Thanks to everyone who contributed their money and time to the March of Dimes, March for Babies gate drive. A total of $3761 was collected for this great cause!
From the Civil Rights Committee: We’re seeking ANY Hispanic collectibles, books, etc. to put on display for Mexican Heritage Day, which will be Thursday, May 2. If you would like to share your items, please see Denise Black, Civil Rights chairperson (1st shift trim, E-32 or Nextel #61) or Larry Mosbey, Civil Rights member (2nd shift chassis frame line) no later than April 26, 2013. All items will be returned after one day display. Thank you in advance.
From Automotive News: The head of the UAW suggested German hourly workers at a General Motors plant should accept a deal they previously rejected in order to keep their jobs. UAW President Bob King, who is a member of Opel's supervisory board, said on Tuesday that workers at GM's Opel plant in Bochum, Germany, should ask to vote again on the restructuring deal they rejected last month that would have kept the plant open through the end of 2016 and retained 1,200 of the more than 3,000 employees. The 50-year-old plant is now scheduled to close by the end of 2014, when Opel will end production of Zafira MPVs. The plant closure is part of management's strategy to achieve profitability in 2015 after what will be by then 15 straight years of losses for GM in Europe. "I would really hate to see that plant closed when so much effort was put in by IG Metall and the works council to save it," King said in a telephone interview. A revote, while rare, has been done before in the United States, he said. In 2008, workers at a former Ford Motor Co. glass plant petitioned for a revote, while in 1999 union leaders in the Flat Rock, Mich., assembly plant then run by Ford and Mazda Motor Corp. suggested a second vote. "I'm hoping if I talk about how that's one of the things that happened in the U.S., that maybe the (Bochum) workers will do that," King said. "I don't know if that's possible, but at least that would open up a door of opportunity for people to talk." GM officials said the workers had voted and the company was now focused on supporting the development agency 'Bochum Prospects 2022,' an initiative to attract new companies to the economically depressed Ruhr region of northwest Germany where the plant is located. "We gave the employee a clear choice," spokesman Harald Hamprecht said in an email. "We respect the outcome. The Opel supervisory board acted accordingly and we are moving on."
GM previously said no further negotiations on the labor deal would take place. The management board at GM's money-losing Opel unit approved the closing of the Bochum plant last week. King said it was up to union leaders in Germany to ask for a revote. He declined to say whether he had discussed the idea with the German union IG Metall. King emphasized that keeping the plant open would allow workers the opportunity to regain jobs later when the struggling European economy improves. The UAW took a similar approach at GM's Spring Hill, Tenn., plant, where vehicle assembly ended in November 2009 but engine and stamping operations continued. In November 2011, the union reached a new labor deal with GM that include resumption of vehicle assembly at the plant in the third quarter of last year.
Workers in Bochum had the same opportunity and perhaps didn't understand or it was not explained well enough, King said. Labor leaders in Bochum, a former coal mining town, led opposition against a compromise deal, betting GM would not take the unusual and costly step of shifting production and tooling of the Zafira prior to 2017. King, who was appointed by IG Metall to Opel's supervisory board in March 2012 and is up for reelection for a four-year term, said GM has not announced where Bochum production will be shifted.
He also said there have been discussions about shifting more production work to European plants, but declined to discuss further. King is trying to win the support of IG Metall as part of the UAW's efforts to organize the U.S. plants of German automakers Volkswagen and Daimler's Mercedes-Benz. He has said organizing the U.S. plants owned by foreign automakers is critical to the UAW's future success. King said the UAW's relationship with IG Metall was strong. Last month, IG Metall President Berthold Huber said in a letter that the hourly workers at VW's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, should pick the UAW to represent them. "UAW doesn't have a better advocate than Berthold Huber," said King, who added there were no new developments in the union's efforts to organize workers at the VW plant.
Here are some more quarterly earnings reports from our competitors:
- Hyundai Motor Co. today posted a 15 percent year-on-year fall in quarterly net profit, broadly in line with market forecasts, as it was hamstrung by weekend production stoppages and unfavorable currency moves. Net profit fell to 2.1 trillion won ($1.88 billion), Hyundai said.
- Kia Motors Corp. posted a 35 percent drop in first-quarter profit after production at its main domestic factories fell and the won strengthened against the yen. Net income declined to 783.9 billion won ($707 million), from 1.2 trillion won a year earlier.
- Honda Motor Co. said it posted a 6.6 percent rise in quarterly net profit, helped by the yen's rapid depreciation and strong sales of its Accord and CR-V models the United States. In the quarter ended March 31, Honda booked net profit of 75.7 billion yen ($760.88 million), compared with 71.5 billion yen in the same period last year. Honda's operating income from North America for the quarter fell 65 percent to 29 billion yen ($296 million) in the quarter and missed the 61.2 billion yen average analyst estimate.
UAW/GM Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119
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