Chrysler ups police presence at plant ahead of third shift elimination
The elimination of shifts is an increasingly common occurrence at assembly plants. Automakers will usually cut a shift to reduce its growing inventory of slow-selling vehicles, and Chrysler's got a few of those right now. In the days leading up to its third shift elimination, however, Chrysler's assembly plant in Belvidere, IL has become an increasingly hostile environment. Rumors of vandalism and even threats of violence have occurred, which has prompted Chrysler to call in police officers. The boys and girls in blue are patrolling the parking lots and checking workers' bags on their way into the factory.
The Belvidere plant produces the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Patriot and Jeep Compass, and the shift elimination that will end the assembly careers of some 1,069 UAW workers, has reportedly been planned for some time. Still, that apparently doesn't dull the sting of watching your buddies walk out the door for the last time. What's particularly worrisome for car buyers is the possibility that disgruntled workers on their way out could sabotage the quality of a car headed to a dealer lot somewhere. Hopefully Chrysler puts some extra checks and balances in place to ensure every Caliber, Patriot and Compass that leaves the line is free of any mechanical retribution.
[Source: The Detroit News, Photo by Scott Olson/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Playdrv4me 3:36PM (3/06/2008)
Oh well, it's not like anybody buys those anyway.
Hopefully those three cars will go right along with the plant. Two of which are an embarassment to Jeep.
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FThorn 3:40PM (3/06/2008)
That happens. My company is also doing this. When we see cops in the morning, that means people are being fired. White collar work, too.
My BROTHER works at the Chrysler plant mentioned above, by the way. I'll contact him for more info.
AlexP 3:44PM (3/06/2008)
Oh come on, the Patriot isn't that bad.
AlexP 3:44PM (3/06/2008)
(I meant that as an offroading vehicle, of course, the Compass on the other hand...)
Playdrv4me 3:39PM (3/06/2008)
From the looks of the photo above btw... the quality control already appears to be slipping...
The Compass shown at the top center of that photo looks to already have had its rear door repainted before it ever made it to a dealership.
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SPG 6:26PM (3/06/2008)
That's probably just the bizzare large flare/crease in the back doors of that bizzare little CUV.
It would be that crease that's causing the light to make it look darker.
Gunnar 3:40PM (3/06/2008)
Bringing us back to the Pinkerton days?
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Alex 3:50PM (3/06/2008)
Yeah Unions! Way to shed that thug preception so many people have of you. I mean after all, why fight a stereotype.
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BLS 3:53PM (3/06/2008)
You are giving them ideas.
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wrussi 3:54PM (3/06/2008)
man i guess not even rental companies want these cars anymore
sucks for the workers. but oh well
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scott 3:56PM (3/06/2008)
As if I needed another reason to not buy a Compass, Patriot or Caliber.
The workers will be fine. The UAW is going to take care of them and find them new jobs, right?
Seriously, does anyone know roughly how much an assembly line worker has to fork over to the union in a plant like this ($ or %)?
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Thedevil 4:01PM (3/06/2008)
i'm still waiting for an answer from chrysler ,as to why my 3 yr old chrysler cirrus back in 1999, to keep it running say at a light or stop sign ,i had to keep one foot on the brake and one on the gas .took it back to the dealer about 4 times and no fix,..so death to those bastards.
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Menice 4:11PM (3/06/2008)
man, hang up the phone.
they are not coming back on the line, thats just to keep you holding until the warrenty runs out!
Thedevil 4:15PM (3/06/2008)
yea, lifetime warranty does not!
Menice 4:09PM (3/06/2008)
hate dodge/chrysler for the crap i've owned.
hate people losing their jobs more.
I hope all goes without incident and those ousted find work quickly.
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burt 11:47AM (3/07/2008)
Chrysler's execution has to be the worst in manufacturing. They use one platform for three vehicles, so if the platform sucks you just tripled your screw up. Add to that, the avenger/sebring/ upcoming journey is a repeat of the same mistake. Nice.
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Soccer Mom 4:41PM (3/06/2008)
It's not like an act of vandalism will make those vehicles look any worse.
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ds 5:27PM (3/06/2008)
$75 is the "all-in" average wage rate, this means all costs of employment including benefits, taxes, etc, not just take-home wage.
fm 4:37PM (3/06/2008)
Wait so is this how it works? You lay people off(maybe temporarily) to make more money but then you call the cops to serve as private security so that the people who are out of work can pay for the cops' overtime.
Brilliant! I should do that at my store.
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letstakeawalk 4:55PM (3/06/2008)
You couldn't have misunderstood the article more. The police are there to minimize any disruption the newly-unemployed may create. The cops are there to keep the peace. I sympathize with the workers (Gramps was a Union man with GM), but anybody might get emotional in the situation and react negatively, so I understand the need for cops.