“Failed trade-ins wreak havoc on credit scores - Detroit Free Press” plus 4 more |
- Failed trade-ins wreak havoc on credit scores - Detroit Free Press
- Jackson Kayak tops industry sales in six short years - Nashville Tennessean
- Reviews Summary for Yaesu FT-450 - eHam.net
- www.MonsterAuto.de Europe's Largest Online AutoMobile Marketplace ... - PRLog (free press release)
- Labor Returning strikers find a changed world - San Francisco Chronicle
| Failed trade-ins wreak havoc on credit scores - Detroit Free Press Posted: 25 Oct 2009 07:42 PM PDT (2 of 3) Zarb said she called Flagstar Bank and was surprised to learn that Michal hadn't paid off the $179,700 balance on the couple's trade-in. She said Michal's staff told her he was making periodic payments on the trade-in note and not to worry. Eventually, Michal sent the couple a letter apologizing for the delay, blamed it on financial problems and personally guaranteed that he would pay off the loan as soon as possible. But he never did. Last fall, Michal's lenders seized the inventory at his 32-acre lot on I-94 in Belleville, effectively shutting him down. A former Michal's staffer said the dealership was done in by soaring gas prices and the credit crunch that prevented potential buyers from getting loans. Michal had continued paying the monthly installments on about 10 trade-ins and got eight of them paid off by the time his business crashed, the former staffer said, leaving the Zarbs and Thomas and Sally Quehl of Ypsilanti in the lurch. The Quehls owed $113,266 on their trade-in. The Zarbs and the Quehls are suing Michal in Wayne County Circuit Court. The Quehls wouldn't comment on their suit. Michal wouldn't talk. He sent letters to both couples promising to pay off the vehicles when he could and told a Michigan Secretary of State representative the same thing, an agency spokeswoman said. One of his lawyers, Stanley Bershad of Southfield, said: "We're working out the problems, and it won't help anybody to talk about it." "In essence, Walt Michal stole their vehicles," said Birmingham consumer lawyer Dani Liblang, who is suing on behalf of both couples. She said their trade-in vehicles are gone. The Zarbs, who have stopped paying the trade-in note, said Michal damaged their credit. According to Rosemary Shahan of the Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety group in California, when a dealer fails to honor a pledge to pay off a trade-in, the dealer creates two victims: The purchasers wind up being legally responsible for cars they traded in, and anyone who buys the trade-in soon discovers that they can't get title for the vehicle, which usually is repossessed to satisfy the original note. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Jackson Kayak tops industry sales in six short years - Nashville Tennessean Posted: 25 Oct 2009 07:57 PM PDT (3 of 4) Once the boats cure for 24 hours, craftsmen sand and shape the oval cockpits. Workers outfit the new hulls with various foam and plastic parts — all made in the USA — before the boats are shined to a mirror finish and wrapped for delivery. From the beginning, the company gained an edge over competitors by building boats sized specifically for children, inspired by Jackson's own kids, and, true to life, promoting whitewater boating as a family sport. His series of boats called the "Fun" comes in a miniature version for a child weighing as little as 30 pounds. "He's made whitewater kayaking a family sport in a way that no one else in the industry has been able to do," said Joe Jacobi, 40, an Olympic teammate of Jackson's in 1992, when Jacobi won gold in doubles canoe. Jacobi lives in Ducktown, Tenn., and runs a kayak school on the Ocoee River. Unlike other kayak manufacturers, Jackson has no team of sales representatives. Nor does he do much advertising. Rather, the company works directly with about 85 dealers, including stores in Cookeville, Memphis, Chattanooga and one near the Ocoee in East Tennessee. The company creates buzz for its boats during the six months — from April to October — that Jackson spends on the road in the family's 33-foot RV competing, attending kayaking festivals, teaching clinics and otherwise interacting one-on-one with kayakers. "The president of the company is making a pretty big statement by making himself that accessible," Jacobi said. The RV life was year-round for Jackson for six years before the family settled in the Rock Island area. It was that unconventional lifestyle that, in part, got him booted as a boat designer and athlete for another kayak maker, and then got him thinking about his own company. Traveling in the RV with him this past season were his wife, Kristine, who doesn't kayak; 16-year-old son and silver-medal kayaker, Dane; 13-month-old son, KC; and two Dalmatians, Rocksey and Tilley. His 19-year-old daughter, Emily Jackson, a gold medalist herself, married in April and travels the same circuit with kayaker husband, Nick Troutman, in their own vehicle. (Troutman, a Canadian, won gold at this year's world championships, while Eric Jackson got silver.) This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| Reviews Summary for Yaesu FT-450 - eHam.net Posted: 25 Oct 2009 12:26 PM PDT Not too long ago I upgraded to general, and wanted a good HF radio for around $500-600. I had been flip-flopping between the IC-718 and the FT-450 until I found a very good used FT-450 for a good price. I am far more than satisfied with the FT-450. I can't say it's better than the IC-718 since I never played with one. But, with the auto tuner and 6M, it does have a bit of an edge IMO over the IC-718. The audio is very nice, it hears very well, and has a very light footprint on my desk. The only cons I can think of are some of the options that are buried within the menu. It doesn't bother me that much since I run it along side HRD, and I can change them in a flash. But, if you're running the radio solo, trying to change the TX power isn't just the turn of a knob. It's not horrible, but, not mind numbing easy/convenient. Speaking of knobs, the one con that I had heard from many was the size of the main tuning knob. It really isn't as bad as I was expecting, and so far, hasn't been an issue. I would rather have the large display and a smaller knob, than a large knob taking up a lot of real estate on the radio. All in all, it's a great radio for a greenhorn HF guy like myself. This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
| www.MonsterAuto.de Europe's Largest Online AutoMobile Marketplace ... - PRLog (free press release) Posted: 25 Oct 2009 10:02 AM PDT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 25, 2009 – http://www.MonsterAuto.de & http://www.MonsterAuto.eu Europe's Largest Online Automobile Marketplace, Biggest Vehicle Marketplace Online. Search, Buy and Sell Used and New Vehicles.
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| Labor Returning strikers find a changed world - San Francisco Chronicle Posted: 25 Oct 2009 05:59 AM PDT The only thing missing, mutters one of the workers, is a banner: "Welcome to Our Last Supper." This gathering marks the end of a 40-month fight over who owns the craftsmanship that gives life to a factory floor. These men and women have logged decades making trumpets of such sinuous precision they are called the Stradivarius of brass. In the end, though, there is no music. "Lord God, you know what the plan is for our lives," Bertha Carpenter prays as fellow workers bow their heads. "And let us be ever grateful." This is the story of a decision - of 234 workers, one company and countless consequences. Back when times were good, many Americans made decisions that seemed like sure things. Millions gambled their homes, betting prices could only go up. Others bet their retirement security on the stock market. But workers at the Vincent Bach factory bet on what seemed more modest expectations. When they walked out on strike, they had no get-rich-quick illusions. At best, the thinking went, if they stuck together they'd keep hold of their prized rung on the economic ladder. Today that bet is being called. But like Rip Van Winkle, who fell asleep for 20 years and came back to a place he barely recognized, the men and women of Bach return to a vastly different landscape than the one they left behind. Over the last year, Elkhart has become a poster child for the recession. Millions across the country lost jobs, but Elkhart was slammed by the nation's largest jump in unemployment. Many of the factories that made it the capital of recreational vehicle manufacturing shut down. Twice since his election, President Obama has come to Elkhart County to spotlight economic despair. But this story begins in a very different Elkhart, singled out by a Federal Reserve economist in 2006 as one of the Midwest's "jewels in the rust." Unemployment then hovered just above 4 percent and the RV plants were hiring. But at the Bach factory there was little talk of going elsewhere for a paycheck. The place was like a big family, workers say, and it's no exaggeration. Stacy Curtis followed her dad into Bach, where she met husband, Steve, one of the buffers blanketed in red dust whom her father supervised. Brad Milliken hired in as a janitor at 17 when his dad put the good word in, then did the same for younger brother, John. Job openings at Bach were guarded like secrets. In a town with 45 percent of all jobs in factories, Bach paid near the top. The average worker made $21 an hour. But the family sensibility went beyond the paychecks. On Fridays, workers circled around covered-dish lunches on the shop floor. On birthdays, they serenaded each other on whatever instrument was within reach. Bach was equally bound by pride. In the music world, Vincent Bach is synonymous with cornets, trombones and, especially, trumpets. "Once you got done with an instrument," Jeff Hoogenboom says, "it was like a jewel." That pride reached back to the 1920s when the original Bach, an Austrian immigrant, set up shop in New York. He was so certain of his trumpets' superiority he named them for the world's most legendary instrument. Bach sold his company in 1961. The new owner moved it to Elkhart, which, by the 1970s, supplied 40 percent of the world's band instruments. But the company and the world around it began to change. In 1993, two investment bankers acquired Bach's parent firm, then merged it with famed piano maker Steinway & Sons, creating the nation's largest musical instrument manufacturer. The new owners pushed to speed production. They eliminated the plant's saxophone line. The company earned $13.8 million in 2005. But executives were wary of Chinese producers, whose $200 trumpets targeted the large student market. The company would not comment for this story, but its demands were clear. On the final day of their contract in March 2006, every worker received a letter from president John Stoner. Bach was losing money on student instruments. An Asian manufacturer could take over for a fraction of the cost. "While I would prefer to keep work and jobs at Bach, we cannot and will not do so if it means we produce instruments at a loss," Stoner wrote. The company demanded cuts that would drop average pay $6 an hour. Workers would pay more for health insurance and overtime would be mandatory, a requirement some called a "family killer." On April 1, 2006, workers gathered to respond. "We hollered and hollered and said, 'Hell, yeah,' " Stacy Curtis says. The vote was 185-37. The strike was on. The first night on the picket line, strikers huddled around burn barrels. But the mood was upbeat and more than a little ornery. Most recalled the only other recent strike - a 1990s walkout lasting just eight days. This time would be different, they knew. "We know exactly where the pressure points are on the union. They know where they are on us," Steinway CEO Dana Messina told Wall Street analysts soon after the strike began. Many jobs in the plant took months to learn. Without them, workers joked, the company would be reduced to selling inferior "musically shaped objects." "We were craftsmen," says Jerry Stayton, then the president of United Auto Workers Local 364, which represented the workers. Workers built plywood sheds along the right of way. They rotated in for picket duty around the clock, gathering around TVs powered off generators, holding fish fries. After 32 years at the plant, John Milliken savored time for breakfast with his wife. Co-workers kidded him when he showed up for strike duty on a bike. But Milliken marveled at the smell of the lilacs along the route and the weight he was taking off from the exercise. In June, the company began hiring replacements. A fight broke out between strikers and the men who came to claim their jobs. Then the two sides grasped at compromise - calling for workers return at wages capped at $21 an hour. "We should accept this and live to fight another day," Stayton told workers from the front of the DAV hall. The sticking point was the replacement workers. Company negotiators said they'd be let go, but few believed them. "Get it in writing!" strikers shouted. A few minutes later, they voted the contract down. At weekly meetings, the union handed out $200 strike paychecks. But for workers who'd expected the walkout to last weeks, money was growing tight. Stayton, who'd long worked a second job, took on more hours at Star Tire, fueling strikers' criticism he wasn't giving enough time to leading the local. Brad Milliken found a job sweeping floors at a cargo trailer factory. But the place was dirty and work was hard. Some workers called him the "retiree" - sticking an expletive in front to make clear they meant no respect. John Milliken could see his brother was unhappy. He had no idea. On April 10, the brothers - longtime fans of Notre Dame women's basketball - took their seats at the team's annual banquet. Brad turned to John. "I don't want to make you get sick here," he said. John looked at his brother, confused. "I'm going back in," Brad said. For months a small but steady trickle of workers had been crossing the picket line. Brad was "Scab No. 37." John loved his brother. But that didn't make the decision easy to stomach. Brad had long enjoyed a friendship with Stoner, the company president. The younger Milliken, though, was furious at managers. "Thugs," he called them. Brad returned to find parts for 1,200 Stradivarius trumpets stacked up, waiting to be assembled. At home, Stacy and Steve Curtis examined their expenses. NASCAR tickets would have to go. They canceled rental of their weekend spot on a Michigan lake, sold the golf cart and the camper. Meanwhile, replacement workers called the National Labor Relations Board. A vote was set on whether the union would continue to represent plant workers. Strikers lined up to vote. But so did replacements. Some strikers were told their vote might not count because their jobs had been taken. Workers' anger was also finding another target - the union itself, which they blamed for poor representation and counsel. At the same time, the company was learning to live without the strikers. Steve Curtis found work at another instrument maker, then discovered his new employer had a contract from Bach to make trumpets. It left him uncomfortable. Then again, at least he had a job. By the summer of 2008, Elkhart's strength - the RV factories - was turning in to a painful weakness. The recession was taking hold and as consumers cut back, they crossed RVs off their lists. Lenders cut credit to manufacturers. Dealers slashed orders. Plant after plant sent workers home and shut down lines. By this spring, the area jobless rate reached 18.9 percent. Within Elkhart, it neared 21 percent. When John Milliken got an offer to be a custodian at Northridge High School, he was grateful. At $13 an hour, it paid much less than Bach. But benefits were generous and for the first time in years, he felt like the people he worked for accorded him respect. Steve Curtis, laid off from another horn maker, grabbed a friend's offer for 20 hours a week in his instrument repair shop. But the odd jobs that had kept bellmaker Steve Kiefer afloat vanished. When his 1988 pickup broke down, he couldn't afford to fix it. He fell behind on his mortgage and began thinking it might be better to let the bank have the place. On the strike's third anniversary, workers called a reunion. But talk at the tables was full of apprehension. The vote would decide the battle. After months of lawyers' arguments, federal inspectors tallied ballots - 113 to get rid of the union, 107 to keep it. But eight ballots - enough to swing it either way - were still contested. On Monday, Aug. 4, strikers were back on the picket line when cell phones began to ring. The ruling was in. The ballots of two strikers would not be counted because they had been replaced. After three years, four months and four days, there was nowhere to go but home. Before the last meal is served, buffers and bellmakers cluster anxiously around a health insurance salesman's table. Workers with gray hair pull chairs alongside one another and concede they were only a few years from retirement anyway. But for younger workers, it's not nearly so clear. A few call Brad Milliken: "Hey, can you get me in?" Even that wouldn't turn back the clock. Two weeks after the strike ended, managers summoned workers who crossed the line and cut their pay. Brad, who made $24.50 an hour before the strike, is down to $17. Deneen Stout, just divorced and with a new associate's degree, figures she'll move away and find a job as a medical assistant. "Don't put any dates or years on your resume," she counsels former co-worker Chuck Miller. "I learned that in college." By noon, workers are filtering out, carrying leftover chicken in foam boxes. But Stacy Curtis is not quite ready to call it over. She points her pickup back down Industrial Parkway. In front of the Bach plant, she slows to tally empty parking spaces. But Curtis has seen enough. She gives the F-150 a little gas. Down the street, a warehouse is getting ready to open. Maybe they need a worker with experience. She might as well ask.
This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
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