State of the Union June 7, 2012

June 7, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•Reminder: The annual Women’s Committee Benefit Golf Tournament will be held Saturday, June 30 at Country Lake golf course in Warrenton. It is a 3-person scramble with a 1:30 pm shotgun start. The cost is $70 per person/$210 per team. The first 3 places in 3 flights will be paid. There will also be a longest drive, closest to the pin and a skin game. Food and beer will be served after the tournament. The proceeds will go to “Turning Point” abused women’s shelter. Entry forms are available at the entrances.

•From the Jackson Clarion Ledger: Elected officials and Nissan workers gathered in Canton on Sunday to discuss what it would take to establish a labor union at the plant. Congressman Bennie Thompson called a news conference Sunday afternoon to say he supports workers' right to form a union. "Many taxpayers in this state are saying that democracy should be the order of the day, and in a democracy, people have the right to choose," Thompson said. Employees said they approached the United Auto Workers about starting a union at the Nissan plant. The UAW has tried in the past to unionize workers at Nissan's plant in Smyrna, Tenn., and at other foreign-owned auto plants in the South. However, Nissan spokesman Dave Reuter told the Associated Press on Friday that no union election has been held at the Canton plant since it opened in 2003. "We don't believe that putting a third party between ourselves and our employees is going to make things better," Reuter said. "We don't believe it's going to improve our employees' work environment or our own prosperity." State NAACP president Derrick Johnson said his organization also stands behind workers' right to unionize, "because it's the right thing to do. Our goal is to ensure that equal protection under the law is guaranteed for all citizens," he said. "That also should extend to workers having a right to cast a vote so they can choose their representation." The National Labor Relations Board said Friday no petition has been filed seeking a union vote in Canton. At least 30 percent of workers have to sign a petition for the board to set a vote, and then 50 percent plus one can vote a union in. UAW President Bob King said in December that there have been reports of civil and human rights violations in Nissan plants. But Thompson and others would not provide specifics. "To our knowledge there have been instances, but I want to say that I'm confident that a company like Nissan would not move itself to that level," he said. "But I would not want that company to put any fear or any threat of reprisal to those individuals that work there just because they exercise the right to choose whether they want to be represented by a union or not." Thompson, who insisted that workers should not face recrimination for wanting a voice, said that employees may speak out about the things they have allegedly encountered sometime in the future. "Intimidation is probably a strong word, but the question is that they're being interviewed by the company, and there are discussions going on by organizers that they used to not have," he said.
Nissan workers said they have sat through roundtable discussions in which they were told they didn't need a union. They said they are told that the union just wants workers' money. "I went to one last week," said Betty Jones, who has worked with Nissan for nine years. She said the meeting was simply to tell workers that "We don't need a union, we're anti-union at this company." Rafael Martinez said he attended one of the meetings recently as well. "Just two weeks ago we attended a focus meeting," he said. "Everything is negative about the UAW." James Brown said some people are trying to make the issue one of worker pay. "But it's not about money. It's about respect as well," he said. "The better workers are paid for the jobs they do, the better they can support the community." But none of the employees are stating any dissatisfaction with their jobs. "I love my job," said Rosalind Essex, who has been with the company for eight years. "I just want to be able to voice my opinion." And the employees who turned out Sunday were also in agreement that they want the chance to unionize for their families, and the future of their community. "We don't want to lose our jobs, we have families out there," said Essex. "We are the union. The employees are the union." Reuter has confirmed to the AP that the Canton Nissan plant's wages are lower than at other Nissan plants, but called them "competitive." "The wages differ," he said. "We're talking about different labor markets."
From the Detroit News: Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, warned Wednesday that a quick sale of the Treasury Department's remaining 26.5 percent stake in General Motors Co. could hurt the company and send its stock price sinking. Levin's comments came after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney told The Detroit News on Friday that he would quickly sell the government's remaining 500 million shares of stock in the automaker — even if it means a $16 billion loss for taxpayers. Romney asserted that the Obama administration was holding onto its stake in GM — part of the Treasury's $49.5 billion bailout — in order to avoid bad publicity from taxpayer losses. Levin told The Detroit News on Wednesday that "dumping" the rest of the government's stock could hurt the automaker. "It would hurt GM. It would hurt the auto industry because GM is a big part of the auto industry," he said. "I don't think from a purely business point of view it makes sense to dump all that stock." Levin said the decision on when the government should exit GM should be made by career Treasury officials "rather than politicians." Levin, Michigan' s senior senator, said he didn't think GM wants to see an abrupt sale. "I doubt very much that GM wants all of its stock sold at once," he said. "One of (Romney's) sources of expertise is not building an industry but dismantling companies, so he's not really someone I would look to for expertise on the auto industry."


From Autoblog: When the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) laid out its J2807 tow-rating guidelines a few years ago with input from domestic and Japanese truck makers and tow suppliers, the standardized testing regime was applauded as a way to provide reliable comparisonsbetween manufacturers. Even though it would mean lowering their tow ratings, all of the truck makers agreed to use the J2807 protocol as of 2013. Toyotamoved to the new ratings two years ago, resulting in tow ratings for its Tundradropping anywhere from 400 to 1,000 pounds. When it came time for General Motors to announcing its 2013 trucks, it released towing specs based on the new standards, sending some ratings up and other down by hundreds of pounds. Ford, however, has decided that it will move to the J2807 standard when it's "all-new models come to market," which means The Blue Oval gets at least another year, probably more, to use its current figures. Predictably, GM not only cried foul, it took back the SAE numbers – even though they've been revealed – and has reverted to the pre-SAE ratings. A GM statement read, in part, "For example, key competitors are continuing to use their existing ratings for 2013 model year pickups. Retaining our existing rating system will reduce confusion for dealers and customers." UAW/GM Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119