State of the Union January 25, 2011

Jan. 25, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com


The production schedule for February has been released. There are two Fridays off – 2/4 and 2/25. Daily line time, including Fridays, is 10.3 off of the K-line with a target of 469 a day.

From Benefits: Retroactive to January 1, 2011 coverage under the Health Care Program for Hourly Employees as it relates to eligible adult dependent children up to age 26 (through the end of the month in which they turn age 26) will also include dental and vision. All employees who are currently covering dependents age 19 up to age 26 for medical coverage will have dental and vision coverage automatically added to their account retroactive to January 1, 2011. Additional information will be mailed to eligible active hourly participants homes in early February.

The third shift that is being added at Flint is not related to a new product. GM North America President Mark Reuss said a pickup in housing and construction projects encouraged the company to boost production of its rugged work trucks. "Adding a third shift is a response to customer demand for heavy-duty pickups, which most people use to tow, haul and plow." GM estimates 750 new jobs will be added (the current Flint line-speed is 30 jobs per hour). No hiring is expected as a result of this announcement.

From the Wall Street Journal: A disastrous recall in 2010 meant Toyota Motor was unable to make the most of a recovering U.S. auto market. This year, its heavy dependence on manufacturing in Japan could limit the company's potential again. Because of Toyota's still heavy dependence on Japan as a production base, not all of the projected sales growth will find its way back to the bottom line. It imports a third of the cars it sells in the U.S., while rival Honda Motors imports only 13%, making it far less exposed to currency swings. Assuming an exchange rate of 80 yen to the dollar, it will cost Toyota 600,000 yen ($7,500) more to manufacture a vehicle in Japan than in North America in the fiscal year starting in April, CLSA figures. With an estimated two million units of exports next year from Japan, that will translate to nearly $15 billion in additional costs.

VAP – overnight drive update: First of all, there is good news: we will have one of our vans added to the fleet. It will be an 8-passenger, all-wheel drive version with a slider door. Since this is a late addition and the choice is not indicated on the entry forms, the 7th name to be drawn out each day will receive the van. You all should have received the handout covering the VAP program. You need to complete the entry forms and return them in the drop box in the cafeteria. There are no collection boxes at the entrances as stated on the handout. If you need an entry form, contact your group leader. The deadline for submitting entries is this Friday, Jan. 28. The drawing will be held on Monday, Jan. 31.

From Automotive News: Antsy Nissan Leaf customers are voicing impatience with the electric vehicle's slower-than-slow U.S. rollout. In December, when the car was launched, Nissan dealers delivered only 19 Leafs to eagerly waiting buyers. But Nissan says the problem is with customer communication, not production. "There is no production delay," says Katherine Zachary, a Nissan North America spokeswoman. "We didn't do a great job communicating about the delivery process with all of our customers." (Let’s see, there are supposedly 20,000 paying customers waiting for a car who can’t get one and it’s not a production problem?)

From the Detroit Free Press: A one-week shutdown at Ford's Dearborn TruckPlant is a symptom of a broader issue facing parts suppliers who are struggling to keep up with increased production demands as the industry recovers, Ford and industry sources said. The 3,000 hourly and salaried workers at Ford's Dearborn Truck plant will be off this week because of a parts shortage affecting engine production for Ford's F-Series pickups at the company's engine plant in Brook Park, Ohio. Although the Ohio plant isn't shut this week, Mike Gammella, president of UAW Local 1250 that represents the engine plant workers, said there have been sporadic one-day shutdowns because of parts shortages from a handful of suppliers. "Suppliers took a lot of capacity out to get through the downturn," said Ford spokesman Todd Nissen. "As volumes have increased for our new, high-volume products, suppliers have had some issues keeping up." Both Nissen and the UAW declined to identify the suppliers or the exact parts.

From Bloomberg News: General Motors Co. Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson plans to double the 2012 production capacity for the Chevrolet Volt to 120,000 as he works to boost the plug-in hybrid's sales, said two people familiar with the matter. Volt output this year may increase to 25,000 from an original plan of 10,000, Akerson said earlier this month. GM now is working with suppliers to raise 2012 capacity from an earlier target of 60,000. It may not build that many if parts aren't available or demand isn't strong enough, said the people, who didn't want to be named because the plans are private.