State of the Union June 7, 2011

June 7, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    Reminder: Applications are now being accepted for the 2011 Black Lake Summer Scholarship Session. The dates for these family sessions are July 10-15, July 17-22 and July 24-29. They begin on Sunday evening and conclude on Friday morning. Participants will fly into Detroit on the day before, stay at a hotel and take a chartered bus to Black Lake the next morning. All travel expenses will be paid but there will be no lost time. Applications are available at the Union Hall and the deadline is this Friday, June 10.
•    GM will invest $130 million to build an enterprise data center at its Technical Center campus in Warren, Mich., adding 25 high-tech jobs and expanding and renovating a former administrative building. Design is under way on the renovation and construction, with the final phase scheduled for completion in 2015.
•    From the Wall Street Journal: General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel Akerson is expected to say Tuesday that GM has cut its pension shortfall in half since 2009, leaving the auto maker's plan 90% funded, according to people familiar with the matter. The fund was underfunded by $17.1 billion at the end of 2009 and the obligations have been a major concern for investors in the company.
•    From Automotive News: Fiat S.p.A is in no rush to buy the remainder of Chrysler from a UAW trust fund and cannot be forced to launch a Chrysler IPO until 2013, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said yesterday. The Italian carmaker has increased its stake in Chrysler to 52 %. The UAW retiree health care trust fund, or VEBA, holds a 45.7 percent stake in the Detroit-based carmaker. Fiat also agreed to pay $75 million for the right to buy all of VEBA's stake for a capped "threshold amount" -- which was set at $4.25 billion in 2009, increasing at a 9 percent annual interest rate, so analysts say it has now risen to around $5 billion.
•    From the Detroit News: Mazda Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. said Monday they were in talks about the future of their joint Flat Rock plant as the Japanese automaker announced it wouldn't build its next-generation midsize carthere. Mazda didn't disclose its intentions regarding its troubled venture with Ford, but said the model that will replace the Mazda6 will be produced in Japan. A spokeswoman for Ford said the Flat Rock facility is "a critical plant" in the Dearborn automaker's manufacturing network. "Ford is currently working with Mazda and the United AutoWorkers to study options for the plant after Mazda6 production is moved," said Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans. The Flat Rock plant employs around 1,700 workers producing Ford Mustangs as well as Mazda6 sedans. But last year, the plant was operating at less than half of its capacity.
Part 2 of UAW President Bob King’s speech to the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce:
On behalf of the UAW, I can state that our union has learned many lessons from the crisis in the auto industry, and we have decided to adopt fundamental, radical change. We have reinvented our union. We have recognized that we can no longer take the same approaches we took 20, 10 or even five years ago. We are calling our new approach the “UAW of the 21st century.”

We no longer live in the same world in which the UAW grew up 75 years ago. The 20th century UAW existed in an era of a national industrial economy and a national marketplace. The 21st century UAW recognizes that auto companies face critical challenges in a global marketplace, and it is our mission to create conditions that will enable our employers to compete and succeed in order to best represent our members.

The 20th century UAW tried to find ways to achieve job security, such as job banks, that in the end did not achieve the result we were seeking. The 21st century UAW knows that the only true path to job security is by producing the best quality product, the safest product and the longest lasting product, at the best price.

Simply put, our highest priority is to join with our employers to produce the best quality products at the best value for consumers.

The 20th century UAW fell into a pattern with our employers where we saw each other as adversaries rather than partners. Mistrust became embedded in our relations, and as a result we signed onto ever more lengthy and complicated contracts with work rules and narrow job classifications that hindered flexibility and promoted a litigious and time-consuming grievance culture. The 21st century UAW seeks and expects a partnership with employers based on mutual respect, trust and common goals. In a global economy, flexibility, innovation and teamwork are paramount.

The 20th century UAW joined with the companies in a mindset that it was the company’s job to worry about profits, and the union’s job to worry about getting the workers’ their share. The 21st century UAW embraces as our own the success of our employers in order to achieve the economic and social success of our members, their families and our communities.

The 20th century UAW was not primarily focused on the needs of consumers, and we failed to champion forcefully or effectively enough the goals of preserving our environment for future generations through green manufacturing and green products.

The 21st century UAW makes as a priority the interests of consumer safety, energy efficiency and environmental protection.

The 20th century UAW reacted with hostility and resistance to the historic changes brought about by the globalization of the economy. The 21st century UAW is adopting a more nuanced and constructive approach to global trade and global development. We are committed to becoming citizens of the world and achieving trade that spreads prosperity and lessens poverty. We are also committed to saving and growing the American industrial base with good jobs in the United States.
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