Jan. 18, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship program was a great success Saturday. A total of 34 students received awards for their essays that equaled $12,600 this year.(since its inception, the Scholarship program has given out $214,000!) The Civil Rights and Martin Luther King steering committees did another outstanding job in coordinating this event. An inspirational speech was given by Bishop Dr. Lawerence Wooten, who said, “Good, better, best. Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best.” Also, yesterday was the 33rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. human rights award banquet, sponsored by the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU). There were 14 of our members who belong to the CBTU in attendance of this celebration. Thanks to all who donated their time and money to these great causes.
Reminder: Union meeting is tomorrow, Jan. 19 at 1 pm, 3 pm, and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
Many of you saw the short article in last Thursday’s Post Dispatch alluding to profit sharing payments for Ford and GM workers. The article cited a NY Times estimate of $5000 for Ford employees and less for GM workers. A Ford official told the Detroit Free Press that the New York Times estimate is too high. In a statement, Ford said, "It is too early to talk yet about the calculation of possible profit sharing payments. Amounts are based upon full year financial results, which are still being finalized, and the current profit sharing formula." GM North American President Mark Reuss said, "I want to make sure we're paying our employees not for effort, but results and performance. When we perform and we have good results, then every employee in this company ought to know that we're going to do good things for them on a pay basis." A Ford spokesperson said they expect to release the profit sharing amount “soon”. No word from GM on timing of an announcement.
From Automotive News: As a lack of production capacity restrains its growth, Hyundai will consider a second U.S. assembly plant. "That's something that we're going to look at," John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America CEO, said last week at the Detroit auto show. "We'll look at how we do in 2011 and make our decision probably after this year." Executives expect continued strong demand for the Sonata and redesigned Elantra that went on sale last month. Both are built at Hyundai's plant in Montgomery, Ala. The Alabama plant, which produced 300,500 vehicles in 2010, already is at full capacity. It's running two 10-hour shifts five days a week and weekend shifts "whenever possible," Krafcik said.
Part two of UAW President Bob King’s speech to the Automotive News Congress:
Working with the UAW is a smart business decision. Every day in every way, the UAW is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to help our employers through innovation, flexibility, continuous cost-saving, quality, and productivity.
With our unionized employers, we have created a culture of trust, teamwork and openness. We have completely discarded the outdated remnants of the “us versus them” mentality that resulted in rigid work rules and narrow job classifications. We have dramatically reduced classifications -- many facilities only have one main production classification. Our members like and embrace the challenge and the flexibility. An observer coming into many of our plants and talking to an employee can't tell which worker belongs to management and which worker is a member of the union because we are all focused on producing the highest quality and best value for customers.
This is all indicative of the UAW’s commitment to taking the high road in all of our dealings with the corporate community. Our mindset is not adversarial. We do not seek conflict. Our agenda is a positive one of shared responsibility and shared prosperity. We do not believe the United States can successfully compete in the global economy if we are divided and polarized.
Our positive and constructive approach and outlook extends to our attitude towards the foreign-owned non-union automakers. We take note of the fact that all of the German, Japanese and Korean automakers have a long history of recognizing and working with unions in their home countries. These relationships show that the transnational companies operating in the United States accept the fundamental right of workers to organize. We want to restart our relationship with these companies by presenting them with an ethical framework that states that American workers have the same right to form unions as the workers in their home countries. American workers, after all, are NOT second-class global citizens.
We call this ethical framework the UAW Principles for Fair Union Elections. This document embodies common sense principles inherent in any democratic election. The underlying principle is that the right to organize a union is a fundamental human right. Workers cannot exercise this right in an atmosphere of fear. Therefore, there must be no threats, intimidation or coercion -- explicit or implicit -- in order to gain votes. Employees have the right to hear equally from both sides. If management gives a 10-minute speech, then the union can give a 10-minute speech. If management posts a notice, the union can post a notice in the same location. Neither party should demonize or disparage the other or engage in untruths. If employees vote to unionize, the parties should promptly bargain for a fair, responsible agreement that keeps the employer competitive. The UAW commits to being a strong partner in making the company competitive and successful.
We have reached out to the non-union auto companies in a spirit of respect to ask that they agree to these principles. We hope that they do, and if so, we look forward to engaging their employees in a free, democratic election process free of acrimony, tension, fear and discord. If employees make a free choice not to join the UAW, we will of course respect that decision, and hope that in the future we will make a better case for the importance of a union for all autoworkers. If the employees do vote to unionize, the UAW will add value and do everything within our power to make the company competitive and successful
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