State of the Union January 21, 2011

Jan. 21, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: Management has agreed to delay the layoff of 10 employees until Friday, Feb. 11(the layoff was originally scheduled for Jan. 28). These extra weeks will entitle them to additional health care benefits

Everyone should have received a handout about the VAP (overnight drive) program. If not, contact your group leader. You need to fill out the entry form on the bottom and drop it in the box in the cafeteria. The deadline to submit entries is Friday, Jan. 28. This year, winners will have the vehicle for two nights instead of one. Also, there will be a raffle for the vehicles over the third weekend of February (which will be extended because of the off-day that Friday to 5 days) to benefit this year’s Make-A-Wish dream. Ticket sales will begin Tuesday, Feb. 1. Tickets will be $5 or 3 for $10.

From USA Today: Nissan is looking to jump start its first commercial truck sales by offering companies free graphics slathered on the sides of their Nissan delivery vans. "We're taking an innovative approach to offering...custom exterior graphics right from the launch of the exciting new Nissan NV," said Joe Castelli, vice president, Nissan Commercial Vehicles. "We know commercial vehicle buyers customize their vehicles to meet their business needs, and we want to be part of the solution for them." The deal is being put to companies that buy or lease a new Nissan NV1500, NV2500 HD or NV3500 HD commercial van. The no-charge upgrade program is offered through Nissan Commercial Vehicle dealers to qualified commercial businesses. Prices start at $24,590.(ed. Note: While there has been much coverage of the launch of this van, there have been no sales estimates offered by Nissan. They have only lined up 250 dealers to sell them. The van offers only one wheelbase, two engine choices, and no 60/40 door option on either side. They are banking heavily on a pickup-cab interior and a high roof option.)

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne had this to say when asked about the level of fleet versus retail sales for the compact Dodge Caliber: "To call the Caliber a retail vehicle would be an absolute abomination. It's not true," he said. "But when you tell me, 'Buddy your C-segment car is the Caliber' and it's the only thing I've got and then you want me to tell you how many of those are fleet, that's the day I would prefer to slash my wrists."

Here’s the final part of UAW President Bob King’s speech to the Automotive News Congress seminar:
If a company makes the business decision to engage in anti-union activity and suppress the rights of freedom of speech and assembly, we will launch a global campaign to brand that company as a human rights violator. We are joining with our sister unions in the U.S. and around the world, friends and allies in the U.S. and around the world, and together we will wage a united front to expose and publicize any auto company whose aim is the destruction of the right to organize and the institution of collective bargaining.

We are establishing the UAW Global Organizing Institute whose mission is to recruit young people and other activists to demonstrate globally on behalf of Workers’ Right to Organize Unions.

We do not want to fight with any company. We want to help companies produce the best cars for the best value. We do not want an adversarial relationship. We seek common ground and common goals. We do not want to spend all of our resources to defend the rights of workers to organize; we would rather spend our resources helping to fund innovation and training and collaborative projects.

We do not want to fight, but we will not run from a fight. The UAW will not rest until workers in the United States and globally are guaranteed their First Amendment right to organize and bargain collectively.

Unions are vital to democracy. Unions are essential to social justice. Like any social institution, unions are not perfect. But unions are the sole vehicle throughout history by which working people have gained a voice on the job and a decent standard of living. Just as the UAW helped to build the American middle class, the UAW will now work to build a global middle class. The interests of American workers are inextricably linked to the aspirations and uplifting of the world’s poor.
The best way to achieve global prosperity and as a result global peace is to support workers rights to organize and collectively bargain. We see this need dramatically in China, India, Bangladesh, Mexico, and many other parts of the world.

In conclusion I want to emphasize what we see as the fundamental question of this moment in history. The question is not whether unions are perfect. We are not. The question is not whether management would prefer to operate without a union. No doubt, many managers would. The fundamental question is a question of freedom and democracy: whether societies will allow workers who want unions to form unions. The UAW will not rest until that freedom is secured for workers in America and throughout the world.

We are saying to global corporations that the best moral decision AND the best business decision is to work with the UAW and to respect workers democratic right to choose to form their local union or not to! If management and labor in the automotive industry work together we can create a strong global middle class just as the UAW and automotive companies created the U.S. middle class. I believe this is our calling, this is our opportunity: We will together build a better world by together building a global middle class.