• There will be a Civil and Human Rights Committee meeting Monday, Jan. 26 between shifts in the cafeteria. All are welcome to attend. • In the event that there is a payout under the Profit Sharing Plan, you will have the opportunity to contribute all or a portion of your payout in one percent increments, up to 100 percent, to your Personal Savings Plan (PSP) on a pre-tax basis, subject to tax law limitations. Deferral contribution elections will be accepted between 8:00 a.m. EST on January 29, 2015 and 4 p.m. EST on February 12, 2015. Elections can be made online at gmbenefits.com or by calling the GM Benefits & Services Center at 1-800-489-4646. If you are considering deferring all or a portion of your Profit Sharing payout into your PSP account, please consider the following:
- You must make a new deferral election during the window period.
- The payout will be subject to FICA taxes and Union dues.
- For active employees receiving wages, your profit sharing contribution will be the percentage you elected, provided your other wages are enough to satisfy the FICA and Union dues obligations.
- For active employees not receiving wages, your profit sharing contribution will be after FICA taxes and Union dues are deducted.
- Any outstanding payroll or benefit overpayments, special court orders for child support arrearages, tax levies or similar obligations will have these obligations paid before any contributions are made to the PSP.
- You must be eligible to accumulate savings in the PSP for your contribution election to be effective.
For more details and deferral examples, please refer to the Profit Sharing communication that will be sent to your address of record beginning January 28, 2015. (GM will report 4th quarter and full year earnings, along with profit share payout, on Wednesday Feb. 4. We have accumulated $4250 through the first 3 quarters)
• The 2014 W2’s are now available on the ADP iPay portal. Hardcopy W2 forms are also being mailed to employees at their residential address and should be received in the next week to 10 days
• Lake Orion Assembly (Buick Verano, Chevy Sonic) will be taking 2 down weeks and will be derating from 45 mph to 38 mph, according to Automotive News.
• One of the great mysteries that have perplexed economists is why, with the so-called recovery lowering unemployment rates to pre-recession levels, that there has been virtually no wage growth for the middle class. How about the fact that the percentage of unionized workers nationwide fell from 11.3 percent in 2013 to 11.1 percent in 2014 — the lowest level since before the Great Depression. This is due in no small part to the increase in right-to-work laws being passed in more states. UAW President Dennis Williams said Friday that on average, states with right-to-work laws have "$6,400 less in salary to union members, fewer benefits, less retirement and reduced consumer spending money. So the practical impact on (the) economy from today's numbers are that consumers have less money to spend in stores, with small businesses, and yes, even on cars." Roland Zullo, an assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, said the impact of right-to-work legislation has been to weaken unions.
"Unions are weaker because of the law, and some close down and/or new organizing stalls, and former members of unions choose to become free-riders — i.e., are covered but are not dues-payers," Zullo said. Michigan is a prime example, having passed right-to-work in 2012. Just last year, the headcount of union members in Michigan fell by 48,000, even as the workforce grew by 44,000.
A spokeswoman for Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, Sara Wurfel, said right-to-work wasn't aimed at reducing membership. "It was never about union membership numbers — in fact, it preserved the role of unions and collective bargaining. It was simply about (allowing) every worker to choose for themselves whether to join a union or not was right for and benefits them, and giving Michigan an additional tool to help ensure our state's economic competitiveness." And footballs just magically deflate themselves…..
• From Automotive News: The Missouri Automobile Dealers Association on Thursday filed a lawsuit in a state court, accusing the Department of Revenue and its director, Nia Ray, of violating Missouri law by allowing Tesla to sell its vehicles without a franchise dealer. MADA is asking the court to stop the state department of revenue from renewing Tesla’s license for its University City, Mo., store and from granting Tesla other dealer licenses throughout Missouri. “For many years, new motor vehicles have been sold in Missouri using a tried-and-true structure: manufacturers do not sell cars themselves, but do so through a network of licensed dealers,” the lawsuit said. “This structure of separate roles for manufacturers and dealers is established by statute and reflects wise public policy.”
Missouri law says that automotive manufacturers can only sell cars through dealers. When the department of revenue issued Tesla a dealer license, it “violated both the law and the structure that’s been in place for many years,” said Lowell Pearson, attorney for MADA and former deputy director of the department of revenue. “Missouri requires any state agency to change policy through formal rule making process… the department didn’t do any of that here,” he added. “It created a new public policy for the state by issuing a license to Tesla.” Tesla opened its store in University City, Mo. in June 2013 after it was issued a dealer license by the revenue department. The automaker also has multiple charging stations in the state, according to its website (bet you didn’t know that). Tom Brune
UAW Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119
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