Dec. 9, 2010 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
Rumor control: Management presented a proposal at the Key 4 meeting for a shelf agreement to help secure a new product. The Shop Committee is reviewing this proposal. Nobody’s wages or seniority will be affected by this proposal.
Here is the monthly marketing report from Sales and Marketing Manager Andrew Reyntjes: We exceeded our Retail, Fleet and Total objectives for Savana and Express and overall came in at 127% of our corporate objective. In this respect it was a good month however, we lost 4.48% points of share from last month and are down 3.36 percentage points of share on a CYTD basis from last November. Ford is up 3.8 percentage points from last month and up 3.7 percentage points CYTD. We are going to need to wait a couple of months for Polk registration data to be available to see exactly where (Retail or Fleet) the market share went. It may have been a large Ford Fleet delivery or it may have been an issue with the fact that we had a late (model change) and at the beginning of the month had 70% of our Retail stock as 2010 models selling against Ford 2011 models. Our incentives were focused on this problem and did a good job in beginning to fix the 2010 : 2011 stock ratio. If we look at Retail Cargo models on a CYTD basis we have 49% share. For Cutaways we have 30% share and for Passenger models we have 37% share. We have an issue here in the fact that we make significantly more Retail CM (contribution margin) on a passenger vans yet out of the 3338 Chevrolet dealers there are only 620 on a dealer lot available for sale. We are presently developing plans to attack the passenger van part of the business. Our plans involve everything from grassroots customer promotions, adding appropriate content such as running boards, energizing the Chevrolet division and dealers and even some targeted incentives. We know from Polk SIC data that we are being beaten on sales to Mobility, Passenger Transport Arrangement, Charitable Organizations, Religious Organizations, Hospitals, Aged Care Facilities and Schools and Universities. We are also working through our Engineering organization to combat a white paper written by NHTSA over a decade ago that tested a competitive 15 passenger van that had a long rear overhang, lack of safety features and terrible stability and crash issues. While our van is superior in every way including stability, design and safety unfortunately all 15 passenger vans were tarred with the same brush. Many organizations still have policies based on this white-paper, many have trouble getting affordable insurance based on this out of date white-paper too. For the last several months we have been eagerly awaiting the outcome of discussions with our Engineering staff that manage the NHTSA relationship. I am sure that we can increase sales and perceptions if a revised white-paper or grading could be conducted on our van. We can make this work for us in our marketing and promotion plans next year. It is a big sales and CM opportunity.
The St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) announced Tuesday a new training program that will help to align the local workforce with the needs of the growing green economy. The program is made possible by a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) grant received by the United Auto Workers – Labor Employment and Training Corporation (UAW-LETC) with support from the United Auto Workers Region 5, and a partnership between UAW-LETC, the State of Missouri, St. Louis County, St. Charles County and St. Louis Community College.
This program is a result of President Obama’s initiative to transition our country to sustainable energy, clean environment, and to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. Furthermore, a recent Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) report identified Energy Solutions as one of Missouri’s high-growth industries, with 700 businesses and 9,000 workers currently and employment growing at a rate of 54% (from 1995-2008) as opposed to 4% for the overall economy*. The state of Missouri has pledged to attract, develop and retain a workforce with the education and skills needed to succeed in a 21st-century economy. Training will be offered at no cost to eligible job seekers. They will be able to receive a Certification in the following occupations:
• Energy Technician
• Environmental Technician
• Green Manufacturing Process Technician
• Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technician
Classes will take place Monday through Thursday/Friday between 7:00 a.m. and 5 p.m. For a complete class schedule and location listing please visit their website at www.stlworks.com.
Who is eligible?
All adults age 18 or over are eligible. Candidates need a certain minimum level of academic achievement in order to qualify. To see all course requirements, visit www.stlworks.com. All candidates are required to enroll in the Missouri Career Center system and take a WIN assessment.
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