Reasons for Cement Plants Closing

The road think about the rock is just buzzi way of shifting the blame to someone else ,just to ease there own concience, there is quite alot of rock on the QUARRY Floor that all they would have to do would have went deeper, As far as the excess overburden on the old henderson places, that was always scraped off and hauled in as well as the rock, due to fact, that also is a key ingredient in the making of cement.The main problem with all this mess is there was talk about shutting down plant clear back when the plant had the 100 year anniversary in 2005, aout when the new plant in Mo.I relise fuel could be a factor, but I think not as much as they like you to believe, there materal is very close, other plants haul(some alot longer distance) and are still running.Long star couldn't take care of there own ass, that why Buzzi bough them out, then put them in charge of this plant, ummm ?

To the post that says Mike balled out on his brothers, there's nothing that could be further from the truth. I realize you don't know what you are talking about. Mike is/was the number 3 guy on the repair gang seniority list, therefore was layed off. They kept the Junior people in each dept. The company wants him gone more than any of the rest of us, and its not because he sits back on his ass. All of you that are cussing him now, were probably the ones that he had to stick up for the most. I know a bunch of you he kept your jobs for alot longer than you probably should have had them. I support Mike, and the job he has done as our Pres. The part about being a bully, that is funny because that's what we call him too. For anyone that has ever been a Union leader, you have to be some what of a bully to deal with the company, you don't want someone to just let the company do what they want, you want someone to fight, and that's what Mike has done. To all of you that didn't agree with the things that he has done, why didn't you get involved. Not one of you have ran for office, to make changes. So by not running or getting involved that would tell me that you too supported him. Until you get on this blog, and run him down, which I guess your entitled to, but it holds no merit. Instead of sticking together, you are falling apart. That my brothers, is sad.

The same thing goes for the post made about Hooper and the other foreman, whether you like someone or not we're showing everyone that reads these post how immature and goofy we all are. We should be standing together, as one. We are all loosing our jobs before we wanted to. No one's fault from this plant, this decision was made by some stock holders, and corporate pigs in another country and on the east coast.

Did any of you ever stop and think how these guys who are still working feel, while the rest of you are getting paid not to work. Yeah they are pretty upset. And what is the union doing for them? And as far as sticking together, I think that is all over with.

Also, they did not keep the junior people in each department. They let some of the guys with less time go home. Trust me, we do know.

Yes i believe everyone knows how those guys feel i also dont think the union is at fault there. the company has alot more rights than the union. i realize you are mad. and you have the right but believe you should blame the union. it looks to me that your more mad that your family member is still working and someone else is not so if your family member was not having to still work things would be fine. kinda selfish

let me ask you this what would you have the union do? do you think it would be more fair to have the junior guys go home and the senior guys work?

i'll tell you seniority rights is something unions all over the nations fight for, again i'm sorry your angry and i do understand why, i just dont agree w/ you

i meant to say line 3 should not blame the union.sorry.

most collective bargaining agreements have what is called managements rights which gives them the right to do what ever they want(almost) believe you me that unions hate that clause, also we dont have very good labor laws here in kansas which make it even harder on unions.

all I got to say is mike smith is a good president. he helped everyone that asked. he is still trying to help everyone. some people had to stay at the plant to run the f.e. One guy with senoirity wanted to stay. If you had been at the union meeting you would know that. one other guy did not want to stay and mike smith took care of that. someone had less seniority than him and they traded out. Now for hooper, when buzzi first took over the company, The big wigs said that hooper did not have the education to be a plant manager. They gave it to him any way. They, the big wigs were right. He did not have any problems running the repair gang. He still runs it to this day. He does not have any managing skills or people skills for that matter. Hell he wears white socks with a suit for Christ sakes.

hooper is just a ass when it comes to mngmnt for the fact if he walked through a dept he would not come and talk to the operator or helper and say hey guys lets get on the pile or lets try an get that cleaned up or say good job or even talk to u for that matter if he even knows some of the newest employess names its not a way to run a plant at all...instead he would just go rip a mill forman and they would come get us on it the few years i have been around him have not been good at all...

Mike Smith did work for his Union. He left his family every chance he got to attend Union meetings away to help him become a better rep for us. He used our hard earned $s to do that. One was in Vegas. He learned a lot. Because as we all know what happens in Vegas does not always stay in Vegas does it Sherry? Now lets all go to South Gate and Party so we can give him more of our money.

Mike Smith did work hard for his union. He took ever chance to go to every convention away using our $ to be a better pres. One was in Vegas and he learned a lot. What happens in Vegas does not always stay in Vegas does is Sherry? Now lets all go and party at South Gate and give him some more of our $.

If Mike Smith was such a great Pres what did he do to help keep the plant open? all I have heard is that he was a bully and he fought against the company you all hated. so if you all hated it so much why are you so mad it closed?

there was nothing mike could do to keep the plant open. the company chose to run 3 kilns instead of 4. That just drove the price per ton up because you use more gas.they were turning the turbine off and on like a light bulb. the company made it look bad on paper to justify closing the plant. The company did not like the cement plant when they first took over. Then when something broke down at the f. e. instead of calling someone out to fix it they choose to leave it down until the next day. It would have been a lot cheaper to call someone out than not to make cement for 8 hrs. Also mike smith was elected by the union people to go on these union coventions. He did not say he was going, It was voted that he go.

still working is a punk azz bch

'Whenever God Closes One Door He Always Opens Another, Even Though
Sometimes It's Hell in the Hallway'

AMEN!! Good luck guys

all the hoopers,redmans,snodgrasses[wa lly],mcnitts,beemans[paula],an d anybody else who kisssed ass to keep their jobes[f--- y--]. you know who you are.take your bullsh t, and your bible quotes,and shove them up your a--.i hope management gets throwed in jail for years of being overpaid and retarded. 6

had a job wrote:

all the hoopers,redmans,snodgrasses[wa lly],mcnitts,beemans[paula],an d anybody else who kisssed ass to keep their jobes[f--- y--]. you know who you are.take your bullsh t, and your bible quotes,and shove them up your a--.i hope management gets throwed in jail for years of being overpaid and retarded. 6

Hello "had a job", I hate to join in on this inmature way of posting but I have read this crap long enough! You need to grow up and act your age and maybe go back to school and learn proper grammer and english! Is't really hard to take someone serious that can't use spell check! Maybe you would still have a job if you spent more time reading and writing versus tring to find someone else to blame for your loss!

I have no connections to the cement plant other than the community I live in will suffer a great deal without it here. From what I am reading there is no possible way to blame ANYONE, including the above mentioned or the Union President. When a corporation decides on something, there is nothing anyone local can do.

So you need to get over it, take some night classes educate yourself and go get a job!

Good Luck to the the rest of you that have kept the plant going for over 100 years, my hats off to you! Please know that the community will suffer a great deal without the plant and it's many wonderfull workers.

God Bless
Indy Citizen

To Indy Citizen, maybe you should proof read your own blog. Do you have spell check? For example: Is't and wonderfull. If you are sick of reading these blogs don't. Are you going to pay for those night classes. Are you going to give us those jobs. With this economy there isn't a whole lot out there. So maybe you should mind your own business. After all your not the one losing your job, so how can you know what this feels like????

Oh what about tring? Is that a word? Who's the idiot?

Oh should I keep going, inmature or is it immature. Let's see, I guess I am your spell checker.