State of the Union April 26, 2010

 There was one more member recalled today. The new seniority date to hold the plant is 1-5-1997. That leaves 233 members still laid off.
•    Delegate and Vice President elections will be tomorrow. Polls will be open from 4:30 am until 8:30 pm at the Union Hall. Please make every effort to come out and vote.
•    From the International Union UAW: Workers' Memorial Day is April 28 and our union will pause to remember those who lost their lives on the job in the last 12 months and in years past. We should also pause to reflect on how we can all do our jobs safer until fatalities and injuries on the job are eliminated. There were three fatalities among the UAW-represented workforce since last year's Workers' Memorial Day. The three UAW fatalities were among skilled-trades workers who typically suffer a higher fatality rate (3.5 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2009) than the rate for all workers (1.5 fatalities per 100,000 workers). The rate for skilled-trades workers remains the same as it was in 2008. But the rate for all workers has steadily dropped; in 2000 it was 2.05.
•    From the Detroit Free Press: More than repaying taxpayer loans, increased sales or profits, hiring will be the most credible evidence that automakers are recovering, and two respected sources foresee the industry adding about 88,000 jobs over the next year. The forecast, from the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor and IHS Global Insight, shows that total automotive employment in the U.S., including automakers and suppliers, will grow from an average of 565,700 this year to 653,600 in 2011 and 742,200 in 2012. Between 2006 and the end of 2009, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors shed 117,530, or 40%, of their U.S. workers.