Sept. 1, 2010 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From Chairman Mike Bullock: Management has notified the union that they will be keeping 27 more members after September 10 than they had previously announced. There will be 30 members laid off now. The seniority date to hold the plant will be 9/16/99 with last four SSN 3000.
From President Dan Howell: The annual Labor Day Parade will be Monday, Sept. 6. This year’s theme is “Buck up for a Brother or Sister”. We will meet at 7 am to decorate the float at 19th Street north of Olive. We have the 8th spot in the parade, which begins at 9 am. Bring your friends and family to help decorate and there will be refreshments after the parade at Memorial Plaza. Hope to see you there.
From the Detroit News: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a preliminary investigation into steering issues reported on the 2011 Hyundai Sonata. NHTSA said it reviewed field reports on 2011 Hyundai Sonata vehicles that allege either a separation of the intermediate steering shaft assembly upper universal joint that resulted in a complete loss of steering capability or a loosening, but not complete separation, of the upper universal joint connection. The probe covers about 16,300 2011 Hyundai Sonata vehicles, NHTSA said in a statement posted today on its website. The popular vehicle accounts for nearly half of the company's car sales.(This is strangely reminiscent of the Kia Soul steering problems, which is another Hyundai Group product)
From the Wall Street Journal: Almost 2,000 employers and unions will be eligible to submit retirees' medical bills for reimbursement by a $5 billion federal fund, the Obama administration said Tuesday, suggesting the fund will be spread widely but thinly. General Motors Co., General Electric Co., Procter & Gamble Co., PepsiCoInc., AlcoaInc., IntelCorp., and PfizerInc. are among the large corporations that the White House will say can submit retirees' health bills for reimbursement. The list includes the United Auto Workers union, state and local governments and universities. Under the program, approved employers can tap into a federal fund that will reimburse up to 80% of certain health costs for retirees between the ages of 55 and 64, or those who don't yet qualify for Medicare. Medical, surgical, hospital and prescription-drug costs are eligible for reimbursement, and employers can use the money to help reduce co-payments, deductibles and other out-of-pocket expenses. Employers can submit medical claims filed since June 1.
Part two of the Jobs, Justice and Peace national agenda
Millions of Americans are hurting right now. When we help them, we’re also helping to put the economy back on track. Unemployment checks are quickly recycled as workers spend them on necessities, providing a needed boost in consumer spending. More federal assistance to states and cities will prevent layoffs, cuts in services and tax increases that threaten to further squeeze consumer demand and push the economy back into recession. A moratorium on foreclosures will not only keep families in their homes, it will help stabilize neighborhoods and protect housing values.
• Aid for the unemployed. In July, the Senate finally acted to extend unemployment benefits to jobless workers who have exhausted their 26 weeks of state benefits. That extension will run out again at the end of November. In the meantime, the COBRA subsidy that allowed many jobless workers to continue health insurance coverage for themselves and their families has been allowed to expire. So has the extra $25/week that unemployed workers were receiving as part of the Recovery Act. With more than five unemployed workers for every job opening, with the average duration of unemployment exceeding 34 weeks, with nearly 6.6 million Americans unemployed for more than six months, and with unemployment expected to remain high into 2011, Congress needs to act promptly to ensure that benefits for the long-term unemployed continue beyond November. The 65 percent COBRA premium subsidy and $25 increase in weekly benefits should both be restored immediately. Failure to do so is both cruel and economically irresponsible. It’s widely recognized by economists that assisting the unemployed is one of the most effective stimulus tools in the federal government’s arsenal. According to Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy.com, a dollar spent on unemployment benefits increases GDP by $1.61.
• Aid for cities and states. Cities and states continue to reel from the economic downturn, and their plight is adding to our jobs crisis. State and local governments across the country have eliminated more than 300,000 jobs over the last two years. And the situation is not getting any better: the depressed economy means depressed revenues, leading most states to enact even deeper cuts in fiscal 2011. At a time when more citizens need services, services are being cut; at a time when more jobs are desperately needed, jobs are being cut; and at a time when families are watching every penny, taxes and fees are being raised. The federal government has the power to stop this destructive cycle by extending financial assistance to state and local governments. Recent Congressional action providing $26 billion for Medicaid and education was helpful, but did not go nearly far enough. The Economic Policy Institute has recommended $150 billion in federal assistance to state and local governments, estimating that those dollars would save or create between one and 1.4 million jobs.
• Direct job creation. With hiring in the private sector weak, and with states and cities cutting their own employment roles, the federal government can and should directly fund the creation of public service jobs, as it has done historically in other periods of high unemployment – most notably, during the Great Depression. The Local Jobs for America Act, introduced by Representative George Miller (D-Calif) would provide $75 billion over two years to local governments and states, targeting those communities where the need is greatest, for programs to put the unemployed to work on community service projects run by either local governments or non-profit organizations.
• Moratorium on foreclosures. Foreclosures are devastating neighborhoods in Detroit and across the country, sending out ripples of pain – from the families who are losing their homes, to neighbors whose property values are plummeting, to entire communities confronting abandonment and blight. According to RealtyTrac, there were 11,889 homes in foreclosure in the city of Detroit in July, and 100,995 across the state of Michigan. Despite $75 billion in funding for mortgage modifications to assist beleaguered homeowners, financial institutions are dragging their feet. According to the most recent report of the Making Home Affordable Program, out of more than 3 million eligible loans nationally, only 1.3 million have had trial modifications initiated – and a mere 421,804 have a permanent modification in place. In Michigan, through July, only 14,525 homeowners had received a permanent modification of their mortgage loan. Meanwhile, foreclosures mount – another 18,833 were filed in Michigan in July, according to RealtyTrac. To give struggling families a meaningful opportunity to save their homes (and to create a meaningful push for lenders to work with them toward that end), we support legislation (S.B. 29) introduced in the Michigan state legislature to establish a 2-year moratorium on foreclosures.
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