Oct. 21, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From Chairman Mike Bullock: The Joint Manpower Committee is working through the Par. 63b moves. They hope to have it done by the end of the shift on Friday. Just to give you an idea of how big this was, there were 326 Par. 63b moves and 444 backfill moves – 770 moves from 1030 people working in the plant. It has been a huge process. The time frame for making the transfers is being worked on now. Some transfers will happen sooner than others depending on the training necessary for that operation. On Monday, October 24, the 16 remaining employees from Fairfax who did not take the enhanced relocation ($30,000/3 year commitment) will be returning home. They will then be able to pick from the remaining jobs. The Entry Level employees who returned on the 17th will be able to pick their jobs next. After that, whenever National Hire people enter the plant, they will be able to pick from the remaining openings. The National Hire process is proceeding very slowly. Of the first 59 people offered, only 4 accepted. There is now another offer for 26 more people, who have until October 25th to decide. The National Hire process is going so slow that the corporation has made a decision to hire 85 new entry level employees. They are currently being given drug screenings and physicals. It will take 444 new people to be able to staff 2 shifts. So far they have 131. Also, Trim, Chassis and Material still have team leader openings so applications will be accepted Monday through Wednesday next week. All current or future employees of these departments are eligible to apply. Testing will be done next Thursday and Friday. Finally, we ARE working Wednesday, November 23. We were not allowed to change the Veteran’s Day holiday to the 23rd this year because the corporation and the UAW had not yet negotiated Veteran's day for this year. So we will be off November 14 and November 24 and 25.
Reminder: There will be a bake sale Monday to benefit “Making Strides for Breast Cancer”. It will be held at the Suggestions office beginning at 8 am and will run until it’s sold out. If you wish to donate any baked goods you can bring them in that morning and give them to Pat. Also, the “Making Strides for Breast Cancer” T-shirts are in. If you haven’t picked yours up see Kandi Kinsler in Material or call 2421.
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer: General Motors will build the diesel version of its popular Chevrolet Cruze at its Lordstown plant in 2013, company and union officials confirmed today. Early test builds of the vehicle could start next week. "The people in the plant made this happen," said Jim Graham, president of the United Auto Workers Local 1112 in Lordstown. "If they hadn't put their hearts and souls into this project, we never would have gotten the diesel." Some analysts are expecting a U.S. diesel Cruze that could top 50 miles per gallon, but that would require some changes from the model sold in Europe. GM uses a 2-liter diesel on that continent, an engine that tops out at about 43 miles per gallon on the highway.
From the Detroit News: Economists for General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. expect U.S. auto sales to increase in 2012 above the 12.5 million to 13.5 million forecast for this year. "We see growth in 2012 for one reason … vehicles are getting very, very old," Ford senior economist C. Jenny Lin said Wednesday at a gathering hosted by the National Association of Manufacturers. "We are still very positive about the U.S. auto industry recovery." The average vehicle in the U.S. is 10.6 years old, the highest in history. Automakers believe that signals pent-up demand for new cars. Between 1996 and 2000, Linn noted, the U.S. auto industry sold 96 million vehicles. Those cars and trucks are nearing the end of their lives. "A lot of people are deciding whether to repair their old vehicle — and the costs are getting higher," she said. "It's tradeoff mode." GM chief economist G. Mustafa Mohatarem also is forecasting a better 2012. But Mohatarem noted his boss, GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson, told Automotive News last week that he expects "flattish" U.S. industry sales next year. "Dan's view is that we should be planning very conservatively — that so many things can and have gone wrong this year," Mohatarem said. "So many things can go wrong around the world that you can't plan on fundamentals driving this thing." Auto sales were up 10 percent in September, to an annual sales rate of 13.1 million vehicles. Mohatarem believes sales are growing not because of higher demand, but because Japanese automakers, whose production was interrupted by March's earthquake and tsunami, are recovering — albeit slowly. "It's depressing," Mohatarem said, "that people would rather put off buying that car because they can't get the Honda or Toyota." Mohatarem said based on U.S. population, the auto industry should be selling 16.5 million vehicles annually. "13 million is a deep recession sales low," he said, but added the U.S. could return to the 16 million range in 2014 or 2015.
From Automotive News: Anyone who's surprised by General Motors' recent decision to remain in the U.S. market for smaller pickups with a redesigned Chevrolet Colorado -- even as competitors flee the segment -- must not have been listening to Mark Reuss. For awhile now, GM's president of North America has been espousing his view of the U.S. pickup market. And it includes many shades of gray. Reuss sees ample "bandwidth" within the pickup segment that belies the industry's conventional wisdom: that full-sized pickups can be all things to all people. But Reuss believes "there's going to be a micro-segmentation of what the bandwidth is of a pickup truck," he said in an interview last week. "I see huge opportunity there," Reuss said. "There are a lot of people who still earn their living with these kinds of trucks. Within the Colorado, you're going to see some really attractive things from a duty cycle and fuel-economy standpoint that you may not be able to get on a bigger pickup truck."
From the Detroit Free Press: Initial voting among UAW members at Chrysler shows a mixed reaction to a proposed four-year labor agreement. Workers at plants in Belvidere, Ill., and Warren voted against the deal, while workers at an Indiana casting plant and salaried workers -- including engineers, designers and model makers -- approved it. The UAW's Chrysler department has not published a cumulative tally, but it is expressing concern. "Arbitration is not in the best interest of our membership," stated a posting Thursday on the UAW-Chrysler Facebook page. "An outside party would determine our ... agreement ... based on what an arbitrator may perceive as competitive wages from both domestic and foreign manufacturers.” If the agreement isn’t ratified, That would leave two options. The company and union could agree to stick to the agreement, and the arbitrator could impose it, without the signing bonus. Or either side -- more likely, Chrysler -- could decide to start the process again and submit data to the arbitrator in hopes of securing a better deal, said Kristin Dziczek, labor analyst of the Center for Automotive Research.
No comments:
Post a Comment