State of the Union February 12, 2013

February 12, 2013 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: I just received word from the Corporation and the International Union that the continuous weeks worked as a temporary employee prior to becoming a permanent employee will count towards the 52 week pay increase for all employees hired after September 15, 2011. Personnel is currently in the process of calculating weeks worked and when pay raises should have taken effect. More information to be conveyed on timing of back payment. Also, 2012 Profit Sharing to be announced on February 14 (Valentine's Day).
Reminder: President Obama will give his State of the Union speech tonight at 8 pm and will be focusing on the economy and jobs.
You may have noticed that the Ford Transit Connect had a big month for sales in January. Others have been taking note as well, namely Nissan and Chrysler/Fiat. Nissan officials unveiled the production version of the front-wheel-drive NV200, which goes on sale on April 1. It will compete head to head with the Connect. It will come with a retail base price of $20,835, including shipping, about $2,400 less than the Transit Connect. The Nissan contender promises 24 mpg city/25 highway/24 combined -- slightly better than Transit Connect's 21/27/23 mpg. Also coming to play in the Connect’s sandbox is the Ram version of the Fiat Doblo, another small, fwd van. That will come in 2014.
UAW President Bob King helped commemorate the 76th anniversary of the end of the Flint sit-down strikes yesterday – in Flint of course. "There's no greater inspiration than the workers who took on the most powerful corporation in the world," King said. During his speech, King spoke about the need for labor unions to come together on an international level to keep companies from pitting workers across the globe against one another. "The only way we are going to have middle class incomes and a decent standard of living and pensions is if workers throughout the world have that," he said. "As long as there is someone working for poverty-level wages, everyone in this room is facing it. "The companies come to us and say, 'Oh, you’re not competitive because we can run down and pay workers 20 cents an hour or $2 or $4 a day in Mexico. If you're not willing to reduce your wages and benefits, we're going to move your work.' That's an everyday struggle."
Electric vehicles are alternately praised and pummeled by various groups in and out of the auto industry. We are all aware of the derision heaped upon the Chevy Volt by outlets like Fox news and talking radio heads that shall go unnamed here. On the other hand, Tesla’s $101,000 Model S roadster was awarded the golden calipers as Motor Trend’s car of the year. While the Volt uses a gas engine to charge the battery pack after the initial charge has been consumed (around 30 – 40 miles hence), electric-only vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla rely on electric charge only. You may recall the story of a Leaf driver who, after crawling along the freeway at 30 mph to conserve charge, was ultimately passed by a DOT mower (you probably know where this is headed). Well, a NY Times writer, John Broder, embarked on a trip in the heralded Tesla to test out their “electric highway”, a 200 mile stretch of I-95 between Newark, Del. and Milford, Conn. at which both locations are “supercharging” stations for rapid charges.
The conditions were “less than ideal” due to cold temperatures, but he was undeterred. Take it away, John: The Model S has won multiple car-of-the-year awards and is, many reviews would have you believe, the coolest car on the planet. What fun, no? Well, no. After 49 minutes (of charging at Newark), the display read “charge complete,” and the estimated available driving distance was 242 miles. As I crossed into New Jersey some 15 miles later, I noticed that the estimated range was falling faster than miles were accumulating. At 68 miles since recharging, the range had dropped by 85 miles, and a little mental math told me that reaching Milford would be a stretch. I began following Tesla’s range-maximization guidelines, which meant dispensing with such battery-draining amenities as warming the cabin and keeping up with traffic. I turned the climate control to low — the temperature was still in the 30s — and planted myself in the far right lane with the cruise control set at 54 miles per hour (the speed limit is 65). Buicks and 18-wheelers flew past, their drivers staring at the nail-polish-red wondercar with California dealer plates. All the while, my feet were freezing and my knuckles were turning white. About 20 miles from Milford, less than 10 miles of range remained. At that point, the car informed me it was shutting off the heater, and it ordered me, in vivid red letters, to “Recharge Now.” I drove into the service plaza, hooked up the Supercharger and warmed my hands on a cup of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. When I continued my drive, the display read 185 miles.
I drove, slowly, to Stonington, Conn., for dinner and spent the night in Groton, a total distance of 79 miles. When I parked the car, its computer said I had 90 miles of range, twice the 46 miles back to Milford. It was a different story at 8:30 the next morning. The thermometer read 10 degrees and the display showed 25 miles of remaining range. I called Tesla in California, and the official I woke up said I needed to “condition” the battery pack to restore the lost energy. That meant sitting in the car for half an hour with the heat on a low setting. After completing the battery conditioning process, the estimated range reading was 19 miles; no way would I make it back to Milford. The Tesla people found an E.V. charging station in Norwich, only 11 miles away, though in the opposite direction from Milford. Tesla’s experts said that pumping in a little energy would help restore the power lost overnight as a result of the cold weather, and after an hour they cleared me to resume the trip to Milford. As I limped along at about 45 miles per hour I saw increasingly dire dashboard warnings to recharge immediately. Mr. Merendino, the product planner, found an E.V. charging station about five miles away. But the Model S had other ideas. “Car is shutting down,” the computer informed me. I was able to coast down an exit ramp in Branford, Conn., before the car made good on its threat (time for the inevitable tow truck). Not so quick: the car’s electrically actuated parking brake would not release without battery power, and hooking the car’s 12-volt charging post behind the front grille to the tow truck’s portable charger would not release the brake. So he had to drag it onto the flatbed, a painstaking process that took 45 minutes. Fortunately, the cab of the tow truck was toasty. Tom Brune
UAW/GM Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119