Packard hourly and salaried retirees are united; they should get support from entire Valley

EDITOR:

This is about all of us in this Valley. We get pretty tired of hearing how all the others “survived” and now it is Packard’s turn to bite the dust. What about living and not just surviving? People have to realize many who were the victims of the other plant closings in Warren, Youngstown, Sharon, Elyria, etc. came to Packard and retired from there.

Packard workers have been there supporting United Way, Warren Mission, food banks, adopting classrooms in Warren Schools, buying candy bars for sports teams, raffle tickets for kids events, flower seeds and magazines, donating to funerals for the less fortunate, towels for Hattie Larlham Foundation therapy pool, winter coats, gloves and hats for school kids, the Angel Trees at Christmas, thousands of boxes of Girl Scout Cookies, collecting household goods for those who lost their homes to fires — the list could go on forever.

We did it because we knew we were fortunate to have a good paying job and it was incumbent upon us to help others. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone had a good paying job instead of knocking those who do? Maybe that is a question we should ask our legislators and politicians regarding the imbalance of free trade. Maybe we should request a study on how NAFTA has impacted this Valley. Maybe we should use our energy asking those same people why the bankruptcy laws are not investigated. Why is it acceptable for business to declare bankruptcy so easily in the United States? Stop sniping at each other and channel our frustrations to writing those who make the laws.

For the record, Packard hired in 1984, 85, 88, 93, 94, 95, 96, 99 and 2000 with a second and third tier. If the negative element wanted a job, they could have applied for one. Not all of the jobs were by employee referral. People just needed to be self assertive and go to the unemployment office and keep going until they achieved their goal. When will this area learn that we have to get it together and stop this tribal mentality? We war against each other and it is beyond counter productive. It is downright destructive.

Regarding Packard unity, those who never worked there expound on how salary and hourly never got along. If that was the case we would not have been successful. We did work together as a team. Hourly and salary are neighbors, members of the same churches, their children go to school together. We do support them now with their battle to become whole as they support us in our battle for equality of health care benefits with the UAW retirees. As in any family there are always opinions and disagreements. However, when tragedy strikes, most members in a healthy family will sit down at the same table to figure out how they can help each other. Isn’t it time for this Valley to become a functional family again?

PAUL and PATRICIA TAKACS

Cortland

X The writers are IUE-CWA retirees of General Motors and Delphi.