Jan. 31, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
There were 9 Delphi transfers and 3 national area hire members who arrived yesterday. Welcome to Wentzville.
From UAW President Bob King: President Obama issued a call to the nation and Republicans in Congress to work together to solve the nation's unemployment crisis and focus on strengthening the middle class by strengthening manufacturing. The president has demonstrated his commitment to creating an economy 'built to last' by restructuring the U.S. auto industry for the 21st century, while Republican opponents were willing to let it die and see millions of jobs lost. The recovery of the American automotive industry is one of our country's greatest economic success stories. General Motors Co. is back as the world's No. 1 automaker, Chrysler Group LLC is outpacing its U.S. competitors in sales growth and Ford Motor Co. continues to make large investments in its U.S. plants. All three domestic automakers are bringing jobs back to the United States from other countries. Thanks to the Obama administration's commitment to U.S. manufacturing, the domestic automakers have added nearly 160,000 jobs to the economy. The president says he bet on U.S. workers. That bet paid off, as we had no doubt it would. To those who say unions chase jobs out of the country, the facts prove them wrong. President Obama reminded us last night of yet another U.S. manufacturer that is insourcing rather than outsourcing. We're proud that Master Lock, a UAW-represented workplace, has decided it makes more business sense to bring jobs back to the United States. Today, Master Lock's plant in Milwaukee is running at full capacity. We agree with the president that if we level the global playing field for U.S. manufacturers and insist that the wealthy pay their fair share to rebuild our country, America's future is hopeful, and the state of our union will always be strong. Let's keep that messagealive as we work to re-elect President Barack Obama in November.
GM will start construction next week on a new $200 million stamping facility that will create approximately 180 jobs. The new facility, part of the company’s Arlington manufacturing complex, will produce large stamping components for the next generation of full-size Chevrolet Tahoes, Suburbans, GMC Yukons and Cadillac Escalades. "Our investment in GM's Arlington plant is one more example of GM strengthening the economy and creating jobs throughout the many U.S. communities where GM does business," said GM Manufacturing Manager Larry Zahner. Currently, Arlington receives stamped components from several GM plants, with some parts coming from more than 1,000 miles away. The new facility, which comes on line in 2013, will save about $40 million a year in logistics cost. (continued on back)
The new facility is in addition to a $331 million investment to purchase tooling and equipment and expand the Arlington Assembly Plant that was announced along with 110 additional jobs in May 2011. “Today’s announcement is further evidence that the U.S. auto industry is back. An important goal for the UAW is to increase the number of manufacturing jobs in the United States and we are pleased that General Motors has decided to make this investment in Arlington,,” said Joe Ashton, vice president of the UAW representing the GM department. “We look forward to more good news in 2012 as our workers continue to build the world’s best vehicles.”
From the Detroit Free Press: President Barack Obama wears his decision to rescue General Motors and Chrysler three years ago as a badge of honor, a move to save jobs in an industry that helped create the backbone of the middle class more than a half-century ago. For Obama, the auto bailout is a case study for his efforts to revive the economy and a potential point of contrast with Republican Mitt Romney, who opposed Obama's decision to pour billions of dollars into the auto companies. If Romney wins the GOP nomination, expect to hear a lot about the car industry. "The American auto industry was on the verge of collapse. And some politicians were willing to let it just die. We said no," Obama told college students last week in Ann Arbor, Mich. The president's campaign views the auto storyline as a potent argument against Romney — who, even though he is the son of a Detroit auto executive, opposed the bailout. As the industry was collapsing in the fall of 2008, the former Massachusetts governor predicted in a New York Times op-ed that if the companies received a federal bailout, "you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye." Romney said the companies should have undergone a "managed bankruptcy" that would have avoided a government bailout. "Whether it was by President Bush or by President Obama, it was the wrong way to go," Romney said at a GOP presidential debate in Michigan in November. Romney said the nation has "capital markets and bankruptcy — it works in the U.S.” Obama aides said billions in aid — about $85 billion for the industry in total — was necessary because capital markets were essentially frozen at the time, meaning there was no way for GM and Chrysler to fund their bankruptcies privately. Without any private financing or government support, they argued, the companies would have been forced to liquidate. "I don't know how any reasonable person can fail to acknowledge that this rescue plan worked and the country has benefited," said former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Honda Motor Co. reported a 41% drop in net profit for its fiscal third quarter and foresees a sharp fall in profit for the full fiscal year, as the strong yen cuts into its overseas profit and flooding in Honda, Japan's third-biggest car maker by volume, posted a net profit of 47.66 billion yen ($624.3 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, down from 81.12 billion yen in the year-earlier quarter. The car maker now estimates a 60% decline in net profit for its fiscal year ending March after factoring in the negative effect of the flooding in Thailand. A closer look at Honda’s results reveals that motorcycles (+25.8 billion yen) and financing (+37.5 billion yen) produced the profits while the automotive side of the business posted an operating loss of 16.9 billion yen (about $220 million). Honda's profit drop and bleak outlook presage harsh results to come from other Japanese auto makers that have mostly struggled with the pressure of a local currency that has surged 15% in the past three years against the dollar. Indeed, Honda estimates the strong yen has cost it $4.2 billion in its first nine months of this fiscal year.
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