Jan. 4, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
There will be a Veterans Committee meeting Wednesday, Jan. 5 at the Union Hall 15 minutes after first shift. We have been informed that the plant has a new digital security camera system that is now capable of zooming in on every corner of every parking lot in high definition. The UAW/GM Lifesteps program will be in the cafeteria Tuesday, Jan. 4 and Wednesday, Jan. 5 from 8 am – 11:30 am and 2 pm – 5 pm. This month’s topic is nutrition.
From the Wall Street Journal:
The United Auto Workers union said it is prepared to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in a bid to organize employees, including a new push for hourly factory workers at foreign-owned car plants in the U.S. UAW President Bob King signaled in an interview the union is willing to take a much less confrontational approach to foreign car makers than it did decades ago in battles to become established at the Big Three. But if the companies don't agree to a set of rules being promoted by the union to ensure what it calls free and fair union elections, he indicated the fight could turn nasty—and global. The UAW, he said, would hold demonstrations at the corporate headquarters of these companies outside the U.S. as well as at their U.S. plants. In addition, it would picket their dealerships in the U.S. and abroad, and sports events globally that are sponsored by the car companies. Mr. King said he will tap the union's strike fund of more than $800 million for the push, calling it the best way to protect his current membership. "We have, in many ways, pretty deep pockets in terms of what we're willing to spend," said Mr. King, adding that the union already approved spending $60 million on organizing at its convention in June. "We have really unlimited resources to devote to this. It's unlike anything that's been seen in the UAW in many, many years." The new strategy under Mr. King, a lawyer by training who was elected to the union's top job last summer, is built on a set of 11 principles to be presented to the targeted companies. The principles, which were made available to the Journal, including pledges to refrain from coercion, intimidation and threats to workers from either side. Another provision calls for both union and management to avoid promising better wages or benefits based on a worker's vote for or against the UAW.
December sales numbers are coming out and General Motors reported 223,932 total sales, a 16-percent increase from a year ago for the company’s four brands. The gain was driven by solid retail sales which were 27 percent higher than a strong December a year ago. For the calendar year, total sales for GM’s four brands increased 21 percent to 2,202,927, while retail sales rose 16 percent for the year. GM’s four brands sold 118,435 more vehicles this year than the company did with eight brands in 2009, and will gain total and retail market share for the year. Regarding van sales, they came in at 7624, up 22.8% over last December. For the year, sales came in at 73,695, up 10.9% over 2009. More details to come.
General Motors sales in China rose 29% last year to a record 2.35 million vehicles, making GM the first foreign auto maker to surpass the two-million-unit mark for annual sales in the country, the Detroit-based company said. GM's sales last year came as the auto maker introduced 11 new or upgraded models in China, which is now GM's largest market. Sales of Chevrolet, one of GM's best-selling brands in China, increased 63% to 543,709 vehicles.
Bright Automotive announced it is hiring 200 people to fill various positions which include vehicle and manufacturing engineering in the areas of design, body, interior, chassis, electrical, powertrain and vehicle development as well as key business functions such as supply chain management, information technology, sales, marketing and finance. To refresh your memory, the IDEA is a commercial fleet van with an all-electric range of 40 miles. After that distance it turns into a conventional hybrid, in which it gets about 40 mpg, according to Bright, who has also applied for a $450 million low-interest loan from the Department of Energy to help mass produce the IDEA. No launch date has been set.
From Bloomberg News: Daimler AG, the maker of Mercedes- Benz cars, predicts U.S. sales of its commercial vans this year will match 2009 deliveries after distribution was shifted to luxury retailers from truck-savvy Dodge dealers. Sprinter’s U.S. sales through November at Mercedes and Freightliner dealerships fell a combined 8.1 percent compared with the same period last year at Dodgeand Freightliner stores, according to Autodata Corp., a Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based researcher. U.S. Mercedesdealers sold 3,917 Sprinter vans during the first 11 months while deliveries by Freightliner outlets more than tripled to 3,263. A year earlier, more than 300 Dodge dealers accounted for 87 percent of the 7,817 sold. A total of 8,353 Sprinter vans were sold last year through Dodge and Freightliner stores in the U.S., according to Mercedes, part of Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler.
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