Dec 13, 2008

Would you buy American if your boss gave you $1,000?

Chet Czaplicka doesn't own one of the Big 3's suppliers or run a car dealership. Instead, he is the chief executive of a blood-processing firm in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, Michigan. But like most people in that part of the country, he has several autoworkers in his family. And, perhaps more importantly, he understands how extensively the overall US. economy is enmeshed with the production of automobiles.

"I live here. My business is here. My Ma draws a pension from Ford," Czaplicka says in a recent Detroit News article. "If these companies go down, I'm screwed."

But instead of just bitching about it, Czaplicka is doing something. He's offering each of his employees $1,000 if they'll buy a Ford, GM or Chrysler vehicle. He's looking at a $92,000 payout if every one of his workers take him up on the deal before it expires Jan. 5.

At least one of Czaplicka's company's employees has been inspired to go shopping for a Ford. The story says Sean Murtha is considering a new Ford Edge for his wife. "A thousand bucks, that's like three months of payments," says Murtha, who is with the company's Fort Lauderdale office. "We're a bit removed from the Detroit scene but it's nice we can contribute."

[Source: The Detroit News]