State of the Union August 31, 2011

August 31, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    Reminder: Tomorrow is a VR blackout day. Tuesday, Sept. 6 is the holiday pay qualifying day and a VR blackout day. Also, today is the deadline for getting your entries in for the Women’s Committee golf tournament to be held Saturday, Sept. 10.
•    Here are some notes from the diagonal slice meeting with Diana Tremblay:
A question was asked about the future of this plant regarding second shift and another product.

Diana Tremblay said that when GM went through bankruptcy the company sized the manufacturing footprint so that all of the plants left would be on three shifts (except Bowling Green because of the specialty of the Corvette) So the future of Wentzville is three shifts. The question is when does the market come to drive the additional shifts. The market has not come back as strong as we had expected. As far as second shift here you are right on the edge and she thanked everyone for working the crazy hours to build the vans the market is asking for. She said the intention of her visit was never to announce a second shift and that GM would be very cautious in adding a shift because they don’t want to have to undo it.

A question was asked about the future of the van and if the new fuel economy requirements would have any impact on it.

Diana Tremblay said that there are different standards for cars and trucks so there is a future for the van. There will also be credits for battery use in powertrains and other technology that will help offset the lower mpg products. GM will be OK with the product portfolio we now have, although the trucks like the Suburban and Tahoe that are not work vehicles will be a little trickier. She said we will build the van as far as she can see into the future. There will be a model change in 2016 and she expects the Ford Econoline to drop out of the market in a couple of years so we will be the only game in town.

A question was asked about money for plant improvements.

Diana Tremblay said the GM has protected more money for future plant investments to maintain their facilities. She acknowledged that there has been little money invested here in the past few years and that there is money for the plant now and she is working hard to protect that money.


•    Diana Tremblay also had some conversations with several members in Trim. Team leader Roger Spradley in HVAC was asked to compare being a TL when we built cars versus now with the van. He said that in the car days he had more people and fewer responsibilities and now he had fewer people and more responsibilities. She asked him if he felt he had enough time to fulfill all his responsibilities and he said yes and she said that’s good because we’re going to give you a new project to work on.
Core team member Jeff Queen was asked if the kitting area that was recently set up in the IP area for steering columns could support another product and he said yes. She asked if he was sure it could support another product and he said he was positive and she said we’re going to see if you can.
Team leader Doug Clark of the IP line told Diana Trembay that one of his – and other 1985 seniority members - concerns was being able to retire from this plant and she told him that he had nothing to worry about.
•    From Automotive News: A strike at Ford Motor Co. or arbitration at General Motors and Chrysler Group could be handled without harming the union's long-term relationship with the affected company, UAW President Bob King said today. King also said the union has asked for a wage increase for its 112,000 members at the Detroit 3, not just profit-sharing and performance bonuses. All parties want to avoid a strike or arbitration in this year's auto talks, he said, but the union had a short strike against GM in 2007 without lasting harm to the union's ability to work cooperatively with the company afterward. "I just feel we can do better" than a strike, King said during a press conference after a luncheon speech to the Detroit Economic Club. King said the current talks are about keeping the Detroit 3 competitive so they can continue to put jobs in the United States while allowing workers to share in the new-found profitability of the carmakers. The rank-and-file at the Detroit 3, King said, want and deserve a raise. For that reason, the union has proposed an increase. But King cautioned that that he is most interested in maximizing overall compensation for workers, not necessarily wages. The best route, he said, might be through profit-sharing and performance bonuses and some combination of wage increases and restoration of cost of living allowances. Only bargaining, however, will determine the best way to achieve that goal without hurting the long-term competitiveness of the Detroit 3 vs. the U.S. transplant operations of the German and Asian automakers. "There is room because of the current framework to make gains in different areas" and still keep the companies competitive, King said. He reiterated that the UAW is not allowing the contract talks to detract from efforts to organize the U.S. transplants. He said he was optimistic that at least one of the transplants would accept the UAW by the end of the year.