Ford Condemns Trump's Travel Crackdown

[TeamsterGrrrl]

From The Detroit Bureau:

"With protests continuing around the country in response to Pres. Donald Trump’s Executive Order on immigration and travel, the U.S. business community is being drawn into the fray, Ford Motor Co. among the latest companies to take a stand.

The second-largest domestic automaker issued a statement Monday morning cosigned by Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Mark Fields declaring, “Respect for all people is a core value of Ford Motor Company, and we are proud of the rich diversity of our company here at home and around the world. That is why we do not support this policy or any other that goes against our values as a company.”

Breaking News!

Demonstrations were underway at more than 30 U.S. airports over the weekend to protest restrictions placed largely on Mideasterners of the Islamic faith. But while it is typically rare for the business community to be brought into such political turmoil, the latest fracas touched off by the inauguration of Trump has left fewer and fewer on the sidelines.

(Automakers look for options, weigh costs under Trump. For the story, Click Here.)

The auto industry is in a particularly vulnerable position. As a global business, a company like Ford typically will employ citizens or immigrants from dozens of different companies. At the number two U.S. automaker, that includes several executives at some of its more senior levels. And, with frequent travel a part of the job requirement, changes in border and immigration policies could have a direct impact.

Pres. Donald Trump has signed a series of controversial Executive Orders since his inauguration.

“We are not aware, to date, of any Ford employees directly affected by this policy,” said the statement from Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Fields.  “We will continue working to ensure the well-being of our employees by promoting the values of respect and inclusion in the workplace.”

Several sources at the other two domestic automakers indicated that senior management was also concerned about the impact of Trump’s Executive Order and that statements might be forthcoming from General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobile.

In the first hours and days after the immigration order was signed, a number of high-tech firms, including Apple, Microsoft and Netflix issued their own condemnations. Google set aside a $4 million legal fund to help those who might be impacted by the White House order.

(Even ride-sharing rivals get caught up in political fracas. Click Here for the story.)

Meanwhile, the second-largest American ride-sharing service, Lyft, announced it would donate $1 million to the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU took the Trump proclamation to court over the weekend, a federal judge moving to bar certain provisions.

Lyft’s move helped reveal the increasing polarization of a country seemingly in turmoil since well before last November’s election. The company issued its own condemnation of the immigration ban over the weekend and that was followed by wide praise from Trump critics – and harsh criticism from the president’s proponents.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick landed in hot water with both Trump supporters and opponents.

Perhaps even harder hit was Lyft’s rival, Uber. The number one ride-sharing service was accused by some on social media of trying to take advantage of the immigration protests by cutting rates to New York’s JFK airport after local taxi drivers announced a brief boycott.

The irony is that Uber had actually criticized the president’s Executive Order on immigration shortly after it was signed, though CEO Travis Kalanick’s statement appeared soft to many Trump foes.

The ride-sharing service was more blunt in a Sunday statement that it planned to, “urge the government to reinstate the right of U.S. residents to travel — whatever their country of origin — immediately,” though its language appeared to focus specifically on green card holders.

Kalanick, who is on the president’s business advisory panel – and who met with Trump on Friday — also announced Uber would compensate any of its drivers who were affected by the travel ban and barred from entering the U.S., creating a $3 million fund to help drivers.

But that didn’t stop many users from reportedly deleting their Uber smartphone apps.

In the face of the country’s current polarization, business leaders are facing the challenge of reading and responding to both their own corporate and personal beliefs, as well as trying to divine how to react to a polarized public."

Sorry haters, looks like your gonna hafta drive Chevies and Dodges!

[Red Horse]

Well IMO-three idiots here-  Trump for not involving his key knowledgeable people before he signed his order,  and Bill Ford and Mark Fields for jumping on the PC bandwagon with the rest of the Hollywood crowd.

As I see it, Trump is so driven by his ego and "campaign platform", he is putting his pen in gear before his brain.  Obama previously I believe identified the countries in question as problematic.   Trump could have accomplished something had he just cleaned up his XO-in fact did he even need such an order-could not the word just have been passed down through the chain of command to .."tighten up" existing procedures?

In any case, a loyal Ford guy here and stockholder who is pissed.  I figure pretty boy Fields would do some stunt like this- I thought Bill Ford had more sense.  In particular, how many times have they met with Trump already?  Pick up the f-ing phone and call him up and say- " I think you screwed up-man up and make a statement as to what your true objective was".

[TeamsterGrrrl]

The Ford family and many institutions learned from their attempts at "accommodation" with Hitler, and they thus want to stop Trump now before he becomes unstoppable. For the Fords this is especially important, as Hitler modeled his fascism partly on Henry Ford's writings before Henry ceased his antisemitism.

[kscarbel2]

 

[fxfymn]

Simple solutions to complex problems rarely work. For most of us the law of unintended consequences means we have to fix something that only affects us or a few others, when the President acts without foreseeing the consequences we all pay the price. Ego got him elected and ego will ultimately be his undoing.

[41chevy]

On 1/31/2017 at 10:16 AM, TeamsterGrrrl said:

The Ford family and many institutions learned from their attempts at "accommodation" with Hitler, and they thus want to stop Trump now before he becomes unstoppable. For the Fords this is especially important, as Hitler modeled his fascism partly on Henry Ford's writings before Henry ceased his antisemitism.

Ford built a lot of trucks for Hitler right up to the end. Ford made money off Hitler and the slave labor they got.

[Dirtymilkman]

Henry Ford was not a model citizen whatsoever. But when you're in big business and wanna be successful being nice doesn't get you there. He was very anti-Semitic and a communist. His Ford town and rules just floored me when I went to the museum. 

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Henry Ford was indeed anti-Semitic in the 1920s, though he later recanted. But a communist? Given the way he fought unionization, not likely! As for Ford Motor Company helping Nazi Germany, the company was taken over by Germany early in the war and Ford lost control. However, there is evidence that Ford Motor profited from the use of forced labor before they lost control of their German subsidiary, though.

[BillyT]

I am always floored by the insightful comments by a "bunch of truck drivers" we all live under the cloud of that truck driver stereotype "what was the name of that truck driving school" Goose to maverick in Top Gun Lol indeed Henry Ford the genius businessman was a well known anti Semite and surely had thought ahead to the results of his unprecedented 5.00 a day wage beyond the obvious benefits to the workers,  1 they could and would buy his cars!  2 One of the simplest and oldest ways to keep out the union is pay well and treat your employees well! Overnite and Con Way Central, did it for years! I don't know when the UAW was born but at one point they were the strongest union in America!  As Dirtymilkman pointed out Henry Ford wasn't a model citizen nor were any of the men who drove America's  industrial revolution! My grandfather was born in 1887  and told of the horse drawn ambulances taking  the men who died and were horribly injured out of  Carnegies steel mills every day! There was an unwritten rule that if a man fell into the molten steel (a "puddler" like my Irish immigrant great grandfather,for instance) That that run of steel was thrown away! My grandfather just laughed,"You actually think they're going to throw away all that money just because someone fell in it!" Back to Trump, his ego prevents him from from employing the subtlety that is necessary to negotiate his policies at the global level! I agree with Fxfymn on  that point! You can't piss off the whole free world and expect to accomplish your goals!

[HeavyGunner]

I'm with trump on his one. What is so wrong about stopping the mass undocumented Muslim population from coming over Willy nilly?  If you come over here the right way way I welcome you. There is nothing wrong with temporarily stopping things and putting together a plan to figure this out. You guys don't think that the terrorists have already figured out they can claim they're refugees and walk right into America?  As for all the boneheads in the media saying this is unconstitutional I call bs, the constitution only applies to US citizens.  Ford just wanted to be on the of wagon and I hope it bites him in the ass. 

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Problem is, Trump probably caught not a single terrorist in his net, but managed to keep hundreds of visa holding U.S. residents, students, doctors, engineers, seniors, and children coming or returning to the U.S. for work, education, medical care, or simply to reunite their families. Trump did us no favors, and only succeeded in ticking off the rest of the world at us.

[fxfymn]

Quote

There is nothing wrong with temporarily stopping things and putting together a plan to figure this out. 

I'd ask the person who worked with the US military for years in Iraq who was denied entry and sent back to Iraq. I'm sure the enemies he helped fight with the US were very anxious to provide a welcome home to him and his family. Or maybe the legal immigrant who had lived here for years and was denied re-entry after a family visit so she could see her dying son.

Trump ran as an outsider who will change the way we do everything. That's fine, but more often than not a certain way of doing things has developed because it works. When you arbitrarily change the system you will probably have to pay the price. In this case we will all have to pay because we will end up with a less robust intelligence system due to folks being afraid they will be betrayed by the US after they served us.

[Dirtymilkman]

19 minutes ago, fxfymn said:

I'd ask the person who worked with the US military for years in Iraq who was denied entry and sent back to Iraq. I'm sure the enemies he helped fight with the US were very anxious to provide a welcome home to him and his family. Or maybe the legal immigrant who had lived here for years and was denied re-entry after a family visit so she could see her dying son.

Trump ran as an outsider who will change the way we do everything. That's fine, but more often than not a certain way of doing things has developed because it works. When you arbitrarily change the system you will probably have to pay the price. In this case we will all have to pay because we will end up with a less robust intelligence system due to folks being afraid they will be betrayed by the US after they served us.

Sometimes to make things work you just gotta start from scratch. Peel the scab off and start healing the right way. Yes it's painful, but in the end it's usually better. The last 20 years of immigration reform didn't exactly do anything. I'm a citizen, my parents are, my grandparents were and their parents came here the legal way. The country was also new. Now this country is a couple hundred years older and full and we are in a situation. I say close the borders. It may not be humane to them but in the end it's way more humane for the citizens. (the people paying the bills)

[fxfymn]

Quote

I say close the borders. 

A direct quote from Massasoit after he saw the Mayflower in Cape Cod bay. Didn't work for him and it wouldn't work for us.

 

[Outbehindthebarn]

55 minutes ago, fxfymn said:

I'd ask the person who worked with the US military for years in Iraq who was denied entry and sent back to Iraq. I'm sure the enemies he helped fight with the US were very anxious to provide a welcome home to him and his family. Or maybe the legal immigrant who had lived here for years and was denied re-entry after a family visit so she could see her dying son.

Trump ran as an outsider who will change the way we do everything. That's fine, but more often than not a certain way of doing things has developed because it works. When you arbitrarily change the system you will probably have to pay the price. In this case we will all have to pay because we will end up with a less robust intelligence system due to folks being afraid they will be betrayed by the US after they served us.

I feel no remorse for those Iraqis who 'helped us'. I'm certain they knew the risk of aiding the invaders, and were compensated handsomely for doing so. 

Edited February 3, 2017 by Outbehindthebarn
spelled Iraqi wrong..LOL

[TeamsterGrrrl]

1 hour ago, Dirtymilkman said:

Sometimes to make things work you just gotta start from scratch. Peel the scab off and start healing the right way. Yes it's painful, but in the end it's usually better. The last 20 years of immigration reform didn't exactly do anything. I'm a citizen, my parents are, my grandparents were and their parents came here the legal way. The country was also new. Now this country is a couple hundred years older and full and we are in a situation. I say close the borders. It may not be humane to them but in the end it's way more humane for the citizens. (the people paying the bills)

Did your ancestors come here before 1890? Before 1890 "immigration" was a joke, residency and citizenship were conferred by cities and states with no uniform standards. If one state or city wouldn't let you in, you just went to another. So truth is, a lot of our ancestors would not have even been allowed off the boat by today's immigration laws.

[TeamsterGrrrl]

No, he followed Ford Motor Company's high ethical standards, which have won Ford many awards. Certainly didn't hurt Ford sales any, look at the demographics and in the long run the "snowflakes" will spend much more on Ford mobility than you old "clinkers"!

[Dirtymilkman]

1 hour ago, TeamsterGrrrl said:

Did your ancestors come here before 1890? Before 1890 "immigration" was a joke, residency and citizenship were conferred by cities and states with no uniform standards. If one state or city wouldn't let you in, you just went to another. So truth is, a lot of our ancestors would not have even been allowed off the boat by today's immigration laws.

What did our ancestors do when their back was against the wall? The fought. They sacrificed. They died. They also won. They didn't look for handouts and money from other countries.....That's all political. The "refugees" better start learning to sacrifice. Not be afraid to give information because they may be killed. Their fear is killing themselves. Their back is against the wall and they even have tons of people and countries willing to help. But no one will speak unless you offer them a big pile of cash. It's selfishness, they won't sacrifice for each other, the majority won't fight for each other. So now we should let them in here so we can have people in our country that will not pledge allegiance to us. Bullshit. 

[Dirtymilkman]

All these bleeding heart liberals and Hollywood elites and activists better not forget why they have the right to be that way. Would our country be here if we were all liberal and pushovers? We could preach love and flower power all we want but that won't stop our head from being chopped off by fanatics. We're full. Secure the borders, keep AMERICANS safe. This isn't the 1800s anymore. 

[41chevy]

15 minutes ago, Dirtymilkman said:

All these bleeding heart liberals and Hollywood elites and activists better not forget why they have the right to be that way. Would our country be here if we were all liberal and pushovers? We could preach love and flower power all we want but that won't stop our head from being chopped off by fanatics. We're full. Secure the borders, keep AMERICANS safe. This isn't the 1800s anymore. 

I see their love and peace worked out pretty good at Berkley and surrounding areas didn't it? I do say I enjoy how the S.O.P. of liberals is name calling, violence and intolerance when the statements don't fit their party line.  Hippocrates all.

Edited February 3, 2017 by 41chevy

[6v71]

Can't imagine why anybody would have a problem with this executive order.  It's only a temporary ban imposed  on 7 countries who seethe hatred for the United States.

Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.  Look at the names on that list.  Any events come to mind?  Those countries have committed numerous acts of terrorism toward our country and it's citizens over the decades.  There's plenty of countries that enjoy un-restricted travel to and from the US.  Those being countries whose citizens don't have a tendency to blow up our ships and drag our dead soldiers through the streets.  I'm supposed to feel sorry for a handful of muslims  who get inconvenienced.  Pleeease!  Trump is doing exactly what he should be doing.  Making decisions based on what's in the best interest of America and its citizens.  Ford has a problem with that?  Ford needs to focus on building cars and stay out of national security issues.

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Y'll makin' some pretty heavy use of your "alternative facts". Next thing you'll be screaming about the Bowling Green Massacre...

[41180]

Let them stay over there look at Paris another attack last night . 

[Dirtymilkman]

6 hours ago, TeamsterGrrrl said:

Y'll makin' some pretty heavy use of your "alternative facts". Next thing you'll be screaming about the Bowling Green Massacre...

Most "alternative facts" people hear are what the LIBERAL MEDIA tells us. There is no unbiased media. They all have an agenda. 

[Joseph Moody Jr]

There is website that lists all attacks that happened in this country since 1800. We have a short memory about how many were home grown people committing these crimes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_in_the_United_States