State of the Union October 29, 2010

Oct. 29, 2010 online at www.uawlocal2250.com


From Chairman Mike Bullock: Next Tuesday’s election is very important as many of our supporters in Congress and the state legislature are under attack for their pro-labor views. I encourage everyone to get out and vote for these and all labor-friendly candidates as the control of Congress could change hands. We are asking for volunteers to come to the Union Hall on election day to help with phone banks and shuttle transportation for voters. Thanks in advance for your help.
Also, on Monday, Nov. 8, there will be 20 more members recalled for temporary vacation replacement for deer season. That will make the low seniority date in the plant 3-1-2000 with last four of 5000.

Yesterday GM announced the following capital structure actions:
o Repayment of $2.8 billion outstanding on the 9 percent secured note provided to the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust.
o Completion of a $5 billion, five-year revolving line of credit.
GM expects to implement the following capital actions, conditional upon completion of GM’s public offering:
o Purchase of the $2.1 billion of 9 percent Series A Preferred Stock held by the United States Department of the Treasury.
o A contribution of at least $4 billion in cash and $2 billion in GM common stock to GM’s U.S. hourly and salaried pension plans.

From Automotive News: Toyota secretly bought back from U.S. consumers vehicles it found with speed-control defects as part of a strategy to hide unintended-acceleration problems from safety regulators and the public, a revised lawsuit claims. The new complaint also cites internal company records documenting instances in which Toyota technicians or service managers replicated speed-control problems like those reported by customers. In a series of field reports from 2006 to 2010 involving Toyota Camrys, technicians from Hong Kong confirmed unintended acceleration in cars they tested while ruling out faulty floor mats or gas pedals, the lawsuit said. Moreover, the acceleration glitches were duplicated without the vehicle's diagnostic equipment detecting a malfunction. In a separate 2009 case, a service manager described in a company memo as "trustworthy and reliable" experienced an unexplained burst of acceleration while test-driving a Toyota Tacoma. The vehicle raced from 70 miles per hour to 95 miles per hour in seconds with "no pedal contact" from the driver. Floor mats were properly secured, according to the lawsuit.