July 13, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
There are three members up for recall that personnel has not been able to contact. If you know any of these people tell them to call 636-327-2302 as soon as possible. They are David King, Jennifer Tracy, and Rashad Boone.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Last Friday we were informed that the schedule for the remainder of the model year would be 10 hours or 441 units per day, as reported here. Unfortunately, since then the 11 hour days have continued. As with the previous schedule of 10.3 or 469 units per day, the daily production number has not been attained in the scheduled line time, resulting in extra overtime. (With a K-line conveyor speed of 51.7 jobs per hour, 441 vans could be built in about 9.7 hours if the line never stopped)
GeneralMotors Powertrain plants in Ohio and Indiana that make transmissions for Buick and Chevrolet models with eAssist fuel-saving technology will get the bulk of a $129 million investment GM announced Tuesday. Toledo, which earlier was targeted for a $204 investment, will get an additional $83 million for enhancements to a six-speed transmission already produced in the plant that will be used in the Buick Lacrosse beginning this fall and the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu debuting early next year. The new money will support addition or retention of 30 jobs at the plant that employs about 1,600. Bedford, which earlier was named for a $49 million investment, is receiving $32 million for enhancements to the die-cast case and torque converter on the six-speed transmission assembled in Toledo. Bedford’s employment of 405 is unchanged by the new investment. Separately, an investment of $15 million to $20 million is planned that will retain 60 jobs at the GM Components Holding plant in Wyoming, Mich. The investment will support various powertrain projects. “Cars that get exceptional gas mileage are selling well in the United States,” added Joe Ashton, vice president of the UAW, GM Department. “Today’s announcement provides an opportunity for our members to build the next generation of vehicles that will offer our customers improved fuel economy. We are proud of the broad array of high mileage, low emission vehicles that UAW members build for GM.”
From WardsAuto: GM Korea’s tentative labor agreement, reached Tuesday and still subject to worker ratification, calls for a basic salary increase of 78,828 won ($75) per month, a 4 million won ($3,800) performance bonus and a 1-time special bonus of 2.5 million won ($2,400), a company spokesman tells Ward’s.“The company also will pay workers a 0.5 million won ($469) lump sum at the end of the year, when quality targets have been met,” he says. “The bonuses proposed by management total 7 million won ($6,565).” The labor agreement is subject to ratification votes at all GM Korea plant locations on Wednesday and Thursday.
From Automotive News: The 750 hourly auto workers assembling Ford Motor Co.'s small pickup truck at a Minnesota plant scheduled to close by year end are hoping for a miracle in the upcoming labor talks between the UAW and the U.S. automaker. However, the members of United Auto Workers Local 879, which represents workers at the Ford plant in St. Paul, are not holding their breath even as they build the Ranger truck. While the St. Paul plant's fate may seem all but sealed, it is among six U.S. auto assembly plants considered "on the bubble" for a change in status. The fate of those plants and their jobs will be a hot topic during the talks, which are scheduled to begin with Ford, General Motors and Chrysler Group LLC the week of July 25. Three of the plants in question, including St. Paul, make vehicles the companies expect to discontinue, two have no product currently to assemble and one is down to a single shift with excess capacity. Three of those plants are owned by GM. Three are owned by Ford. Chrysler, which is managed by Fiat, has no plants likely to be affected by this year's talks. The GM plants are in Spring Hill, Tenn., Shreveport, La., and Janesville, Wis. "The real big deal for the union is going to be jobs," said Art Schwartz, a former GM labor official and now a labor consultant. "They are going to try to keep Shreveport open. They are going to try to get Spring Hill reopened. It's an uphill battle. I don't know how successful they'll be." Schwartz said that GM will put a product in Spring Hill only if demand for the company's vehicles continues to rebound after the recession to the point it can put two shifts at the plant while keeping inventory levels at desirable levels. The large Ford E-Series vans, now made at a plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, are also on the bubble, said Kristin Dziczek, director of labor and industry at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Econolines are getting "long in the tooth" and while Ford has not said it will stop making the vans, there is much speculation about their future and that of the plant west of Cleveland, said Dziczek. (there was no mention of Shreveport or the Colorado/Canyon in this article beyond identifying it as a “bubble” plant)
From the Detroit Free Press: The UAW, which is concerned about how automaker profits, jobs and wages could be impacted by higher fuel economy standards, met with Detroit automakers Tuesday to discuss regulations proposed by the Obama administration. The automakers, UAW and the National Automobile Dealers Association have argued that the proposed corporate average fuel economy standard of 56.2 m.p.g. would add thousands of dollars to the cost of vehicles and eliminate jobs assembling larger and heavier vehicles such as full-size pickups and SUVs.
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