State of the Union September 12, 2011

Sept. 12, 2011 online at

•    FROM THE DESK OF VICE PRESIDENT JOE ASHTON
Negotiations Update #2

All 13 subcommittees are continuing to meet with management and are moving to resolve their issues. Despite what is printed in the press, there has been no agreement with regard to the economic package. Another example of shoddy journalism appeared in the Detroit Free Press last Sunday. The article stated “disgruntled workers have already voted out swaths of union leadership at their new factory homes, such as Flint Truck or Fairfax, Kansas.” In fact, at both the locations cited by the Free Press, both the Bargaining Chairpersons and their committees were re-elected. Please do not take what you read in the press as what will be presented when we reach a tentative agreement.
The process for ratification will begin with the announcement of a tentative agreement. If you have signed up to receive e-mail notifications at www.uawgmnow.com, you will receive an e-mail informing you that a tentative agreement has been reached. The next step involves the approval of the contract by the UAW-GM Council, which is composed of Presidents and Shop Chairs from all the locals. They will convene in Detroit to review the agreement and vote to approve or reject. Upon their approval, the information about the agreement will be available at www.uawgmnow.com. The next step will be the ratification meetings that will be held at local union halls. Finally, voting will take place at all the locals.
Thanks to all who have registered with www.uawgmnow.com. We are making progress towards reaching a settlement. We will continue to post negotiation updates as events warrant.


Reminder: Parking lots 4 and 5 (to the right or west of the main entrance) will be closed at the end of the shift today to prepare for the open house. These lots will reopen on Thursday. Also, employee handicap parking will be available at the front of lot 6 (chassis lot) the day of the open house. The rest of the lot will be for visitor parking.

Here is this week’s build information: 150 E-26 vans; 200 slider doors; 196 r/h door deletes; 237 exports; 121 diesels; 72 15-pass vans; 289 Onstar; 149 YF7s; 17 brake deck spare tire; 314 Enterprise cargo vans; 457 cutaways; 81.4% white vans.

The UAW/GM is participating in the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk, which is a nationwide event. You can contribute in many ways. You can purchase a UAW/GM Makings Strides T-Shirt and $4.20 of that will be donated to the American Cancer Society in UAW/GM Wentville Assembly’s name. All Cash donations will be accepted as well. The money raised from this event helps patients purchase wigs, provides transportation to and from chemo treatments, helps fund the Hope House in St. Louis, and supports cancer research to name a few. There are 18 local researchers here in St. Louis. The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in St. Louis is October 29th at 9am in Forrest Park. If you would like to purchase a UAW/GM T-Shirt there are forms available at all Entrances. If you would like to donate online and/or sign up to walk you can go to http://makingstrides.acsevents.organd search for GM/UAW Wentville Assembly Team. If you want or need more information you can contact Pat Workman, Becky Schieffer, Kandi Kinsler, or Tamara Harris.

From the International Union UAW: Let’s send a strong message to Congress and demand that they put people to work on the work that needs doing! We have millions of people without jobs and millions of things that need fixing. Let’s put people back to work on repairing America’s infrastructure. Not only will it give our economy, the unemployed and working families a desperately-needed boost, but it’s also the only way to reduce the deficit in the long run. If you agree that creating good jobs is a higher priority than cutting government spending, add your name to our petition. We’ll deliver our petition to members of Congress and demand a sustainable good jobs creation program NOW! America wants to do the work that needs doing. Go to www.uaw.orgto sign the online petition that will be delivered to members of Congress.

From the Detroit News: Negotiators for the United Auto Workers union, General Motors Co. and ChryslerGroup LLC met Sunday, but no breakthroughs were reported as the clock ticks down toward Wednesday night's contract deadline. GM bargainers spent the weekend at the table meeting into the evening on Saturday and again on Sunday. UAW President Bob King was in and out of the GM sessions, which are taking place at the GM-UAW's human resources center in Detroit. In a report Friday, Barclays Capital said it thinks larger profit-sharing checks, as well as wage increases of about $2 an hour for second-tier workers, wouldn't scare off investors. A $2-an-hour raise for lower-paid workers will boost GM's labor costs by $250 million, and Ford's by $230 million during the four-year life of the contract.

From Automotive News: Ford Motor Co. and the UAW will “most probably” need to extend their labor contract beyond its Sept. 14 expiration date, Mark Fields, the company’s president of the Americas, said in an interview in Frankfurt. Fields described negotiations as proceeding smoothly. There was no immediate comment from a UAW spokeswoman.