State of the Union December 5, 2015

State of the Union

December 5, 2015 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

• Reminder: This Sunday, Dec. 6 there will be a Christmas Holiday Party presented by the St. Louis Chapter of the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). It will be held at the Union Hall from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Bring a dish and learn what CLUW is about!

• Beginning Monday, Dec. 7, Adopt-A-Child gifts can be dropped off at the cafeteria conference room.

• Good news – we have been able to get the embroidery on the jackets changed to reflect the fact that the Colorado was Motor Trend truck of the year for 2015 and 2016.

• Some team leaders have not been getting the correct pay since the contract was implemented. The proper people are aware of this issue and are working to correct it. More to come.

• From UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada: I wanted to take a moment to recognize and thank Rebecca Schieffer and the UAW Local 2250 Women’s Committee for their awesome support of this year’s Celebration of Trees for the St. Charles Chapter of Habitat for Humanity. Your hard work and dedication to raising money and supporting the construction of homes for families in need will undoubtedly provide a lasting impact on the members of the St. Charles community. Rebecca and the committee’s work, through the leadership and support of Region 5 and Local 2250, has set a wonderful example of how our UAW Women’s Committees can positively affect change in communities across the country. I am very proud of the UAW Local 2250 Women’s Committee. I thank all of you for being a positive reflection on the UAW by demonstrating that we are an institution that values family and community. Thank you and Happy Holidays to all of you!

• Skilled trades employees at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant have voted overwhelmingly to designate UAW Local 42 as their representative for the purpose of initiating collective bargaining. In a two-day election on Thursday and Friday, 152 skilled trades employees cast ballots. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which supervised the election, confirmed that 71% of employees voting favored recognition for Local 42.
Federal law provides for units within a workforce to seek recognition for the purpose of achieving collective bargaining. “A key objective for our local union always has been moving toward collective bargaining for the purpose of reaching a multi-year contract between Volkswagen and employees in Chattanooga,” said Mike Cantrell, president of Local 42. “We have said from the beginning of Local 42 that there are multiple paths to reach collective bargaining. We believe these paths will give all of us a voice at Volkswagen in due time.”
Cantrell reiterated that the timing of the skilled trades election is unrelated to the Volkswagen emissions scandal. In its election petition to the NLRB, Local 42 noted that its members asked Volkswagen to recognize the local union as the bargaining representative of skilled trades employees in early August — more than a month before the emissions scandal was revealed. UAW Secretary-Treasurer and organizing head Gary Casteel said the UAW maintains a narrow majority of support among hourly workers at VW's Chattanooga factory, but it is not pursuing a vote by all hourly workers because of concern of "facing the same outside pressure that we faced last time."

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