This Saturday, Nov. 9 is the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the inception of UAW Local 2250. Doors open at the Union Hall at 6:30 pm. Dinner will be served and music will be provided by Heath Walker with Tune in a Bucket Productions. Come out and enjoy an evening of fun with your Union brothers and sisters as we celebrate 30 years of Solidarity. Also, the Education Committee is selling commemorative T-shirts this week in the cafeteria. Prices are $15, with 2X and larger going for $20.
Tickets are still for sale from Community Services Committee, with the raffle proceeds going to supplement the upcoming Adopt A Child program. First place is an Amish Quilt. Second place is at $100 QT gas card. Third place is 2 Blues tickets to the Dec. 7 game. Tickets are $1 apiece or 6 for $5 and can be purchased from any committee member. Drawing will be held this Thursday, Nov. 7 at 10:30 am in the cafeteria. Thanks in advance for your support.
October was a decent month for van sales at 7552, up 14.9%. In fact it was the best October since 2008. As you may know, October is typically one of our slower months. For example, in 2005, we set an all-time van sales record of 162,350. But October that year was the only month to come in under 10,000. Let’s take a look at how the rest of the van segment fared:
- 2013 2012 Change Share
- Ford Econoline 9508 8082 +17.6% 46.0%
- GM 7552 6575 +14.9% 36.5%
- Mercedes Sprinter 2038 1666 +22.3% 9.9%
- Nissan NV 1006 770 +30.6% 4.9%
- Ram Promaster 570 --- --- 2.8%
- Ford Transit connect 3169 2669 +18.7% ---
- Nissan NV200 639 --- --- ---
You’ll notice a new entry – the Ram Promaster. This is the full size van Chrysler just launched in Mexico based on a Fiat model and one that bears watching as another direct competitor. Regarding field supplies, both overall supplies and days in the field were up from September. Specifically, net field stock was up 3268 units, equal to 60 days supply based on the daily sales rate. All categories were up, with cargo vans leading the way, rising over 2200 units.
What about midsize pickups? Toyota sold 12,351 Tacomas in October, up 1.3%. Nissan sold 5242 Frontiers, up a healthy 71.8%.
From Automotive News: Ford is recalling 3,095 F-series ambulances because of a potential defect that might cause the vehicles to stall and not restart for at least an hour. The recall affects 2011-12 ambulances with 6.7-liter diesel engines, including Super Duty F-350 and F-450 trucks. The ambulances were built at the Kentucky Truck Plant from Feb. 22, 2010, to Oct. 19, 2012. Ford notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Oct. 28 that a defective exhaust gas temperature sensor might cause some ambulances to stop and not be restarted for the minimum of one hour.
Much is being written and said about the restructuring of the auto industry that basically began 5 years ago. Apparently we had a lot more saviors than we realized. And of course, that would include one presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who tried to take credit during last year’s campaign. Not content just to fade away, Mr. Romney has written a book about his failed campaign titled, “Double Down: Game Change 2012”. The book reveals new details of the November 2008 New York Times op-ed in which Romney called for a managed bankruptcy restructuring of Detroit’s automakers that would “propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check.” Romney wrote the op-ed on his BlackBerry on the beach in front of his new $12 million home in La Jolla, Calif. The piece, originally offered to and rejected by the Wall Street Journal, was a source of much consternation for Romney as he sought the presidency. According to the book, Romney thought reaction to his 2008 “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt” op-ed piece could have sunk his chances at winning the Republican nomination for president in 2012. “Guys, guys, this could be it,” he told aides. “This could sink me.” Romney came under scrutiny throughout the Michigan primary campaign over the op-ed. “That headline is killing me,” he told an adviser.
Another sub-plot of that time was a rumored merger between GM and Chrysler. Here is what former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said recently about that plan: “Fritz Henderson and I were very enthusiastic about acquiring Chrysler from Cerberus. We could have put together a dynamite company and saved an unbelievable amount of money. We might have avoided Chapter 11 if we had done that. The operating people were all for it because we could see all the savings. Fritz and the finance guys worked it out. We figured in the first year alone we'd have saved $7 billion. There were some on the GM board who said: "We're doubling down on a UAW-controlled industry. We don't even want to look at the numbers." It was an emotion-driven decision that "no, we are not going to increase the risk by buying into another UAW-controlled company." I think it was a huge missed opportunity. It would be one superpowerful company today.”
Tom Brune
UAW/GM Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119
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