State of the Union December 17, 2015

December 17, 2015 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

· From Chairman Mike Bullock: The shop committee continues to meet every day in an effort to settle the local contract. These are difficult negotiations. The addition of a third shift requires additional language to be negotiated that was not already in the contract. Long discussions about third shift double time have occurred and is not yet resolved. Things as simple as water fountains, smoking shelters, and ice machines are items that the corporation only provides because we have contract language. Restroom cleaning schedules, team centers, and uniforms are all on the table and being discussed. There were over 100 union demands submitted and 30 still remain to be settled. The local contract is about work rules, not financial. This shop committee will not present a local contract for ratification until we have resolved all the issues. We have given the corporation an extension to the local contract until that time.
Local 2250 and GM adopted 223 children this year for Christmas. The local 2250 Community Services committee and our membership deserve a round of applause for helping our communities.
Information packets will be distributed tomorrow outlining the process for the upcoming lay off.
The remaining group of 103 employees will be converted to permanent on December 21. All of May 9th will be converted and any May 11th employee whose gmin begins with 1986 or lower will also be converted. Conversion meeting times are 6:45 am, 1:45 pm and 2:45 pm. The meetings will be in the tour holding room

· Reminder: The annual Chassis Christmas Party is scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 19 at Maggie Malones (990 Wentzville Pkwy) from 3:00 pm until ? There will be free food, door prizes, drink specials and live music starting at 9:00 pm. All are welcome. For information contact Susan at column F-43, 1st shift motorline.

· The 12 days of Christmas raffle continues now through Tuesday, Dec. 22. There will be daily drawings (1st shift, 2nd break in the cafeteria) for prizes such as baskets, jackets, blankets and a lottery tree. Tickets are available from any Women’s Committee member and are $5 apiece, 3 for $10 and 22 for $20. Proceeds go to fund committee activities in 2016.

· From the Wall Street Journal: The National Labor Relations Board certified the vote of skilled trades workers at the Volkswagen AG plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., making the union of approximately 162 people official. Volkswagen had pledged to appeal whether the smaller group of workers was allowed to make such a vote to the NLRB, but an appeal hadn’t been filed as of Monday evening, a spokeswoman for the board said. The vote to form a collective bargaining unit, which occurred on Dec. 3 and 4, passed with 71% voting in favor of the measure. (continued on back)
The union is represented by United Auto Workers Local 42. The remainder of the plant workers aren't represented by a collective bargaining unit. In early 2014, a plant-wide vote to unionize narrowly failed, but the UAW formed a local unit anyway. Until the vote, the local union wasn’t able to bargain for wages or benefits. Now, the union can bargain for the group of skilled tradesmen, but not the wider group. The plant employs about 1,450 hourly workers total, including the skilled tradesmen. Union officials said they would immediately seek to bargain with Volkswagen for a contract for its workers.

· All automotive awards are certainly not created equal, and winning Motor Trend Truck of the Year for a second year running is a monumental achievement. But our pickups got perhaps a more important, though less publicized, award. Kelly Blue Book released their top 10 Best Resale Value awards Tuesday, and coming in at #3 and #4 were the GMC Canyon and Chevy Colorado respectively. The Canyon is projected to retain 70.7% of its original sticker after 3 years (2nd best of all vehicles) and 59.5% after 5 years. Regarding the Canyon, KBB said, “One of two GMC trucks (the Sierra was the other) to earn a spot in the top 10, the GMC Canyon combines a tough look with midsize practicality.” The Colorado was projected to retain 70.0% of its sticker after 3 years and 58.6% after 5 years. “The Chevrolet Colorado, the GMC Canyon's more mainstream cousin, offers similar capability and resale resilience, but with a sleeker look. And both now offer diesel power,” said KBB. These high residuals, as they are known in the leasing world, enable lower lease payments than vehicles that lose their value more quickly – just another selling point for the best midsize pickups in the world.

· The last edition of the SOTU listed some facts and figures about buyers of our pickups. Here are a few more interesting facts, courtesy of Automotive News:

• The Canyon's average transaction price of about $34,100 is tops in the midsize-pickup segment, data from Edmunds.com show. The Colorado's is $31,800, higher than the segment-leading Toyota Tacoma's $30,015.
• The percentage of buyers from other brands -- the conquest rate -- is 56 percent for Canyon and nearly 50 percent for the Colorado, GM says. The Colorado's top conquests are Tacoma and Ford F-150 buyers.
• Around 40 percent of Colorados are rolling off dealership lots accessorized with bike racks and other gear, boosting dealer and GM profits, the company says.

You may recall that one of the criticisms of GM’s plan to get back into the midsize pickup arena was the belief that they would steal sales from big brothers Silverado and Sierra. That hasn’t been the case. Through September, U.S. sales of the Silverado jumped 15 percent, making the Silverado the only one of the top five full-size pickups to post double-digit sales growth (followed by the GMC Sierra, up 9.8 percent; Ram, up 3.4 percent; Ford F series, up 1.3 percent; and Toyota Tundra, up 0.9 percent).
Just 12 percent of Chevy Colorado buyers traded in a Silverado in the 90-day period from May through July, IHS Automotive data show. The rate of Sierra-to-Canyon converts was even smaller, at 9 percent. Also, surprisingly, the top market for the Chevy Colorado is California. Its success there "all of a sudden starts to create some momentum around the brand" in a market where Chevy long has struggled for a foothold, Chevy global brand chief Alan Batey said in an interview last month. In the Los Angeles metro market, Chevy's overall sales were up 16 percent through August vs. 10 percent for that market as a whole.

Tom Brune
UAW Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119