Finger In A Flood

From Louisville Courier-Journal:

As many as 500 temporary employees have been hired at Louisville’s two Ford Motor Co. plants in recent months to replace workers who have accepted buyout offers from the troubled automaker. There were almost no temporary positions at the two plants before the buyout offers were made last fall. Rocky Comito, president of United Auto Workers Local 862, said the temporary workers earn 70 percent of the typical full-time union wage. For an assembly worker, that would mean almost $19 an hour.

Comito said there are more temporary workers at Louisville Assembly Plant on Fern Valley Road, because more full-time employees from that plant accepted buyouts. He said a smaller number are working at Kentucky Truck Plant on Chamberlain Lane. About 30,000 workers nationally accepted the Ford buyouts and started leaving their jobs in January. Comito said the temporary workers filling vacant jobs pay full union dues and are allowed to vote on union issues, but they don’t receive a pension and other benefits.

Marcey Evans, a Ford spokeswoman, declined to comment on the number of temporary workers in Louisville or for the company as a whole. She said the temporary workers also don’t receive health insurance or accrue seniority, and there are no plans to offer any of them full-time jobs. "Every plant is working on its own transition plan for moving employees out who accepted buyouts and keeping their facilities running efficiently," she said.

Fletcher has instituted Fordfare. Thousands have lost employment. Ford is hiring temps?