Dec. 17, 2010 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
· Reminder: There will be Christmas parties today after work at Maggie Malones, 990 Wentzville Parkway (the annual chassis party with free eats, drink specials and door prizes) and at Heroes on the south outer road in Lake Saint Louis (drink and food specials to 10 pm and raffles). Everyone is welcome.
· Thanks to your generous donations for our laid off members we were able to use the money left over from Thanksgiving and provide Christmas hams to 60 families.
· Today is the last day to enroll any 26 year-old children on your health care plan. To do so you need to call the National Benefits Center at 1-800 489-4646 and follow the prompts to health and insurance.
· Management has released a revised schedule for January. The daily schedule will be 10.3 hours off of K-line Monday through Friday with 1/7, 1/21 and 1/28 being the scheduled Fridays.
· From Automotive News: Honda Motor Co. said it would recall about 1.35 million Fit subcompacts globally to repair defective wiring in the headlights. Subject to the recall are Fit cars built at Honda's Suzuka factory in Japan between November 2001 and October 2007. About 735,000 units will be recalled in Japan. Honda will also recall 143,000 Fits exported to the United States.
· From the Detroit Free Press: Chrysler is recalling 367,350 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans from the 2008 model year because water leaks could cause air bags to inflate inadvertently. Dealers can fix the problem by replacing a heating and cooling drain grommet, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which posted the recall on its Web site today.
· From Automotive News: General Motors Co.'s Saturn Ion is being investigated by U.S. auto-safety regulators following at least 633 complaints about sudden loss of power steering. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating about 384,000 Ions from model years 2004 to 2007, after reports of crashes involving injuries, the agency said today on its website. The agency said it received four reports of crashes involving the defect, one of which resulted in an injury. “Customers who have those vehicles have been notified,” said Alan Adler, a spokesman for GM. “And if they have loss of power-steering assist, they can go to dealers and have that repaired.”
From the International Union UAW: Here are some facts about the renegotiated U.S. Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA):
Why does the UAW support the 2010 KORUS FTA now when it didn’t support the 2007 agreement?
The UAW believes the renegotiated 2010 agreement gives far better protection to our UAW members than the 2007 agreement because it will protect current American auto jobs and grow more American auto jobs. The KORUS FTA also includes labor and environmental commitments, as well as important enforcement mechanisms. We also believe that if we did not get actively engaged before the Republican majority took control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January, then the Republicans would have advocated for the 2007 Bush-negotiated agreement with NO safeguards for our members.
How does the 2010 agreement give UAW members more protection than the 2007 agreement?
· AUTO TARIFFS: The 2010 agreement delays implementation of the tariff reductions on autos. The 2007 agreement would have immediately eliminated U.S. tariffs on automobiles and most auto parts. The 2010 agreement keeps the 2.5 percent U.S. tariff in place until the fifth year after the FTA goes into effect.
· LIGHT TRUCK TARIFFS: The 2007 agreement would have required the United States to start reducing our 25 percent tariff on Korean pickups immediatelyand eliminated it by year 10 of the agreement. The 2010 agreement allows the United States to maintain the full 25 percent tariff until the eighth year and then phases it out by the tenth year.
Does the 2010 agreement open the Korean markets to our U.S.-made vehicles better than the 2007 agreement?
· LIGHT TRUCK TARIFFS: Korea is required to keep to its original commitment to eliminate its 10 percent tariff on U.S.-made trucks immediately.
· ELECTRIC CAR TARIFFS: The 2007 agreement would have eliminated tariffs on electric cars and plug-in hybrids by year 10. Under the 2010 agreement, Korea will immediately reduce its electric car tariffs from 8 percent to 4 percent, and will phase out their tariff by year five of the agreement.
· SAFETY STANDARDS: New in the 2010 agreement is a provision that allows for 25,000 U.S.-made vehicles per U.S. automaker to be imported into Korea provided they meet U.S. federal safety standards. In the past, Korean safety standards have been used as a way to prevent the export of U.S. vehicles to Korea. After reaching 25,000 U.S. vehicles, additional U.S. vehicles are allowed to be imported into Korea if they meet, or are modified to meet, the Korean safety standards.
· AUTOMOTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS: Also new under the 2010 agreement, all U.S. autos will be considered compliant with Korean environmental standards on fuel economy and emissions. This has also been a barrier to the export of American vehicles to Korea.
Is there a limit to the number of Korean cars that can be imported to the U.S.?
· SAFEGUARDS: The KORUS FTA has a first ever, auto specific safeguard provision to protect against “surges” of Korean vehicles that harm the domestic auto industry. The safeguard goes into effect when the tariff reductions begin. The UAW, the domestic auto companies or the U.S. government may initiate a case under the new provision by petitioning the International Trade Commission (ITC). The process is similar to the one the Steelworkers successfully used in the case involving Chinese tires. The remedy for a finding of injury is the “snapback” to the original tariff levels prior to implementation of the FTA.
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