive/2004/04/15/Cheese <br />I knew he was just blowing me off again.<br /><br />With-in that same month I used the book against him and came up with a new idea. Selling "Mercedes Cares" extended warrantys at a very substantial discount on the internet. <br />I asked for and got a simple $25 spiff for any that were sold. He wasn't the most optimistic fella on the block and he OK'd what he thought would be a $50 to me a month, if that.<br />Over the next 3 years our tiny dealership outsold every other Mercedes dealer in the country with these warrantys, until Mercedes changed the program. The warranty essentially sold itself.<br />I managed between a 4-5 thousand dollar annual pay raise in those years and didn't have to twist a wrench doing it.<br /><br />Someone's moving your cheese Blu Lunch, good luck.

 

[BLU LUNCH]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

Thanks guys for the nice words and support, they tried to take the tools over seas to China but Sears requires that all Craftsman Tools be made in the USA. Since the big"D"company is the sole supplier of Craftsman Tools they are force to do with US labor. ..........

 

[TELMANMN]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

As an aside, you have heard of the out sourcing of IT jobs to India and now mainland China. Nobody cares till you think these people now have all your personel info. etc. and you can not trust the people here to protect it. How the H E LL can they trust these people? Al Quaida doesn't have to hijack airplanes anymore. Get a job in IT over in India etc. and cause more problems then you can imagine. Just remember, It won't be the people in charge of the government for doing this, it will be you fault for allowing it.

 

[Skinnywater]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

they tried to take the tools over seas to China but Sears requires that all Craftsman Tools be made in the USA. Since the big"D"company is the sole supplier of Craftsman Tools they are force to do with US labor.

Hmmm, you still want us to boycott Sears then?<br /><br />That book may be at the library, it isn't thick, takes about an hour to read.<br />Who Moved The Cheese?<br /><br />It might inspire you to buy a couple moving vans so you can capitilize on all those people moving out of the area.

 

[BoatBuoy]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

Originally posted by NYMINUTE:<br /> INAFTA was a Bill Clinton follie.

Ronald Reagan first proposed a free trade agreement between the U.S. and Mexico in his 1980 presidential campaign.

 

[PW2]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

Sounds like you should advocate a boycott of Texas, not Sears.<br /><br />There are lots of different reasons to move a manufacturing plant, but it is an expensive and risky process. Presumably this is a publically traded company, which has a board of directors that are looking after, along with the shareholders, the overall value of the company and its shares. Companies make difficult decisions all the time, that are bound to make some happy, and others unhappy. It is the way it goes.<br /><br />I don't presume to know all that went into this decision but I seriously doubt it was arrived at without serious deliberation. Probably wage rate was not the only consideration--in my experience probably not even the major factor.<br /><br />I used to work for a company that owned pulp mills. Work rules and raw material costs that developed over time made it impossible to operate the mills in the northwest profitably. The production in these facilities were moved to Georgia.<br /><br />It seemed it took about 10 people, and a half a day, to change a simple pump. It took a pipefitter, and his helper, to disconnect the pipes--an electrician and his helper, to disconnect the power, a millwright and his helper to remove and reinstall a new pump, and then all the same in reverse, etc...<br /><br />The truly sad part was that all these "tradesmen" were virtually unemployable outside the pulp mill environment because of their specialized skills, and general lack of generalized skills.

 

[Twidget]

Re: Boycott Sears and Lowes

I'm really sorry to hear about your work troubles, Blu. It's a shame that Both political parties are selling us out.<br /><br />Back in the 90's there was a survey of how rich congressmen are. The Dems were substantially richer than the Reps. Seems sort of strange, considering. But then, in W. Texas, there is a congressman that was a fairly well to do rancher that went to congress in the 80's. He in now a very rich politician.<br /><br />

Sounds like you should advocate a boycott of Texas, not Sears.

Could you get the Mexicans to do that?