KOKOMO, Ind. - Workers at DaimlerChrysler's Indiana Transmission Plant I and Plant II better allow more time to walk in from the parking lot if they drive Fords or General Motors vehicles.
A new policy that takes effect Monday designates about 80 percent of employee parking spaces for Chrysler vehicles only and forces workers to park much further away if they drive a car or truck made by a competing manufacturer.
In case employees forget, there's new blue lines painted on the parking lot and signs that declare "DaimlerChrysler Parking Only" and "DaimlerChrysler Vehicle Parking."
Workers have been told that non-Chrysler vehicles parked in the reserved areas will be towed to Indianapolis at a cost of $200, the Kokomo Tribune reported Sunday.
Chrysler spokesman Edward Saenz said most Chrysler plants across the country have similar parking policies, but he did not know exactly how many. Both transmission plants have ample parking, and the new policy does not apply to vehicles with handicap plates, he said.
"It is a management initiative, but we believe it has wide support from the employees," Saenz said. "It's a local decision."
The plants posted signs and painted the new lines about two weeks ago, he said. Employees began receiving non-compliance warnings last week leading up to this week's enforcement.
Nine-year employee Bill Parks considers the new policy "a form of harassment." He drives a Pontiac, made by GM.
"I think we have other issues going on in the company besides where to park your vehicle," Parks said.
He isn't disabled but has a back condition that occasionally flares up. He bought his Pontiac as a second vehicle because he didn't want to go into debt with two new Chrysler vehicles. "I tried to find a good Dodge vehicle when I was buying this one, but I couldn't find one at the time," he said.
Chris Koors said he has generally parked in an isolated area to avoid damage to his Chrysler truck. Last Thursday, he found it surrounded by non-Chrysler vehicles.
"They need to buy what we build," Koors said, gesturing toward the non-Chrysler vehicles.
In the 1970s and early '80s, when Chrysler was experiencing layoffs, Koors said his father, also a Chrysler employee, would describe foreign-made vehicles that were flipped upside down if parked in the company's parking lot.
"It's not about American made or union made, it's about our company," he said. "Drive what you build if you want your company to survive."
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Little extreme I believe...