October 2, 2012
online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From Chairman Mike Bullock:
Welcome back to all of you from your extended vacations. I hope you all enjoyed your time off and come back rested and refreshed. While you were gone, we tragically lost our UAW Region 5 Director Jim Wells, who passed away Sept. 26. As many of you know, Jim was the first chairman of Local 2250 and was always a champion and advocate for this local and plant.
Personally, Jim was a resource and a friend to me as I worked through the many difficult issues that came up the last few years. He will be greatly missed. UAW President Bob King issued this statement upon his passing:
"It is with a heavy heart that we announce Jim's passing last night. But we will remain forever inspired by his character, integrity and passion for the labor movement. A dedicated trade unionist for nearly 50 years, Wells joined UAW Local 25 in 1966 when he was hired at the General Motors plant in St. Louis. Jim transferred to the GM Wentzville Assembly plant and became the first chairman of UAW Local 2250. He was appointed an international representative by then-UAW President Owen Bieber in 1985, and served four years on the Region 5 staff.
He served as UAW Region 5 assistant director for six years from 1989 to 1995. First elected to lead Region 5 in 1995, he was re-elected in 2010 for his fifth term serving UAW members and retirees in 17 states in the western and southwestern United States, including Missouri, California and Washington state. Jim was the longest-serving member of the UAW International Executive Board. We'll always remember his unwavering commitment to fighting for and protecting all workers' rights. The UAW extends its deepest sympathy to Jim's wife, Jane, their daughters, Kelly, Traci and Janie, his father, Ed Wells, and four grandchildren."
On a different note, I would like to thank our Benefits Representatives Mike Bridgins, Russell "Smitty" Smith and Karen Jones for all the extra time and effort they have put in working on all the issues with members’ unemployment and SUB problems. Finally, the new local contract books are in and you should be receiving your copy from your committee person.
Attention: Beginning today, Tuesday, Oct. 2, the GM Employee Discount Program now includes aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
General Motors Co. today reported its highest September U.S. sales since 2008: 210,245 vehicles, up 1.5 percent compared with a year ago. New products helped drive a 29 percent increase in passenger car sales. Sales of GM’s mini, small and compact cars alone were up a combined 97 percent, and all GM brands increased their retail sales. "Passenger cars have been the launch point for a broad and deep GM product offensive," said Kurt McNeil, vice president of U.S. sales operations. “Auto sales will continue to be a bright spot for the U.S. economy, which is particularly good news for GM as we walk into an even stronger cadence of new products in 2013 and 2014." GM has moved aggressively to replace existing vehicles with better designs, more technology and improved fuel economy. At the same time, GM is entering growth segments and offering new entry points for each brand. Seventy percent of GM nameplates will be all new or redesigned in 2012 and 2013.
September’s car sales increase reflected a strong start for the new Chevrolet Spark and Cadillac XTS, continued strong sales of the Buick Verano, Chevrolet Cruze and Chevrolet Sonic, and a second consecutive sales record for the Chevrolet Volt. September also marked the first deliveries of the all-new Cadillac ATS. The GMC Terrain and Acadia crossovers had strong months as well, with sales up 8 percent and 16 percent, respectively. This helped drive a 3 percent increase for all GM crossovers versus a year ago. Truck sales were down 20 percent due to a 46 percent year-over-year reduction in fleet sales due to the timing of customer deliveries. In the large pickup segment, GM’s total sales were down 12 percent and fleet sales were down 56 percent. However, GM reduced its large pickup inventories by approximately 8,600 units compared with August, and earned average transaction prices more than $2,300 per unit above a year ago with the lowest incentive spending in the industry, according to J.D. Power PIN data. Van sales came in at 4886, a drop of 41.8%.
Automotive News broke down Ford’s future product portfolio recently. Here’s their take on the Transit and Econoline full size vans:
Transit:Ford will begin making the Transit commercial van next year in Kansas City, Mo., as a 2014 model. The European-style commercial van will feature Ford's 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine and a diesel, likely a 3.2-liter Duratorq. Ford has not said exactly how the Transit will be branded, but it has trademarked names such as T-150, T-250 and T-350. The Transit is a rwd van based on the European Transit
E series: Ford will continue to build its long-running E-series van for some time after Transit production begins. The company won't say just how long. But the cutaway version of the E series, used in such applications as airport shuttle vans, will continue well into this decade.
Tom Brune
UAW/GM Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119
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