Curlysue...maybe you should have spent some time in church with your "hubby". Reading your posts really doesn't look like your family is involved in church at all. Your comments are mean and childish.

HAY what about the TV'S in the plant O that's wright no more GM in 2010 or before

curlysue- When you are taking that English 101 class you should check out a reading comprehension course too! Also "Fact or Fiction: There is a difference" Would be very helpful to you and "hubby"

well i wounder what will happen to all those TV'S that GM had to buy so the GM workers could go to work on packer monday and watch the game, I guess no one will be watching the packers play at the plant this year.

momof5 maybe you should take that class with me. Then you can learn the definition of husband

almeg - so first you say GM has hired new employees then you say they hired a company to empty the trash and clean the toilets. So GM didn't hire employees, they hired a cleaning company. I hope your solidarity pays your bills when your laid off. It's a dog eat dog world, and the union officials are the first in line at the buffet table pushing back all those that have made them wealthy. After going through this the first time, and being transfered here, my husband decided getting degrees in other fields was more important than bleeding GM dry with overtime. Anyone with half a brain knows you can't throw touch down passes your whole life, and that you need something else to fall back on in times just as this. What do you have to fall back on? Your solidarity? Your overtime?

When GM is gone what will happen to the UAW local 95?

curlysue- The department I work in is irrelivent. I saw that same shut down sheet. I also know we will shut down completely soon. My head is not in the sand and paint fumes haven't affected my brain cells. But officialy they have not given out a specific date for closing. That was my point. And the Aramark employees they brought in are not doing demolition. They are replacing laborors as per the new contract. As for demeaning the line workers, SHAME ON YOU! They are the ones who actually build these vehicals! And they earn every penny they make! I started on the line and then went into skilled trades.(just like your "hubby" did) We keep the equipment running so they can do their jobs. We are all in this together. Solidarity! Overtime was not forced on anyone in skilled trades! We chose to do it. And your "hubby" worked it all!

on last thing, curlysue: perhaps it is poor language selection, but maybe it is not. You say you have not lived like kings and that you have saved like mad men. Perhaps, your husband is not a legally recognized spouse but yet a civilly UNIONized domestic partner?

curlysue: I would recommend that you also get an education. I hear English 101 is not quite full yet for the upcoming semester.
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garyprimer: you are funny!

hey curlysue,, what who'd you marry??
superman ,or maybe spiderman.

My husband has all the certificates in welding, steel working, and has his journeymans card, no need to worry about us. Not to mention we've been through this before, learned early not to rely on employers to pay retirement pensions. We have planed for this for years and years. To bad the majority of workers have not. Janesville will shrink due to the closing. People will move, jobs will be lost all over, not just GM. But many of you are sticking your heads in the sand and saying rumor rumor. THE PLANT IS CLOSING PEOPLE! No denial will save Janesville. I've lost several good friends because of transfers. Have you all not seen the many houses for sale? Education is a must, you need a degree or a trade to get a new job, which for many will be hard if not impossible, but for those who can they should start NOW, enstead of saying 'rumor'. Linemen are like sports players, they've only thought about - I have a job today, but don't think about what will happen tomorrow when they can no longer 'throw the ball'. and for the insults, throw all you want, my husband doesn't drink, and didn't work all this overtime you talk about unless forced to. He has more to his life than sucking the life out of GM, like family, church, education, we have not lived like kings, we have saved like mad men knowing this was bound to happen so now we are ready to live without GM. My heart goes out to all those 'sportsman' who live in denial land.

Heard it form a friend who heard it from a friend who heard from another when GM was shuttin' down. But I know the neighborhood and talk is cheap when the story is good and the tales grow taller on down the line.

my dad was in skilled trade for years at gm he retired as an electrician - they do go to school for their trade it iwas ongoing schooling while he worked at the plant. Once he retired they gave him his journeymans card so yes he can be an electrician outside of gm.

curlysue ...One more thing,a few years back they caught workers punching in and then leaving the plant for the night,wasn't a good number of those workers SKILLED TRADES.By the way they found them in the BARS !!! Could that be one of the reasons people think ALL GM workers are drunks. I'm sure your husband was one of the few that really did work 70/hrs a week in skilled trades !! NOT !!! You also will be in the same boat in the end when this plant is closed ! Maybe the hardship will do you good !!

curlysue.....What is wrong with you ?? For you to get on here and think your husband is any better than the line worker .Lets give some opinions on SKILLED TRADES .... for some reason most couldn't do their JOBS monday-thrusday,so they HAD to work the 3 day weekend.I do believe most skilled trades made $125,000.-$150,000. a year because of overtime ! GM DID finally get smart and cut back on giving them OT.S-trades were the biggest babies when it came to contract time !So what group of workers REALLY make the rest look bad ?? My opinion is the group YOUR husband WORKED in !! Thats right I said WORKED,the writting is on the wall and has been for a long time !!By the way that SKILLED LABOR that your husband has is no good outside of GM.So put whatever label you want on it but the title of SKILLED TRADE on your husbands next job app.will be nothing more than a good laugh for someone !!! By the way how does that make you feel ??? These are families that you have found the need to wish hardship on !!!! What is wrong with you !!

curlysue, next time something goes wrong in you life...look up the definition of Karma and re-read your posts. Then you'll get it.

BigCat,
Your early comment about people's reaction to GM leaving is right on. I don't work for/have never worked for GM, but I at least recognize the ramifications of its leaving. Instead of "go get an education", which doesn't guarantee you anything in todays economy, a more appropriate response would be one of compassion and understanding.

Carefule curlysue, you might sprain your arm from patting yourself on the back so much.

One more thing just because...curlysue...disconnect your computer please. Nothing but gossip trash there! Thoughts are poor hubby!

It is sad to see people put blogs on here that say “get over it and move on” or “go get an education” or “it’s a good thing for this city”. Its not easy to just “get over it and move on”. It’s called change and people do not accept change well. When you have done the same job for a long time then it is gone, it is hard to accept even if you had an idea that it maybe coming. You are much older than you were when you started the job and now at an older age you find yourself starting over…not easy! “Go get an education” cost money and lots of it. Sure the state will help retrain some of the folks but not all. Not all the 3rd party suppliers will get the same benefits that the GM people will get. So now these people find themselves trying to get an education with money they don’t have. Poor planning…maybe…depends on how you look at it. Still not easy! How is it a “good thing for the city” when Janesville is about to lose some quality jobs that dumped millions into its economy…not just GM jobs…but some jobs that didn’t pay as well as GM but had excellent health care and a solid wage. “Good thing for the city” dumb to even think that way! I haven’t seen anyone yet drop to the ground and flop around and act like a 2 year old over it yet…but if you do I believe they have a right to…and maybe…just maybe someone like you might need to lend them a hand to help them get back up.

localboy: Really honestly unless you have more education than you seem to possess please read your post before sending them. Journalism is not about writing just the facts it is about telling the truth as the reporter sees it while representing true facts. As well as breaking stories down in words that people such as your self can comprehend. Just as in law, journalism is a balancing act and open to interpretation. I saw the news conference and so far I have not seen anything written that was untrue. It's a big deal in Janesville that GM is closing its news worthy to the people you count as ONE person. If you don't get it ask questions do not assume you have all the answers.

If you work or live in Janesville this affects you. If you work at GM or any company that directly serves GM time to take stock and find a new future rather than making accusations or wallowing in the breakdown to come. Many other cities around the nation live without GM we can do it too. There are a lot of other factories in this town. No the pay scale and benefits may not be the same. SO WHAT! You may have to start from scratch again. This is whatcha call life. When something knocks you down you don't flop to the ground like a two year old. You are supposed to be adults pick yourselves up dust yourselves off and push through till you find something else that meets your needs. Sometimes you just have to start fresh and it can be hard but you have to do it anyhow. Get an education find a new passion that turns a profit. By GOD please do not let this little town turn to dust.

almeg -which department do you work in? Let me guess the one that didn't get the shut down sheet? Or do you work in paint and breathed in to many fumes that killed your bain cells? They have not, nor will they, build up where 'my hubby' has already scraped. Again I ask what part of the plant do you hide for your shift to not see what is happening, sorry dude your days are numbered, call it all rumor and show up on Jan 1st 2009 and see if you get in LOL LOL LOL LOL

To Opinions for free: If you would like an indication of what they may be writing about when GM closes, then you should read the article from the LA Times regarding Lorain, Ohio - a prosperous community until industry left. Janesville has already lost some industry in recent years. Now, it is losing GM and will likely lose those companies who supply it. It would be interesting to know just how many jobs were lost in Janesville in the last 10 years vs. how many jobs were added at the same wage scale as those jobs which were lost.

http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/30/...

LOL LOL You all are so funny! and I thought this was a boring night. No one used spoken words to tell him anything, it's on a piece of paper they gave the workers, it's not whispers around the water cooler. Wake up people!! Some of us who have heard rumor after rumor have learned how to "read between the lines to get the truth". I posted about the plant closing the night before the announcement. Everyone thought I was full of it, but I was right wasn't I? And yes they will hire out the demolition to cheaper labors, guess they've already started that process. Pretty much states they will close up before the end of the year, sorry to all those that are in denial and attaching 'rumor' onto everything, (including the shut down sheets handed out to employees), just to hang on to that shread of hope. If you work there you got the same sheet of paper, yet you can't 'read' it, I guess that's what the difference is between 'skilled' and 'assembly'. So Sorry!

As a former GM worker, I can't tell you how many rumors a night I heard that were absolutely true because they "came from the highter ups" or "the foreman told me something he wasn't supposed to" or other garbage like that. I can tell you that I learned very quickly never to believe something that somebody "overheard" somebody else talking about. I certainly wouldn't beleive something I read on here just because somebody's husband knew it to be true.

My postmans brother, that was at wal-mart, heard from sue at the cost cutters, that she heard from tom out at farm & fleet, that the guys at tire repair was talking to a guy with a flat,that he was at the titty bar,right in the middle of ,he went brain dead. What was the question again itmek ????? LOLOLOLO!!!!

My sister's neighbor's son works at GM and he said that GM gave the state the 60 day notice today closing the plant as of October 1st. Any truth?

Well said almeg..

coming from a former Lear worker, I cant stand rumors. Especially the ones that start with "my hubby" or "my cousin" or "my sister in laws husbands second cousins grandfather" works at the plant and he said she said... blah blah.. unless you know for sure what your saying is fact all you have is heresay... and you know what they say about heresay?? ill let you guess..

curlysue. There are new employees at the plant...they work for Aramark. $10.00 an hour. They replaced all of the laborors.They do all the cleaning now. Not GM employees. And as far as dismanteling part of the plant...They are always tearing something out and putting something new in. They are installing new things this week. People being moved around resulted from the reduction of 3rd shift(only a handfull left on 3rd shift) And I don't get my facts from my "hubby". I work here myself. Please have your FACTS straight before you post please. We have enough rumors going around without your second hand hubby info.

I see the hate Pack is back; Well when they get done defaceing Janesville as an automobile town,THEY can realy go for the big kahona,and run the White House out of Washington DC. I'm sure the good & perfect people,like the ones in Janesville are just as fed up with the trash,drunks,druggies,theifs,over paid gods,that they think they are. If the haters realy wanted people to take them seriously,get the people of the good ole U.S.A. togeather,try to get ALL us on the same page,to fire every damn one of them in charge of this country,how much is too much,or how long are the American people going to take it?? It's going to get bad,soon,and these haters worry about G.M.,You better worry about the mother and father that can't feed their children,even you SHOULD be worried,that loaf of bread you got,from the monies you got from your secure JOB,could cost you dearly. And for BRAD & MIKE,You guys know how the ole saying gose,,,, When the going gets tough,The cowards desert their ship,one for all & all for oneself. I think ya get what i'm saying,have a good life,you have to live with yourselfs. YOUR DAD'S TAUGHT YOU's WELL!!!

Again, I knew 3 weeks ago the plant would be closed by Halloween. My hubby brought home a paper that lists the weeks the plant will be shut down. Listing the plant completely shut down Nov and Dec. They will give 60 days notice in October. Old news.
and DDoright my husband was at all the docs today getting tests done. He was transfered to paint, there are no new hires just employees being moved around to clean/close it up. My hubby had begun to dismantal areas of the plant 4 weeks before any closing anouncement was made.

I really didn't expect any other type of response from somebody of your caliber. It is how you choose to listen or read into what someone is saying. The actions that were laid out earlier was GM Janesville to close by 2010. Accelerated timing means just that. These cuts will hit GM's bottom line by the end of 2009. Did it specifically line out Janesville...no but Janesville was part of that plan and will be accelerated according to what Mr. Wagoner has said along with the rest of the plans that were laid out at that time. That is how I read it and understand it. Bottom line is I don't need your type to come on here and tell me what to believe or not to believe! Maybe if we had a few less know it alls in this world such as you we wouldn't have the issues we are having. Have a nice night Mr. localboysince1968

i hear people say be American buy American . where does mexico and canada . fit in this .

BiGCat - I have listened and read the announcement by Rick Wagoner. I will give you a sample of his written statement: "Truck capacity is expected to be reduced by 300,000 units by the end of 2009, half of which is from acceleration of prior announced actions and half from new capacity actions". GM made several announced actions on June 3rd. He does not specifically mention the close of Janesville early. I think you have failed to listen, and I owe nobody an apology as I have stated facts. By the way, you also can read his prepared statement at www.thetruthaboutcars.com. If you read any other statement that supports the Gazette's headlines yesterday - you can post the information here. What say you now?

Ithink they should tear down G.M and build a zoo, or maybe a large scale Amusement park

I for one would like to know if the Brad story is true or not. One other thing, why did GM have about 30 or so people take drug tests at Mercy last week? Why are they hiring people to clean up the paint booths when they have so many people laid off and the plant supposedly on "cold shut down"? Where is the UAW anyway? Why is there no new news of anything on their website? So many questions and it's like talking to a brick wall.

localboysince1968...listen to the Pod Cast from Rick Wagoner from the "GM Accelrates Closing". Rick says that they are advancing the timing of the earlier annoucements. The Gazette, Channel 3 and the AP have it right. You just failed to listen. I suspect that you will probably want to write an apology for being so rude.

leostime....don't you think that JD "earned" it more than Dutch? I didn't see Brad spending weeks at a time away from his family fighting for this plant.

cocktail-I'm sure the position wasn't just "given" to Brad Dutcher. He had to have earned it. Those positions aren't something that is just "given" to someone. You sound like the typical, bitter person who is always jealous of anyone who betters their career.

Oh, and Opinions. No where in my first blog entry does it say that I "speak for everyone in Janesville". Nice try, though.

If you get so offended by people attacking your ridiculous comments, I suggest you stop making them. If the only message you have to convey here is that you're sick of GM stories being in the news...then don't read them.

Hey, Opinions..
If you're so sick of this story, WHY ARE YOU ON THIS PAGE????

Your term "shutup" realy speaks highly of of your intelligence...Tell me, how loud are the words that I type. lmao.

MOC0428 - Journalism is not reading between the lines, and common sense, it is reporting facts and actual events. I can say that the headline of GM Accelerates Closing was not appropriate when they could not get GM to admit to it. If the article was an op-ed, that would have been the time and place to report reading between the lines. Therefore, it was irresponsible journalism. Period.

With the wolf at the door all bets are off now. Some might recall how GM closed Oklahoma City assembly a year or two ago in a matter of months.For all parctical purposes Janesville assembly is done now, Just a matter of undoing supplier contracts and such. many people in Detroit, union & mgmt.are losing sleep, very very worried about the next 2 years. Major UAW give backs right aroud the corner.perhaps as early as this year

Old Brad was given another position huh? Didn't want to stay with the ship he is commanding? It doesn't show much solidarity if you ask me. If he was representing me, I would be pissed at him for running away.

The Gazette writes about this now and will even after the plant eventually closes because it has the most significant impact on everyones life here in Southern Wisconsin. Whether you people want to believe it or not, this is going to be a major blow to all of Southern Wisconsins' economy at a time when it is least needed. You say there are other employers here other than GM now. Yes, but why do you think they came here in the first place? GM made this city thrive. Losing it along with all its suppliers and supporting companies is something that will impact the area for a LONG time. The Gazette will definetly continue to cover the story and its long term impacts on the local economy.

When is the UAW going to let the public know that Brad Dutcher is no longer the UAW President. Andy Richardson is. Brad has taken a position with the International UAW. I wonder is this means that Brad will no longer be on the team that the Govenor put together with Tim Cullen.

lakennedy thanks for speaking for everyone who lives in Janesville, as for projecting yourself to be in charge of the blog. Shutup and go do your crossword puzzles

Irresponsible journalism or is just being able to read between the lines and a little common sense???

Regardless of how old some of us feel that the GM story is getting, it is news that effects a large number of Janesvillians.

I don't work there, but I do care about what is happening with GM and GM employees. I like these stories because they help prepare us for what will be happening.

I understand that a lot of readers don't feel that this is newsworthy, but there are a large portion of people who do. If you don't want to read the stories, don't. If you don't have anything constructive to say about the article, then get off of the blog.

I wonder what they will write about when the plant does close?

Amazing turn of events for the Gazette. This was exactly was I was talking about yesterday in my posts, was the Gazette reporting on "speculation" and "indications" and not facts. This article could almost be a retraction to yesterday main story - GM Accelrates Closing. The Gazette admitted that GM will not admit to that at this time. Why they reported it yesterday (as did the AP and Channel 3 news) is what I spoke of yesterday - irresponsible journalism. Be cautious of the press in all stories you read.