Feb 25, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
There will be a bake sale on Monday, Feb. 28 at the Suggestion Office from 8 am until they are sold out. During the day there will also be free suggestion items given out. Proceeds will go to this year’s Make-A-Wish dream.
Pundits everywhere are weighing in on GM’s financial results that were announced yesterday. Here are some of their comments:
"Their recovery has been fueled by significant cost-cutting, arrival of new products that consumers were seeking along with better management of incentives and supply," said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insight at TrueCar.com, which tracks industry pricing and sales. "The sky is the limit for G.M. after becoming profitable at this low of a sales pace."
Morningstar analyst David Whiston said even a sizeable shift to small cars won't halt future profits. "As long as GM is structured to make money at a 10.5 million [U.S. industry annual sales rate], they will be printing money," he said.
Daniel Howes, Detroit News: "Here's an automaker that generated $2.4 billion in automotive cash flow, cut its debt to $4.6 billion from $15.8 billion, reported net income of $500 million for the final three months of last year and a $4.7 billion profit for the full year — its first since 2004 — and still investors pounded GM shares down to their initial public offering price of roughly $33. That says as much about a nagging feeling that the more GM changes, the more it is bedeviled by some of the same problems, as does the volatile economy, The Street and its infantile attention span.
Tom Walsh, Detroit Free Press: "Making solid profit in a soft market is quite a comeback. But as the last few weeks have shown, the world remains a volatile place. The auto industry will remain hyper-competitive."
Kelly Blue Book revealed their top 10 choices for best family vehicles. The Chevy Suburban was rated first and the Chevy Traverse was third. There were no Toyota vehicles in the rankings.
Why Americans Support Union Rights: 5 theories
New York – A clear majority of Americans back the kind of collective bargaining rights that Gov. Scott Walker is trying to strip from Wisconsin labor unions, says a Gallup poll. Why? It's still unclear who will prevail in Wisconsin's stand-off over labor union rights — but the American people seem to have chosen which side they're on. According to a USA Today/Gallup poll, 61 percent of Americans would oppose a law in their state taking away the collective bargaining power of public employee unions. Just 33 percent said they would support such a law. The public was more evenly split on labor unions themselves — 46 percent said they were "harmful" to states, while 45 percent said they were "helpful." The poll appears to show, says USA Today, that "Americans are reluctant to take away something that unions have already." Why?
1. Americans support fundamental rights for workers
Even a "sizable chunk" of Republicans are opposed to rolling back bargaining rights, says Greg Sargent at The Washington Post. Four in ten (41 percent) say they wouldn't support such a law. That's a sign that this argument has become about "fundamental workers' rights," not labor union greed. And there's still "bipartisan consensus" backing workers' rights.
2. Republicans are perceived as the aggressors
The union support may in part be down to "what chess players call zugswang," says Nate Silver at The New York Times. That's when the "first mover or perceived aggressor" — in this case, Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) — is at a disadvantage. Any move to tackle the deficit is likely to be "fairly unpopular." Because Walker moved first, he may bear the brunt of the criticism.
3. Americans like school teachers
While some on the right are content to see the Wisconsin protesters as union thugs, says Michael Tomasky at The Guardian, it's clear that most Americans view them simply as working folks, just like themselves. "Most people just don't hate school teachers, and aren't going to be worked up into a frenzy against them, and don't think them greedy either."
4. Citizens suspect political motives
Americans see through Scott Walker's plan, says Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice, and are "turned off by what is now appearing to be a clearly political move." To many voters, what's going on in Wisconsin — and around the country — does not pass "the smell test." It reeks of a political power play.
5. The poll is confusing
The Gallup poll asked voters if they supported collective bargaining rights, says Adam Geller at The Huffington Post, rather than just collective bargaining. That might cause respondents to confuse the issue with workers rights — a very different thing — making the survey "less balanced than is the norm for a Gallup poll."
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