On PACKing up
Posted on June 4 at 1:28 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
1. Joe Montana
2. Johnny Unitas
3. John Elway
4. Dan Marino
5. Sammy Baugh
6. Steve Young (better completion %, better QB rating, better athlete)
7. Brett Favre
8. Peyton Manning
9. Terry Bradshaw
10.Roger Staubach
Tom Brady knocking on the door and Manning may still pass a few too.
Posted on June 4 at 10:02 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Rascal: Or take a look at how Kenosha rebounded when Chrysler left in '88 and 5,500 employees lost jobs. They went after and attracted multiple smaller businesses to replace one large one. It took several years but they are thriving now. Janesville doesn't have to become Flintsville.
On Residents sad, scared and surprised
Posted on June 4 at 9:22 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
The issue is preparation. Who is prepared for the transition? For those of us not employed at GM (I work in IT), if something were to happen to our employers (and a buyout has nearly happened at my job twice in the last 2 yrs), most people would be able to find a comparably waged position in the area. GM workers are very highly paid (good for them) but it will be very difficult to find equal pay locally. Proper planning, investing and continual education would have prepared many for this day. Those who have done that are set, many who haven't are the ones who will struggle. They should use the next 1-2 years prior to the closing to use any programs GM, the city and state are willing to provide. Today is the day to pick yourselves up and start your next career. Good luck.
On City's days as auto town are numbered
Posted on June 3 at 1:47 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
"Not everything associated with GM was positive for Janesville, however. This has always been a blue-collar place, and our education level lagged because young people didn’t need to earn degrees to earn good wages. The image of a working-class place without much character, culture or class spread, but it wasn’t wholly unwarranted."
So here we are, put as nicely as anyone can: an undereducated, overpaid, entitlement mentality, union town. Some used GM to get an education and/or provide a quality living for their family and have had the forsight to prepare for this day. Good for them. Many did not and now have no plan in place to transition. And a rough transition it will be: from $35/hour wages with great health benefits, multiple weeks of annual vacation, incredible pension, low accountability for below average job performance....to...$12-15/hour jobs, 1-2 weeks of vacation, paying for 50% of your benefits and health care costs, zero pension, maybe a matching 401(k) program and actually being accountable for putting in an honest days worth of work. Good luck and welcome to the real world.
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On Seeking a new identity
Posted on June 4 at 3:41 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
R1234: Madison is not immune. Famous Footwear, started in Madison, just closed it's doors and relocated to St. Louis leaving 500 employees jobless. In the last 3 years, Rayovac (now Spectrum Brands) moved it's World Headquarters to Atlanta and closed it's distribution center in Madison. They have cut more than 300 jobs in Dane County in that time. What Madison has that has bolstered it's economy is the University and State Government. That will always be a stable base of employment to build upon. It also has world-renowned hospitals, a large base of financial institutions (Am Fam, CUNA, etc) and a budding bio-tech industry. Dane County has always had low unemployment because of it's workforce diversity. J-ville is becoming more diverse and should look to Madison as an example not as a scapegoat.