State of the Union May 6, 2011

May 6, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
•GM announced three recalls yesterday. One involved our van. The issue is possible brake fluid leaks on 8,723 2011 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans per a GM statement. GM sahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifid of the total, 7,593 on the vans in the United States may be out of compliance with the applicable federal motor vehicle safety standard. No crashes or injuries are associated with this issue. The other recalls involve proper installation of the intermediate steering shaft that covers 154,112 Cruze models built in Lordstown, Ohio, and sold in the United States and Canada. There are 120,295 vehicles in that population with an automatic transmission that will be inspected for proper installation of the transmission shift linkage. Unsold vehicles on dealer lots also will be inspected. And finally, a nut on the windshield wiper motor crank arm on certain 2011 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks may not be tightened to specification. A loose nut could make the wipers inoperative, which could reduce driver visibility. A total of 6,303 vehicles are involved, including 4,674 in the United States. There are no known crashes or injuries. GM VP of Global Quality Terry Woychowski had this to say about the Cruze recall: “While there were very few incidents involving the Cruze, none are acceptable. We will do everything possible to give customers peace of mind about the quality of their vehicles.”

•GM announced it will invest $131 million in the Bowling Green Assembly plant to support production of the next generation Chevrolet Corvette, adding about 250 jobs. The plant in Bowling Green is scheduled to continue building the current generation Corvette for at least the next two model years, including the 2012 model year that begins this summer. During this period, the investment starts to take effect, preparing the facility for the next-generation Corvette. Nearly 400 production workers, represented by the UAW Local 2164, assemble these vehicles on a one-shift, 10-hour, Monday-Thursday production schedule. The plant employs many specialized operations, including unique hand-crafted techniques. The plant schedule is 79 units in a 10-hour shift.

•For the first time in several months, GM actually sold fewer vehicles in China than the U.S. Sales declined 4.6% to 203,367 as compared to 232,538 vehicles sold here. For the first four months this year GM has sold 888,950 vehicles in China and 825,083 in the U.S.


Revive middle class by taxing rich by UAW President Bob King
When I think of the middle class, what comes to mind isn't so much a particular income group, but a vision for our society and economy. A middle-class society isn't polarized between a handful of the very rich and a mass of the desperately poor, and its politics aren't driven by fear and selfishness. An economy that works for the middle class offers jobs for all who are able to work, with pay and benefits that support a decent standard of living now, a rising standard of living in the future and a secure retirement. An economy that works for the middle class takes care of those members of society who are unable to work. It provides quality public services — good schools for every child, access to parks and green spaces, clean air and water, affordable health care and arts and culture for all — and makes smart investments in the future. That's our vision, and we are proud of what our union has done to turn that vision into a reality. The American middle class was built by workers' struggles. It was expanded and made more inclusive by the struggles of the civil rights movement. UAW members played an important role in both struggles.
Unfortunately, our vision of a strong, expanding and inclusive middle class is under attack. It's under attack in state capitols and in Washington, where the budget proposal passed by House Republicans is an assault on working families, the elderly and the poor. Unbelievably, their proposal couples devastating cuts in Medicare for future retirees, food assistance for the poor and Pell grants for low-income college students with new tax breaks for the very rich.
Those cuts are as unnecessary as they are wrong. The list of profitable corporations that have whittled their U.S. tax bills down to little or nothing is long and shameful, but these corporate tax dodgers are just the tip of the iceberg.
In the 1950s, on average, corporate income taxes amounted to nearly 5 percent of our Gross Domestic Product. Last year, they came to just 1.3 percent. In an economy our size, that's a difference of hundreds of billions of dollars. Why, then, are we attacking teachers' pensions and cutting education funding for our children? Why are cuts in Head Start even on the table?
And why does our tax code treat income from buying and selling assets more favorably than income from working? The top rate on the wages of the highest earners is currently 35 percent (down from 39.6 percent in the 1990s). But, if you're really, really rich, chances are you make far more from investments than from your paycheck. In 2007, the 400 richest taxpayers (average income: $345 million) received just 6.5 percent of their income from wages. The bulk came from capital gains, taxed at a maximum rate of just 15 percent. If the capital gains on those 400 tax returns had been taxed at the 35 percent rate that applies to wage income, it would have brought in $18 billion in revenue. That's enough to provide Pell grants to more than 3 million students for college education. Rebuilding the middle class is all about priorities.