State of the Union

State of the Union November 25, 2012

2012-01-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

Jan. 25, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Anyone who has unused vacation hours will be paid according to the National Agreement, which states: “Payment of the unused portion, if any, of the employee’s vacation entitlement shall be made as soon as possible but not later than February 1 of the following year.” What about profit sharing? As of the end of the 3rd quarter, GM North America had earned $5.7 billion, which equates to $5700 in profit sharing. At that time, GM issued guidance for the 4th quarter that said they expected earnings to be basically the same as last year, which was $800 million for North America. If that’s the case, the total profit share for 2011 would be $6500. There has been no word on whether the 10% diversion of profit share to the VEBA has been approved. GM is expected to announce 2011 earnings the 2nd week of February. Profit shares are paid out the second week of March.

The Education Committee is having a raffle to raise funds for educational literature for Union members. The prize is a large his and hers gift basket and ticket prices are $5 apiece or 3 for $10 and can be bought from any committee member. The raffle will be held Feb. 18.

From Automotive News: General Motors and Volkswagen produced seven of China's ten best-selling passenger vehicles last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. General Motors Co.'s Buick Excelle ranked first with sales of 254,000 units. The Chevrolet Cruze placed third and the Chevrolet New Sail ranked seventh. Volkswagen's Lavida, Jetta, Bora and Santana ranked second, fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. China FAW Group's Xiali, the Hyundai Elantra Yuedong and the Ford Focus ranked eighth, ninth and tenth. The ten passenger models, all compact cars, generated sales of 2.1 million units in 2011. In China, the overall top sellers are commercial microvans. The Wuling Sunshine, produced by SAIC-GM-Wuling, generated sales of 731,700 units, according to LMC Automotive. Three other commercial microvans also outsold the Excelle

From the New York Times: General Motors, in another effort to cut costs, is consolidating most of an important advertising assignment known as media planning and buying, after pitting four giant media agencies against each other for the task. Carat, part of the Aegis Media unit of the Aegis Group, on Tuesday morning was named to handle media operations for G.M. in almost all parts of the world. The assignment includes traditional, digital and social media. General Motors spends $3 billion each year on ads, and the assignment involves figuring out where the ads will run and how much to pay for them. G.M. has until now had those duties assigned on a regional basis and was using three media agencies, including Carat.

From the Wall Street Journal: Big auto makers and their suppliers are spending billions to expand and retool U.S. factories, pushing heartland states to jockey to land new auto jobs. Executives say the industry's U-turn from bankruptcy filings and layoffs to hirings and capital spending is driven by rising demand and a new view of manufacturing in the U.S. as a way to guard against volatile currency markets and other risks. Auto-industry employment in the U.S. is predicted to jump to 756,800 in 2015 from 566,400 in 2010, with most of that increase in Michigan, according to the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. While that falls well short of the 1.1 million workers employed in the sector in 1999, it indicates the hemorrhaging has been stanched. The center also said major auto companies indicate they expect to increase capital spending in the next few years. "It's a generational opportunity," says Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, who has taken a high profile in his pursuit of car-company jobs. Mr. Nixon called Missouri's legislature into a special session last year to pass a bill offering new tax breaks to manufacturers, and earlier this month he visited the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. That effort shows signs of paying off. Ford Motor Co. said it plans to spend $1.1 billion to retool a plant near Kansas City, adding 1,600 jobs, and General Motors Co. has said it would spend about $380 million to refit its Wentzville, Mo., plant to build midsize pickups. "Everything we get as an incentive from that state…is a very important part of the decision," says Mark Reuss, head of GM's North American operations. The buoyant auto industry is helping to boost the Midwest hiring outlook. A report from staffing company ManpowerGroup estimated a net 10% of Midwest employers plan to hire in the first quarter, after factoring in companies that said they would cut jobs. That slightly surpasses the Northeast, South and West and the national forecast of 9% and is the strongest result for the Midwest since the third quarter of 2008. GM once pushed suppliers to shift operations to low-wage countries. Now, the company is encouraging parts makers that supply its U.S. operations to locate "as close to the plant as they can," Mr. Reuss said. (And here is the picture that ran with the article on page 3 of the first section of Monday’s paper)

State of the Union January 23, 2012

2012-01-23T06:23:00.000-08:00

Jan. 23, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Correction: The daily production schedule will be 340 units per 10-hour shift (not 317) once the ramp up concludes at the end of February.

Here is this week’s build information: 63 E-26 vans; 1043 cutaways (41.6%); 416 slider doors; 296 15-pass vans; 22.4% 07 loop; 188 r/h door deletes; 112 diesels; 106 exports; 396 Onstar; 1.52% tan interior trim; 22 brake deck spare tire; 236 U-Haul; 585 Enterprise rent-a-car; 100 Penske; 99 Budget; 83.7% white vans.

GM announced global sales for 2011 of a little more than nine million cars and trucks, a 7.6% rise over 2010. That would put it ahead of VW, which recently reported global sales totaled 8.16 million vehicles last year. Upon hearing GM’s results, VW cried foul, saying that if they had included all of the sales of their affiliates, they would be the world leaders. Specifically, truck makers MAN SE and Scania AB, which will be added in a few weeks, might add 200,000 vehicles to VW’s sales total. Realizing that is not enough to close the gap, VW employs addition by subtraction methods, arguing that some Chinese sales should not be counted because GM is not the majority stakeholder (even though Chinese laws forbid such an arrangement). GM spokesman Jim Cain: “Our goal is to be the best, not necessarily the biggest. If we had announced plans on world domination (as VW did), we probably would have been quibbling with the sales of our competitors and that’s as far removed from focusing on the customers as you can get.”

From the Kansas City Star: Gov. Jay Nixon wants to offer better incentives to a wider variety of automobile parts suppliers as part of a plan to rebuild the automotive industry in Missouri. Nixon has been traveling the state for the past couple of weeks touting the automotive incentives as part of a larger economic development initiative. He spoke in broad terms about the proposal Friday during a visit to a rural Missouri meat processing plant, but the governor's office provided details to The Associated Press that for the first time start to flesh out his proposal. Nixon is seeking to expand a law, approved during a 2010 special legislative session, that has been used persuade Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. to expand vehicle assembly plants in Missouri.

“We want to use those advantageous investments to rebuild out there that auto supplier network that eroded over many years of the auto industry moving down,” Nixon said. Missouri's 2010 law authorized financial incentives for automakers and their suppliers. The new proposal would expand the types of auto parts suppliers eligible for the aid, allow them to qualify while hiring fewer employees and lengthen the time they could receive incentives. To qualify for aid under Missouri's current law, an auto parts supplier must derive at least 10 percent of sales from an automobile manufacturer, add at least five jobs and pay at least half the health insurance premiums for its employees. Companies that pay wages at least equal to the county or statewide average can keep the withholding taxes normally paid to the state for their new employees for three years. Those with wages equaling at least 120 percent of the county average can get an incentive of five years' worth of the new employees' state withholding taxes. Under Nixon's proposal, parts manufacturers could qualify if their product is ultimately used as a component by an automaker, even if it is not sold directly to the manufacturer. Companies that derive at least half their annual sales from parts used to modify vehicles – such as converting a Ford Transit van into an ambulance or a Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck into a tow truck – also could qualify for incentives. The plan also says automotive parts suppliers could get incentives by hiring as few as two new employees if they also make a capital investment of at least $100,000. The standard incentive period would increase to five years instead of three. And companies would get a tax break equal to 5 percent of their new payroll if wages are at the county average, 5.5 percent if wages are 120 percent of the county average or 6 percent if wages equal at least 140 percent of the county average. The governor's proposal would require approval from the lawmakers, whose annual session runs until mid-May.

From Wards Auto: Ford executives caught flak from some reporters at the recent North American International Auto show in Detroit and other events when they touted a new version of the Ranger that will be built and sold in Thailand, South America and South Africa but downplayed the fact domestic production is ceasing and it will not be offered in the U.S. or Canada. Discontinuing the Ranger here is a mistake that may come back to sting Ford. Ford thinks buyers will opt for the much larger F-150 fullsize pickup instead, now that it is available with a fuel-efficient V-6. But Ford is missing the fact that size, perceived fuel economy and price still count with a lot of buyers. That’s why Toyota, Nissan and General Motors are sticking with compact pickups and they likely will benefit from Ford absence (70,832 Rangers were sold last year). The F-150 is available in a multitude of variations, but can it satisfy buyers seeking a smaller, higher-mileage pickup if fuel prices keep rising? Maybe. But if gas prices soar as high as some analysts predict later this year, Ford no longer will have an alternative. That may prove to be a serious mistake.

State of the Union January 20, 2012

2012-01-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

Jan. 19, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

The February schedule has three Friday’s scheduled: the 3rd, the 17th and the 24th. Production target for the beginning of the month is 610 units per day (2 shifts, 10 hours) and gradually rises to 634 by the end of the month, which will be the schedule going forward. We are also scheduled to work next Friday, Jan. 27, despite any rumors you may have heard. As usual these schedules are subject to change.

Next Monday we will be adding approximately 20 temps to the workforce. The following Monday, 10 employees from Delphi and 2 from national area hire are scheduled to begin (these numbers could change).

The UAW/GM Lifesteps representative will be in the plant next Tuesday and Wednesday to give personalized instruction/advice regarding your New Year’s resolutions. He will be at the fitness center 9 am – noon and 4 pm – 7 pm.

Product Editor Rick Kranz of Automotive News had this to say about GM’s pickup plans and meeting strict fuel economy standards while still satisfying the customer: Interested in owning a lighter, less capable light-duty full-sized pickup? I didn't think so. But General Motors seriously considered developing such a truck in an effort to boost the fuel economy of its pickups. "We have studied this extensively," Mark Reuss, GM's president of North America, said on the sidelines of the Detroit auto show last week. The key was "light-weighting," using lighter materials. It seemed like a workable idea: Simply engineer some light-duty, full-sized pickup models using materials that reduce weight. The idea was discussed years ago as GM began development of its redesigned Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups. The redesigned pickups will be available in dealer showrooms next year. But not the lighter-weight, less capable models. That idea was dropped. Why? Reuss cites a few reasons:
o Higher materials cost and disappointing mpg: Reuss said that "if you look at profit on this, if you look at what it takes to actually do this, what it does to the cost of materials, and what it does to the real fuel economy of that vehicle," the effort would fall way short of GM's targets. He did not elaborate.
o Less capability: "What you risk when you light-weight trucks are duty-cycle issues," said Reuss. Capability can't be reduced because "there are people who use that to make a living."

Of course, what he failed to say is GM's pickups would be less competitive and that Ford and Ram likely would pick up new business. Reuss said that from a dollars and cents standpoint, and to reach GM's fuel economy targets, it made more sense to develop a mid-sized pickup -- the redesigned Chevrolet Colorado. That plan gives buyers two pickup choices: full-sized and mid-sized. That's not to say GM's full-sized pickups won't have better fuel economy. They will, Reuss said. But the mid-sized pickup will have better fuel economy -- possibly much better -- than its big brother. Said Reuss: The mid-sized Colorado will provide "90 percent of the size and 120 percent of the efficiency because of the powertrains." Let's see where GM goes with this idea.

Here are some excerpts from UAW President Bob King’s testimony at the “ Public Hearing for Proposed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Economy Standards for Light-Duty Vehicles in Model Years 2017-2025”:
It’s an honor to be here this morning, on behalf of our membership, to voice the UAW’s full support for the proposed rules regulating greenhouse-gas emissions and fuel economy. The proposed rules are sensible, achievable, and needed. They are good for the auto industry and its workers, good for the broader economy, good for the environment and good for our national security. Adopting the proposed rules will give an additional boost to the revitalization of the auto industry that began with President Obama’s courageous action in the depths of the industry’s crisis to save American manufacturing jobs by giving GM and Chrysler the breathing room they needed to restructure. After a painful process in which workers and retirees made significant sacrifices, the industry is coming back strong.
Our union’s new collective bargaining agreements with Ford, General Motors and Chrysler include substantial investment commitments by all three companies, in some cases bringing back work from overseas. The 20,000 UAW-represented hourly jobs that will be added over the next four years will have a substantial positive ripple effect throughout the supply chain as well as local communities. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have made an unprecedented commitment to invest billions of dollars in their U.S. operations over the next few years, and in every case the investment is supporting new vehicles and power trains that will be more efficient than the previous generation.

This includes exciting advances such as 8- and 9-speed automatic transmissions, both dual-clutch and conventional; engines that feature advanced valve timing and gasoline direct injection; downsized and turbo-charged engines, and vehicles that are considerably lighter than the previous generations but retain the same size. Technologies such as start-stop systems and electric power steering are also making a contribution to vehicle efficiency.
There is a common element for all these technologies – they are all now or will soon be produced by UAW members in factories located in the United States. And that’s just the beginning – UAW members are also producing new technologies that may not reach large volumes for many years, but that represent the long-term future of the industry. That includes hybrid transmissions and electric-drive components, lithium-ion battery packs, and plug-in and pure electric vehicles. Although most automakers will continue to meet fuel-efficiency and tailpipe emission targets through improvements to conventional vehicles, we are excited that these new, transformative technologies are being produced by UAW members.

I want to underscore why we believe the drive to increase fuel-efficiency and reduce tailpipe pollution is creating jobs in the U.S. auto industry. One obvious reason is that consumers are demanding more fuel-efficient vehicles, and meeting that demand is an increasingly important part of this business. In an age of rising and volatile fuel prices, American families want to save money on fuel.

A second, more fundamental reason is because the technology needed to improve efficiency and reduce pollution represents additional content on each vehicle. That additional content must be engineered and produced by additional employees.
Last year the UAW, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Larry’s organization, the National Wildlife Federation, produced a report called “Supplying Ingenuity.” That report identified more than 500 separate facilities in the United States employing over 150,000 people where some or all of the employees are working to invent, engineer or produce advanced vehicles and fuel-saving components. These are real jobs supporting real American families.

State of the Union January 17, 2012

2012-01-18T06:24:00.000-08:00

Jan. 17, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Union meeting is tomorrow, Jan. 18 at 4:15 am, 7:15 am, 1 pm, 3 pm and 4:45 pm. These times may vary as the meeting times will be 15 minutes after the longest shift line time.

Correction: The proposed down weeks for the month of September this year are the weeks of 9/3 and 9/10 (some copies had an incorrect date for the second week)

From Inside Line: Now that Chrysler's Dodge Dakota is officially out of production, Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show dealing out some talk about what a next-generation Dakota is likely to encompass. At the Detroit show on Monday, Marchionne said matter-of-factly in a session with reporters that there will be a new Dakota — and that it's a "better than 50-percent chance" that it will be based on a carlike unibody structure rather than a traditional body-on-frame architecture. That's either a good or bad thing, depending on your vector about what a midsize pickup needs to be able to do. If you think a unibody Dakota is a good idea, then it gets better: the Chrysler CEO also said chances are good a diesel engine will be offered for the new Dakota. It's not surprising Chrysler's committed to a next-gen of the Dakota, given that chief rival General Motors confirmed last year it will return to the U.S. market with the Colorado midsize pickup, using an all-new, second-generation body-on-frame Colorado developed largely for Asia and Latin American markets — and that when launched in Thailand last fall, had only diesels as its engine options. The U.S.-spec Colorado will be built at GM's assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri. This leaves Ford, which at the end of 2011 pulled down the curtain on production of the Ranger, as the last of Detroit's Big Three automakers to remain uncommitted to a midsize pickup.

From the Detroit Free Press: Americans are holding onto cars and trucks longer, pushing the average age of a vehicle to a record 10.8 years. The Polk research firm said today that the average age of a car last July was 11.1 years, while the truck average was 10.4. Unemployment and the sour economy have caused people to put off buying cars and trucks. Polk says the average vehicle age has been rising since 2008. But the firm says a sales rebound last year is likely to slow the aging rate. Car companies sold 12.8 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, up from 11.6 million in 2010. In 2010 the average vehicle on U.S. roads was 10.6 years old, up from 10 years in 2008.

From Automotive News: Chrysler Group plans to add a large expansion to its current facilities in Saltillo, Mexico, to assemble a Ram-branded version of the Fiat Ducato commercial van for North America. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler Group, said this week at the Detroit auto show that the expansion of the Saltillo plant would make it "the center for production of light-commercial vehicles in North America for us.” A Chrysler spokesman would not confirm the size of the investment, but company sources said it was expected to be about $500 million. Chrysler already operates a truck assembly plant, a stamping plant and two engine plants in Saltillo, about 180 miles southwest of Laredo, Texas. Marchionne said the front-wheel-drive full-sized commercial van shares a platform with the Peugeot Boxer in Europe. "It's designed perfectly to try and deal with the market segment here in the United States, so we think it will grow," he said. The Ducato is scheduled to arrive in North America in 2013, Marchionne said. Its European versions have a 135.8-inch wheelbase, compared with the 138-inch wheelbase of the rear-wheel-drive Ford Econoline commercial van. Chrysler previously said it would bring the smaller Fiat Doblo to North America as a light-duty commercial van and that it is studying bringing over the larger Fiat Daily as well. The Doblo is similar in size to the Ford Transit Connect. The Fiat Ducato

From the New York Times: After an investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Mini is recalling almost 89,000 of its turbocharged models because they could catch fire when the engine is off. In a report filed over the weekend, BMW, the parent company of Mini, told the safety agency that the auxiliary water pump designed to dissipate heat from the turbocharger was the cause of the hazard. The manufacturer said the pump’s circuit board may malfunction, allowing the board to overheat and the water pump to fail. “In an extreme case,” BMW said, overheating of the circuit board could cause a fire. BMW received its first report of a water-pump failure in 2009, and in May and July 2010 learned of two vehicles with “a burned engine compartment.” The automaker said it continued to monitor the situation, but did not notify the agency. Last October, however, N.H.T.S.A. began its own investigation after receiving complaints from owners, including 12 reports of engine fires — five of which asserted “engulfing fires resulting in a total vehicle loss.” Eight owners complained that the fires began when the vehicle was parked and the engine turned off. BMW decided this month that a recall was needed, the automaker said. It was not aware of any accidents or injuries. The models affected by the recall are the 2007-11 Cooper S; 2008-11 Cooper S Clubman; 2009-11 Cooper S convertible; 2011 Cooper S Countryman; and the 2009-11 John Cooper Works, John Cooper Works Clubman and John Cooper Works convertible. BMW describes the recall as voluntary, but under federal regulations once an automaker is aware of a safety problem it has no choice but to inform the agency of its plan for a recall.

State of the Union January 12, 2012

2012-01-18T06:23:00.001-08:00

Jan. 12, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: With the addition of the second shift and 430 more employees, management has given us notice per Paragraph 10 of the National Agreement of the need to redistrict the plant . Before the addition of the 2nd shift we had 6 districts, 5 on days and 1 on 2nd and 3rd together and 1 at large (the chairman). After the addition of the 2nd shift we will have 8 districts, 4 on 1st and 4 on 2nd and 2 at large (the chairman and a zone on nights). This realignment will create the combination of two districts into one on first shift. The two districts that have been combined is District 1. The existing committeemen in those two districts will have 1 week to sign up for a runoff election in the new district. The sign up for this will be January 23 to the 27. The election for the committeeman of District 1 will be February 7th. Until the election the existing districts on day shift will remain. I have appointed new committeepersons, alternates and an at large for all the 2nd shift openings and for 2 dayshift vacancies. A separate election for these new committeepersons and alternates will be held after 90 days per our By-Laws. (A copy of the districting agreement is on the back)
Second Shift Committeepersons and Alternates are as follows:
o Zone 2 at Large Torkey Graham
o District 2 Committeeman- Marlon Brown Alternate-Rob Baltimore
o District 4 Committeeman- Dave Devine Alternate-Rob Davies
o District 6 Committeeman- Susan Abrams Alternate-Mark Cather
o District 8 Committeeman -Tim Wakeland Alternate-Bob Warren

Also, Management has informed the Union of their intention of scheduling a Vacation Shutdown the weeks of August 20 and 27, 2012. Per the 2009 Modifications to the National contract, employees will be required to use 80 hours of their vacation time or be placed on a leave of absence for vacation purposes if no vacation accruement is available. Management has also scheduled the weeks of September 3 and 19 as Plant downtime for new product construction. All this is tentative until February 1 when management has to make it official before the vacation application period opens. Finally, Tuesday Jan. 17 is a holiday qualifying day and a VR blackout day.
•    As a result of a TKS scheduling error generated up north, some of you will not
receive short work week pay for last week. The majority of the errors appear to be in General Assembly on both shifts. Adjustments will be made on next week’s check.Local Agreement – Districting 01/03/2012

(Based on current plant population: 1,705)
Shop Committee: Two (2) Shop Committeeperson At Large (1 Chairperson & 1 Zone) &
Five (5) Shop Committeepersons

It is agreed between General Motors Corporation, Wentzville Assembly Center, and Local 2250, UAW, that the following Districts, Shop-Districts and Zones shall be established in accordance with Paragraphs 10 & 11 of the GM-UAW National Agreement.

Description of Chairperson at Large

Chairperson of the Shop Committee – Entire Plant, All Shifts
Zone 2 – Districts 2, 4, & 8

Description of Districts

Shop District 1 District 4 Shop District 7
District 2 Shop District 5 District 8
Shop District 3 Shop District 6

Districts # of Emp’s Description of Districts

Shop District 1, First Shift 219 All 1st shift employees assigned to the
Material & Body Shop (except K-line
Door Fitters)

District 2, Second Shift 212 All 2nd shift employees assigned to the
Material & Body Shop (except K-line
Door Fitters)

Shop District 3, First Shift 214 All 1st shift employees assigned to Trim &
Quality

District 4, Second Shift 207 All 2nd shift employees assigned to Trim &
Quality

Shop District 5, First Shift 214 All 1st shift Assigned to Chassis, Final
Process & K-Line Door Fitters

Shop District 6, Second Shift 205 All 2nd shift Assigned to Chassis, Final
Process & K-Line Door Fitters

Shop District 7, First Shift 193 All 1st shift employees assigned to Skilled
Trades, Paint & Stamping

District 8, Second Shift 241 All 2nd & 3rd shift employees assigned to
Skilled Trades, Paint & Stamping

Employees assigned to the Third Shift will be governed by the provisions of Paragraph (21b) of the National Agreement where applicable.

Employees assigned to Department 83 will be represented by the Committeeperson for the District to which they are assigned.

State of the Union January 10, 2012

2012-01-10T08:27:00.000-08:00

Jan. 10, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

We have been informed that our jacket order is being delayed due to a shortage of medium size jackets. The projected delivery time is now early February. We are trying to get a picture of the jackets so you know what to expect. Any change in the status of our order will be communicated.

Reminder: The following job openings are posted at all 3 entrances and run through the end of the shift Tuesday, Jan. 10: 2 permanent openings in stamping; 2 permanent openings and 1 sick leave opening in body shop; 2 permanent openings in paint; 1 permanent opening in material; 2 permanent openings in quality. These openings are only valid to those employees who have not put in a 63B transfer in the last 6 months. Paragraph 63B transfers at to shift of choice seniority permitting. Paragraph 63B applications cannot be rescinded or refused once the application period closes. You should drop your applications in the HR-Labor drop box located at A-39 (outside of the personnel office).

The Goddard School in Wentzville is considering offering child care (6 mo.-6 years old) starting at 5:30 am for GM employees only if 4 or more families commit. There is a 10% discount for GM employees also. You can call 636-327-5991 if you are interested.

Here is this week’s build information: 14 E-26 vans; 437 cutaways; 202 slider doors; 96 15-pass vans; 30.6% 07 loop; 148 exports; 34 diesels; 98 r/h door deletes; 97 Onstar; 26 brake deck spare tire; .66% tan interior trim; 210 Entreprise rent-a-car; 169 U-Haul; 28 Penske; 81.2% white vans.

Here is the December sales breakdown for the van segment: 2011 2010 Change Share
Ford Econoline 13,074 9,774 +33.8% 48.6%
GM 10,991 7,624 +44.1% 40.9%
Mercedes Sprinter 1,595 1,379 +15.7% 5.9%
Nissan NV 1,230 --- --- 4.6%
Ford Transit Connect 3,910 2,811 +39.1% ---

With our biggest monthly sales in over 3 years, our field supplies are down
dramatically. Overall net field supplies are down over 1600 units to a 33 day supply and total stock is down over 4000 units. Chevy cutaways fell from a 228 day supply to 46 and Express passenger vans are at a 14 day supply. Chevy cargo vans are at a 30 day supply.

Here is some great feedback from the Women’s Center regarding the Adopt-A-Child program: “GM Employees – We cannot express how much we appreciate your generosity over the years in supporting our program, especially at the holidays. We are continually amazed by your thoughtfulness each year. Happy Holidays and many blessings in the New Year! Love, the Women’s Center”.

GM’s Chinese sales for 2011 were up 8.3 % to 2.55 million. GM sold 2.503 million in the U.S. in 2011, up 13%. (Ford said its sales grew 7 percent to 519,390 units) GM aims to double deliveries to 5 million units by 2015 and plans to focus on expanding its luxury car brand Cadillac and its sport-utility vehicle lineup.

Apparently we owe an apology to Toyota. WardsAuto had reported that Toyota had logged the highest recall total for 2011. Now comes word that it was, in fact, Honda who held that distinction. According to NHTSA (earlier disputed by Honda, then agreed to) Honda recalled 3.9 million vehicles in the U.S., eclipsing Toyota’s 3.5 million total and good for the top (bottom?) spot.

From the Detroit News: United Auto Workers President Bob King predicted Monday that Detroit's Big Three automakers will again grow market share against the foreign brands in 2012. They picked up about 2 percentage points in 2011, to end the year with 47 percent of the market in the U.S. "We're going to grow market share. We're providing the best value to consumers, the best quality, the best mileage, so I think you are going to see a strong resurgence of the American industry," King said in a Detroit News interview on the sidelines of the North American International Auto Show. "The energy is really different here. The mood is really upbeat." King reiterated that the UAW will not pick a target for organizing efforts among foreign automakers operating in the U.S. But he said the union is making progress on its efforts. "We're having back-channel, off-the-record discussions with a number of companies. All we want is a fair, democratic process for workers to decide if they want representation, if they want to form their local union," he said. "We're staying on that focus — putting a lot of energy and effort into it." He said he hoped the UAW won't have to pick a target, and that foreign automakers will allow workers to decide if they will join a union. "If companies really support the democratic rights of workers to decide if they want representation, there won't need to be any confrontation. If companies try to violate human rights, try to deny workers their right to freedom of association, the freedom of collective bargaining, then we're going to have to respond," King said.

From Automotive News: The redesigned GMC Sierra pickup may be repositioned as General Motors' premium pickup. GM is rethinking pricing and equipment levels for both the redesigned Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado. The pickups will go on sale next year. Sierra models would have a longer list of standard equipment and a higher sticker price than a comparable Chevrolet Silverado, Mark Reuss, GM president of North America, said on Monday. "Right now, there is about a $500 difference on a brand basis between the two," Reuss said during an interview at Detroit's North American International Auto Show. Additionally, the incentives are nearly identical between the two brands, he said. "I think you will see equipment and models attacked very differently because we should. If we are going to carry two brands, we are going to make them pay their way," he said. An effort will be made to differentiate the sheetmetal between the two pickups "as best we can do with a pickup truck. A pickup truck is a pickup truck," he said.

State of the Union January 5, 2012

2012-01-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

Jan. 5, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.comhttp://www.blogger.com

The following job openings will be posted at all 3 entrances beginning today and running through the end of the shift next Tuesday, Jan. 10: 2 permanent openings in stamping; 2 permanent openings and 1 sick leave opening in body shop; 2 permanent openings in paint; 1 permanent opening in material; 2 permanent openings in quality. These openings are only valid to those employees who have not put in a 63B transfer in the last 6 months. Paragraph 63B transfers at to shift of choice seniority permitting. Paragraph 63B applications cannot be rescinded or refused once the application period closes. You should drop your applications in the HR-Labor drop box located at A-39 (outside of the personnel office).

Short work week benefits will be paid this week as a result of the early line times. Here’s how it works: The difference between the hours that you worked (to the nearest tenth), including holiday and vacation pay, and 40 hours will be paid at 80% of your base rate. You must have 1 year seniority to be eligible for short work week benefits.

From the Civil Rights Committee: Everyone is cordially invited to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Awards Ceremony on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 12 noon in the tour holding room. We are asking that all winners and their parents arrive at 11:30 am and meet with a committee member to prepare for pictures. This year’s guest speaker is the Rev. Aaron Johnson, author of “Man From Macedonia – my life of service, struggle, faith and hope”. He is an inspiring speaker and we look forward to hearing his words.

General Motors Co. reported total U.S. sales of 234,351 vehicles in December, up 5 percent compared with December 2010. Sales for the calendar year were up 14 percent year over year to more than 2.5 million units and the company gained market share for the first time since 2002 to roughly 19.6%, a gain of close to a point. “GM’s balanced portfolio of fuel-efficient cars, trucks and crossovers helped us make the most of the U.S. economy’s slow but steady recovery in 2011,” said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations. “Importantly, we were able to grow all four of our brands and reestablish Chevrolet as a force to be reckoned with in the passenger car business. This gives us a very solid foundation to compete in a market that we expect to keep growing.” In December, retail deliveries were up 2 percent compared with a very strong December 2010, and accounted for 81 percent of GM sales. Deliveries to fleets were up 17 percent. GM’s total passenger car sales for the month increased 12 percent. Crossover sales decreased 14 percent. Sales of trucks, which include full-size pickups, vans and SUVs increased 13 percent.(cont’d on back)

Highlights for the month include a 42 percent year-over-year increase in Chevrolet Sonic sales (compared with the Aveo), a 54 percent increase in Chevrolet Cruze sales, a 20 percent increase for the Chevrolet Camaro and a 13 percent increase for the Chevrolet Malibu. Other highlights include double-digit sales increases for the Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Avalanche, Colorado, Silverado, Tahoe and Suburban, and the GMC Yukon XL. In addition, Chevrolet Equinox had its best sales month of the year in December. Van sales for December came in at 10,991 which is the best monthly sales total since September 2008. Year-to-date van sales were 89,211, up 21% over 2010.

From Automotive News: The Chevrolet Volt missed its U.S. sales target of 10,000 cars in 2011, the company said. Chevy dealers sold 1,529 of the plug-in hybrids last month – its best month ever – but leaving the brand 2,329 shy of its goal. GM signaled last month it would fail to reach the sales goal. A slow production ramp-up kept dealers in short supply until December, and a federal investigation of three fires that occurred after Volt crash tests lowered demand for the car, according to CNW Marketing Research Inc. U.S. dealers sold a total of 7,671 Volts last year. GM is expanding production to 60,000 Volts this year with 45,000 of them earmarked for the U.S. The Volt is being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration because its batteries caught on fire in the weeks following three government crash tests. NHTSA announced a safety probe of the Volt Nov. 25. December was the third month that Chevy dealers sold the Volt in all 50 states. GM allowed dealers to sell as many as 2,300 demonstration models to retail buyers starting in late November, helping spur a 2.8 percent increase from October. The Volt did handily outsell the Nissan Leaf – 954 units sold – for the second month in a row.

Here some other sales results for our competitors: Ford sales for the year were up 9%, good for a 16.8% market share and second place; Toyota sales dropped 7% for the year as they held on to third place; Chrysler sales jumped 26% to place 4th overall; Honda also dropped 7% and stayed fifth; Hyundai/Kia climbed 27% for sixth place and Nissan was up 15% in seventh place.
R.L. Polk Global Auto Sales

2012 2013 2014
Global 77.7 83.4 88.1
U.S. 13.7 14.9 15.6
Europe 19.0 20.3 21.5
Brazil 3.6 3.8 3.9
China 17.9 19.4 20.6
Japan 4.5 4.8 4.9
*In millions

State of the Union January 3, 2012

2012-01-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

Jan. 3, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: Welcome back to everyone and I hope you all had a great time with your family and friends over the holidays. 2012 should be an exciting year as we ramp up the second shift and break ground to prepare for the production of the new Chevy Colohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrado. We have over 400 new faces and we all remember what it was like to be new, so help them out as much as you can.

From Benefits: Applications for FMLA will now be processed through Segwick. Please call 1-800-489-4646 to receive the necessary paperwork.

The cafeteria hours for Wednesday and Thursday are 5:30 am to 8:30 am, 10 am – 12 noon and 2 pm – 5:30 pm.(No production on Friday)

The jackets are scheduled to be shipped today to the Union Hall. Once a distribution plan is in place you will be notified.

The traffic lights on Highway A have yet to be activated. We have been told that the city of Wentzville is still trying to coordinate with MODOT to have this done. As soon as we receive confirmation we will let you know. In the meantime please be careful entering and exiting the plant with the increased traffic.

As it stands now, here is the startup plan for Wednesday, Jan. 4:
o 14 Build Blocks – the first 3 will be 15 minutes, the next 11 will be 20 minutes with the exception of one 30 minutes block
o Production number is Max 50
o 6:00 – 6:30 Team Meeting
o 6:30 Begin Build Blocks
o 1st shift normal breaks and lunch
o 2nd shift starts @ 12:00 p.m. – Both Shifts Team Meeting
o 12:00 – 12:30 Team Meeting
o 2:00 G/L, S/L Escalation Meeting
o 2:30 GA S/L Meeting
o 4:30 2nd shift lunch
o 5:12 1st Shift Ends
o 7:20 Team Meeting
o 11:12 2nd Shift Ends

There was good news and bad news to report about the Chevy Sonic. The good news is that it won an Edmunds head-to-head comparison to the Mazda 2, garnering praise like, “the Sonic LTZ ranks among the best subcompacts we've ever driven.” It also was one of only 7 vehicles to receive a composite 5-star crash rating from NHTSA. The bad news is that GM issued a recall for Sonics built between June 2 and Nov. 21 - a total of 4,296 vehicles – for potentially missing brake pads.

Speaking of recalls, WardsAuto reports that Toyota led the league in total number of vehicles recalled in 2011 for the third year in a row. A grand total of 3.5 million vehicles were recalled, bringing the 3 year tally to nearly 11.5 million (and that’s North America only, folks). Coming in a close second last year was Ford at 3.2 million. Oddly enough, these two manufacturers have the highest number of recommended vehicles by Consumer Reports. (GM recalled 455,901 for the year)

From the Detroit Free Press: General Motors will idle three U.S. truck plants for a collective 21 weeks next year to retool them for redesigned versions of the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and full-size SUVs. GM's Ft. Wayne assembly plant in Roanoke, Ind., is scheduled to suspend output for nine weeks between January and October, Chris Lee, a spokesman for the Detroit-based company, said in a telephone interview. The automaker plans to idle its Flint truck plant for seven weeks between June and November. GM's Arlington, Texas, plant is scheduled to shut for five weeks between June and December. Arlington workers now assemble the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade SUVs. GM informed employees of the schedules last week, Lee said. The company is planning to invest $328 million in Flint, $275 million in Ft. Wayne and $331 million in Arlington, creating at least 100 additional jobs at each factory. If the retooling is done through 2012, production would begin in 2013. News media reports have said the new trucks would go on sale as 2014 models. GM had 202,720 full-size pickups in inventory at the end of November, 105 days' supply, GM said Dec. 1. Capacity in 2012 at GM's U.S. full-size pickup plants will be about 640,000 units, according to an Aug. 4 company presentation.

1st-quarter forecast: North American light-vehicle production forecast
Company Units Change vs. Q1 2011
GM, 809,300 3%
Ford, 685,200 4%
Chrysler/Fiat, 467,800 -4%
Toyota, 406,100 10%
Honda, 371,000 11%
Nissan, 304,600 2%
Hyundai/Kia, 179,200 18%
Other, 339,500 9%
TOTAL, 3,562,700 5%
Source: IHS Automotive,

State of the Union December 19-21, 2011

2011-12-19T06:55:00.000-08:00

State of the Union December 19- December 21, 2012

Dec. 19, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

The Civil Rights Committee is holding a raffle to raise funds for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship program. First prize is a 40” LCD television, 2nd prize is an HP tablet computer and 3rd prize is a $100 gift card. Tickets are $10 apiece or 3 for $25 and are available from any committee member. Drawing will be Thursday, Dec. 22.

Here is this week’s build information: 52 E-26 vans; 472 slider doors; 1014 cutaways; 147 15-pass vans; 24.2% 07 loop; 128 r/h door deletes; 88 diesels; 200 Onstar; 25 brake deck spare tire; 144 exports; 399 Enterprise rent-a-car; 280 U-Haul; 75 Penske; 35 Budget; 86.3% white vans.

Through Friday Dec. 23rd, starting at 6:00 P.M., workers will be resurfacing the “A” aisle from Column 15 (Central Shop) to Col. 67. We anticipate completing 4-8 Column Bays a night. Therefore each night there will be a section of A aisle that traffic will not be allowed on from 6:00 P.M. until 5:00 A.M. After 5:00 A.M. normal traffic may resume.

The Lordstown assembly plant resumed output of the Chevy Cruze last night. Production has been suspended since Dec. 12 because of a supplier parts issue. GM hasn't released other details about the part or identified the supplier, describing it as a "consumer satisfaction" issue with the part, according to Buick spokesman Nick Richards

From Automotive Business Review: General Motors will invest $68 million at its assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, to build the next generation of the Chevrolet Impala. The automaker said that the move will retain about 350 jobs at the Canadian assembly plant. In August this year the company said it would invest about $117m in preparing the plant to produce the Cadillac and that it expected the new line to create or retain 750 jobs at the plant. The company said that in order to meet customer demand and maximize the flexibility of its manufacturing operations, the Impala will be built at both Oshawa and the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plants. Last year, the Oshawa plant has launched production of the Buick Regal, Chevrolet Camaro Convertible and Chevrolet Equinox, adding two shifts and securing 1,300 jobs. The Oshawa facility employs more than 4,400 people, who build the Chevrolet Camaro and current version of the Impala.

CNN Money website compiled a “Most disliked cars of the year” list, and it seems to be the most anti-Consumers Reports list of all time. It is chocked full of export brand vehicles and only one domestic – the Chevy Volt, which earned CR’s award for highest customer satisfaction. Here are the winners (losers?) in ascending order: Fiat 500, Chevy Volt, Jaguar XF, Lexus HS 250h (also had the biggest year over year sales decline of 73%), Honda Insight, the entire Infiniti Division, BMW 550i GT, Honda Ridgeline, Nissan Cube, Nissan Murano Cross Cabriolet (convertible SUV) and the most disliked car…..wait for it……the Honda Civic, which is being fastracked as we speak for a mid-cycle redesign following Chairman Ito’s personal apology for its execution.

Speaking of dubious quality foreign cars, the Detroit Free Press reports that Nissan is recalling nearly 34,000 Sentra compact cars because of a battery cable problem that could cause the engines to stall. Documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration say that a zinc coating on the cable bolts could be too thick. That can cause a voltage drop that can damage the engine control computer. The documents say the cars can stall while moving and it may not be possible to restart them, increasing the risk of a crash. Nissan also is recalling more than 28,000 Juke small crossover SUVs from the 2011 model year. A turbocharger bracket problem can cause engine stalling.

From Bloomberg: Automakers led by General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC may need to boost incentives or cut production to reduce inventories that have risen to a 31-month high, according to a Bloomberg analysis. U.S. auto sales may total 12.7 million this year, the best annual performance since 2008, Bloomberg estimates. Sales may increase to 13.5 million in 2012, rising for a third consecutive year from a 27-year low of 10.4 million cars and light trucks in 2009. GM is poised to retake leadership in global auto sales, which it ceded to Toyota in 2008. The automaker has reported 6.79 million sales through September of this year, leading disaster-stricken Toyota by 1 million vehicles. Volkswagen AG has jumped to second with 6.17 million vehicles sold through the first nine months, expanding faster than it had forecast.

As it stands now, here is the startup plan for Wednesday, Jan. 4:
o 14 Build Blocks – the first 3 will be 15 minutes, the next 11 will be 20 minutes with the exception of one 30 minutes block
o Production number is Max 50
o 6:00 – 6:30 Team Meeting
o 6:30 Begin Build Blocks
o 1stshift normal breaks and lunch
o 2ndshift starts @ 12:00 p.m. – Both Shifts Team Meeting
o 12:00 – 12:30 Team Meeting
o 2:00 G/L, S/L Escalation Meeting
o 2:30 GA S/L Meeting
o 4:30 2nd shift lunch
o 5:12 1st Shift Ends
o 7:20 Team Meeting
o 11:12 2nd Shift Ends

December 20, 2011

Dec. 20, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Any FMLA applications picked up before Thursday need to be returned to labor relations after they have been completed by you and your doctor.
The Civil Rights committee is also selling T-shirts and sweatshirts in the cafeteria now until they are sold out. You can also buy your raffle tickets there - First prize is a 40” LCD television, 2nd prize is an HP tablet computer and 3rd prize is a $100 gift card. Tickets are $10 apiece or 3 for $25 and are available from any committee member. Drawing will be Thursday, Dec. 22.
•    Urgent: Noah’s Ark Academy is offering child care services for 2ndshift workers but they need a commitment for 15-20 children to maintain their child/staff ratios and put everything in place. However, for a Jan. 3 start, they need a paid registration of $65 by this Friday, Dec. 23. They have said that they can definitely accommodate the volume of new GM families given enough time to plan. The facility is located at 411 West Pearce Blvd in Wentzville. You can call 636-887-2773 for more information and if you are relocating you can contact Michelle via e-mail: michelle@noahsarkacademy.org. Apologies for the short notice.

Here is the startup schedule for Thursday, Jan. 5:
o 15 Build Blocks 45 minutes each consisting of 15 minutes controlled stop and 30 minutes run time. There will be 3 day shift blocks and 2 night shift that have 40 minutes run time.
o Production number is Max 100
o 6:00 – 6:30 Team Meeting
o 6:30 Begin Build Blocks
o 1stshift normal breaks and lunch
o 2ndshift starts @ 12:00 p.m. – Both Shifts Team Meeting
o 12:00 – 12:30 Team Meeting – line is down from 11:45 to 1:20
o 2:00 G/L S/L Escalation Meeting
o 2:30 GA S/L Meeting
o 4:30 2nd shift lunch
o 5:06 1st Shift Ends
o 7:20 Team Meeting
o 11:06 2nd Shift Ends

To: Temporary Employee

UNEMPLOYMENT INFORMATION
FOR TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES

You are being laid-off effect Friday, 12/23/11 with a recall date of Tuesday, January 3, 2012. The following information and instructions are needed to file for Missouri Unemployment.

Unemployment Information
During the Week of: Action to be done:

Week of 12/26/2011(12/26 to 12/30) You must call the state of Missouri to open your claim

Week of 1/3/2012 (1/3 to 1/6) Contact the state to claim the previous week

Last day worked is 12/22/11

Unemployment Information
Claiming unemployment is a two-step process. You must contact the state to activate your unemployment claim during the week of 12/26/11. You will still need to file for your weekly benefits after your claim has been activated, in Missouri. The claim week runs from Sunday through Saturday. The week must be claimed after the Saturday week ending date. Weekly claims can be filed on the Internet at www.moclaim.comor by telephone at 314-340-4950 (if that is a local call for you) or 800-320-2519. The Internet is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The telephone lines are available for weekly claim filing 24 hours a day from 1:00 p.m. on Sundays until 5:00 p.m. on Fridays, except for holiday weeks.

Additional Information

•The state of Missouri will no longer back date claims – you must call at the appropriate time(s).
•You need to keep your address and telephone number up to date on mygm.gm.com.

•If you do any work during the week, you must report the gross amount of any wages on your claim for the week. It is very important that all wages be reported accurately on weekly claims. Wages are to be reported during the week in which the work is performed. This includes wages from other work performed during the week you are claiming.

December 21, 2011

•Tomorrow, Dec. 22, is a holiday pay qualifying day and a VR blackout day, with the first 2 days of holiday pay at risk. Tuesday, Jan. 3 is also a holiday pay qualifying day and a VR blackout day, with the last 2 days of holiday pay at risk. Paychecks for the pay period ending Dec. 25 will be mailed Tuesday, Dec. 27 and dated Friday, Dec. 30.

•Tomorrow the lunch break will run from 10:30 am until 11:20 am to provide extra time for team dinners.

•Team leader applications can be submitted year round. There is currently one opening for team leader in Chassis which closes tomorrow.

•We have been told that the jackets should arrive here Jan. 3. When they are delivered we will communicate the distribution plan.

•The Cafeteria hours for Wednesday, Jan. 4 and Thursday, Jan. 5 will be 5:30 am – 8 am; 10 am – 12 noon; and 2 pm – 5:30 pm. The following week when 2nd shift start goes to 5:30 pm the hours will be 7 pm – 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm – 11 pm. (Day shift hours will remain the same)

•From the Community Services Committee: Thanks to everyone who adopted a child or donated money this year. We were able to give 110 children a Christmas they would not have had otherwise. The delivery of gifts was finished yesterday and you need to know that there were many grateful parents who got quite emotional as a result of your generosity. This truly is one of the best programs we participate in and you should feel good about brightening the Holiday season for some of the less fortunate members of the community.

•Here is the production schedule for January: The first week is Tuesday through Thursday, 10.7, 10.7 and 10.6. The second week is Monday through Thursday, 10 hours. The third week is Tuesday through Thursday, 10.7, 10.7 and 10.6. The fourth week is Monday through Friday, 10 hours.

•There have been some questions about when SUB pay kicks in for entry level workers. Per the National Agreement, Employees must have “had at least 1 year of seniority as of the Employee’s last day worked prior to the qualifying layoff.”

•From the Chaplaincy Committee: We would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

State of the Union December 15, 2011

2011-12-15T14:02:00.001-08:00

Dec. 15, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    Reminder: There will be a meeting at the Union Hall today after first shift for members who transferred from Indianapolis and Messena. Remember to bring copies of the transfer paperwork you signed when you came to Wentzville.
•    The Red Cross blood drive will be tomorrow beginning at 9:30 am in the tour holding room. If you signed up to donate you should have been told when you are scheduled to give blood. If you haven’t you should see your group leader.
•    Last week the QNPM Spare Parts Team (Ken Phillips and Don Elam of the UAW and Marcus Sims and Jeanne Henderson of GM) performed an analysis of Wentzville’s spare parts operation. The team came away very impressed with the work done here and said that Wentzville is the company benchmark in many aspects of spare parts. Here are some of the analysis highlights:
o The 2008-10 time period shows a $790,000 average decrease in spare parts spending compared to the 2004-06 time frame.
o Spare parts storage area has been reduced by 16,620 square feet while storage locations have increased from 87 to 105 indicating quicker/easier access to parts throughout the plant with a smaller footprint
o Identified potential savings in the next 2 years of $677,883
o Excellent job of storing and labeling spare parts as well as creating a database so the location of parts could be found on any computer in the plant, saving time and inventory expense.
•    Wentzville Assembly received recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for achieving the Energy Star Challenge for Industry, which recognizes plants that achieve a 10% reduction in energy intensity within 5 years. In fact, our reduction was 22.49%! All the little things like turning off TV’s, lights, computers etc. have added up to make a big difference.
•    Everyone should be receiving a letter in the mail regarding the changes to FMLA this week. These changes will be effective Jan. 3, 2012. On back is the flow chart explaining the new process. If you have any questions prior to Jan. 3 you should contact Labor Relations.

State of the Union December 14, 2011

2011-12-14T14:29:00.000-08:00

Dec. 14, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: There will be a special meeting for the Indianapolis and Messena transfers at the Union Hall this Thursday after first shift. Remember to bring copies of the transfer paperwork you signed when you came to Wentzville. Also, the changes that were negotiated in the National Agreement concerning the termination of mailing paychecks/paystubs will not take place until next fall. I know some of you were under the impression that these changes would be effective in January but that is not the case.
•    Team meetings are being suspended for the rest of the year. This will allow an extra 20 minutes to be added to next Thursday’s lunch period for team dinners and the remainder will be used to make up lost production (currently -111 for the month).
•    Reminder: All presents for the Adopt-A-Child program must be dropped off by the end of first shift this Friday, Dec. 16. You can drop them off at the Communications office next to the tour holding room or see Wanda Richard or Tina Hayes.
•    The annual Chassis Christmas Party will be this Friday, Dec. 16 after first shift at Maggie Malones (990 Wentzville Parkway in Wentzville). There will be raffles, prizes, free food and drink specials – you can get happy hour prices all night with your Union card or GM id. Everyone is welcome so come join the fun. For more info you can contact Sue Picou at column F-43.
•    From Reuters: General Motors Co suspended production on Monday afternoon at an Ohio plant that makes the Chevrolet Cruze compact car due to a supplier issue. Production at the Lordstown, Ohio, factory was halted around 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT). Workers on the first and second shifts worked shortened schedules, while the third shift was suspended, GM Lordstown spokesman Tom Mock said. GM spokesman Chris Lee declined to describe the nature of the supplier issue, saying only that the No. 1 U.S. automaker was looking to restart production as swiftly as possible. So far this year, the Cruze is the second-best-selling small car in the U.S. auto market and the 10th-best-selling vehicle overall as consumers seek more fuel efficient options.
•    From Wards Auto: Expect competition at the lower end of the U.S. passenger-car market to boil over next year, as revitalized Asian auto makers put the heat on a newly assertive General Motors and Ford in the compact segment. Just how aggressive pricing in the segment will become likely hinges on the fortunes of the Chevrolet Cruze and how desperate both domestic and Asian auto makers are to regain share. Through November, the new-for-’11 Cruze sedan led the small-car segment with a 10.1% share on deliveries of 215,057 units, according to WardsAuto data. But the Cruze’s share of the segment was down 8.1% from its 12.8% peak in July, as Toyota and Honda continued to rebuild inventories. Despite a scheduled down week, “There has not been a hint about eliminating a shift,” says Jim Graham, president of United Auto Workers union Local 1112 in Lordstown. “The (Cruze) is selling extremely well and we expect that to continue, regardless of what Ford, Toyota and Honda might do,” he tells WardsAuto. GM spokesman Jim Cain says the auto maker intends to maintain a stable production pace for the Cruze, calling it “a successful product that has established itself quickly.”
•    The startup plan for the first week of January for the addition of the second shift has been finalized. The plan is based on “build blocks”, which are blocks of time with standard activities. These blocks will run 30 minutes for Tuesday, Jan. 3 and Wednesday, Jan. 4 and will be 45 minutes Thursday, Jan. 5. We will cover each day’s schedule in this newsletter. Here is the schedule for Tuesday, Jan. 3:
•    13 Build Blocks 30 Minutes Each
o Production number will be based on the build – Max 25
o 6:00 – 8:00
    20 minute Team Meeting
    G/L visits each team
    T/L and T/M review Safety No Blip Pre Work Section
    Plan for UATs
•    8:20 - Begin Build Blocks
o First 10 minutes - line will run normally
    Use Andon
o Next 20 Minutes - Conveyors will turn off automatically
    Team Focus
    Review the jobs just built
    Training, Rundowns, Correct Parts, Electrical Connections, etc.
    Complete UATs
    Check for Mutilations
•    Breaks and Lunch at Normal Times
•    1:20 Team Meeting
•    2:30 G/L, S/L Escalation Meeting
•    3:00 GA S/L Daily Meeting
•    5:12 Shift Ends 10.7

State of the Union December 12, 2011

2011-12-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

Dec. 12, 2011 online at
www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: Brothers and Sisters transferred here from Indianapolis or Massena – Bedford, Indiana is within Indianapolis’ “Area Hire/Former Community” transfer options. Tonawanda may be within Massena’s “Area Hire/Former Community”. You had the option of accepting the new “Modified Enhanced Relocation” package, the basic package or the enhanced package. I am trying to resolve “package issues” with the Corporation. There will be a special meeting at the Union Hall soon and we’ll let you know when it will be scheduled. We will need copies of the transfer paperwork you signed when you came to Wentzville when you contact us.

Here is this week’s build information: 24 E-26 vans; 815 cutaways; 209 slider doors; 128 15-pass vans; 22.4% 07 loop; 114 r/h door deletes; 130 exports; 116 diesels; 186 Onstar; 73 brake deck spare tire; 285 U-Haul; 269 Enterprise rent-a-car; 54 Penske; 86.3% white vans.

Reminder: All presents for the Adopt-A-Child program need to be turned in by Friday, Dec. 16. See Wanda Richard or Tina Hayes if you have any questions.

Due to high demand, the uniform store will be open daily from 8 am to 4 pm effective now through Thursday, Dec. 22.

Here are the winners of the Women’s Committee raffle: Million dollar board – Bob Greer; Scarves – Cleo Allen; Avon basket – Chas Wellman; Candle basket – Jon Dougherty. Thanks to everyone for their continued support.

The Ecotec 2.0L turbo I-4 engine that powers the all-new 2012 Buick Regal GS is one of WardsAuto World’s 2012 "10 Best Engines" for North America. The Ecotec 2.0L turbo’s 270 horsepower is the highest specific output of any GM production engine, and at 135 hp per liter, is the most power-dense engine certified by the Society of Automotive Engineers. "The turbocharged Ecotec 2.0L belongs on the list this year because it makes an outrageous 135 hp per liter in the Regal GS, and it’s a blast to drive," said WardsAuto World Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter. "This engine delivers a level of power and sophistication that redefines Buick." The Regal GS achieves 0-60 mph in less than 6.7 seconds and runs the quarter-mile in 15.2 seconds at 98 mph. Ward’s reviewed 35 engines from 15 automakers in this year’s competition. Winners were chosen based on several factors, including power; noise, vibration and harshness; fuel efficiency; new technology; and comparative data for similar engines.
This year’s winners and the applications tested:

o 3.0L TFSI Supercharged DOHC V-6 (Audi A6)
o 2.0L N20 Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (BMW Z4/528i)
o 3.0L N55 Turbocharged DOHC I-6 (BMW 335i coupe)
o 3.6L Pentastar DOHC V-6 (Chrysler 300S/Jeep Wrangler)
o 2.0L EcoBoost DOHC I-4 (Ford Edge)
o 5.0L DOHC V-8 (Ford Mustang Boss 302)
o 2.0L Turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Buick Regal GS)
o 1.6L DOHC I-4 (Hyundai Accent/Kia Soul)
o 2.0L Skyactiv DOHC I-4 (Mazda3)
o 3.5L DOHC V-6 HEV (Infiniti M35h)

From Automotive News: Hyundai Motor's vice chairman said it would be difficult for the UAW to unionize workers at the South Korean automaker's plant in the United States. Hyundai factory workers in Alabama do not see the need to join the UAW because Hyundai gives them stable jobs, said Yoon Yeo-cheol, who is in charge of Hyundai's labor relations. "It will not be easy (for UAW to unionize Hyundai workers). Hyundai employees there don't like it," he told reporters in Seoul. Hyundai's plant in Montgomery, Ala., employs more than 2,500 people and produces the Elantra and Sonata sedans. Hyundai's South Korean sister company Kia Motors also has an assembly plant in West Point, Ga. UAW President Bob King has said he wants to target a Japanese, South Korean or German automaker with U.S. plants in its campaign to unionize workers at plants of non-U.S. automakers. The UAW protested at more than 80 Hyundai dealerships in the United States last week in support of a South Korean woman who filed a sexual harassment claim against one of the automaker's suppliers. "This has nothing to do with the domestic organizing campaign," Michele Martin, a UAW spokeswoman, said at the time. "Hyundai is not the target." The UAW earlier this week said it had changed plans and decided it would not pick a specific company to organize in the United States.

From the Detroit News: The last Ford Ranger for the U.S. market is expected to roll off the line by Dec. 19, marking the end of an era, with more than 6.6 million sold over 29 years. There are an estimated 800,000 Rangers still on the road. Drivers of the compact pickup acknowledge their solidarity by waving to one another. With the end of production and closing of the 86-year-old Twin Cities Assembly Plant in Minnesota, Ford Motor Co. will be out of the compact pickup business in North America. Meanwhile, crosstown rival General Motors Co. prepares to launch the next generation of the compact Colorado in 2013. And Chrysler Group LLC is working on a compact unibody pickup to replace the discontinued Dodge Dakota. At a time when automakers are introducing ever-smaller cars to meet fuel-efficiency regulations, Ford is killing its smallest truck and directing consumers to the full-size F-150 with a more efficient V-6 engine.Ford's rationale is that there is little price bump — less than $5,000 — to the larger F-150, and dwindling sales of the Ranger did not warrant making and selling the next-generation model in the U.S.

"It leaves a sweet spot wide open for GM for buyers who want a domestic smaller pickup," said analyst Dave Sullivan of Auto Pacific Inc. The Auto Pacific 2011 Brand Study showed 19 percent of Ranger owners would buy another compact pickup, so they would have to defect to the competition.

State of the Union December 8, 2011

2011-12-12T06:24:00.000-08:00

Dec. 8, 2011 online at uawlocal2250.com
From Chairman Mike Bullock: Today will be the last day for 12 hour maximum line time to make up lost production due to the body shop breakdown on Monday. While there will still be some production to be made up, there will be no line times longer than 11 hours to make up this lost production.

Message from Joe Ashton and Cathy Clegg: As you know, during the 2011 Contract Negotiations, we agreed to a quality performance payout if we achieved our target for model year to date IPTV (Incidents per Thousand Vehicles) performance. We are pleased to report that our team achieved 98 percent performance, earning each eligible UAW-GM team member a bonus of $250, which will be in your December 16th check. The UAW-GM Team has always been known for building outstanding quality. Whether it is for stampings, power trains, components, service parts or vehicles, quality and customer service is at the heart of what we do every day in our operations. This year, our team has made outstanding progress. We have launched several successful vehicles, announced many product allocations, upgraded our manufacturing plants and created thousands of jobs. By the end of the year, we will also have all our team members back at work and begin bringing on new employees. Much of our success is due to the high quality we provide our customers. Congratulations and thanks again for your efforts. (Per the National Agreement: The eligibility date for this bonus was November 15. Eligible employees are defined as those with active seniority; on temporary layoff status; on leave pursuant to Family and Medical Leave Act; on one of the following leaves of absence which has not exceeded (90) days as of the eligibility date – Informal, Formal, Sickness and Accident, Military, and Educational)

Reminder: Tomorrow is the deadline to submit an employee referral. The phone number for logon ID or password reset help is 1-888-337-2400 (Opt 1-1-GMIN).

You are cordially invited to the UAW Local 2250 Christmas celebration to be held on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Union Hall. Doors open at 6:30 pm and dinner is served at 7 pm. Snacks, beer and setups will be provided. Music, provided by Marlon “DJ” Brown, will run from 8 pm to midnight. Also on Dec. 10, Santa Claus will be coming to the Union Hall from 9 am to 11 am. Donuts, juice and coffee will be served. Bring your children and grandchildren and don’t forget your camera.

Contact Congress now! Today is National Call-In to Renew Unemployment Insurance Day! UAW members, tell your members of Congress to renew Unemployment Insurance for 2012. Call (888) 245-3381 or visit the unemployedworkers.orgcall-in feature on this page. Millions of hardworking Americans — nearly 2 million in January alone, and over 6 million in 2012 — will be cut off from the emergency lifeline of federal unemployment insurance, unless Congress acts to renew the program before it expires Dec. 31. In the past three years, federal unemployment insurance has helped more than 17 million Americans while they’ve looked for work in the toughest job market since the Great Depression. Recent U.S. Census Bureau figures show that federal unemployment insurance helped keep more than 3 million from falling into poverty last year alone. Congress has never allowed these programs to expire when unemployment was anywhere near this high for this long. Congress must act, and act now.

From the Detroit News: Ford Motor Co. wants to grow its lucrative commercial truck business as it shifts customers to a new line of vehicles. Ford is hoping E-Series (Econoline van) customers will seamlessly shift to a future version of the Ford Transit commercial van that will be built at the automaker's Kansas City plant and go on sale in 2013. Ford is investing more than $1 billion in the Kansas City plant to prepare for the Transit, add a stamping plant and add a second shift of F-Series production. The Transit will be 25 percent more fuel-efficient than a comparable E-Series in part because it will be more than 300 pounds lighter, said Derrick Kuzak, Ford's head of global product development. The move is in keeping with a sustainability plan Ford announced in 2006 that called for weight reduction of 250 to 750 pounds in all vehicles by 2020. The current Transit is built in Europe and sold everywhere but North America. About a dozen Transits are in the U.S. for a year of testing by fleet customers. The feedback will help ensure the next-generation Transit is a strong replacement for the E-Series, said Eric Guenther, general marketing manager for the Ford fleet. Even though the new Transit switches from body-on-frame to unibody construction, Ford is determined that durability will not be sacrificed, Kuzak said. For commercial customers, reliability and cost of ownership are paramount. Sullivan said Nissan's research before launching the NV commercial van found customers wanted body-on-frame on rough American roads. Like the E-Series it replaces, the Transit for North America will be rear-wheel drive. Big numbers are at stake. Ford has sold about 6 million Transits globally to date. Another 8 million E-Series have been sold since 1961, and 97 percent were to the commercial market, said Rod Stevens, commercial truck chief engineer. Ford is also investing $128 million to make its largest commercial vehicles at the Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake. The E-Series will be discontinued, but Ford will continue to make E-Series "cutaways" that are converted to motorhomes, U-Hauls and other service vehicles. The plant also will take over medium truck and motorhome chassis work that was being done in Mexico.

State of the Union December 5, 2011

2011-12-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

State of the Union Dec. 5, 2011 nline at www.uawlocal2250.com
The phone number for logon ID or password reset help is 1-888-337-2400 (Opt 1-1-GMIN). The deadline for referral submissions is Friday, Dec.9.

We have been informed that a letter regarding this year’s Quality Bonus will be forthcoming this week from National Labor Relations. As soon as it is received it will be communicated.

From Benefits: We recently received a communication from the UAW/GM Department. It said: The SUB changes are nearly complete and the 74% flat rate table will be implemented the week starting Dec. 12; Entry level life insurance increases went into effect on Oct. 3rd. Traditional changes will not take effect until March 1, 2012 and active members beyond age 65 will have life insurance maximums restored; Under dental insurance, new covered benefits began Oct. 3; All health care changes go into effect on Jan. 1st; Until the hearing aid network starts up (Audionet) you cannot take advantage of two hearing aids. If you have any questions regarding any of these items, contact your benefits.

You are cordially invited to the UAW Local 2250 Christmas celebration to be held on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Union Hall. Doors open at 6:30 pm and dinner is served at 7 pm. Snacks, beer and setups will be provided. Music, provided by Marlon “DJ” Brown, will run from 8 pm to midnight. Also on Dec. 10, Santa Claus will be coming to the Union Hall from 9 am to 11 am. Donuts, juice and coffee will be served. Bring your children and grandchildren and don’t forget your camera.

Safety Reminder: As we all know, there have been a lot of transfers and new employees in the plant and that puts people in unfamiliar areas. So be extra careful when moving around the plant and stick to the pedestrian aisles. Make eye contact with any mobile equipment drivers and “wait for the wave”.

The plant has a new direct run rate target of 83.4. The target has dropped because two elements have been added into the calculations – front end alignment and headlight aim. The target will rise to 85 eventually.

From Community Services: Starting tomorrow and running for the rest of the week, people will be collecting money in General Assembly for Adopt-A-Child. All of the names have been taken so this money will be used to level the gifts for each child. As always, thanks for your generosity.

The startup plan for the first week of January for the addition of the second shift has been finalized. The plan is based on “build blocks”, which are blocks of time with standard activities. These blocks will run 30 minutes for Tuesday, Jan. 3 and Wednesday, Jan. 4 and will be 45 minutes Thursday, Jan. 5. Here is the schedule for Tuesday, Jan. 3:

13 Build Blocks 30 Minutes Each
- Production number will be based on the build – Max 25
- 6:00 – 8:00
- 20 minute Team Meeting
- G/L visits each team
- T/L and T/M review Safety No Blip Pre Work Section
- Plan for UATs
- 8:20 - Begin Build Blocks
- First 10 minutes - line will run normally
- Use Andon
- Next 20 Minutes - Conveyors will turn off automatically
- Team Focus
- Review the jobs just built
- Training, Rundowns, Correct Parts, Electrical Connections, etc.
- Complete UATs
- Check for Mutilations
- Breaks and Lunch at Normal Times
- 1:20 Team Meeting
- 2:30 G/L, S/L Escalation Meeting
- 3:00 GA S/L Daily Meeting
- 5:12 Shift Ends 10.7
Wednesday will run the same as Tuesday except the line will run for 15 minutes and be down for 15 minutes.

Here is the schedule for Thursday:
o 14 Build Blocks 45 Minutes Each
o Production number is Max 100
o 6:00 – 6:30 Team Meeting
o 6:30 Begin Build Blocks
o 1st shift normal breaks and lunch
o 12:00 – 12:30 Team Meeting
o 2nd shift starts @ 12:00 p.m. – Both Shifts Team Meeting
o 2:00 G/L S/L Escalation Meeting
o 2:30 GA S/L Meeting
o 4:30 2nd shift lunch
o 5:06 1st Shift Ends
o 7:20 Team Meeting
o 11:06 2nd Shift Ends

State of the Union December 2, 2011

2011-12-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

Dec. 2, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifFrom Chairman Mike Bullock: All temporary employees will be made permanent effective Monday, Dec. 5. We have completed the national hire process (the last 18 will start Monday along with 53 new hires) and we will be hiring the rest of the second shift employees from the pool of referrals who passed all the tests and Delphi employees, who will be offered jobs here on a 1-for-1 basis with new hires per the National Agreement. So far the acceptance rate on the Delphi offers has been very low so we expect to do a lot of hiring which is why the referral system was reopened.
Regarding two items from yesterday’s State of the Union:
o The wage and benefit information applies only to entry level employees hired after the effective date of the agreement.
o The phone number for logon ID or password reset help should have been 1-888-337-2400 (Opt 1-1-GMIN). Apologies for the confusion.

We have been informed that a letter regarding this year’s Quality Bonus will be forthcoming next week from National Labor Relations. As soon as it is received it will be communicated.

Safety Reminder: As we all know, there have been a lot of transfers and new employees in the plant and that puts people in unfamiliar areas. So be extra careful when moving around the plant and stick to the pedestrian aisles. Make eye contact with any mobile equipment drivers and “wait for the wave”.
•    Here are the November sales results in the van segment (percentage changes are based on daily sales rates – there was one more sales day this year):

2011 2010 Change Share
Ford Econoline 7795 8026 -6.8% 48.1%
GM 6119 5709 +2.9% 37.8%
Nissan NV 1238 --- --- 7.6%
Mercedes Sprinter 1045 829 21% 6.5%
Ford Transit connect 2717 2773 -5.9%

Field supplies were up 1660 units for a 62 day supply. Chevy passenger vans are down to 14 days with a total passenger van supply (including GMC) of only 711. Chevy cargo vans are at 50 days and cutaway stocks are up nearly 1000 units.

From Automotive News: Freight railroads won new labor agreements with two unions, averting a strike in the holiday shipping season, after U.S. lawmakers said they were prepared to intervene in the dispute. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the American Train Dispatchers Association, representing 26,500 workers, reached tentative accords, the National Railway Labor Conference, a Washington-based group that bargains on behalf of railroads, said in an e-mailed statement last night. Winning the contract agreements ended the threat of a walkout that could have occurred as soon as Dec. 6, the Association of American Railroads trade group said in a statement. Another union, the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees, extended a "cooling off" period to Feb. 8. The agreements call for raises of more than 20 percent over six years, A. Kenneth Gradia, a labor conference official, said in the group's statement. Ten unions have tentative deals and two have ratified agreements. The maintenance-employees group said this week it plans to bargain into February. It speaks for 25,100 workers who build and maintain tracks, according to the labor conference.

From Bloomberg: Honda widened its biggest recall to fix flaws related to airbags in models including the Civic and Accord produced as long as a decade ago. The recall covers an additional 917,267 vehicles worldwide, said spokesman Keitaro Yamamoto. That brings the total to more than 2.77 million, the company's biggest recall for an individual flaw, he said. More than 90 percent of the affected vehicles are in the United States. "Affected driver's airbag inflators may deploy with too much pressure, which can cause the inflator casing to rupture and could result in injury or fatality," the company said in a statement. The models include the 2001 and 2002 Accord, the 2001 to 2003 Civic, the 2001 to 2003 Odyssey, the 2002 and 2003 CR-V, the 2003 Pilot, the 2002 and 2003 Acura 3.2 TL and the 2003 Acura 3.2 CL vehicles, according to the statement. Honda recalled more than 300,000 Pilot SUVs in September for seat-belt stitching that could unravel during a crash. The latest move is a blow to Honda, the only large carmaker to report a sales decline in the U.S. last month.

The 2012 Buick LaCrosse eAssist spends just 14 days on dealer lots nationally before being sold, and the mileage-boosting light-electrification technology moves quickly in all regions, including import-leaning California. Steven Radomski is one of those Golden State converts. A former Toyota Prius hybrid owner, Radomski commutes 100 miles a day, 95 percent on the highway where the LaCrosse’s EPA-estimated 36 mpg impressed him most. In mixed driving, he averages 30 mpg – between the EPA-estimated 25 mpg city and the highway estimate. Radomski said his list of wants and needs – comfort, space and highway fuel efficiency – are all met by the LaCrosse eAssist. “For the space in this car, 30 mpg is amazing,” Radomski said. “I could have bought one of the new diesels on the market, but the fuel costs more,” to say nothing of expensive fuel additives required to lower diesel emissions. “When you do the math, it’s an obvious choice. And my LaCrosse is working as advertised.”

State of the Union December 1, 2011

2011-12-01T09:37:00.000-08:00

Dec. 1, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From the Civil Rights Committee: The deadline for submitting essays for the Martin Luther King scholarship awards is being extended one week. Therefore, all entries must be postmarked by next Thursday, Dec. 8 to be eligible.

Now that the referral window is open again, questions are coming in about entry level wages and benefits. The starting wage is $15.78 and will go up to $19.28 after 48 months of service. Health care coverage begins in the 8th month after becoming permanent and will feature unlimited office visits with a $25 co-pay, free annual wellness physicals, and no emergency room or urgent care center co-pays. Dental and vision coverage begins after 3 years. GM will contribute 4% of their earnings into a PSP and $1 an hour up to 40 hours a week (begins after 90 days). Entry level workers with 1-3 years seniority will qualify for 13 weeks of SUB, which at the starting wage will be around $470 a week. They will also qualify for up to $5000 tuition assistance for degree related courses and up to $2200 for job related courses work.

Due to the heavy volume of uniform requests, beginning Monday, Dec. 12 through Thursday, Dec. 22, the uniform store will be open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm.

General Motors Co. today reported total sales of 180,402 vehicles in November, up 7 percent compared with November 2010. Retail deliveries were up 15 percent compared with the same month a year ago and accounted for 77 percent of GM sales. Deliveries to fleets were down 14 percent. “We are seeing a broad spectrum of customers return to the market,” said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations. “Truck sales showed a very solid increase, as we expected, but the momentum building behind our most fuel-efficient vehicles was even stronger.” In November, combined sales of GM small and compact cars, led by the new Chevrolet Sonic and consistently strong-selling Chevrolet Cruze, were up 54 percent compared with a year ago. GM’s total passenger car sales increased 1 percent, crossover sales decreased 9 percent and sales of trucks, which include full-size pickups, vans and SUVs, increased 25 percent. Highlights for the month include a 34-percent increase in Chevrolet Silverado sales and a 22-percent increase in GMC Sierra sales. Other vehicles posting double-digit sales increases were the Chevrolet Cruze, Camaro, Avalanche, Colorado, Suburban, Tahoe and Express van, the GMC Yukon and Yukon XL, and the Cadillac SRX. Total van sales came in at 6119, up 7.2% over last November.

If you can’t remember your log on ID or need to reset your password to access the employee referral system you can call 1-800-337-2400 (Opt 1-1-GMIN). If you are having issues with My Socrates website call 1-888-337-2400. If you are having trouble with the referral system call 1-800-973-1465.

From the Detroit News: Automakers are growing increasingly concerned that a rail strike next month could cripple auto production and prevent thousands of cars from getting to dealers. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. both sent letters to congressional leaders on Wednesday, warning that a work stoppage by three railroad unions "would cripple our nation's freight rail system." GM vice president for global public policy Robert E. Ferguson warned a strike could "immediately begin to impact production at several high-volume assembly plants." GM warned of a strike's impact in letters to House Speaker John Boehner; R-Ohio; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. GM ships 9,000 vehicles a day in North America; most travel on U.S. railroads. "Within several days, nearly every North American assembly center would be impacted due to a lack of ground space for storing finished vehicles, as our assembled cars could not be shipped out," Ferguson wrote. The unions could go on strike Tuesday unless a deal is reached or negotiations are extended. Both GM and Ford said Congress should consider passing legislation that would impose the terms recommended by the Presidential Emergency Board to immediately halt the threat of a rail strike. GM's letter noted that a strike could cost the U.S. economy $2 billion a day. "With the U.S. auto industry comprising roughly 5 percent of the U.S. (gross domestic product), the impact to the auto sector would be dramatic," Ferguson wrote. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a group representing Detroit's Big Three and nine others, is circulating a letter urging Congress to intervene to prevent a labor strike. The letter is expected to be sent Thursday and include other signers, including the National Automobile Dealers Association and Association of Global Automakers.

From Automotive News: The Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid has topped Consumer Reports’ latest owner-satisfaction survey after its first year on the market. The magazine said 93 percent of respondents who own a Volt said they would definitely purchase one again, making it the highest-rated car in the annual poll. Two second-place finishers, the V8-powered Dodge Challenger and the Porsche 911, drew the most-favorable grade from 91 percent of buyers. Consumer Reports said the Volt -- the subject of a stepped-up safety investigation this week by U.S. regulators -- had been in U.S. showrooms for only a few months when the survey was conducted. “It remains to be seen if the score will hold up as the car rolls out to a wider audience and owners spend more time with their vehicles,” the magazine said. “Still, early adopters of a new technology tend to be among the most enthusiastic buyers.” Scores are based on the percentage of respondents who answered “definitely yes” to the following question: “Considering all factors -- price, reliability, comfort, enjoyment, etc., -- would you get this car if you had it to do all over again?” Three models received Consumer Reports’ lowest rating, meaning fewer than half of the respondents said they would definitely buy the car again. The models are the Chevrolet Aveo, with just 37 percent of owners indicating they would buy it again, the all-wheel-drive Toyota Matrix (43 percent), and Chevrolet Colorado pickup (47 percent).

State of the Union November 30, 2011

2011-11-30T15:30:00.000-08:00

Nov. 30, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From the Civil Rights Committee: This is the final week to submit essays for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship awards. All entries must be postmarked by this Friday. Also, there will be a Civil Rights committee meeting today after first shift at the Union Hall.

From the Education Committee: We would like to thank everyone for their support on the basket raffle. The winners are: Kim Steffes (Premier) and Camella Woodson (core team).

There are still plenty of names available for the Adopt-A-Child for Christmas program. You can see Wanda Richard, Tina Hayes or Mike Bridgins for a name.

From Wards Auto: Credit a new production discipline and a more sober approach to inventory management, which has resulted in pricing power and allowed General Motors to flourish in the U.S. after the bankruptcy. GM simply does not need to keep its assembly plants running to cover massive fixed costs. Don Johnson, GM’s sales chief, told a meeting of Wall Street analysts in New York recently that the auto maker is using a new system to manage its inventories more tightly, without providing details of the approach. However, he says it amounts to every executive with a stake in GM’s inventory levels – from finance to marketing to sales – attending monthly meetings chaired by North America President Mark Reuss. “All the right people are in the room,” Johnson says. Production forecasts looking out 18 months are reviewed based on current production levels and monthly sales expectations. Some months, the group meets twice to make production adjustments if events dictate, Johnson says. Adjustments are made according to how high or low inventories for a specific model line, body style or weight class move off their optimum levels. Decisions made over monthly production schedules and incentive spending during the meeting is followed to the letter, which in the old GM was not always the case. “We have a process that can be followed,” Johnson says. “People could still choose to ignore it, but the culture of the company is so much more disciplined on these issues.” GM also sticks to a 60-day marketing plan, making only slight tweaks where necessary. The old GM might have sprung a new plan on dealers at the last minute in the hopes of making a certain number of sales in a given month. Rarely were such programs successful. “Often, dealers didn’t have time to comprehend the program, get their staff together on it and get advertising out to support it,” Johnson says.

From the Wall Street Journal: General Motors Co. said a “small number” of Chevrolet Volt owners have asked for loaner vehicles while the auto maker and federal regulators investigate whether the cars are at risk of catching fire after a serious crash. The auto maker on Monday offered loaners to 6,000 U.S. Volt owners in an effort to reassure customers after three crash-tests resulted in fires or sparks from the vehicle’s complex battery pack days or weeks after they sustained damage. A GM spokesman declined to give an exact number, but characterized the number of loaner requests and “a few” and “a small number.”

From the Detroit Free Press: The Detroit Three are poised to go on a hiring binge over the next four years as car and truck sales rebound and new labor contracts make it less costly for the automakers to add employees in the U.S., according to the Center for Automotive Research. General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are likely to add 30,000 hourly and salaried employees in the U.S. by 2015, analysts from the Center for Automotive Research said during panel discussion this morning at Schoolcraft College. The Detroit Three’s employment increases will be driven by a recovery of industry sales, recent market share gains and new labor contracts that make it less costly for the automakers to employ autoworkers in the U.S., said Kristin Dziczek, director of the labor group for the Center for Automotive Research. Dziczek also said she expects total employment for all U.S. automakers and suppliers will increase over the next four years by about 28%, or from 590,000 to 756,000. What’s more, many suppliers who have closed plants and cut employment to survive the recent recession are likely to struggle to find the right workers as demand for parts increases. “About 100,000 to 150,000 people need to be hired by suppliers over the next four years,” said Kristin Dziczek, director of the labor group for the Center for Automotive Research. David Andrea, vice president of industry analysis and economics for the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, agreed. The top performing auto suppliers are already scrambling to find skilled workers, Andrea said. “We are seeing significant pockets of constrained capacity,” Andrea said. “Those suppliers have to hire.” Sean McAlinden, senior economist for the Center for Automotive Research, said the UAW will gain about 10,000 new members as a result of job commitments made by the Detroit Three during the recent round of contract talks. McAlinden said he expects the number of hourly UAW members employed by the Detroit Three will increase from 110,000 to about 120,000 by 2015. McAlinden said his estimate is lower than the individual promises publicized by the UAW and the Detroit Three in recent months because it excludes existing workers who are relocating to new plants and includes expected membership losses due to retirement. Still, the job gains for the UAW and the Detroit Three are small compared with historical levels. Total UAW membership has declined from about 1.5 million members to less than 400,000 last year. Total employment for GM, Ford and Chrysler has declined from about 1 million in 1978 to less than 200,000 in 2010, according to Art Schwartz, president of Labor and Economics Associates and former General Motors labor negotiator.

State of the Union November 28, 2011

2011-11-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

Nov. 28, 2011 online at uawlocal2250.com

The referral process is now open. On back you will find the instructions on how to complete a referral. As before, it must be done online. Unfortunately, temporary employees will not be able to refer someone.

The annual Pre-Trim bake sale will be held next Monday, Dec. 5 at the team center located at column T-49. Donations can be turned in at the team center prior to the bake sale, which begins at first break and goes until all items are sold. The proceeds go to the Community Services committee to benefit Adopt-A-Child.

Here is this week’s build information: 24 E-26 vans; 1019 cutaways; 300 slider doors; 273 15-pass vans; 22.6% 07 loop; 99 diesels; 86 r/h door deletes; 20 brake deck spare tire; 372 Onstar; 60 exports; 389 Enterprise rent-a-car; 258 U-Haul; 135 Penske; 84.7% white vans.

From Automotive News: General Motors said today that it will provide free loaner vehicles to Chevrolet Volt owners to offer "peace of mind" as federal safety regulators investigate fires that have occurred in the plug-in hybrid's battery pack after crash testing. In a conference call with the media, General Motors executives tried to tamp down growing concerns over the Volt's safety after officials from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday opened a formal investigation into the risk of fire in Volts that have been involved in severe crashes. "I believe in the safety of the Volt," said Mark Reuss, GM president of North America. "Our customers' peace of mind is the most important thing. This technology should inspire confidence and pride, not raise any concern or doubt." Reuss said GM today is sending letters to all Volt customers and dealersto reassure them that the Volt is "safe to drive" and to clarify that the investigation centers on the risk of an electrical fire that can happen days or even weeks after a severe crash. On Nov. 11, NHTSA disclosed that a Volt that it had been involved in a side-impact crash test in May caught fire three weeks later in a storage facility. NHTSA determined that damage to the vehicle's lithium ion battery led to the fire, but said it didn't believe that the Volt or other electric vehicles were a greater fire risk than gasoline-powered vehicles. On Friday, NHTSA said it conducted three follow-up tests this month that intentionally damaged the Volt's battery pack. Two of those tests caused a fire. "The agency is concerned that damage to the Volt's batteries as part of three tests that are explicitly designed to replicate real-world crash scenarios have resulted in fire," the agency said in a statement Friday. It added: "Chevy Volt owners whose vehicles have not been in a serious crash do not have reason for concern."
11/23/11

WENTZVILLE ASSEMBLY CENTER
TEAM MEMBER REFERRALS PROCESS

Effective immediately Wentzville Assembly will be utilizing the team member referral process to replenish our future candidate pool.

Each active Seniority Hourly and Salaried employee may refer ONE candidate ONLY through the online system (no paper applications will be accepted).

Referrals are done thru mySocrates at https://mygm.gm.com
SEE ATTACHED
-If you have issues the mySocrates website, contact 1-888-337-2400.
-If you have issues with the referral website (not Socrates) contact
1-800-973-1465.

The utilization of new Team Member Referrals is also dependent on final approval by Local and National Parties.

Candidates will be randomly selected and assessed by a central processing center.

Candidates, who worked in previous years ie temporary, WILL HAVE TO BE referred again, unless still in process (contact the person you referred or have the person you referred call 1-800-973-1465).

Candidates who did not successfully pass all aspects of previous testing will not be retested at the time, even if re-referred.

Access to the web site will be from midnight on 11/28/11 and close at 11:00 pm on 12/09/11.

State of the Union November 23, 2011

2011-11-23T11:10:00.000-08:00

Nov. 23, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: I would like to wish everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving holiday weekend. We, in particular, have much to be thankful for here as we add our 2nd shift and prepare for a new product. Also, I would encourage you to participate in the “Adopt A Child” Christmas program – it is a great cause. Finally, remember to try to buy American as you do your Christmas shopping this weekend and beyond.

If you have any questions regarding 2nd shift, you can write them down and drop them in the “Ask John” boxes at the entrances. Your questions will either be answered individually or in the 2ndshift updates in this newsletter.

From the UAW: The UAW strongly supports the proposals detailed in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued by the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency. "This proposal represents a historic step forward for the U.S. automobile industry," said UAW President Bob King. "It will provide certainty for the manufacturers, significant savings at the gas pump for consumers, and it will create tens of thousands of jobs engineering and producing the technology needed to make vehicles more efficient." King added that, "The Obama administration deserves tremendous credit for including stakeholders in the development of the proposal. The regulatory process of public comments and field hearings will make the proposals stronger and more robust, and the UAW is committed to supporting the proposals during the next phase of rulemaking." A 2010 study by the UAW and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), "Driving Growth," found that improving light-duty vehicle efficiency to 40 mpg by 2020 could create up to 190,000 jobs in the United States. A 2011 study by the UAW, NRDC and the National Wildlife Federation found that there are currently over 500 facilities in the United States employing more than 150,000 people engaged in some aspect of developing or producing fuel-efficient vehicles or their key components. "We believe that this sets the stage for a green-based revival of the U.S. auto industry," said King. "By delivering the efficient vehicles customers want, we will become more competitive, and that is ultimately what leads to a brighter future for everyone in our industry."

From Business Week: U.S. automakers are split on whether to abandon their small pickups, which buyers have left for dead and regulators may try to revive. Ford Motor Co. is ending U.S. sales of Ranger and betting it can hold its share of full-size trucks by concentrating resources on the F-Series. GM is wagering that buyers may come back to the mid-size segment if gasoline prices rise. Mid-size pickups cost almost as much as their full-size counterparts without much boost in fuel economy. “The segment has been in decline for quite a while, so that calls into question whether it’s viable,” R.L. Polk & Co.’s Tom Libby said in a phone interview. “The trend going in the other direction is fuel-economy requirements and an inevitable movement toward smaller vehicles. It’s an unsettled situation.” Mike Levine, a Ford spokesman, said, “You really can’t argue with the sales numbers here. We have very strong demand for full-size pickups, and that’s where we are putting our time and investment.”

One in five owners of GM and Chrysler’s smaller trucks who returned to market for a new vehicle last year moved up into the full-size segment, according to Polk data. The rate among Ford owners was about one in six. If Ford’s gamble falls through, it would undo relentless efforts to protect the “crown jewel” F-150 from Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., Libby said. “The domestic manufacturers poured everything they had into their products to try and stop Toyota” and have succeeded, he said. Compact trucks have plunged to 16 percent of pickup sales this year through October. Toyota and Nissan now have 56 percent of the mid-size truck segment and only 7 percent of the full-size market.
•    From Bloomberg: Toyota may shift a significant amount of production to the U.S. should demand in Japan fail to rebound and the majority of its output is shipped overseas. "If demand in Japan recovers, we will continue and work to maintain production of 3 million units" in Japan, President Akio Toyoda said Thursday. "If most of it becomes exports, shifting a significant amount of production to the U.S. may be considered." The automaker has pledged to protect jobs in Japan even though the yen's appreciation to a post-World War II high versus the dollar has eroded profitability. The yen has gained more than 9% against the U.S. dollar in the past six months. Toyota, which reported an operating loss of 32.6 billion yen ($425 million) in the fiscal first half, said the strong yen reduced operating income by 130 billion yen ($1.75 billion). The yen's appreciation against the dollar and euro slashed Japanese automakers' profit by 330 billion yen ($4.3 billion) in the first half, according to JAMA. "If the yen continues to stay strong, Toyota will collapse," Toyoda said.

State of the Union November 21, 2011

2011-11-22T06:57:00.000-08:00

Nov. 21, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Reminder: This Wednesday, Nov. 23, is a holiday qualifying day and a VR blackout day. Monday, Nov. 28 is a VR blackout day.

Last break this week will run from 2:30 to 2:34 and no line time will be longer than 9 hours. Also, the uniform store will be open Wednesday from 8 am to 4 pm to handle the extra demand.

This week’s build information: 48 E-26 vans; 562 cutaways; 124 15-pass vans; 24.1% 07 loop; 221 slider doors; 111 r/h door deletes; 78 diesels; 176 Onstar; 59 exports, 16 brake deck spare tire; 46 U-Haul; 45 Penske; 81% white vans.

From Automotive News: Chevrolet's upcoming mid-sized pickup will give owners nearly the same capability as a full-sized light-duty pickup but with lower operating expenses. "You may have 85, 90 percent of what a big pickup will do" in terms of capability, said Mark Reuss, General Motors North America president, during an interview at the Los Angeles auto show. Many truck owners do not need a full-sized pickup's capability, Reuss said. Last month GM announced that a redesigned Colorado pickup would be offered in the United States. The mid-sized model will replace the current Colorado pickup, a compact, and it will be assembled in Wentzville, Mo. The truck is based on GM's new global, body-on-frame, rear-wheel-drive, mid-sized platform. It is slightly longer and wider than the Colorado, but the company has not disclosed dimensions. The truck is a response to new federal regulations that require vehicles to have better fuel economy and lower emissions. Speaking of the mid-sized pickup, Reuss said that "rather than putting full-blown four-mode hybrids or two-mode hybrids into large pickup trucks and trying to get efficiency out of it, which is extremely expensive, we can do things with lower displacement, hybridization, alternate fuels." Reuss described the new Colorado as a "very, very nice mid-sized pickup that is really cheap to run." Reuss would not say whether GMC will market a similar model. But if GM did replace the GMC Canyon, the pickup would have separate sheet metal, different price points and models. "If we did that it would be a different approach than a Chevrolet," he said. Compact and mid-sized pickups accounted for 16.5 percent of the total U.S. pickup market in 2010, according to the Automotive News Data Center.

General Motors is recalling 1,798 early model 2012 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans in the United States because the second stage of the passenger air bag may fail to deploy in a severe crash. The issue is missing propellant in some air bags that could prevent the air bag from deploying as designed. The air bag supplier told GM about the issue after another manufacturer it supplies had a similar issue. The suspect GM vehicles were produced in a four-month period from June to October. GM knows of no reports of complaints, crashes or injuries resulting from the condition. Dealers will replace the passenger air bag for free in the recalled vehicles.

General Motors will invest $61 million to bring its idled Spring Hill assembly plant back to life as one of the world’s most-flexible manufacturing facilities capable of building any GM car or crossover based on customer demand or manufacturing need. The investment will create 594 hourly jobs and 91 salaried positions for the flexible operation scheduled to begin with the hot-selling Chevrolet Equinox in the second half of 2012. The additional production will supplement Equinox production in Canada, the main assembly sites of the midsize crossover vehicle and its sibling the GMC Terrain. The Equinox has been so popular – U.S. sales were up 18 percent in October – that GM has increased production three times since it went into production in 2009. GM also announced Monday a second investment of $183 million for future midsize vehicles to be built at Spring Hill, located about 40 miles south of Nashville. Timing was not announced, but that investment is expected to create an additional 1,090 hourly and 106 salaried positions. “Spring Hill has a history as one of GM’s most innovative and flexible plants,” said Cathy Clegg, vice president of GM Labor Relations. “We’re pleased that, working together with the UAW, we were able to build on that history and develop a plan to resume production at Spring Hill.” "Our number one priority in auto negotiations this year was jobs," said UAW President Bob King. "We asked the company to bring jobs back to America , and that’s what this collective bargaining agreement represents. Together, we are bringing 1,800 jobs to Tennessee, and a total of 6,400 new GM jobs, which translates to nearly 60,000 good, auto-related jobs in the United States." Equinox production is only the start for Spring Hill Flex. Operators will be capable of building a variety of products on a range of platforms – covering for plants being retooled for new products and also allowing real-time reaction to sales spikes in a given car or crossover. "The re-opening of Spring Hill is a testament to the value of collective bargaining," said UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, who directs the union's General Motors Department. "Collective bargaining works for companies, for workers and for America. Collective bargaining is what brought good jobs to Tennessee. It is what built our middle class. It is how workers and communities have a voice in corporate decision-making. Bargaining is what gives the working class a seat at the table."

State of the Union November 17, 2011

2011-11-17T10:44:00.000-08:00

Nov. 17, 2011

Next week’s daily schedule will be no longer than 9 hours each day. We also have received the tentative production schedules for January and February. For the first week of January, the first day back is Tuesday, Jan. 3, and the start times for both shifts will be 6 am. This will be a 10.6 hour day. Wednesday, Jan. 4, the second shift employees will start 12 pm noon. These shifts will be 10.7 hours. Thursday, Jan. 5, second shift will start again at noon. These shifts will be 10.7 hours. There will be no production Friday due to the holiday on Monday. The second week the shifts will be split and the schedule will be 4-10 hour days with Friday the 13th off. The third week has the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday the 16th and we will work 10.6, 10.7 and 10.7 Tuesday through Thursday with Friday off. The fourth week is 5-10 hour days. February is all 10-hour days with three Fridays scheduled for production and one off – the 10th. As usual this is subject to change.

From Forbes: As birthdays go, this one was pretty lousy. On Nov. 9, just a week before the first anniversary of its return as a public company, General Motors warned investors that deteriorating economic conditions in Europe would hurt fourth-quarter results. GM said profit would be flat compared with last year and it would not achieve its target to break even in Europe for the period. A marketwide selloff over the European debt crisis that day didn't help, but shares of GM, which reported a solid $2.2 billion (EBIT) profit for the third quarter--its seventh profitable quarter in a row--took a particularly bad beating, falling 11%. Then on Nov. 11 shares plunged again--but later recovered--on news that a Chevrolet Volt caught fire after a government crash test. It was nothing new for the new GM, which went public at $33, peaked a little over $39 in January and now trades for about $22. The fact that the U.S. Treasury still owns a huge chunk of GM--about 32%--doesn't help. Nor do memories of the taxpayer bailout or decades of substandard cars. Yet there's a lot going right at GM, and it's all easy to overlook. Profit margins in North America and China, the world's two largest auto markets, are 10%, among the best in the industry, even though sales volumes, at least in the U.S., are still at depressed levels. Imagine what GM's North American profit will look like when car sales recover. Its balance sheet is healthy, with $33 billion in cash and just $4 billion in debt. Its U.S. labor costs are now competitive. Its unfunded pension liability has shrunk by half in the past year, due to cash and stock contributions and GM's "de-risking" of its pension investment portfolio. Most important, GM is turning out some impressive cars that are fetching higher prices, which bodes well for the future. If the Chevrolet Sonic doesn't change your mind about GM, nothing will.

This sporty 40 mpg subcompact is not only a huge leap ahead of the Chevy Aveo it replaces, but it's also perhaps the best car in a very tough segment, which includes the Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta and Hyundai Accent, all great cars. The Sonic comes on the heels of the new Chevy Cruze and Buick Regal, both of which have been well received. The compact Buick Verano, another impressive car to drive, is hitting showrooms now. Next year GM has more promising vehicles in the pipeline, including a new Chevrolet Malibu sedan, the compact Cadillac ATS and the full-size Cadillac XTS. Since bankruptcy GM has also managed to be disciplined when it comes to discounts and incentives. GM's incentive spending, as a percentage of average transaction price, was about 9.8% in the third quarter, only slightly above the industry average. Through the first nine months of the year about $1.2 billion in profit can be attributed directly to better pricing. If GM can continue to hold the line, transaction prices should stay strong and add to profitability.

Ford CEO Alan Mulally, in an interview with Automotive News, was asked a question about whether the Ford Ranger would get a reprieve given GM’s announcement to build and sell the Colorado here. His answer: “We don't have any plans for it now. The market segment is really small. Most people were in it for fuel efficiency in a smaller vehicle. Now we have a fantastic offering of small and medium-sized cars and utilities, so we essentially have what the customers say they really want and value.”

From the Detroit News: The Obama administration said Wednesday its proposal to nearly double auto fuel efficiency standards to 54.5 mpg by 2025 will cost the auto industry $157.3 billion. The new rules will save more than $1.7 trillion at the pump, the administration said, and have net benefits of $252 billion to $358 billion. Off the additional costs to the auto industry, an estimated $113 billion will go to boost passenger car fuel economy and $44 billion to improve light truck mileage. The proposal will boost the cost of an average car in 2025 by $2,023 and light trucks by $1,578. Costs could be as high as $2,800, however, under a different forecasting analysis, the administration said. The plan, it says, will have other benefits, including saving motorists time at the gas pump, because they'll be fueling up less often. The fewer trips are worth $10 billion or more in saved time. Less gas also means less fuel tax revenue — about $50 billion — and the government will have to figure out how to replace revenue for road repairs. The Obama administration said it chose not to forecast whether the new rules and higher costs will cause auto sales to rise or fall. Margo Oge, EPA's director of the Office of Transportation & Air Quality, predicted the regulations would have a "modest" impact on sales. "This regulation gambles that millions of consumers will be able to afford thousands more for generally smaller, more expensive vehicles that may not meet their needs," said the National Automobile Dealers Association, which notes that, including efficiency hikes for 2011-2016, the overall new car prices will actually be about $3,000 higher by 2025. Complying with the proposed fuel requirements, the government estimates, will cost General Motors Co. $37.8 billion, Ford Motor Co. $29.4 billion, the Chrysler-Fiat alliance $9.7 billion and Toyota Motor Corp. $23.2 billion. Estimates are $15.3 billion for Honda Motor Co., $15 billion for Nissan Motor Co., $8.2 billion for Hyundai Motor Co. and $4.1 billion for its Kia unit. The rules go easier on SUVs and pickups than on cars. These light trucks must improve fuel efficiency by 3.5 percent annually between 2017-21, compared to 5 percent each year for cars. A steep fall-off in full-size SUV sales is expected — from 3.3 percent of vehicles sold in 2016 to 0.63 percent in 2025.

State of the Union November 16, 2011

2011-11-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

Nov. 16, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Reminder: Union meeting is today at 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.

From Community Services: Names are now available for the annual Adopt-A-Child Christmas event. You can see Wanda Richard, Tina Hayes or Mike Bridgins for a child’s name or you can make a donation. There is no limit on the number of needy children available so let’s open our hearts and wallets in true Wentzville fashion to help those less fortunate than us to have a Merry Christmas.

From Bloomberg: General Motors Co. will suspend production at its factory that assembles Chevrolet Cruze compact cars for one week to avoid oversupply of the model as Japanese rivals’ inventories rebound (net field stock stands at 67 days, up from 39 last month). The Lordstown, Ohio, plant will stop output for the week of Nov. 28, Chris Lee, a spokesman for the Detroit-based automaker, said in a phone interview. United Auto Workers Local 1714, which represents the plant’s hourly workers, cited competitors’ inventories recovering from the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan as a reason for the shutdown in a message to members on its website. Cruze has outsold Honda’s Civic this year through October and trails Toyota’s Corolla by 1,316 deliveries. “We don’t want to overproduce,” GM’s Lee said in a phone interview. “Those days are gone from a GM standpoint. We’re just keeping it in control and we’ll ramp it back up and be prepared for a strong start after the first of the year.”

From the Detroit Free Press: The UAW is laying off about 58 staff workers who belong to a separate union to help balance a budget that has been squeezed by membership losses in recent years. The layoffs are the result of an August agreement that provided buyout offers to the Office and Professional Employees International Union, which represents about 260 UAW employees. A total of 100 members of the OPEIU who work at the UAW will be laid off or accept a voluntary buyout package. "Following the nation's economic collapse, the UAW lost an unprecedented number of members," UAW President Bob King said in a statement. "The UAW has drastically reduced the number of staff on payroll, cut the benefits and pay of its staff, cut post-retiree health care benefits, among other measures," King said. The UAW hoped enough workers would accept the buyout offer to prevent any layoffs. "Since the number of OPEIU reduced did not match the goal, layoffs are necessary," King said in the statement.

From the New York Times: Jay Leno is nearing a milestone. “I took delivery of the Volt on Dec. 12 last year,” Mr. Leno said in a telephone interview before appearing Tuesday at a Chevrolet event held in conjunction with the Los Angeles auto show. “And I’ve never had to put gas in it yet.” The comedian and late-night television host said he had put about 11,000 miles on his Chevrolet Volt in the last 11 months. “They gave it to me with a full tank of gas,” he said. The tank, by the way, holds 9.3 gallons. “I’ve used less than half of that.” Mr. Leno’s expansive garage is in Burbank, and every car is maintained with a full tank of gas, current registration and valid insurance, so he can select any one of them for a drive. Some of the cars are almost never driven. Not so his Volt. It has quickly become a favorite. “It’s my daily driver,” he said. “It really is. I commute in it to work every day. My commute, and all my other daily running around, totals less than 35 miles.” Chevrolet claims that the Volt can travel about 40 miles on electric power alone, under normal driving conditions, before the juice in the batteries would be depleted, after which the car’s small gasoline engine would provide added range. “You get 40 miles free, as they say,” Mr. Leno said. “Because of the way I drive it, it almost never kicks into gasoline mode.” Mr. Leno echoed one of the primary marketing points used by Chevrolet to differentiate the Volt from purely electric cars like the Nissan Leaf. “I mean, I could jump in it and drive to Vegas,” he said, a trip of about 280 miles, door to door, from Burbank. “They say the range is something like 400 miles.” The Leaf can travel roughly 100 miles before requiring a charge. Aside from the mileage, Mr. Leno said he was also pleased with the rest of the car, especially its technology. “It’s a real breakthrough,” he said. “I know people probably get tired of hearing me say that. But it really is.” The comedian then went for the rimshot line. “You know it’s good because they lose money on every one of them they sell,” he said.
•    Forbes compiled their worst car/truck flops for 2011 and one particular recipient caught our attention. That would be Consumer Reports pick for most reliable pickup, the Nissan Titan. How in the name of Japanese bias can that be? Take it over, Forbes: “Web2Cars warns potential buyers that the Titan’s ‘noisy V-8 and exhaust may interrupt the driving experience.’ It also notes that the truck’s reliability has dropped well below average for the past five model years. The Titan lacks a full-time AWD to match the power output, and a lack of passenger room for crew cab models makes it subpar compared to competitors.”

While we’re on the topic of Nissan flops, the Wall Street Journal reports the NV full size van is expanding its marketing horizons in an effort to juice early anemic sales by presenting a couple of chow-wagon concepts at the Los Angeles auto show this week. Interested in a gourmet grilled cheese on wheels? How about a strawberry/jalapeno ice cream cone? Nissan’s got your answer with their custom vans ready to deliver these culinary delights (?) to your door. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

State of the Union November 15, 2011

2011-11-15T10:55:00.000-08:00

Nov. 15, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
•    Reminder: Union meeting is tomorrow at 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
•    From the Civil Rights Committee: The following are the winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fundraiser: 1st prize ($9,039) – Lynn Emery, body shop; 2nd prize (laptop computer) – Jamie Callaway, skilled trades; 3rd prize – ($300 gift card) – Earl Lee Jr., quality; $50 gas card winners – Lou Moos, Jeff Harris, Jim O’Conner. Thank you for your continued support.
•    Here is this week’s build information: 26 E-26 vans; 679 cutaways; 240 slider doors; 135 15- pass vans; 22.4% 07 loop; 142 r/h door deletes; 94 diesels; 244 Onstar; 70 exports; 36 brake deck spare tire; 300 Penske; 168 Enterprise rent-a-car; 38 government vans; 68.3% white vans.
•    From CNN: In last Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate in Rochester, Michigan, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said the federal government played too much of a role in saving automakers General Motors and Chrysler. He said he would have preferred a private bankruptcy process rather than the U.S. government giving billions of dollars in loans and taking a stake in the companies in 2009 (even though there was no private funding available at the time). He criticized the government's influence in the process, saying it essentially gave General Motors to the United Auto Workers, and Chrysler to Italian automaker Fiat. The statement: "They gave General Motors to the UAW, and they gave Chrysler to Fiat." -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
The facts: In 2009, both General Motors and Chrysler went into bankruptcy to restructure after receiving billions of dollars in federal loans. As General Motors emerged from bankruptcy in July 2009, the U.S. Treasury took a 60.8% stake in the company in return for a $50 billion bailout. A trust established to fund health care benefits for UAW retirees -- not the UAW itself -- took a 17.5% stake. The Canadian government took a 12.5% stake, and unsecured bondholders were given a 10% share. The trust fund came about as part of GM's restructuring. The UAW essentially agreed to shift responsibility for retiree health care costs away from GM to the union-controlled trust fund, consisting of company stock rather than cash. Stock for the post-bankruptcy GM was available for public trading starting in November 2010. As of August, the U.S. Treasury still owned about a third of the shares, with the UAW fund owning about 12.8%, according to Fortune.
•    From the Detroit News: One year after its much-heralded IPO, which raised a record $23.1 billion, General Motors Co.'s stock has swooned 30 percent from its initial offering price. And taxpayers are still holding a big chunk of stock on which they'll lose money if the government were to sell off its stake now. At the current trading price, the government stands to lose about $15 billion on its investment in GM. The stock would have to climb to at least $53 a share for the U.S. Treasury to break even. Wall Street analysts remain optimistic the stock will rebound, eventually, listing it at a "moderate buy" based on the automaker's consistent quarterly profits, its focus on emerging global markets and its ambitious U.S. investment plans. But a slowdown in the world market and troubles in Europe have prompted analysts to dial down earlier expectations. GM stock tumbled 10.9 percent last Wednesday — to $22.31 — after the Detroit-based automaker revised its year-end outlook, saying fourth-quarter earnings will be flat over 2010. The company no longer expects to break even in Europe this year, a reversal of its previous forecast. On Monday, GM stock closed up 2.1 percent, to $22.99. "What we are looking at is an increasingly challenged economic environment going forward with a lot of uncertainty," GM Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann said. GM plans to completely address its U.S. pension plan underfunding in the next few years. GM has cut its pension underfunding from $18 billion in late 2010 to $8.7 billion as of Sept. 30.

State of the Union November 9, 2011

2011-11-09T11:51:00.000-08:00

Nov. 9, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

There will be a Women’s Committee meeting Thursday after first shift at the Union Hall. All are invited to attend.

Here are the winners of the suggestion fair drawings: Big Screen TV – Kim Martinez, chassis; Apparel and Golf passes – James Morton, Jim Stack, Brian Hoffman, chassis; Glenn House, quhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifality; Ann McFadden, material; Steve Hotard, paint; Rocky, skilled trades; Michael Sevener, new hire.

Team leader applications will be accepted today through Friday for current or future Chassis department members only. Testing will be done next week for the 6 remaining openings.

Financial results for GM’s third quarter are in. North American operations earnings before taxes were $2.203 billion, which equates to $2200 profit sharing. Overall, GM’s earnings were $1.726 billion on revenue of $36.8 billion, down from $1.959 billion last year. GM’s fortunes reversed in Europe, where it lost $292 million in the third quarter after posting a net profit in the second quarter. But the loss in Europe was less than the $559 million GM lost there in the third quarter of 2010. GM now does not expect to break even in Europe for the year before restructuring charges, which had been its goal, GM CFO Dan Ammann told reporters today. "We obviously have significant macroeconomic challenges to address there," Amman said. Profits at GM's international division, which includes China, fell 29 percent to $365 million. Ammann said earnings in China were up, but unfavorable exchange rates in other markets curbed profits. GM lost $44 million in South America during the quarter after posting steady profits of around $100 million or $200 million there in recent quarters. In the third quarter of 2010, GM had posted South American profits of $163 million. GM Financial posted a third-quarter pretax profit of $178 million. It was not a subsidiary a year earlier. GM is forecasting fourth quarter earnings to be essentially the same as last year, which was around $1 billion with NA earnings of $800 million.

From the Chaplaincy Committee: There will be a Veterans Day Memorial Friday, Nov. 11 at lunch time in the Chassis Chapel located at column C-42. All are welcome to attend.

From Automotive News: Nissan North America Inc. will expand its cargo van into a people hauler next spring when it introduces the NV3500 HD passenger van. The 12-passenger van will have four rows of seats and offer two engine options, a 317-hp V-8 with 385 pounds-feet of torque or a 261-hp 4.0-liter V-6 with 281 pounds-feet of torque. Both engines will be paired with a five-speed automatic transmission. The van will feature 324 seat configurations, with removable second and third-row seats.

From the Detroit News: General Motors Co. has taken a big step toward reducing retiree costs in Canada by setting up a health care trust fund similar to the one established by the United AutoWorkers union. The company said Tuesday it received final legal approval to establish the independent fund, which will cover health care benefits for about 32,000 retirees represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union. The fund, effective Oct. 31, allows GM to shift the expense of caring for aging retirees to the union-run health fund. "The new health care trust is another step forward as we work to de-risk and strengthen our balance sheet and position the company for sustainable profitability," said GM CFO Dan Ammann in a statement. The Detroit-based automaker expects the transaction will take about $3 billion in retiree liabilities off its books. GM and the Canadian union first agreed to the health care trust in June 2009 as part of cost-cutting measures associated with the automaker's bankruptcy restructuring. Establishment was held up by legal approvals. GM will pay in total over $2.5 billion into the fund over the next seven years, starting with an initial payment of $1 billion.

From the Detroit Free Press: Toyota said its quarterly profit slid 18.5 percent to $1 billion on plunging sales caused by parts shortages from the tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan and warned it faces a new challenge from flooding in Thailand. Toyota Motor Corp. declined Tuesday to give a forecast for the full financial year ending March 2012, citing uncertainties stemming from the Thai floods which have disrupted supplies of parts and prompted it to cut some car production. Toyota, Japan's top automaker, said that vehicle sales plunged in the key markets of Japan and North America, but it was making up for some of the losses by strong sales in Asia, such as India and Indonesia. Toyota's quarterly sales fell nearly 5 percent from a year earlier to $58.7 billion. Also battering Toyota is the surging yen. Toyota counted on the dollar costing 86 yen last year, but is now seeing it slip to 78 yen. Toyota said the unfavorable exchange rate erased $1 billion from its latest quarterly net income. Toyota, which was the world's biggest automaker in annual vehicle sales last year, sank to No. 3 in the first half of this year, trailing U.S. rival General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG of Germany.

From the Wall Street Journal: Toyota Motor Corp. said it will recall about 283,200 Toyota and 137,000 Lexus vehicles to replace the crankshaft pulleys on their V6 engines. The recall includes the 2004 Avalon; 2004 and 2005 Camry, Highlander, Sienna, and Solara; 2006 Highlander HV; 2004 and 2005 Lexus ES330 and RX330; and 2006 RX400h. The car maker said no other Toyota or Lexus vehicles, or versions of the listed vehicles with 4-cylinder engines are affected. The problem stems from the outer ring of the crankshaft pulley, which may become misaligned with the inner ring, causing noise and possibly illumination of a warning light. If the problem isn’t corrected the belt for the power steering pump may detach from the pulley and the driver may notice a sudden increase in the effort required to turn the steering wheel. The recall is expected to begin in January, when Toyota hopes to have enough parts available to make the repairs.

State of the Union November 7, 2011

2011-11-07T13:50:00.000-08:00

State of the Union

Nov. 7, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

There will be a Suggestion Fair on Tuesday, Nov. 8, to promote use of the Suggestion program. It will be located at the bleachers at column B-38. There will be popcorn and a drawing for a big screen TV, but you need to have submitted a suggestion this year to be eligible. There will also be drawings for a Chevy Colorado jacket and other items that do not require having a suggestion submitted. Stop by to learn more about the suggestion program beginning at first break.

The Community Services Committee will be having a meeting Tuesday after first shift in the cafeteria.

For the first month in a very long time, we outsold the Ford Econoline. Here are the October sales results for the van market:
2011 2010 Change Share
GM 7331 6286 + 16.6% 44.3%
Ford Econoline 6806 7379 - 7.8% 41.1%
Mercedes Sprinter 1485 725 +112.7% 8.9%
Nissan NV 941 --- --- 5.7%
Ford Transit connect 2180 2577 - 12.2% ---

While overall net field supplies fell by 706 units, the slower sales rate resulted
in an increase in the days supply to 57 from 50 at the end of September. Passenger vans continue to be in short supply with only 606 units total. Chevy cargo vans are at a 43 day supply while cutaway inventories are around 100 days supply.

Here is this week’s build information: 44 E-26 vans; 726 cutaways; 301 slider doors; 130 15-pass vans; 120 r/h door deletes; 92 diesels; 307 Onstar; 28 brake deck spare tire; 332 Penske vans; 259 AT&T cng vans; 146 Enterprise cargo vans; 75.4% white vans; model mix is 31% cutaways, 51% cargo and 18% passenger (24% 07 loop).

There was extensive media coverage of last Thursday’s announcement. Here are some websites you can go to for articles, pictures and videos :
o https://gmweb.gm.com/sites/socrates/Pages/home.aspx
o http://www.gov.mo.gov/
o http://gallery.me.com/stevefechtphoto#106578

JEFFREY BROWN: But I guess I'm asking you about the potential rift, the frustrations within union ranks (about CEO pay and two-tier wages).
BOB KING: Well, you want to make -- I'm sorry, but you seem like you want to make a rift where I don't think there's a rift.
JEFFREY BROWN: OK.
BOB KING: Traditional workers voted overwhelmingly to support entry-level workers getting $3.50 raise -- an-hour raise, even though they were not.
We have seen this over and over again in the UAW. In the agricultural implement industry, we were forced into a two-tier situation a number of years ago. We have done three contracts since then. Every contract, the traditional workers have demanded that more be done to equalize the newer workers. And that's our goal in the auto industry, too.
JEFFREY BROWN: So what is the situation for the auto industry more broadly, after we watched what happened a couple years ago? Where are we now?
BOB KING: Well, we're in much better shape than we were.
We're concerned about what is going on in Europe. I mean, we're all tied together globally, economically. So we know we're not out of the woods yet. If Europe deteriorates economically, that will have impact in the U.S.
You know, right now, we were just in some meetings with General Motors today, with global unions and General Motors. And one of the points that the company was making that I concur with is that we think that the 13 million SAAR is steady because a lot of people are buying vehicles. They are replacing vehicles now.
Of course, we'd love to see it back up to 16, 17, but if we stay in the 13, 14 area, we will have healthy companies. Our members will share in profit-sharing. We will be building capacity and building strength for the future.
JEFFREY BROWN: And, more broadly, we're, of course, in this era where we're seeing many states push back against their public sector unions and more states talking about or implementing right-to-work laws. How do you make a case now for the traditional union in our era?
BOB KING: Well, I think the best example is the auto industry.
Here's business, management, and labor, and the government all work together. Rather than polarizing and taking polarizing positions, we came to the table collectively. We said, here are the issues. How do we do creative problem-solving to help the companies and help our membership?
And I think we showed both during a period of bankruptcy and now with this agreement that we can work together for the good of the companies, for the good of our membership and for the good of our communities and our country.
JEFFREY BROWN: And you think you can make a case to the American public that unions are still important?
BOB KING: I think absolutely we can. We're proving it.
If it wasn't for the UAW, a lot of these investments would have been all over the world and not in the United States of America. We stood up for our members. We stood up for America. And to the company's credit, they worked with us in creating jobs and investment here in the United States of America.
And so I believe in American consumers, which are already showing more preference again for U.S.-made vehicles, because we're making the highest-quality vehicles. We're going to -- we're going to see the market share grow for General Motors and for Chrysler and for Ford.

There will be no SOU for Tuesday November 8, 2011.

State of the Union November 2, 2011

2011-11-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

Today's edition is a 2nd shift update:

SECOND SHIFT UPDATE

As everyone knows, the entire plant is in the process of preparing for the kickoff of the second shift, which will be Jan. 3, 2012. There have been many questions about a wide variety of topics, and while all of them will not be answered here, we will give you the latest information we have.

Second shift split schedule: The first day back, Tuesday,Jan. 3, the start times for both shifts will be 6 am. This will be a 10.7 hour day. The build schedule is 0, although the line will obviously run some. This day will be dedicated to training. Wednesday, Jan. 4, the second shift employees will start 12 pm noon. The build schedule is 25 per shift. These shifts will be 10.7 hours. Thursday, Jan. 5, second shift will start again at noon and the build schedule is 50 per shift. These shifts will be 10.6 hours. There will be no production Friday due to the holiday on Monday. Then on Monday, Jan. 9, the second shift will begin at the normal start time of 5:30 pm.

Production acceleration plan: As mentioned above, the build schedule will begin low but accelerate rapidly. The target at the end of the first full week of two-shift production is 225 per shift. At the end of the third week it is 295 per shift. At the end of the fourth week (Feb. 9) it is 300 per shift. The plan is to reach full production at the end of February and begin March producing 317 units per shift with a net line speed off of the K-line of 34.3 jobs per hour.

Staffing for the second shift: Employees have already been brought into the plant in preparation for the second shift launch (there will be 444 hourly employees added). So far, there have been 16 people under the return to former community clause; 22 have come back that were laid off and had gone time-for-time; 84 temporary employees were hired; and 17 National Area Hire volunteers will be arriving next week.

Quality Metrics: For the first two weeks of January, we will have a direct run rate target of 70. The direct run loss target will be 202.44 and the GCA target will continue to be 50. Direct run target by the end of January will be 75 and direct run loss target will be 192. Direct run rate target by the end of February will be 81 and direct run loss will be 178. We will reach the ongoing plant target of 85 for direct run at the end of March. The direct run loss target will drop every month throughout the year, reaching 144 by the end of December.

Department staffing/training plan: All of the job bidding has been completed. Transfers are being honored based on the training time required for the particular job being filled. As new people are brought in, they are being trained on the jobs that will be vacated by the operators going to these long-lead-time jobs. There are still around 15 openings for team leaders after the latest application/testing phase.
Stamping: There will be approximately 30 people transferring to stamping. There are 13 jobs with a 6-week training requirement. Physicals and training are in progress.
Body shop: Training is already underway as all jobs have been filled. There are 22 jobs requiring 2 weeks of training. As more people come into the Body Shop we will continue to increase the number of people on second. The training on jobs will be done just as it is with any new operator. Training will take place with the Team Leader involved and utilize a revised JIT process that will assure the operator understands & can perform the job.
Paint shop: Paint Department will consist of 79 people when we have 2 shifts. 26 of those positions will be filled by people who are not in paint today. That number is direct and indirect labor. We are utilizing manpower that we currently have in the shop to train up to 9 people a day. We have 6 long lead time jobs that take at least 6 weeks to train on. These include Elpo/mixers, gun techs and final process repair. We had 11 sprayer positions open and so far there have only been 7 filled.
Material: There are 14 long-lead-time jobs in material. There are approximately 60 people transferring to material. Physicals and training are ongoing.
Quality: There are 13 long-lead-time jobs in quality. There are approximately 31 people transferring to the quality department. Training is ongoing.

Facilities preparation for second shift: There will be an enormous amount of rearrangement necessary to facilitate the new line speed and the addition of the second shift. As you may already know, a survey is circulating through the skilled trades to determine the availability of workers on weekends and holidays to perform this work, with the goal of having our trades people do as much of the work as possible. It looks like tentatively, we will need to work maintenance personnel most, if not all, weekends until Christmas break. There will most likely be maintenance personnel working the Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas week. Everything is dependent on how many skilled trades we can get to work and time needed to complete the different aspects of the work. Maintenance personnel are still putting the plan together based on the teams developing each of their scopes of work.

State of the Union November 1, 2011

2011-11-02T06:49:00.000-07:00

Oct. 31, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Here is the latest communication from National Labor Relations regarding entry-level pay raises: “Pay increases for Entry Level employees as provided for in the 2011 UAW-GM National Agreement will be implemented effective October 31, 2011. Eligible employees will see the wage rate change in their pay check dated November 11, 2011. Additional communication is forthcoming regarding the date of a retroactive payment that will include the wage differential due from the date of ratification (September 28. 2011) through October 30, 2011.”

There will be a Recreation Committee meeting this Wednesday, Nov. 2, 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time at the Union Hall. Plans will be finalized for the Christmas Dance and Santa’s visit. Anyone wishing to become a member of the committee is welcome to attend.

Here is this week’s build information: 26 E-26 vans; 231 slider doors; 461 cutaways; 248 15-pass vans; 64 r/h door deletes; 56 diesels; 88 exports; 259 Onstar; 276 Penske; 194 AT&T cng vans; 634 Enterprise rent-a-car; 76.8% white vans.

From Wards Auto: Nissan’s NV large commercial van, which launched in the U.S. this spring, is struggling to gain ground. The vehicle, which is equipped with a V-6 or V-8 gasoline engine and offers standard- and high-roof configurations, had a 205 days’ supply at the end of September, second only to the defunct Dodge Viper’s 304 days of inventory, WardsAuto data shows. The leading players in the cargo-van part of the segment, the Ford Econoline and Chevrolet Express posted 73- and 69-day supplies, respectively, at the end of last month. The NV has exceeded 200 day’s supply in most months since its debut, with the exception of July (187) and August (195). Total NV sales through the year’s first nine months were 3,035, compared with 69,187 for the Econoline and 42,084 for the Express cargo vans. Nissan sold 24 NVs a day in September, compared with the Econoline’s 266 units, according to WardsAuto data. ”We have very high expectations for (our van), but realistically Nissan is not the leader in any (vehicle) segment,” Cristi Brown, NV senior marketing manager, told the media at a Detroit event for the van last year. (Well said, Cristi)

Honda reported a $788 million profit in the latest quarter, down 55% from the same period last year. That doesn’t sound too bad considering the fallout from the earthquake/tsunami disaster. But a closer look reveals that they lost money building and selling automobiles - $380 million to be exact. Profits came from motorcycles ($508 million) and financing ($559 million). Honda is not offering any estimates for next quarter or the fiscal year that ends March 2012 primarily because of the flooding in Thailand that is cutting global production - North American production is 50% of plan through Nov. 10 (all N.A. production will be shut down Nov. 11).

From Business Week: The northern Indiana factory where AM General once made H2 Hummers could be building plug-in, hybrid cargo vans under a deal with a startup company announced Friday. Anderson-based Bright Automotive said production of its Idea work van could start in 2013 or 2014 at AM General's Mishawaka factory. Up to 300 workers ultimately could be hired to build the van once production ramps up, chief operating officer Mike Donoughe told the South Bend Tribune. Bright Automotive is seeking a loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to finance the start of production, but last year received a $5 million investment from General Motors' venture capital arm. Donoughe said the company has been in the loan process for "quite a long time" but that he's confident the vehicle will be built. "I'd like to say I'm highly confident, otherwise we wouldn't be making an announcement like we are," Donoughe said. "We just have to keep moving forward and get the ball over the goal line and start creating jobs in St. Joseph County and the surrounding area that I think are highly needed." Bright announced plans in January to hire 200 employees for a new technical center in Rochester Hills, Mich., to develop the Idea van for the commercial market. Bright says the Idea van will be able to travel more than 30 miles in all-electric mode and get 35 miles per gallon in standard hybrid mode.

From Bloomberg: General Motors Co. will keep open until August 2012 the midsize pickup plant in Louisiana that it set for closure as part of a new four-year labor contract. The Shreveport, Louisiana, factory making Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks will close Aug. 23, Kim Carpenter, a spokeswoman for Detroit-based GM, wrote in an e- mail today. The closure date is dependent on pickup orders by dealers and customers, she said. Shreveport is the only assembly plant that the automaker and United Auto Workers agreed would shut as part of their contract ratified Sept. 28.

From Automotive News: General Motors is on track to increase its U.S. market share in 2011 -- the first time that has happened in nine years. GM's share climbed by 1 percentage point in the first nine months of the year, from 19 percent to 20 percent. The last time GM gained share over a full calendar year was in 2002, when it added 0.3 percentage points. But when was the last time GM picked up at least 1 point in a single year? For that you have to go back to 1978, when its U.S. share grew 1.4 points to 46.3 percent -- roughly what the Detroit 3 command today. What drove GM's success back in 1978? It was the rip-roaring redesign of GM's mid-sized sedans: the Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, Pontiac Grand Prix and Buick Regal.

State of the Union October 31, 2011

2011-10-31T07:06:00.000-07:00

Nov.1, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    There is an announcement scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 3 at 11:05 am. It will be staged in the center of the plant at P-39 and guest speakers will include UAW Vice President Joe Ashton and GM Vice President of Labor Relations Cathy Clegg. Everyone is encouraged to attend this positive announcement.
•    General Motors Co. today reported total sales of 186,895 vehicles in October, up 2 percent compared with October 2010. Retail deliveries were up 3 percent compared with the same month a year ago and accounted for 77 percent of GM sales. Deliveries to fleet customers were essentially flat. “Chevrolet led the way for GM in October driven by the continued success of the Cruze and Equinox,” said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations. “Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC have all performed well this year, which has set the stage for our transition to a higher mix of 2012 model-year vehicles. Combined with the launches of several new fuel-efficient cars, including the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick LaCrosse eAssist, we are very well positioned going forward.” In October, GM’s year-over-year passenger car sales increased 4 percent, crossover sales decreased 1 percent and sales of trucks, which include full-size pickups, vans and SUVs, increased 2 percent. For the month, 2012 models accounted for 80 percent of passenger car sales and about half of truck and crossover sales. Highlights for October include double-digit sales increases for the Chevrolet Equinox, Camaro and Express, the Cadillac SRX, the Buick Regal and the GMC Terrain, as well as the continued success of the Chevrolet Cruze. In addition, Chevrolet dealers delivered more than 1,100 Volts for the vehicle’s best month to date, and GM remains on track to expand Volt availability to 2,600 dealers in all 50 states by the end of the year. The new 40-mpg Chevrolet Sonic also is building momentum, with sales of more than 3,800 units in its second month of launch. (Van sales came in at 7331, up 16.6% over October 2010)
•    Oasis Car Wash and Detail of Wentzville is offering a GM employee discount. Just show your badge and receive $3 off of any car wash or $8 off of any express detail package. The car wash is located at 25 Jiffy Street near Dierbergs off of Wentzville Parkway. Phone number is 636-327-0420

Here is part one of a Bob King interview with Jeffrey Brown of National Public Radio:

JEFFREY BROWN: So when you came to the threshold issue in these negotiations, the thing you had to have to reach an agreement, is holding on to jobs more important now than negotiating higher wages?
BOB KING: Absolutely. No worker is secure unless you have got new product and new investments coming into their facilities. That was our highest priority and the priority that we made the most gains and the most success.
JEFFREY BROWN: And after so many members -- losing so many members in the last decades and after what happened a couple years ago, do you go into negotiations like this inevitably from a position of weakness? Or how do you feel going in?
BOB KING: No, I think that we -- you know, I think that we still have considerable leverage and power in the industry. I think that our view has changed, that we understand the people who have the most at stake in the long-term success of these companies is our membership. CEOs change, shareholders change, management changes, but our members are there. And their long-term security, their pensions, their health care, their economic security is tied into long-term success of the company. So we're focused on making sure that there's new product, new investment, good technology, highest possibility quality for the consumers. So our role has kind of shifted as we have gotten into more of a global economy and global competition.
JEFFREY BROWN: Well, with this two-tiered wage system, with most of the new jobs coming in at lower wages, is that now the new normal for union workers, and is that dividing your members, two classes of workers, essentially?
BOB KING: Well, I'm really proud of our membership. The traditional members put the highest priority on raising the wages and benefits of the newer members. That's in the greatest spirit of solidarity. Traditional members got no base rate increase. The new members got $3.50 an hour. It's long been a value of the UAW that people doing the same job should make the same rate of pay. We had to deviate from that to save the companies. And this is the first contract where the companies are beginning to be healthy again. None of them are totally out of the woods, but they were in good enough economic shape to be able to do $3.50 base rate increases for the entry level. So we're really happy with that. We'd like to have seen more, but we thought that was financially viable for the companies, kept us competitive. And then, as you know, in the lump sums and the profit sharing, there are not two tiers. Everybody's treated the same. And so in actual annual income, we made tremendous improvements for the entry level.
JEFFREY BROWN: Well, I said you had to work hard to get members to ratify. In fact, you faced a fair amount of dissent along the way. You had lower ratification rates than historically. You had some important plants even reject the contract. So what do you say to workers who now say to you -- they say, look, we gave up a whole lot a few years ago, we don't seem to have gotten much back, and they're also seeing that the CEOs at the companies are still making a lot of money and complaining about it?
BOB KING: Well, CEO pay is going to be an issue. It has been an issue for the last 50 years in the U.S. Our country's out of whack with most places in the world. I think we have got to give shareholders and employees as shareholders more of a voice in CEO pay. That's a legislative issue, as well as a contractual issue. In no contract do you get everything that you want. Did we make substantial progress in this contract? We think absolutely we did, especially in product investment. We were very -- we were not concerned just about ourselves and our membership. We were concerned about our communities and getting jobs in America. We were very appreciative of the American taxpayer and President Obama for believing in the American auto industry, believing in American workers. And so we wanted to make sure that the number one priority in this was to create jobs in America. So there will be a lot of people in a lot of communities around America that are hired into middle-class jobs because of what we did in this contract.

State of the Union October 28, 2011

2011-10-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

Oct. 28, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Reminder to Skilled Trades employees: Starting Monday, Oct. 31, management will survey our skilled trades departments on their availability for weekends and holidays through the end of the year. This is only a survey. This does not lock you in nor does it prevent you from accepting later if you become available. This survey will allow management to properly schedule work pertaining to the rerate in order to have second shift to run on Jan. 3, 2012. If you have any further questions concerning this survey please contact your committeeman.

There has been some confusion about having unused vacation hours at the end of the year. To clarify, any unused vacation hours, either VP or VR, will be paid the first week of February, 2012. You do not need to use all of your vacation time as a result of the new National Agreement. However, any vacation time that is scheduled can only be cancelled by mutual agreement.

Here are some excerpts from a Bob King interview with the Detroit Free Press:
How meaningful is it that two years after GM and Chrysler's bankruptcy, these agreements will add jobs?
"President (Barack) Obama went out on a limb to support American companies and American workers and ... we came back in great style, and we are repaying the American taxpayers and repaying President Obama for his faith in us."
Were you worried about the vote at Ford, which ended up passing with 63% of workers voting yes?
Calling the vote "very rocky," King said: "If you take out the results from the first couple of plants, the percentage was really high."
Were your negotiations with Chrysler a disappointment compared with GM and Ford?
"I felt like at all three of them, we really did some good, creative problem solving. Chrysler's management is in a much tougher position in terms of cash, and so you would expect it to be more difficult."
Did GM CEO Dan Akerson's routine meetings with you make a difference?
"I think it made a big difference. I give Dan a lot of credit. Steve Girsky, Cathy Clegg -- their whole team. They really were open and transparent and worked together to solve problems."

State of the Union October 27, 2011

2011-10-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

Oct. 27, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Attention Skilled Trades employees: Starting Monday, Oct. 31, management will survey our skilled trades departments on their availability for weekends and holidays through the end of the year. This is only a survey. This does not lock you in nor does it prevent you from accepting later if you become available. This survey will allow management to properly schedule work pertaining to the rerate in order to have second shift to run on Jan. 3, 2012. If you have any further questions concerning this survey please contact your committeeman.

There will be a Suggestion Fair on Tuesday, Nov. 8, to promote use of the Suggestion program. There will be popcorn and a drawing for a big screen TV, but you need to have submitted a suggestion this year to be eligible. Now is a good time to submit your ideas in suggestion form either individually or as a team.

From the Education Committee: We are currently selling raffle tickets to raise funds for out committee. The tickets are for gift baskets (one male and one female) and are $5 each or 3 for $10. You can purchase them from any committee member up to 30 minutes before the drawing, which will be Monday, Nov. 28 at lunch time in the cafeteria. Thanks in advance for your support.

The UAW announced yesterday that the Chrysler tentative agreement was ratified by 54.8% of all voters. Over 60% of the production workers approved the deal while nearly 56% of skilled trades workers were opposed. In other Chrysler news, the company announced third quarter net income of $212 million, up from a net loss of $84 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 19 percent to $13.1 billion. The company ended the quarter with $9.5 billion in cash, down from $10.2 billion at the end of the second quarter. Chrysler's global sales were 496,000 for the third quarter, up 24 percent from a year earlier. There was no breakout of regional results, e.g. North American profits.

From TruckTrend: A new four-year United Auto Workers (UAW) union agreement has Ford reshaping its future truck production, as it gears up to move the F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucks to a new plant while getting ready to introduce a new full-size van.
The F-650 and F-750 are currently manufactured in Escobedo, Mexico by Blue Diamond Truck, but after Ford and Navistar International end their partnership with the company in three years, production will move to the Avon Lake, Ohio assembly plant. The F53 motor home and F59 commercial stripped chassis will also join the F-650 and F-750 at the Ohio plant that also builds the E-Series van, which will be phased out over the next 10 years. Eventually replacing the E-Series van will be the Ford Transit -- a new full-size van that is based on a global platform. Both vans will be sold in the U.S. market until the E-Series is completely killed off, with production scheduled to start in 2013 at the Kansas City plant in Mo., which will also produce the next-gen F-150.

From Edmunds: One year after General Motors Co. shut down its Pontiac division for good, the company has managed to maintain – and even improve – its retention of former Pontiac owners, according to data analyzed by Edmunds.com., which shows that 39.9 percent of Pontiac owners who traded in for a new vehicle this year opted for another GM vehicle. This retention rate is eight percentage points better than GM’s retention rate of Pontiac buyers in 2010 – and represents the highest retention rate since 2007, when the rate also 39.9 percent. As a replacement, Chevrolet brand has been most responsible this year for retaining former Pontiac owners, with 28.1 percent of them choosing Chevy as their new brand. Outside of GM, Ford Motor Co. has been the biggest beneficiary of Pontiac’s demise. A year after Pontiac showrooms went dark, an estimated 9.4 percent of former owners jumped to Ford in 2011, but the rate is down from 2010’s 12.4 percent. American Honda Motor Co. Inc. and Toyota Motor Sales USA each have managed to conquest an estimated 7.4 percent of Pontiac customers, which for both brands is a lower rate than last year. When AutoObserver first reported the news of Pontiac’s demise in 2009, the percentage of people who traded their Pontiac for another Pontiac dropped to 16 percent, while at the time 50 percent of owners of other GM brands traded for another GM model, according to Edmunds.com data.

From the Wall Street Journal: In the last few years, Ford Motor Co. has written one of the great turnaround stories in American history. Now, however, the global economy's troubles and Ford's own weak position in Asia are becoming a drag on the auto maker's upward trajectory. On Wednesday, the second-largest U.S. auto maker reported a 2% drop in earnings, to $1.65 billion, even though revenue climbed 14%. It was hurt by a loss in Europe ($306 million), whose economy is hampered by the euro-zone debt crisis, and by rising and volatile prices for steel and other materials. In North America, Ford's costs for commodities, hedging, materials, warranty and freight costs increased by more than $1 billion compared to the third quarter of 2010. Ford is also paying a price for moving into China and India years after rivals like General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG. Heavy costs for developing vehicles for Asian markets and building plants in a bid to catch up left the company's Asian division with a loss of $43 million for the quarter.

State of the Union October 25, 2011

2011-10-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

Oct. 25, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: The Joint Manpower Team met their goal of identifying all 770 moves by the end of the shift on Friday. Now the hard work begins – start getting people moved. Operations that need long lead time for training have been identified and those employees will be moved or trained first. The employees coming into the plant now, the time for time entry level, the Fairfax returnees, the National Hire and the new hires will be used to replace these employees for their training. Training schedules are being developed now. Thanks for your patience.

There are still some issues that the National Parties are working through regarding entry-level pay raises. When these issues are resolved we will communicate the resolution. All raises will be retroactive to Oct. 3.

Here is this week’s build information: 34 E-26 vans; 558 cutaways; 516 slider doors; 98 15-pass vans; 107 diesels; 181 r/h door deletes; 56 brake deck spare tire; 78 exports; 228 Onstar; 190 Penske; 226 AT&T cng vans; 150 gov’t vans; 70% white vans.

Reminder: Team leader applications can be submitted by current or future workers in Trim, Chassis and Material through Wednesday this week with testing to be done on Thursday and Friday.

The November schedule is out. Friday, Nov. 11 is the only scheduled Friday. Per the new Local Agreement, any week with a Holiday will be a 40 hour week and management has the discretion to either work 3 days, 11 hours max or 4 days, 9 hours max. So with Veterans Day observation on the Nov. 14, the schedule that week is Tue. – 10.6, Wed. – 10.7, Thur – 10.7 and Friday off. Thanksgiving week schedule is 8.7 Monday through Wednesday.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Bake Sale on Monday. A total of $920 was raised that will be donated to the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walk in the Plant’s name. And thanks to everyone who purchased a shirt. Over $530 was also donated to “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer”.
Reminder – the walk is this Saturday at Forest Park in the Upper Muny Parking Lot at 9am. To register please go to: http://makingstrides.acsevents.org/site/PageServer?pagename=MSABC_FY12_FindAnEvent and search for Team “GM/UAW – Wentzville Assembly”.

From Automotive News: Workers at more of Chrysler Group's largest plants have voted to approve a tentative four-year labor contract between the company and the UAW, paving the way for ratification this week of the last Detroit 3 labor contract to be negotiated this year. The UAW is expected to announce final results by Wednesday morning. In the latest results, hourly workers at Chrysler's Toledo assembly complex voted Monday to approve the contract, officials at UAW Local 12 told The Toledo Blade newspaper today. Through Monday, nine Chrysler UAW locals voted in favor of ratification while five rejected it. An updated total of the votes has not been released by the UAW because the union did not want earlier results to influence locals voting later in the process. "Please do not post results on this page," an administrator for the UAW Chrysler Talks Facebook page requested of members. "There are smaller locals that will vote later and we do not want them to think that their vote does not matter." Voting ends today.

GM said it will invest $325 million in tools and equipment at the Warren Transmission facility in Warren, Mich. to support production of future electric vehicle components, creating or retaining 418 jobs. Timing for the project was not disclosed. The plant in suburban Detroit has 679 total employees, most of whom produce transmissions for the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia crossovers and the Chevrolet Malibu sedan. “We are very proud of the membership of UAW Local 909 whose hard work and dedication to building quality products is why this new electric drive unit module is being built in the United States,” said Joe Ashton, UAW vice president representing the GM Department. “These good paying, middle class jobs are very important for the State of Michigan and the Metro Detroit area. It is the UAW’s goal to increase employment at GM and show the world that we can compete with anyone.

From KansasCity.com: Ford Motor Co. executives, United Auto Worker members, and state and local officials gathered Friday on a hilltop in the Kansas City area to savor the company’s planned $1.1 billion investment and 1,600 new jobs that will be coming here. Company officials, at a news conference near the Claycomo plant, said the approval of a labor agreement this week allowed them to proceed with plans to add a second manufacturing line for the F-150 pickup truck next year, and bring in an entirely new product, the Transit commercial van, with work to start in 2013. Gov. Jay Nixon was enthusiastic. “Right here the rebirth of the American manufacturing industry began right now,” he said to loud applause. “This is our moment.” Nixon’s administration had put a priority on bringing more auto jobs to the state, including pushing through an incentive package for manufacturers who added employees. Missouri will benefit from one of the largest commitments from Ford for new investment and jobs. “They had the vision for their future,” said Jim Wells, director of UAW Region 5, which includes Kansas City. “I’m proud that Ford has brought these products to Missouri.” The Transit will now become the “workhouse” van for Ford in the U.S., replacing nearly all Econoline models.

State of the Union October 21, 2011

2011-10-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

Oct. 21, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: The Joint Manpower Committee is working through the Par. 63b moves. They hope to have it done by the end of the shift on Friday. Just to give you an idea of how big this was, there were 326 Par. 63b moves and 444 backfill moves – 770 moves from 1030 people working in the plant. It has been a huge process. The time frame for making the transfers is being worked on now. Some transfers will happen sooner than others depending on the training necessary for that operation. On Monday, October 24, the 16 remaining employees from Fairfax who did not take the enhanced relocation ($30,000/3 year commitment) will be returning home. They will then be able to pick from the remaining jobs. The Entry Level employees who returned on the 17th will be able to pick their jobs next. After that, whenever National Hire people enter the plant, they will be able to pick from the remaining openings. The National Hire process is proceeding very slowly. Of the first 59 people offered, only 4 accepted. There is now another offer for 26 more people, who have until October 25th to decide. The National Hire process is going so slow that the corporation has made a decision to hire 85 new entry level employees. They are currently being given drug screenings and physicals. It will take 444 new people to be able to staff 2 shifts. So far they have 131. Also, Trim, Chassis and Material still have team leader openings so applications will be accepted Monday through Wednesday next week. All current or future employees of these departments are eligible to apply. Testing will be done next Thursday and Friday. Finally, we ARE working Wednesday, November 23. We were not allowed to change the Veteran’s Day holiday to the 23rd this year because the corporation and the UAW had not yet negotiated Veteran's day for this year. So we will be off November 14 and November 24 and 25.

Reminder: There will be a bake sale Monday to benefit “Making Strides for Breast Cancer”. It will be held at the Suggestions office beginning at 8 am and will run until it’s sold out. If you wish to donate any baked goods you can bring them in that morning and give them to Pat. Also, the “Making Strides for Breast Cancer” T-shirts are in. If you haven’t picked yours up see Kandi Kinsler in Material or call 2421.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer: General Motors will build the diesel version of its popular Chevrolet Cruze at its Lordstown plant in 2013, company and union officials confirmed today. Early test builds of the vehicle could start next week. "The people in the plant made this happen," said Jim Graham, president of the United Auto Workers Local 1112 in Lordstown. "If they hadn't put their hearts and souls into this project, we never would have gotten the diesel." Some analysts are expecting a U.S. diesel Cruze that could top 50 miles per gallon, but that would require some changes from the model sold in Europe. GM uses a 2-liter diesel on that continent, an engine that tops out at about 43 miles per gallon on the highway.

From the Detroit News: Economists for General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. expect U.S. auto sales to increase in 2012 above the 12.5 million to 13.5 million forecast for this year. "We see growth in 2012 for one reason … vehicles are getting very, very old," Ford senior economist C. Jenny Lin said Wednesday at a gathering hosted by the National Association of Manufacturers. "We are still very positive about the U.S. auto industry recovery." The average vehicle in the U.S. is 10.6 years old, the highest in history. Automakers believe that signals pent-up demand for new cars. Between 1996 and 2000, Linn noted, the U.S. auto industry sold 96 million vehicles. Those cars and trucks are nearing the end of their lives. "A lot of people are deciding whether to repair their old vehicle — and the costs are getting higher," she said. "It's tradeoff mode." GM chief economist G. Mustafa Mohatarem also is forecasting a better 2012. But Mohatarem noted his boss, GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson, told Automotive News last week that he expects "flattish" U.S. industry sales next year. "Dan's view is that we should be planning very conservatively — that so many things can and have gone wrong this year," Mohatarem said. "So many things can go wrong around the world that you can't plan on fundamentals driving this thing." Auto sales were up 10 percent in September, to an annual sales rate of 13.1 million vehicles. Mohatarem believes sales are growing not because of higher demand, but because Japanese automakers, whose production was interrupted by March's earthquake and tsunami, are recovering — albeit slowly. "It's depressing," Mohatarem said, "that people would rather put off buying that car because they can't get the Honda or Toyota." Mohatarem said based on U.S. population, the auto industry should be selling 16.5 million vehicles annually. "13 million is a deep recession sales low," he said, but added the U.S. could return to the 16 million range in 2014 or 2015.

From Automotive News: Anyone who's surprised by General Motors' recent decision to remain in the U.S. market for smaller pickups with a redesigned Chevrolet Colorado -- even as competitors flee the segment -- must not have been listening to Mark Reuss. For awhile now, GM's president of North America has been espousing his view of the U.S. pickup market. And it includes many shades of gray. Reuss sees ample "bandwidth" within the pickup segment that belies the industry's conventional wisdom: that full-sized pickups can be all things to all people. But Reuss believes "there's going to be a micro-segmentation of what the bandwidth is of a pickup truck," he said in an interview last week. "I see huge opportunity there," Reuss said. "There are a lot of people who still earn their living with these kinds of trucks. Within the Colorado, you're going to see some really attractive things from a duty cycle and fuel-economy standpoint that you may not be able to get on a bigger pickup truck."

From the Detroit Free Press: Initial voting among UAW members at Chrysler shows a mixed reaction to a proposed four-year labor agreement. Workers at plants in Belvidere, Ill., and Warren voted against the deal, while workers at an Indiana casting plant and salaried workers -- including engineers, designers and model makers -- approved it. The UAW's Chrysler department has not published a cumulative tally, but it is expressing concern. "Arbitration is not in the best interest of our membership," stated a posting Thursday on the UAW-Chrysler Facebook page. "An outside party would determine our ... agreement ... based on what an arbitrator may perceive as competitive wages from both domestic and foreign manufacturers.” If the agreement isn’t ratified, That would leave two options. The company and union could agree to stick to the agreement, and the arbitrator could impose it, without the signing bonus. Or either side -- more likely, Chrysler -- could decide to start the process again and submit data to the arbitrator in hopes of securing a better deal, said Kristin Dziczek, labor analyst of the Center for Automotive Research.

State of the Union October 19-20

2011-10-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

There will be no State of the Union today and tomorrow due to SWE training assignment.

State of the Union October 18, 2011

2011-10-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

Oct. 18, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
•    Correction: The revised schedule for December will have Friday the 23rdoff (thanks for paying attention).
•    Reminder: Today is the last day to submit flu shot forms in the drop box in the cafeteria. Also, Union Meeting is tomorrow at 7:15 am, 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after longest first shift line time. The Solidarity Committee will be serving hot dogs and chips after the meeting.
•    There will be a bake sale Monday, Oct. 24 at Suggestions beginning at first break to benefit Making Strides for breast cancer. Bring any baked goods donations to Pat Workman prior to 8 am at the Suggestions office area.
•    For the second time in its history, General Motors has sold more than 2 million vehicles in China in a calendar year, reaching the milestone today. On November 4, 2010, GM became the first global automaker in China to sell 2 million vehicles in one year. Demand in China this year for the Buick brand has risen 24 percent, Chevrolet 18 percent and Cadillac 73 percent. In addition, GM’s SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture sold its 1 millionth vehicle in China this year on Oct. 14 (through the end of September, GM has sold 1,902,172 vehicles in the US).
•    From Automotive News: Consumers have shown a recent willingness to cross-shop outside their traditional habits, according to market monitors. Prodded and lured in one direction by such factors as inventory shortages at import leaders Toyota and Honda, and shooed in the opposite direction by disappearing brands such as Pontiac, Saturn and Mercury, some consumers find themselves unanchored. The billion-dollar question: Are they changing shopping patterns out of temporary inconvenience, or is a new attitude emerging in the consumer standoff between import and domestic brands? Compete Inc., an automotive market research firm in Boston, finds that the tendency of Japanese import-brand shoppers to cross-shop Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge has trended steadily upward since the first quarter of 2010. Similarly, J.D. Power and Associates reports that the percentage of auto shoppers who traded in an Asian import-brand vehicle and bought another one has declined slightly. Asian-brand loyalty dropped from a consistent 80 percent at the beginning of 2010 to 76 percent in third quarter 2011. "There is clearly a new sense of patriotism out there," says Adam Lee, chairman of Lee Auto Malls in Westbrook,Maine that has both domestic and foreign brands. "We can hear it when we talk to customers."
•    General Motors will develop an all-new global family of small-displacement Ecotec gasoline engines over the next several years that will give customers in markets around the world improved fuel economy, higher quality, better performance and reduced carbon dioxide emissions. The program could encompass more than 2 million engines a year by the end of the decade. The new global engine family will comprise a range of three- and four-cylinder engines – in displacements from 1.0L to 1.5L – engineered and manufactured in multiple regions for global use. They will feature lightweight design and advanced technologies such as direct injection, turbocharging and alternative fuel compatibility to provide customers with both efficiency and on-demand performance. The new engine family also will be designed to reduce noise, vibration and harshness, a common trait of smaller engines. Production is expected to begin mid-decade. The engines will be introduced in GM global vehicle programs across multiple vehicle architectures in various regions, through the end of the decade. Manufacturing locations and production timing will be announced later
•    From the Detroit Free Press: Ford’s tentative four-year labor contract with the UAW is as good as passed. It would take a huge defeat by workers at the plants that have yet to vote to reverse the tide now supporting the deal. Voting concludes today. So far, 23,921 of Ford's 41,000 workers have voted. Of those, 62% voted in favor of the deal. So far, the biggest dissent from a Ford factory has come from Chicago, where 77% of workers voted no. Still, votes from workers at five plants with more than 8,900 workers have yet to be counted. About 5,000 work at two assembly plants in Louisville, Ky., where there is major opposition. Chrysler's 26,000 UAW-represented workers will begin voting today.
•    Cars.com recently did two “SUV shootouts” comparing three-passenger-row crossovers under $37,000 and another crossover group priced under $29,000. For the $37,000 group the mission was to see which of seven vehicles could please their experts and a family of four with its combination of driving quality, features and family-friendliness. The goal in the $29,000 SUV Shootout was to pit nine of the most popular models against each other to see which one has the best combination of ride, room, family-friendly features and handling. The Chevy Traverse finished second in the $37,000 shootout, beating out the Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander and Dodge Durango among others. It drew praise for its quiet smooth ride and nimble handling that made it feel smaller than it was. Testers also like the large interior, “bigger than a Tahoe”. In the $29,000 shootout, the Chevy Equinox came in first, topping the Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4, and Honda Civic among others. Reviewers heaped praise on the Equinox: "For $28,500, this car is loaded with family-friendly features." Among them were dual fold-up DVD screens, a backup camera that could be viewed in the rearview mirror and the only powered liftgate in the group. "There's a real premium feel throughout the interior." And "the fit and finish go way above and beyond the others." "The Equinox is one of the most comfortable of the bunch from the driver's seat," another wrote. "For a four-cylinder, it's great," one said. "It's so much more substantial."

State of the Union October 17, 2011

2011-10-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

Oct. 17, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: Welcome back to the remaining 25 laid off employees that reported today. Next week the remaining 16 return from Fairfax that took the basic relocation. There has been 59 Extended Area Hire employees accepted transfers to Wentzville. They will report on November 7. The seniority dates for these employees are from 1/7/85 ( 6 of these) to 2/14/2000. The corporation has given approval to hire 85 people off the street. They are being called now for Drug and Physical screening. They will tentatively be reporting October 31. The total need for the start up of 2nd shift is 444 employees. The union has requested of the company to change the off Friday in December. Currently the off Friday is December 16. The union requested the company to change the off Friday to December 23. Management has agreed. This will require us to work 3 Fridays in a row, but I thought it better to have the day off before the Christmas Holiday period.
•    Union Meeting is this Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 7:15 am, 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
•    Reminder: The deadline to submit your form for flu shots is tomorrow. You can turn them in at the cafeteria in the designated drop box. Drawing will take place Wednesday and shots will begin on Thursday by department.
•    Here is this week’s build information: 33 E-26 vans; 605 cutaways; 351 slider doors; 219 r/h door deletes; 181 15-pass vans; 118 diesels; 335 Onstar; 57 exports; 28 brake deck spare tire; 100 Penske; 71.9% white vans.
•    From Bloomberg: Ford Motor Co. (F) may have dodged its first nationwide strike in 35 years and secured labor peace while the United Auto Workers adds thousands of new members. UAW members at Ford went from voting 53 percent against the proposed contract on the morning of Oct. 14 to 62 percent in favor by yesterday at 8:30 p.m. New York time. The union said 14,845 members at Ford had cast ballots in favor of the labor deal while 9,076 voted against. Ford’s 40,600 U.S. hourly workers will conclude balloting tomorrow. The latest voting results “improve the likelihood of passage, as remaining plants would have to be over 60 percent opposed,” said Brian Johnson, an analyst at Barclays Capital. The UAW was preparing for its first national strike at Ford since 1976. It would have cost Ford $273 million a day in lost revenue and $71 million in daily variable profit, Johnson said. Even bigger, he said, would have been the loss of reputation for failing to reinvent U.S. auto competitiveness. Like General Motors Co. (GM)’s agreement, Ford’s was judged to be cost-neutral.
•    From Automotive News: General Motors plans to shift some production of its Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain from the factories that now assemble the popular crossovers to another plant to alleviate tight supplies, CEO Dan Akerson told Automotive News. Akerson said GM is considering its former Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., to take on added production of the crossovers, which are now made at the automaker's plants in Ingersoll and Oshawa, Ontario. Akerson also said GM is considering options for extra production of its hot-selling Cruze compact. The car is made at GM's Lordstown, Ohio, plant, which has been running three shifts and Saturday overtime shifts. Akerson did not say which plant could get the added Cruze production. GM officials previously have said that its Lake Orion assembly plant in suburban Detroit would be the overflow plant for the Cruze. In September 2010, it took the unusual step of transporting Equinox bodies built at CAMI about 125 miles to Oshawa for final assembly. Akerson said that arrangement has been an effective stopgap, but it's not a permanent solution. "We've got to fix that. We can't run like that forever," Akerson said. "We've got to bring it to other plants" within the next 12 to 24 months, he said. "We've looked at Spring Hill and we've looked at other plants, too." Akerson's comments are GM's first in public about what might be assembled at Spring Hill since the plant emerged as a centerpiece of the company's new four-year labor contract approved by UAW workers last month. The union said GM agreed to spend $419 million and add about 1,700 jobs at Spring Hill to build two "mid-sized vehicles." Akerson said that GM likely would use Spring Hill as a spillover plant to produce various high-demand vehicles. Idled in 2009 amid GM's bankruptcy restructuring, the facility is one of GM's most technologically advanced factories. "If we open Spring Hill, we're not going to go in there and say 'We're going to produce a couple hundred thousand of one [vehicle] in there,'" Akerson said. "It'll be because we go in and produce 50,000 of this, 25,000 of that." Canadian Auto Workers President Ken Lewenza said GM officials have not confirmed whether they plan to produce some crossovers at Spring Hill. He said he would like assurances that, if GM sends production elsewhere and demand for the crossovers later drops, output would be curtailed at the overflow plant, and not the Canadian facilities.
•    From the Detroit Free Press: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into complaints of engine compartment fires that could affect 36,000 Mini Cooper "S'' models from the 2007 and 2008 model years. The federal safety agency said in documents posted on its website that it has received 12 complaints of fires. Five of the blazes destroyed the cars. Eight fires happened when the engines had been shut off. No injuries have been reported, NHTSA said in documents posted during the weekend. The agency says there's an increasing trend of fires, with most of the complaints coming in the past year. NHTSA opened a preliminary evaluation on Oct. 11 and will try to find the cause of the blazes. Depending on the findings, a recall could be ordered. The fires could affect "S'' models of the Mini Cooper, Cooper Clubman and Cooper Convertible, the agency said.

State of the Union October 13, 2011

2011-10-13T09:07:00.001-07:00

Oct. 13, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    There will be a Women’s Committee, Veterans Committee and CAP Committee meeting today after first shift at the Union Hall.
•    From the Chaplaincy Committee: “Happy Sweetest Day!”
•    Tomorrow is the “Occupy St. Louis Rally”, which will be held at Kiener Plaza (7thand Market). UAW Region 5 wants you to “join your Union Brothers and Sisters to Rally for the 99%, the working class!” Sign in is at 3 pm, with the rally starting at 3:30 pm and the walk beginning at 4 pm. Remember to wear your UAW shirts.
•    From Automotive News: GM said yesterday that it will launch an all-new TrailBlazer mid-sized SUV in Thailand early next year, with plans to roll it out elsewhere in Southeast Asia, in the Middle East and in South America. It will be unveiled at the Dubai International Motor Show, Nov. 10-14. GM officials wouldn't say whether there are plans to sell the TrailBlazer in the United States. The new vehicle will be built on GM's new rear-drive, body-on-frame platform for mid-sized trucks, the same underpinnings as the next-generation Chevy Colorado pickup that was launched last week in Thailand. The new TrailBlazer "probably wouldn't have a natural spot" in Chevy's U.S. lineup, said Jim Hall, principal of automotive consulting firm 2953 Analytics Inc. in suburban Detroit. It would be sandwiched between the Chevy Equinox and Traverse crossovers. That could change, Hall said, if the Equinox shrinks a bit in size when GM remodels the popular crossover, which isn't expected until at least 2015. "I'd never say never," Hall said about the prospect of GM selling the new TrailBlazer in the United States. "There's always the chance that it could find a sweet spot in the market." In a statement, GM said the new TrailBlazer "will combine the hauling and towing capability of an SUV with the ride comfort and efficiency of a crossover."
•    Here are some of the terms of the Chrysler tentative agreement: $3500 signing bonus (2 installments), $500 annual performance bonus, $500 annual quality bonus, up to $1000 annual upside bonus based on achieving world class manufacturing metrics, $300 annual perfect attendance bonus, unlimited office visits at $25 copay, profit sharing based on 85 percent of Chrysler Global Modified Operating Profits before interest and special payments (formula same as GM - $1 billion profits = $1000 payout).
•    Voting continues on the Ford tentative agreement, with the Sterling Heights axle plant (around 2200 workers) voting 66% yes while the Chicago assembly plant (around 2300 workers) voted 77% no. At Sandusky (630 workers) 57% voted yes. The UAW Ford department posted this on their facebook page: "Vice President Settles has advised the membership during informational meetings that if the agreement is not ratified, he will ask the International Executive Board to authorize a strike. If so, he will then give 72-hour notice to the company that we intend to strike."
Flu Shots

We have received flu shots for distribution to regular active hourly and salaried GM Wentzville employees. There are limited quantities available so if you are interested in receiving a flu shot please complete the attached form and place it in the box located in the cafeteria from Thursday, October 13, 2011 to Tuesday October 18, 2011. Only one form per employee will be allowed. Individuals who submit more than one form will not be considered. The deadline to submit your form will be October 18, 2011. Selected participants will be notified. When flu shots are available, they will be administered to those employees selected during breaks and lunch periods. If additional supplies become available we will select additional employees from the original submission.

State of the Union October 12, 2011

2011-10-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

Oct. 12, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    Correction: Body shop job openings are posted at column DD-31.
•    There will be a Women’s Committee and Veterans Committee meeting Thursday, Oct. 13 after first shift at the Union Hall.
•    From the UAW: Just eight days after reaching a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Co., the UAW reached a tentative agreement with Chrysler Group LLC today, completing its third agreement with domestic automakers in a month. “Less than three years ago, Chrysler was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy as our nation was thrown into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,” said UAW President Bob King. “This tentative agreement builds on the momentum of job creation and our efforts to rebuild America by adding 2,100 new jobs by the end of the agreement in 2015 to communities left in turmoil in the wake of the country’s economic collapse.” King added. “This tentative agreement, coupled with the new agreements at General Motors and Ford bring more than 20,000 new jobs to communities across America,” said King. “Together with the jobs created in suppliers and other businesses supported by auto manufacturing, a total of 180,000 jobs will be added to the country’s battered economy. Through collective bargaining and working together with the domestic automakers, we have shown that cooperation and collective bargaining work,” King added. The UAW Chrysler proposed agreement also includes $4.5 billion of investment to produce new models and upgraded vehicles and components by 2015, all of which will be invested directly into retooling and upgrading plants.
•    From the Detroit News: Michigan plants were the first to turn down Ford Motor Co.'s tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers, vote results showed Tuesday. But many do not see the rejection as a harbinger of the contract's fate. Members of UAW Local 900 who work at Michigan Assembly and Wayne Integrated Stamping barely defeated the tentative four-year agreement by 56 votes of 2,582 cast. Some parts depots across the country also have voted on the deal, reached Oct. 4. Together, they bring the total to 50.1 percent of production workers favoring the agreement, but 45.2 percent of skilled workers voted yes, according to the Ford-UAW Facebook page. The two groups vote separately. There are 58 Ford locals. Voting must be done by Tuesday. At Ford, "We remain optimistic that the tentative agreement will be approved," said spokeswoman Marcey Evans. UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles, in a weekend interview, said "there is no doubt in my mind this contract is going to pass."
GM CEO Dan Akerson gave his first on-the-record discussion as CEO with a newspaper's editorial board (the Detroit Free Press). Here are his comments on the new UAW contract and future labor costs:
"I tried to establish a relationship with (UAW President) Bob King and (Vice President) Joe Ashton. To put it in nautical terms, if you're at sea, there are very defined rules of the road. And as long as everyone follows them, you'll avoid a collision. I didn't want to have that metaphoric collision. So I thought that if we met frequently, got to know each other on a personal level and expressed what our goals were, so we could identify areas of potential conflict, we could potentially avoid them.
"(Previous GM CEO) Ed Whitacre told me he was the only CEO who ever visited Solidarity House, and that was for 15 or 20 minutes. I spent a lot more time down there this year. I thought as a sign of a new era in industrial relations, you have to go down and show that you're willing to extend the hand. ....What's important, that they recognized and that management recognized, is that we actually need one another. ... We had to align our goals and objectives. ...
"I was reviewed in the Washington Post as, 'This guy doesn't know what he's talking about.' I said that we had to have our compensation aligned with business objectives. And my statement was, 'If we do well as a company, then the union should share in our prosperity.' They're members of the team. They may be represented, but they're members of the GM family. And we got that.
"I didn't want to see any structural increases, that if things turn down in this turbulent world, that they should be getting raises when management's not getting anything. I wanted a quality component to their compensation because it's a component of management's compensation. ... And I thought that was enlightened on Bob King's and Joe Ashton's perspective to accept that. ...
"I also wanted to facilitate their agenda to bring jobs to America. We want the United States to do well, too. ... It's not a commitment, hard and firm. If there were a deep recession, then we have to -- but clearly, we look at our production plans around the world and the cadence of new product introductions, and we thought it made sense.
"I thought it came out equitable on both sides. I thought it represents a new industrial era, that in fact this company has to get all of its human resources aligned."
On future labor costs
Increasing the number of tier-two workers "is important in relative terms. We've got to feather this in. It can't be a flash cut -- that wouldn't be fair to our employees. But over time, we've got to feather this in and have a comparable cost of labor with transplants in the U.S., or else we're not going to be competitive.
"There has to be some trust on both sides of the table. We're not trying to hurt anybody. We're trying to stay strong. So over time, as part of the labor contract, we would buy out some of our more senior employees and some of the skilled trades. We don't need to get there tomorrow. ...
"We'll get there, but we don't need to be punishing. We need to recognize that our employees have a right to a certain set of expectations, and we will be competitive over time."

State of the Union October 11, 2011

2011-10-11T13:14:00.001-07:00

Oct. 11, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: Second Shift Update – We are now in the process of filling job openings for team leaders and open operations within each department from those remaining in the department (not transferring out). Here are the details:

o All team leader applicants have been assessed but it appears there will be a shortage of team leaders in each department. Therefore, team leader applications will be accepted from Oct. 24 through Oct. 26, with testing on Oct. 27 & 28.
o 63b transfers are now closed. If you applied and your seniority will allow you to hold the department you applied for, you will be offered the transfer (there can be no refusal).
o All departments are leveling jobs by seniority with 1st and 2ndshift employees who remain in the departments. All primary job openings have been indentified and consist of those operations opened due to 63b transfers, shift preferences or any other primary opening. These jobs are open for bid to everyone in that department who remain by seniority. Secondary bids will be offered to group members during team meeting. We hope to have all of this accomplished by this Friday.
o A list of the job openings are available for you to view at the following locations: Stamping – column SA30; Body – column W27; Trim – trim trailer columns B/C37; Chassis – column B50; Quality – audit room; Final – column C60; Material – trim office at column N31. SOS sheets will be available for each opening (along with details on request).
o Monday, Oct. 17 we hope to give employees 63b transfer notices and choice if you have multiple applications in. You cannot be guaranteed choice of shift on 63b transfers – seniority will determine that.
We are moving quickly because we are trying to afford everyone in the plant the ability to go to the job of your choice before any transfers arrive. Thanks for your patience.
•    The signing bonus will be paid on this week’s paycheck.
•    From Automotive News: UAW President Bob King told local union leaders today that the UAW and Chrysler Group are still apart on a new labor agreement, a source familiar with negotiations said. King told the group he hoped an agreement could be reached by Wednesday and asked them to remain in Detroit, another source told Reuters. A UAW spokeswoman could not be immediately reached for comment, but the UAW's Chrysler bargaining team, on their Facebook page, said contract talks are continuing. "We are asking for a show of solidarity, as our negotiators continue to work diligently on a tentative agreement," the posting said. Chrysler and the UAW are apart on several economic issues, including the size of a signing bonus. Chrysler wants to be able to hire an unlimited number of entry-level workers through 2019 as the carmaker brings new products to U.S. factories, two sources have told Automotive News. Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has said in recent days that the recent GM and Ford deals are too rich for Chrysler, which had to pay about $2 billion in debt service over the past two years for its government bailout loans. Ford's 41,000 hourly workers have begun voting on ratification. If a deal cannot be reached at Chrysler, UAW negotiations will be subject to binding arbitration. That's a risky prospect for the UAW because compensation at the transplant automakers, which tend to pay their workers less than the Detroit 3, would have to be considered in any arbitration decision. "Progress has been made. However, key issues are still being discussed," General Holiefield, head of the union's Chrysler department, said in comments on the UAW's Facebook page on Friday. "Your negotiators are as anxious as I am to attain a tentative agreement and bring home a contract that delivers the respect and dignity that our membership deserves."
•    From the Detroit Free Press: The UAW and Chrysler are pushing toward a new labor agreement as tensions rise between Fiat, which owns Chrysler, and an Italian union that fears Fiat could shift production from Europe to North America. Fiom, Italy's largest metalworkers union, is planning a one-day strike Oct. 21 at all Fiat factories to protest what it sees as Fiat's gradual reduction of production in Italy. "We are striking to make Fiat stay in Italy," Maurizio Landini, the head of Fiom, told Fiat's union delegates in Rome on Saturday, according to Reuters. Chrysler already builds the Fiat 500 minicar in Mexico. Future Dodge and Chrysler vehicles will share their underpinnings with some Fiats. Last week, Fiat withdrew from the Italian employers' group Confindustria. Marchionne said a labor deal Confindustria signed with the Italian unions on Sept. 21 put Fiat at a disadvantage by weakening legislation meant to make it easier to hire and fire workers.
•    More Automotive News: Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC are accused of misleading advertising in complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission by the Made in the USA Foundation. The California-based group claims the automakers are using misleading ads to market certain vehicles as made-in-the-United States when they are not. The foundation said it filed a complaint against Chrysler for its television and print ads for the Chrysler 300 in which the automaker uses the tagline "Imported From Detroit." The Chrysler 300 sedan is assembled in Brampton, Ontario, and often includes a Mexican-made engine, according to the foundation. Ford also faces a complaint from the foundation because of a radio ad for the mid-sized Ford Fusion. The foundation says Ford claims the Fusion is an American car in the radio spots. "The Fusion is made in Mexico and is not an American car," the foundation said in a statement Monday. "The Ford ad misleads and confuses the public and we have asked the Federal Trade Commission to stop the ads."

State of the Union October 10, 2011

2011-10-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

Oct. 10, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    Here is this week’s build information: There are no E-26’s; 196 slider doors; 389 cutaways; 18 15-pass vans; 121 diesels; 74 r/h door delete; 87 exports; 66 brake deck spare tire; 19 Onstar; 332 compressed natural gas (CNG) vans for AT&T; 154 Enterprise rent-a-car; 90.9% white vans.
•    From Bloomberg: General Motors Co. is delaying plans to add a second shift at the factory that makes Chevrolet Volt electric cars. The company said Friday it has found ways to make one shift more efficient, so it can produce the same number of cars as two shifts. Spokesman Chris Lee says GM still will add 300 workers at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant -- but not a second shift -- by the end of this year to make more Volts. A second shift will be added, though, but not until the last half of 2012, when the plant starts building the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu midsize sedan in addition to the Volt. "This decision will significantly reduce costs, and has no impact on the plant's ability to make 60,000 Volts and Amperas," Lee said in a statement. "This approach is just a more efficient way to make the same number of vehicles." GM engineers figured out a way to clear several bottlenecks that were slowing down the Volt plant and increase its assembly-line speed, the company said. GM plans to add more than 200 jobs when the second shift arrives next year. The plant, which straddles the border between Detroit and the enclave of Hamtramck, now has about 1,000 workers. GM said in May that it would get another 2,500 jobs when second and third shifts are added. In addition to the Malibu and Volt, the plant is expected to build the new version of the Chevrolet Impala, a large front-wheel-drive sedan, for the 2013 model year. GM has said it will invest $69 million for equipment at the plant. The plant stopped making two other big cars at the factory, the Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne, in June. To accommodate the increased Volt production, GM will add a second shift at a plant that assembles Volt battery packs. The plant in Brownstown Township, Mich., south of Detroit, got 30 more workers who will start making battery packs this month, Lee said.
•    From Automotive News: UAW and Chrysler negotiators continued bargaining this morning on a new wage and benefit agreement covering 23,000 workers ahead of a meeting today with union officials. "UAW Chrysler Negotiating Team is up and working," the union bargaining team said on its UAW-Chrysler Facebook page at about 5:00 a.m. local time. "It will get done, and it will get done right," the UAW bargaining team said on Facebook page Sunday morning. "If it takes a few more hours, a few more days, a few more weeks, your team will still fight on." If the UAW fails to reach a new labor accord with Chrysler Group by Monday, local union representatives called to Detroit will hear about "the dangers of going to arbitration," said a source familiar with negotiations.
Collective bargaining critical for America
By Bob King
The UAW recently reached agreements with both Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. that will create thousands of good jobs for American workers.
Working with the UAW, these companies agreed to bring production jobs back from Mexico, China, Japan and other nations — welcome news for communities from Tennessee to Indiana, Missouri to Michigan. These agreements illustrate the critical and positive role that collective bargaining plays in strengthening our middle class.
When the UAW bargaining teams sat down with management, their primary goal was jobs — to protect the jobs of our members; bring jobs back to the United States; and create new jobs. These agreements call for the creation of 6,400 more jobs at GM and 12,000 jobs at Ford.
Since each auto manufacturing job creates or supports another 10 jobs in other businesses, the two agreements at Ford and GM are helping to create nearly 170,000 jobs for Americans. The new investments in American plants and the transfer of work from factories abroad to our own communities will lift local economies during these difficult times.
In recent years, the right wing has demonized the process of collective bargaining. While targeting public sector workers, they have also attacked the right of private sector workers to organize and bargain. The right wing view is that bargaining is destructive to our economy or even un-American. Nothing could be further from the truth. Collective bargaining created the American middle class in the first place, and if we are to restore our middle class, it will be through expanding bargaining throughout our economy.
Collective bargaining is the vehicle through which working people have a voice at work. Too often without countervailing input, executives make decisions based on short-term profit seeking, not on what's best for the company or our nation, in the long term. No one has a stronger self-interest in the success of the company than the workers. CEOs come and go, often with lucrative golden parachutes; managers pursue their own career advantages; stockholders buy or sell to make the most money; but the workers are here for the long-run and have the most at risk if the company fails.
Through collective bargaining, workers have a check and balance on short-term corporate profit-seeking. This balance benefits not only workers but also our communities and even the company's shareholders.
Collective bargaining works. The UAW has demonstrated that by giving workers a voice, we can create jobs, rebuild the American manufacturing sector and restore the American middle class.

State of the Union October 7, 2011

2011-10-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

Oct. 7, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: The local agreement passed with 82 % production in favor and 61% skilled trades in favor. I want to thank you for the strong “yes” vote and your support throughout this process. We have now secured the future of this plant for many years to come and will have a legacy of leaving it in a better position than when we arrived.
•    With the revelation in the tentative agreement with Ford that the full-sized Transit van will be built in Kansas City and the Econoline will only carry on in cutaway form, the question becomes – what’s the timeline? According to examiner.com, 2200 Kansas City workers have been told that they will be temporarily laid off beginning in April next year for retooling in preparation for the launch of the Transit. However, no launch date was mentioned. The conversion will occur on what is now the Escape line (which is moving to Louisville) as the F-150 will still be produced there. Total investment is estimated at $1 billion, so it would seem that there will be quite a bit of construction. Regarding the Econoline, a lengthy article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer does not reveal an end to production date, saying only that it would cease “sometime during the contract’s duration”. Nor was a launch date for the replacement medium duty and motorhome chassis (currently built in Mexico) given.
•    Information: If you want to check on the status of a referral, call 1-800-973-1465. There are no plans at this time for a second round of referrals. Also, to look up your GM paystub go to this website: https://ipay.adp.com. You will need to register to be able to use this website and the initial password to get the process started is: gm1-pay. Under the terms of the new national agreement, you will no longer receive a paper stub in the mail beginning next year, so you will need to use this website to view your paystubs.
•    From the Detroit Free Press: General Motors has agreed to help pay half the cost of repairing faulty gas gauges in potentially hundreds of thousands of its model year 2005-2007 Chevy Trailblazers, Buick Rainiers, GMC Envoys and Saab 9-7s. The agreement to repair the problematic gauges was made to settle an investigation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which began a probe into the issue earlier this year. In April, NHTSA opened an investigation into nearly 900,000 vehicles that could have bad gas gauges – causing drivers to unexpectedly run out of fuel, resulting in an engine stall and possible crash.
•    From Edmunds: The fact that GM intends to sell a next-generation midsize pickup – much less build it in the U.S. – is a notable strategic gamble given the segment’s astounding sales decline. The midsize truck market has been on a steady and precipitous slide since 2000, when, according to Edmunds.com data, more than 1 million midsize pickups were sold. By last year, midsize pickup sales plunged by nearly 75 percent to 264,206. Midsize-pickup market share in the U.S. hit a high mark of 8 percent in 1994, but was just 2.3 percent last year. It didn’t help when the once-compact pickups grew to be seven-eights-sized little brothers to fullsize pickups. When product developers decided that bigger would be better, even for “compact” pickups, they unwittingly erased much of the appeal of compact pickups’ smaller footprints and appreciably better fuel economy. And midsize pickups were selling at average transaction prices similar to the entry end of the fullsize range, while their fuel-economy advantages became negligible. As GM gears up to return a new version of an aging nameplate to a fading segment, chief rival Ford has yet to openly reverse what appears to be commitment to staying out. Ford’s midsize Ranger line – in continuous production since its launch in 1983 – is, for now, gone. There is no 2012 Ranger and the truck’s Twin Cities, MN, assembly plant will close as scheduled at the end of this year, said Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans. Meanwhile, Chrysler Group LLC’s Ram division ended production of its midsize Dakota in August.

State of the Union October 6, 2011

2011-10-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Oct. 6, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: Today's message from the Plant Manager was something this membership has known for 2 weeks so I didn't see a need personally for me to get on the TV to tell you what you already know. You're smarter than that.

MORE 2ND SHIFT NEWS

Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for shift preferences and Par. 63b transfers. As of today this is the date to hold days in the following departments. This date could change if any employees rescind or apply for a shift preference. This date could also change when and if we get any extended area hire transfers who may want to stay on days and their seniority date is better than this date:
Chassis - it takes 2/09/2000 to hold days
Trim - it takes 8-30-1999 with last 4 of 5000 to hold days
Material - it takes 4/22/1985 with last 4 SSN of 9800 to hold days
Body - it takes 4/22/85 with last 4 SSN of 2200 to hold days
Paint - see the Business Manager
These dates are all tentative, and could change up or down.

Reminder: The ratification vote on the tentative local agreement is today. Polls will be open from 4 am to 7 pm. Informational meetings will be held at 1:15pm, 3pm, and 15 minutes after the longest line time.

From the benefits department: Employees will not be able to put the $5000 signing bonus in their PSP accounts.

New incentives are out for GM products. Extended cab and crew cab Silverado and Sierra pickups now have a total of $6505 in cash back for 2011 models (regular cabs are $6005). Here is a pricing example on a tuck in inventory at Cox & Cohea here in Wentzville: Silverado Crew Cab LT – 5.3 V8; 6-speed auto; 2wd; power seat, windows, door locks w/remote keyless entry; leather wrapped steering wheel w/radio controls; dual zone auto a/c; e-z lift locking tailgate; aluminum wheels; cruise & tilt; dual power heated osrv mirrors; uplevel split bench seats w/lumbar & locking storage; stabilitrak; xm radio with cd, usb port and 3 months free; bluetooth for phone; locking rear differential; trailering package; Onstar w/6 months free; side impact and head curtain airbags. This truck stickers at $34,125 and can be yours for $25,731.

GM released more details about the Chevrolet Colorado, which is launching this week in Thailand. Here are some of the highlights (actual production version pictured below):
o The 2.8-liter 4-cylinder turbo diesel engine is rated at 180 horsepower and 346 lb.-ft. of torque with an available six-speed automatic transmission. The 2.5-liter turbo diesel engine is rated at 150 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque.
o In a first for a Chevrolet pickup truck, the Colorado offers LED-illuminated tail lamps on high-level models.
o Segment-leading front- and second-row shoulder room, headroom and seat height.
o The use of LED backlighting in the instrument cluster and HVAC controls in Chevrolet’s trademark “Ice Blue” illumination.
o The regular cab has 16 storage locations, while the extended cab has 19 and the crew cab has 30.
o Seats feature flat-woven cloth fabric or optional leather on high-end models with matching instrument panel inserts. They carry sculpted edges and have dual-density foam construction. A front vinyl bench seat is available on base models.
o Convenience features like auxiliary power, auxiliary plugs and USB connectivity are standard across the range.

State of the Union October 5, 2011

2011-10-05T12:55:00.001-07:00

Oct. 5, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: I want to thank everyone who came to the informational Q and A meetings yesterday. A lot of good information was shared from both sides. Two things the Joint Manpower committee is going to change:
o First: Team Leader applications are going to be frozen after the end of the shift TODAY. If you have any desire to be a team leader in the department you are currently in, your application must be in by the end of the shift today. The committee wants to make offers to those employees who want to be team leaders before the Par 63b offers. We will know the cutoff seniority date for Team Leaders in your department and when you are told you can hold Team Leader classification you will then be able to withdraw your Par 63b or Team Leader application before the cutoff on Friday end of shift if you so desire (remember there is no refusal if your offered).
o Second: The big question again, "can I hold days in my department?" I will have an updated seniority date in all the departments by the beginning of the shift on Friday, to help with your decision. I will calculate the shift preferences we have received as of Thursday end of shift in that calculation. Again, there is no guarantee that the date to hold days will not change again because of the addition of National Hire employees that we may receive.
Management has officially requested 404 National Hires. We don't know how many will accept or what their seniority date is until they get here.
There have been questions from the Highlight letter yesterday for the tentative Local Contract:
Alternative Work Schedule:Settled on the basis: In preparation of holiday week scheduling the parties will jointly discuss the options available for the scheduled working days. We will jointly establish a 3 day 11 hour max or a 4 day, 9 hour max schedule for those affected 4-day weeks. During holiday weeks that contain more than one scheduled day off, our production schedule will not exceed 9 hours per day.

•    Reminder: Ratification vote will on the Local Agreement will be tomorrow. Polls will be open from 4 am to 7 pm. Informational meetings will be held at 7am, 1:15pm, 3pm, and 15 minutes after the longest line time. The Shop Committee recommends you vote “yes” on this agreement as the final step to secure a new product and the future of this plant and this membership for many years to come.
•    There will be a televised announcement from Chairman Mike Bullock and plant manager John Dansby tomorrow morning at the beginning of day shift.
•    Here are the September results for the van segment:
2011 2010 Change Share
Ford Econoline 8711 8711 +2.8% 44.7%
GM 8402 6156 +36.5% 43.1%
Mercedes Sprinter 1779 804 +121% 9.1%
Nissan NV 607 --- --- 3.1%
Ford Transit connect 2611 3571 -26.9% ---
•    Taking a look at field supplies, while overall net stock was up 829 units, the increase in sales resulted in a drop to a 50 day supply versus a 61 day supply in August. Specifically, cargo vans accounted for virtually all of the increase, while cutaway supplies declined. Passsenger van supplies are still very lean with an 18 day supply for the Chevy and total supplies of only 679 units.
•    According to the UAW/Ford agreement highlights, the Avon Lake, Ohio plant will only build cutaway versions of the Econoline when the full-size Transit comes aboard in Kansas City. No timeline was given, but that will leave our van and the (anemic) Nissan NV as the only body-on-frame full sized vans available in the US.
•    Stop the presses! Consumer Reports has given the coveted “Recommended” designation to the Chevy Volt and not the Nissan Leaf. CR praised the Volt’s “instant acceleration”, fuel economy, quiet ride and crash test performance. Never content to let a GM product off the hook, they had to find something to criticize – rear seat accommodations, poor visibility and reduced EV range in cold weather (which is akin to complaining about lower mpg going uphill).
•    From Automotive News: General Motors is taking more steps to boost production of the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain at the Canadian assembly plant that makes the popular crossovers, GM and a union official said today. GM is adding as many as 100 workers and will adjust the assembly line speed at its CAMI Automotive Inc. plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, said Dan Borthwick, president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 88, which represents workers at the plant. GM of Canada spokeswoman Faye Roberts confirmed the plans to add as many as 100 workers at the plant "to meet demand for the hot-selling Equinox and Terrain." The move will increase production by more than 50 vehicles a day, to more than 1,100, Borthwick said in an e-mail to Automotive News. The plant has been running three shifts and Saturday overtime shifts for nearly two years to meet high demand, Borthwick said

State of the Union October 4, 2011

2011-10-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

Oct. 4, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: The Joint 2nd shift Manpower Committee will be having a meeting in the tour holding room on Tuesday, October 4 at 3:30, 4:30 and after day shift at 5:30 to answer any further questions you may have. Also, the seniority date to hold Trim if no one transferred to second shift is 4-14-1986 and the date to hold Chassis is 9-26-1994.
•    Ford and the UAW have reached a tentative agreement. Details are still coming out, but news outlets are reporting that the signing bonus is $6000 and there will be $1500 annual inflation protection payments in lieu of COLA. There were no wage increases negotiated for traditional employees. There will also be attrition packages of $50,000 for production and $100,000 for skilled trades who are retirement eligible. The agreement also secures more than 12,000 jobs, including 7,000 previously announced - 6,250 hourly and 750 salaried - and 5,750 new jobs that will be added by the end of 2012 and pay an entry-level wage, starting at $15.51 an hour. Among the product announcements is the commitment of the Transit van to the Kansas City plant and a medium duty vehicle and frame for the Avon Lake plant that currently assembles the Econoline. It is unclear if the Econoline will still be built at that facility but there has been speculation that the Transit in all its variations will replace the Econoline.
•    From Bloomberg: Automakers, while beating estimates for industry sales, reduced spending on incentives for U.S. customers in September by 3.5 percent to an average of $2,653 per vehicle, according to Autodata Corp. Ford Motor Co. cut spending on discounts and promotions by 6.6 percent from a year earlier to an estimated $2,845 per vehicle, Autodata said Monday in an e-mailed statement. Chrysler Group's incentives fell 5.7 percent to $3,425. Nissan Motor Co. reduced discounts by 5.7 percent to $2,748. Industrywide light-vehicle sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 13.1 million in September. That's the fastest pace since April's 13.2 million and exceeds the 12.8 million rate that was the average of 14 analysts' estimates. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., which returned to full output last month for the first time since Japan's tsunami in March, boosted incentive spending during the month. Honda increased spending by 6 percent to $2,337 per vehicle. Toyota raised incentives 5.5 percent to an estimated $2,238, Autodata said. General Motors Co. raised incentives 1.9 percent to $3,289 per vehicle. Through September, industrywide average spending on U.S. incentives fell 9.6 percent to $2,498 per vehicle.

State of the Union October 3, 2011

2011-10-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

Oct. 3, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: Your shop committee reached a tentative Local Agreement late Friday. We will be putting together highlight handouts today and hope to hand them out starting Tuesday and Wednesday morning. We believe that once you see what we have accomplished you will be very pleased with the contract. The shop committee will be having informational meetings on the Local Contract Thursday at 7am, 1:15pm, 3pm, and 15 minutes after the longest line time. The polls will be open from 4am to 7 pm on Thursday to vote.
About second shift staffing: An agreement with Management pursuant to Document 70 has been made to freeze all Paragraph 63b applications and shift preference applications as of the end of the shift on October 7. Any employee who wishes to transfer to another department needs to have their Par. 63b application on file in personnel by the end of shift October 7. The October 7 deadline also includes any employee who wants to withdraw any Par. 63b applications on file. Any applications received after this date will not be honored until January 3, 2012 .This will allow the Joint 2nd shift Manpower Committee the ability to facilitate everyone getting to their choice of department and shift. Department and shift choices cannot be guaranteed, as they will be filled by seniority. In body shop and stamping, any shift preference received by end of shift October 7 can choose whether to move now or you can indicate you want to move on January 3, 2012. In body and stamping, open jobs on 2nd shift will be bid to those on that shift first. All the Par. 63b moves will be accomplished before National Hire moves are made.
The biggest question I receive on the floor is "can I hold day shift?" With the reduction of line speed from 46 JPH to 32 JPH there is approximately 30% too many people on day shift right now. I'll give you some ideas of what seniority it would take to hold days IF NO ONE voluntarily moves from days to nights. Understand this is all tentative and is subject to change and is only offered here to help you make a decision.

Material - 84 people on days now, management says they will only need 67 people on one shift - when we go to two shifts, it would take 3/11/85 to hold days under that scenario
Body shop - 172 people on days now, management says they will only need 140 people on one shift - when we go to two shifts, it would take 4/01/85 to hold days under that scenario
Quality - 44 people on days now, management says they will only need 32 on one shift - when we go to two shifts, it would take 1/07/85 to hold days under that scenario
Paint - 50 people on days now, management says they will only need 39 on one shift - when we go to two shifts, it would take 4/15/85 to hold days under that scenario,
Paint is a little different because of the various classifications - this date could go up or down depending on the classification.
Stamping - 28 people on day shift now, it takes 4/01/85 to hold days now but there are numerous higher seniority on 2nd shift now, so stamping could go up or down depending on shift preferences, a partial crew on 3rd shift will be added to stamping. (continued on back)

•    Final Process - 35 people on days now, management says they will only need 26 on one shift - when we go to two shifts, it would take 1/07/85 seniority to hold days. Again, this date could go up or down depending on if you are in DVT or Repair.
A survey form will be distributed to all employees indicating your desire to remain on your current job (seniority permitting) or voluntarily transferring to second shift (application needs to be turned in by October 7). Once all Par. 63b moves and shift preference moves are identified, each department will be bidding the open 1st shift Primary job openings (again by seniority). Those indicating a desire to transfer to 2nd shift will then be allowed to bid on the 2nd shift jobs before anyone who is forced to second shift (by seniority). We hope to accomplish all this by October 14 and before any National Hire employees arrive in Wentzville, so your cooperation and patience is important to facilitate this quickly.
The Joint 2nd shift Manpower Committee will be having a meeting in the tour holding room on Tuesday, October 4 at 3:30, 4:30 and after day shift at 5:30 to answer any further questions you may have.
Again, we cannot guaranteeshift or department, it all depends on seniority.
Both shifts will need additional Team Leaders. Anyone interested in a Team Leader position must first apply and be tested - applications are available in Personnel.
•    Here is this week’s build information: 112 E-26 vans; 315 slider doors; 473 cutaways; 131 15-pass vans; 182 diesels; 145 r/h door deletes; 264 Enterprise rent-a-car; 186 exports; 86 YF7; 257 Onstar; 592 add. 3 gallons fuel; 29 brake deck spare tire; 82.2% white vans.
•    General Motors today reported total sales of 207,145 vehicles in September, a 20-percent increase compared with September 2010. Retail deliveries were up 19 percent compared with the same month a year ago and accounted for 74 percent of GM sales. Deliveries to fleet customers increased 22 percent. In September, year-over-year passenger car sales increased 12 percent, crossover sales increased 7 percent and truck sales, which include full-size pickups and SUVs, increased 34 percent. Month-end dealer inventory in the United States was 558,157 units. GM’s full-size truck inventory was 208,650 full-size pickup trucks, which equates to an 88-days supply. GM is on track to meet its target of ending 2011 with a full-size pickup inventory of about 200,000 units.
o Chevrolet: In September, its 12 th month since going on sale, Cruze deliveries were 18,097 units, bringing its first full year of sales to 212,019 vehicles. Silverado sales increased 36 percent, Tahoe was up 63 percent and Equinox was up 33 percent.
o GMC: Sales have now increased for 24 consecutive months, year over year. Sierra sales were up 26 percent, Terrain sales were up 45 percent and Yukon was up 45 percent.
o Cadillac: Combined sales of the Cadillac CTS sedan, coupe and wagon increased 24 percent compared with September 2010. In addition, the Cadillac SRX was up 22 percent. Cadillac reduced its fleet sales by 54 percent.
o Buick: September was the brand’s 24th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains, with the Regal continuing to build momentum with sales up 87 percent. Enclave, which began the transformation of Buick, increased its sales by 10 percent.
o Van sales came in at 8402, up 36.5% over last September and the highest total since April this year.
•    From Automotive News: The United Auto Workers called its local union plant officials to Detroit for a Tuesday meeting in anticipation of reaching an agreement with Ford Motor Co. on a new four-year contact. Michele Martin, UAW spokeswoman, said the union "hopes" it will have an agreement to present to the local union leaders at the Tuesday meeting. Martin said the union plant leaders were called on Sunday in order for them to travel to Detroit in time for the Tuesday meeting. She said there was no guarantee that there will be a deal in hand by Tuesday, however. On Sunday, UAW and Ford negotiators continued negotiations for the seventh consecutive day.

State of the Union September 30, 2011

2011-09-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

Sept. 30, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: Brothers and Sisters: The Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department is having their annual Backstoppers BBQ on October 8th from 9:30am to 7:00 pm at the corner of Bellefontaine and Chambers Rd. The Backstoppers organization collects money to help families of fallen Police and Firefighters. Last year they collected a net of $3000. Let’s try to help them top that this year. Body shop employee Scott Riley's son Mike is a member of the Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department and will be manning the grills.
•    Second shift update: Anyone interested in transferring to another department (63b) or changing shifts needs to get their applications in by next Friday, Oct. 7. After that date there will be a freeze on these applications to help facilitate placing people whose jobs will be eliminated in the derate and staffing of second shift. Also if you are interested in being a team leader or a core team member you need to get your application in so you can get tested as there will be additions to both groups. The job bidding process will take place prior to any national hire employees arriving here. As has been the case, any primary job bid locks you in place for 90 days and any shift transfer locks you in for 6 months. When transferring to another department you need to realize that seniority will determine which shift you will be on. The freeze will on 63b and shift preference will last through Jan. 3. There will be more information to come on timing.
•    From the Detroit News: Despite the stock market's swings and bad global economic news, auto sales held steady in September, auto executives and analysts said. But they're reviewing their predictions for the fourth quarter amid signs that the economic recovery is losing momentum. "There are buyers who've delayed their purchase decision about as long as they could," said Jeff Schuster, director of global forecasting at J.D. Power and Associates. He said pent-up demand bolstered September sales, which he estimates rose 9 percent from year-earlier levels. Automakers are scheduled to issue monthly sales on Monday. On an annual basis, the selling rate climbed to an estimated 12.9 million cars and light trucks from 12.1 million in August and 11.7 million a year ago, J.D. Power said. A better gauge of consumer sentiment — retail sales, or sales to individuals through dealerships — are expected in September to have reached the highest level since April, before the Japanese ran short of cars and car parts, J.D. Power estimated. But while consumers appeared to be in a resilient mood in September, Schuster said, "The test will be, can this continue through the end of the year, or does it run out of steam?"
•    Edmunds “Inside Line” did a review of the Chevy Sonic LTZ (built at Lake Orion) and came away very impressed. “Given its excellent electric-assisted power steering, medium-firm brake pedal and intuitive clutch, we observed a consistency in this Chevy that Porsche engineers strive to achieve: matched effort in all driver controls…a revelation… Besides class-leading horsepower, the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic's turbocharged engine provides a welcome characteristic utterly absent in the subcompact world: torque. Producing a stout 148 lb-ft of twisting force at just 2,500 rpm, the Sonic's 1.4 turbo practically loafs compared to the Fiesta and Fit's naturally aspirated engines that need to be near full boil to make their peak torque at 5,000 rpm and 4,800 rpm, respectively. This low-rpm drivability around town in the Sonic is unique and is one of the reasons the competition needs to worry…Interior materials quality is very good… The design of the Sonic's cockpit is intuitive and well labeled — something we cannot say of either the Honda Fit or Ford Fiesta…Name a category and the Sonic either matches or dominates its competitors. The 2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ Hatchback doesn't need to be this good to fill the subcompact corner of the Chevy dealership. But we believe both this segment and sales of the Chevy Sonic are about to explode simultaneously…The last time we had such a strong impression of a game-changing car was when we drove the first Honda Fit. Four years later, the 2012 Chevy Sonic is set to redefine the segment with its performance, comfort, content and safety.” The as-tested price of the Sonic LTZ was $18,890 and included the 1.4 liter turbo 4-cylinder (40 mpg hwy), 10 air bags, 17 aluminum wheels and satellite radio w/bluetooth and 6 speakers.
•    From the Car Connection: While radar-based collision detection systems aren’t new, General Motors is the first automaker to debut a simpler, more economical camera-based system. The camera will also provide drivers with a lane departure warning system, and it’s now an affordable option on the 2012 GMC Terrain crossover. The collision alert system, which operates at speeds above 25 miles per hour, uses a windshield-mounted high-resolution digital camera to capture some 14 frames per second. Each frame is analyzed by an image-processing algorithm to determine the change in position of objects in view. If the system detects a car in front, it signals the driver with a green icon; follow too closely, and that green icon changes to a solid red warning bar. Close on a vehicle in front too quickly, and that red bar will flash, an audible alert will sound and the Terrain will pre-charge its braking system to reduce stopping distances. That’s simplifying it a bit, since the system also takes into consideration speed, directional change, accelerator position and brake pedal position before calculating whether or not a warning is required. For rush hour commuting, warning range can be adjusted to accommodate traffic flow, or the system can be disabled entirely by the driver. The camera also senses the Terrain’s position within painted lane markers, at speeds above 35 miles per hour. Deviate from your lane without using a turn signal, and the lane departure warning icon changes from green to flashing amber, accompanied by a series of beeps. The camera and associated processing software is smart enough to function day or night, but can be affected by snow or mud obscuring the lens. Unlike radar-based systems, which can add thousands of dollars to the cost of a vehicle, GM’s camera-based system is a $295 option on the 2012 GMC Terrain.

State of the Union September 28, 2011

2011-09-28T15:04:00.000-07:00

Sept. 28, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

• From Chairman Mike Bullock: Local negotiations are heating up and we are hopeful that they will be resolved by the end of the week and have a vote next week. Also, there are 16 members in Fairfax who are eligible to return that should arrive sometime next month. And efforts are underway to start the National Hire process to identify the workers who wish to transfer here. As more details for second shift preparation are finalized we will communicate them.

•Voting on the national agreement concludes at 10 am this morning. Here are some more results for other facilities around the country:
o UAW Local 2164 Bowling Green – 55% prod. 53% skilled in favor
o UAW Local 977 Marion metal fab – 50.1% prod. 55% skilled in favor
o UAW Local 14 Toledo transmission – 68% yes
o UAW Local 440 Bedford powertrain – 53% yes
o UAW Local 163 Romulus engine – 60% no
o UAW Local 23 Indianapolis metal center – 59% no

From Automotive News: General Motors will idle its Fort Wayne, Ind., plant for one week in November to adjust to market demand for full-sized pickups, GM spokesman Chris Lee said today. "We make adjustments at our plants based on demand, whether it means adding overtime or in this case taking a down week," Lee wrote today in an e-mail to Automotive News. Early last month, GM canceled Saturday shifts at the Fort Wayne plant for the rest of the year. Later in August, GM canceled five Saturday shifts scheduled for September and October at its Flint, Mich., plant, which also builds large pickups. GM's pickup inventory has declined steadily since the high point in June, falling to 115 days at the end of July and 108 days at the end of August. Next week, GM will disclose its September inventory levels when it reports monthly sales.

From the Detroit Free Press: This week, UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles and Ford are planning "to hold very long negotiating sessions," according to the UAW's Ford Facebook page. They could reach a deal by the end of the week. Settles told local leaders in his Facebook message that they "should begin assembling their strike committees and preparing any documentation regarding strike rules and assistance for our membership, in the event we are forced to call for a strike." After reaching a tentative deal with GM, the UAW decided to focus on Ford rather than on Chrysler. (continued on back)
Difficulties between Chrysler and the UAW became evident in a Sept. 14 letter Chrysler and FiatCEO Sergio Marchionne sent to UAW President Bob King. The following week, Chrysler and the UAW agreed to extend their 2007 labor contract until Oct. 19. Both sides have said that talks are ongoing. On Friday, King and Marchionne met and had "productive discussions," according to the company and the UAW. High-level discussions continued over the weekend. On Monday, Marchionne was in Turkey to celebrate the 600,000th tractor produced by Fiat Industrial.

From Bloomberg: General Motors Co. is now profitable in all of its regional units, Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson said. That’s a sign of a turnaround for a company whose European Opel unit is still in fix-it mode. Akerson, speaking at Bloomberg’s Dealmakers Summit in New York today, said GM’s global presence was one of the selling points during the company’s initial public offering last year. In July, Akerson squelched rumors that GM planned to sell Opel. GM was correct to have reversed an agreement to sell its European Opel unit in 2009, he said. “It was a bad deal,” Akerson said. “We were giving Europe away.” GM, the largest U.S. automaker, predicts that its European business will be profitable this year, excluding some costs. Losses at the unit were a question mark for investors when the company went public in November 2010. Opel earned $102 million in the second quarter before taxes and interest. The German business unit lost $390 million in the first quarter because of $395 million in goodwill impairment costs. GM’s goal for Europe is to be “profitable by just better than break-even before restructuring charges,” Nick Reilly, president of GM Europe, told reporters Sept. 13 at the Frankfurt auto show. “In 2012, we won’t have those restructuring charges,” Reilly said at the time. “They’re mostly done. We’ll get the full 12-month benefit of the restructuring that we’ve done.”

From the “we already knew that” file comes this from the Wall Street Journal: For years, economists have told Americans worried that cheap Chinese imports will kill jobs that the benefits of trade with China far outweigh its costs. New research suggests the damage to the U.S. has been deeper than these economists have supposed. The study rated every U.S. county for its manufacturers' exposure to competition from China, and found that regions most exposed to China tended not only to lose more manufacturing jobs, but also to see overall employment decline. Areas with higher exposure also had larger increases in workers receiving unemployment insurance, food stamps and disability payments. "There are really huge adjustment costs to local communities that were far worse than people had appreciated," said David Autor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who helped conduct the study. In a 2004 article, the late Nobel Laureate Paul Samuelson argued that while trade may benefit some Americans, it does so by "decimating" the wages of blue-collar factory workers. Princeton University economist and former Federal Reserve Board vice chairman Alan Blinder, once a champion of free trade, in recent years has argued that U.S. firms' increased outsourcing to low-wage countries puts millions of American jobs at risk. Factory job losses were just the beginning. High-exposure areas tended to see employment outside manufacturing fare worse than in low-exposure areas. With fewer high-paying factory jobs supporting the local economy, and a growing pool of former factory workers entering the labor market, nonmanufacturing wages in the high-exposure areas were depressed.

State of the Union September 27, 2011

2011-09-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Sept. 27, 2011 online at

•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: The roar you may have heard about 8:00 pm last night coming from the Unihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifon Hall was the culmination of 2 long years of cultivating a positive position of securing our future here at Wentzville Assembly Center. WE did it. WE secured the future of our plant well into the 21st century . We could not have done this without the support of the membership. YOU made this happen. Your sacrifices, your determination and you supporting your shop committee. We were determined to prove to the corporation that Wentzville Assembly Center was the plant for them to invest in. I want to personally thank the shop committee for the excellent job they have done. And thank you, the membership, for the outstanding turnout in support of the National Agreement and the New Product Agreement. A lot of us will be now be able to say we retired from the plant that we hired in to.
•    Second shift update: With a line speed reduction to 32 jobs an hour and the addition of the second shift, we will bring in roughly 445 more employees. Meetings are being held to finalize the timetable of activities, but we should be on 2 shifts the first week of January. In preparation for the second shift, if you wish to transfer to another department, you need to go to personnel and get your request on file. If you wish to transfer to another shift, see your group leader to submit your transfer.
•    Here is this week’s build information: 120 E-26 vans; 139 YF7s; 75 r/h door deletes; 225 exports; 458 cutaways; 352 slider doors; 99 diesels; 298 Onstar; 31 brake deck spare tire; 61 Enterprise rent-a-car; 83.7% white vans.
•    From the Chaplaincy Committee: All are welcome to join the Chaplaincy Committee Wed., Sept. 28 at the Flagpoles in front of the plant for “See You At The Pole”. Times are 5:30 am, lunchtime, 4:30 pm and 5:40 pm (or 10 minutes after the longest line time).
•    Here are some voting results from other plants around the country:
o UAW Local 1853 Spring Hill – 83% yes
o UAW Local 1714 Lordstown Stamping – 57% yes
o UAW Local 652 Lansing Grand River – 61% yes
o UAW Local 651 Flint metal fab – 88% yes
o UAW Local 2209 Ft. Wayne – 55%
o UAW Local 276 Arlington – 76%
o UAW Local 599 Flint Powertrain – 65% yes
o UAW Local 598 Flint Assembly – majority in favor
o UAW Local 909 Warren Transmission – majority in favor
o UAW Local 239 Baltimore Powertrain – majority in favor
o UAW Local 1005 Parma metal fab – 72% yes
o UAW Local 653 Pontiac – 76% prod. 73% skilled yes
o UAW Local 602 Lansing Delta Township – 66% prod. 57% skilled - no

Imo's Pizza & GM make a great team!We appreciate your business! Just for Wentzville GM Plant Employees!30% off all orders, any size for delivery ($8.00 minimum), dine-in,or carry-out (just show your ID badge).
*This discount can not be combined with any other coupons, discounts, or special offers. *Only offered at the Wentzville / Lake St. Louis 1798 Mall Parkway Imo's Pizza location.If possible, please try to combine delivery orders together. Also please make every effort to be waiting for the driver when they arrive, or leave payment with someone who can. Thank you! Again, we appreciate your continued business
and look forward to serving you soon!For orders please call 636 327-IMOS (4667)Thank you - Kevin Cook, Owner

State of the Union September 26, 2011

2011-09-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

NEW PRODUCT AGREEMENT INTERPRETATION

Available online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From Chairman Mike Bullock: I want to further explain the tentative language in the agreement for the New Product.

1. Ring Road 3rd Party: This language would allow vendors to build their facility along the ring road surrounding the main Wentzville Assembly Center. These buildings would not be attached to our 4 walls. No existing work that we perform now would be relocated to these vendors. GM has agreed to a “neutrality statement” in our ability to organize them into the UAW.
2.Sequencing: The work we would like to bring back into the plant is the work currently being done at outside vendors, like Wainwright. Any work brought back in house will be done by our membership.
3.Rack Repair: The racks we are talking about here are racks that deliver material to the line. Most of these racks are owned by the outside vendors and they currently repair them.
4.Scrap Loading and Hauling: When scrap racks are being salvaged, currently our skilled trades load it onto a trailer – under this language the salvager will load the scrap.
5.GMIT Work Assignments: Currently skilled trades delivers computers and printers to the line – with this language computers and printers will be delivered by HP. All electrical drops and IT cable drops will still be done by our trades.
6. Safety Glass Options: Bifocals will no longer be “no-line”.
7. 63b Transfer Process: Instead of putting in for 6 departments like we currently do and then watch the board to remove your application if you don’t want to go to an opening, the process now will be all63b openings would be posted at the front doors and the departmental job bid boards from Thursday through Tuesday. If interested, you would fill out an application and submit. Highest seniority will be given the transfer.

These changes to our local contract were tentatively agreed to in order to ensure Wentzville Assembly Center would be selected for the New Product. This agreement will not result in the reduction of any employees, skilled or production, at Wentzville Assembly Center. I am asking for your support in approving these changes.

State of the Union September 22, 2011

2011-09-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

Sept. 22, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Attention: The polls will be open for the ratification vote on Monday, Sept. 26 from 4 am until 30 minutes after the last informational meeting. The schedule for those meetings is 7am, 1pm, 3pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time. This vote is not for the local agreement, just the national agreement.

Information booklets should arrive at the Union Hall at noon and will be distributed as soon as possible. Both the information book and the contract language are available at www.uaw.org.

The UAW issued two statements yesterday regarding negotiations with Chrysler and Ford:
o Today the UAW and Chrysler Group LLC agreed to extend the current collective bargaining agreement while we continue negotiating toward a tentative agreement. The current contract extension was set to expire today. The UAW will not provide further comment regarding negotiations or speculate about timing or the potential outcome of these negotiations at this time.
o The UAW will focus its attention on Ford Motor Co. in negotiations for a tentative agreement. Also today, the UAW and Chrysler Group LLC agreed to an additional extension of the current collective bargaining agreement while continuing to negotiate toward a tentative agreement.
The UAW will not provide further comment regarding negotiations or speculate about timing or the potential outcome of these negotiations at this time.

Ford issued this statement: "We look forward to working with the UAW on a new tentative agreement that is fair to our employees and allows Ford to become more competitive." UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles issued this statement: “I am proud to announce that we have been chosen as the next department to begin the final stages of negotiations and not Chrysler… I can tell you that our negotiators have already been working hard in subcommittee meetings, and they are anxious as am I to begin intense discussions with the company and work toward a tentative agreement." There was no comment from Chrysler regarding the contract extension.

Here are some more questions and answers about the tentative agreement:

Q. What about the ‘use it or lose it” vacation clause?
A. That clause will end on the effective date of the agreement – Sept. 15. Any vacation hours you have remaining at the end of the year will be paid no later than Feb. 1 next year. VR hours were maintained in the tentative agreement. Regarding two-week summer shutdown, management must make a determination in the month of February about which, if any, weeks will be for summer shutdown. Those weeks must be scheduled during the May – August time period.

Q. What will be the work schedule when we go to 2 shifts?
A. We will remain on the alternative work schedule, which is 4-10 hour days and 2 out of 3 Fridays maximum. We anticipate working fewer Fridays with 2 shifts of production.

Q. What about eligibility for the signing bonus?
A. You must be an active worker, or not on a sick leave of more than 90 days prior to the effective date of the agreement, which is Sept.15.

Q. Are dental and vision coverage being reinstated for retirees?
A. Retiree medical benefits are controlled by the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA), and are not part of these negotiations. An independent board of trustees determines the level of coverage. We have been told that an update on those benefits is coming sometime next month.

Q. What is the attrition package for skilled trades?
A. Eligible skilled trades employees who take the package between November 1 and March 31 will receive $65,000 plus $10,000.

Q. Will employees who took the 3-year, $30,000 transfer relocation package be able to come back any sooner than 3 years?
A. No.

Q. If I don’t go and vote on Monday, is that counted as a “yes” vote or a “no” vote?
A. This a persistent myth. Only the votes that are cast are the ones counted. There are no automatic votes, either yes or no.

State of the Union September 21, 2011

2011-09-21T14:11:00.000-07:00

Sept. 21, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•Today all the bargaining committee members and top executive board members, along with the Document 46 appointees are meeting in Memphis to get more details about the tentative agreement. You will be advised tomorrow of the times of the ratification meetings on Monday, Sept. 26 as well as when you will be able to vote on the agreement. Information books will be handed out as soon as they arrive.

•Reminder: The deadline to purchase a UAW/GM Makings Strides T-Shirt is Monday, Sept. 26. They are $10 apiece ($15 for 5x) and $4.20 of that will be donated to the American Cancer Society in UAW/GM Wentville Assembly’s name. You can also register to walk and donate more online. The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in St. Louis is October 29that 9am in Forrest Park. If you would like to purchase a UAW/GM T-Shirt there are forms available at all Entrances. If you would like to donate online and/or sign up to walk you can go to http://makingstrides.acsevents.organd search for GM/UAW Wentville Assembly Team. If you want or need more information you can contact Pat Workman, Becky Schieffer, Kandi Kinsler, or Tamara Harris.

•The October production schedule has been released and it has daily production of 10.3 or 469 units with Friday, Oct. 14 off. This is subject to change.

•If you did not get a letter or failed to register on the uawgmnow.com website, you can do so by sending an email message to info@uawgmnow.com. Be sure to include your name, address and your plant location. Your username and password will be sent to your email address.
Colorado concept

There are understandably a lot of questions about the tentative agreement. We obviously don’t have all the answers but here’s a little help:
Q. How much has GM North American operations earned so far this year?
A. Through the first six months of the year, GMNA has earned $5.147 billion, which includes a $1.6 billion one-time gain from the sale of GM’s Class A Membership Interests in Delphi Automotive LLP. Automotive operations have earned $3.5 billion, thus the minimum profit sharing payment of $3500 from the contract information book.

Q. Are Premier employees covered by this agreement?
A. No, they are not covered by the UAW/GM master agreement.

Q. Are Wentzville entry level employees in wage group B or C?
A. All entry level employees working here are in group B.

•GM Media press release: Chevrolet‘s highly anticipated new-generation Colorado has been put through final testing in Thailand as General Motors prepares to produce the midsize pickup in its Rayong assembly plant. Thailand will be the first country to introduce the new Colorado. The model lineup will feature crew-cab and extended-cab variants powered by GM’s new fuel-efficient, four-cylinder Duramax diesel engines (2.5 and 2.8 liter which feature overhead cams, turbocharging and durable aluminum cylinder heads for high levels of refinement and durability ). Chevrolet Colorado Chief Engineer Roberto Rempel said his team finessed GM’s successful truck formula to ensure the new Colorado meets local market needs in Southeast Asia and abroad. Rempel and his team lived in Thailand during the Colorado’s development, immersing themselves in the highly competitive truck market and observing how Thais use their vehicles and the driving conditions they experience. “The hard work for this program has been done, and we are incredibly pleased with the results,” Rempel said. “This is a world-class truck that will appeal to buyers not just in the heavily concentrated truck markets of Southeast Asia, but around the world. “We know customers of this type of vehicle want a workhorse and a daily-use vehicle all in one, so our product has to deliver. We have bench marked the toughest, most flexible vehicles around the world,” Rempel said. “When you combine that approach with our detailed consideration of global expectations, we are confident the new Colorado will be a winner.”

State of the Union September 21, 2011 Special Notice

2011-09-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Informational/Ratification Meeting

for the

2011 UAW-GM National Agreement

There will be an Informational/Ratification Meeting on Monday, September 26, 2011, at 7:00 AM, 1:00 P.M., 3:00 P.M. and 15 minutes after longest dayshift line time at the Union Hall. Three International Representatives will be present to explain and answer any questions regarding the 2011 UAW-GM National Agreement.

Local 2250 members may vote on the National Agreement on Monday, September 26, 2011, from 5:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M.
Please make every effort at attend!

State of the Union September 20, 2011

2011-09-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

Special Edition
From Chairman Mike Bullock: It’s official –

Wentzville is getting a shift added and a new mid-size pickup!!!! Up to 1850 jobs will be added to the plant!! At this time, we are unaware of the exact timeline for the return of the second shift or the launch of the new product – both pending ratification of agreements. Information books are being shipped today to the Union Hall and ratification meetings will be held on Monday, Sept. 26 with representatives from the International Union.

Much more information to come.

State of the Union September 19, 2011

2011-09-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

Sept. 19, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: A lot of speculation has been made in the media of what the new National Contract entails. The International Union is not releasing any official information until they meet with the GM Council (Presidehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnt and Chairman) on Tuesday at 9 am. A detailed explanation of the contract will then be given to the Key 4 of the Executive Board, International appointments and the Shop Committee on Wednesday in Memphis. We hope to have "Highlight" handouts when we return from Memphis. The Shop Committeeman will return to the bargaining table on Thursday to continue negotiating our local agreement. If there are any Division 1 employees who have a UAW Skilled Trades Journeyman card, please contact your committeeman to fill out an information form.

From President Van Simpson: The monthly Union meeting has been changed from Wednesday to Tuesday. Times will remain the same, 7:15am, 1pm, 3pm, and 15 minutes after the latest line time. This will be the monthly business meeting, a meeting will be announced later to discuss and vote on the contract. This change was made to accommodate the meetings in Detroit and Memphis of the key Union officers. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

From the Chaplaincy Committee: There will be an in-plant memorial for Arturo “Art” Robinson on Tuesday, Sept. 20 at lunchtime in the audit room, final process at column D-56

Here is this week’s build information: 110 E-26 vans; 143 15-pass vans; 96 slider doors; 366 cutaways; 97 YF7s; 97 r/h door delete; 48 diesels; 468 Enterprise rent-a-car; 65 SW Bell; 156 exports; 287 On-star; 82.6% white vans.

Here is the joint statement from Joe Ashton and Cathy Clegg: When we kicked off negotiations at Detroit-Hamtramck on July 27, both parties agreed to take a problem-solving approach to reach an agreement that met the needs of both employees and the company. We are pleased to inform you that we have reached a tentative agreement that:
•    Creates thousands of new jobs
•    Rewards employees when the company prospers, and
•    Supports the UAW-GM team members who are so important to building high quality cars and trucks, as well as the stampings, powertrains, components and service parts that are so important to our customers.
As most of you know, the next step is for representatives from the International UAW to visit each plant and explain the tentative agreement more fully before asking the members to vote on ratification. We appreciate the hard work of the Top Committee as well as the Labor Relations Team – both spent many long hours discussing our business. We also know that many of the locals continue to bargain with the plant management team. The UAW will make details of the tentative agreement available to UAW-GM hourly employees at uawgmnow.com. We have come so far since the financial crisis of 2009 and this tentative agreement is an important next step for both the UAW and GM.
Here is the UAW Press Release regarding the tentative agreement:
The UAW is pleased to announce that the UAW General Motors National Negotiating Committee, made up of elected representatives from UAW GM locations across the country, reached a tentative agreement with General Motors Co. today at approximately 11 p.m.
"In these uncertain economic times for American workers and faced with the globalization of the economy, the UAW approached these negotiations with new strategies and fought for and achieved some of our major goals for our members, including significant investments and products for our plants," said UAW President Bob King. "First and foremost, as America struggles with record levels of unemployment, we aimed to protect the jobs of our members - to guarantee good American jobs at a good American company. And we have done that. This contract will get our members who have been laid off back to work, will create new jobs in our communities and will bring work back to the United States from other countries," King added.

"When GM was struggling, our members shared in the sacrifice. Now that the company is posting profits again, our members want to share in the success. To be clear, GM is prosperous because of its workers. It's the workers and the quality of the work they do, along with the sacrifices they made, that have returned this company to profitability," said UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, who directs the union's General Motors Department. "The wages and benefits we negotiated in this tentative agreement reflect the fact that it was UAW members who helped turn this company around. "We wanted a contract that provides our members with a real share of the success of the company and ensures its continued success. Our members cannot succeed unless the company succeeds, and we are strongly committed to that joint success, as this contract demonstrates," Ashton added.

Details of the proposed agreement are being withheld until UAW members have had the opportunity to review it. While not providing specifics of the tentative agreement, a few things are worth highlighting:
• The UAW bargaining committee successfully fought back efforts to make major changes - and weaken - our retirement plan.
• The company proposed major concessions in health care, but the UAW is happy to report that the union not only fought for and protected the health care benefits of its members, but also made some significant improvements to health care benefits. In both pensions and health care, the UAW was able to convince GM that far greater success could be achieved working together than by cutting pensions or health care.
• In addition, the agreement includes improved profit sharing with far greater transparency than in the past.
"We're proud of this agreement and are happy that it truly recognizes that the success of the company is tied to the success of the workers," said King. "As everyone knows, we have had, and will continue to have, some real differences with GM. It's the union's job to fight for workers and protect our members, and we will continue in that fight. To the credit of both parties, we were able to work through our differences and put together an agreement that is good both for our members and for the company. This agreement demonstrates to the anti-collective bargaining crowd that collective bargaining is a positive force for society that benefits both workers and employers. We prove again today that through the collective bargaining process, we can provide decent wages, benefits and employment rights for workers while ensuring quality products and healthy profits for employers. We stand recommitted to our goal of organizing and fighting for all workers in the entire U.S. auto industry.” For decades the UAW played a central role in building America's middle class. At one time, all American auto workers were members of the UAW. "We are proud of this tentative agreement and what we have achieved, but as long as unionized workers are being forced to compete with nonunion workers who in most cases receive lower pay and benefits - many in temporary jobs - there will continue to be a downward pressure on the wages and benefits of all autoworkers," King said. "The pathway to rebuilding America's middle class and creating long-term job security for all American autoworkers must include organizing workers at the foreign-owned automakers operating without unions in the United States. We stand recommitted to that goal today. Finally, let's be completely clear about this: None of this would have been possible without the efforts of President Obama, who invested federal funds to help turn the company around, protect the auto supplier base and keep good-paying jobs in America."

2011-09-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

Sept. 16, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: As you know, an extension has been agreed to in national negotiations, and talks are ongoing. I have had no conversation with the International Union about the status of negotiations and the information I’m getting is from the UAWGMNOW.com website. This information is direct from VP Joe Ashton. I received the following message this morning: “ I am happy to inform our membership that we are getting very close to a framework for an agreement that will bring our negotiations to a successful conclusion. Labor agreements of this magnitude undergo numerous changes and revisions as the language becomes finalized. I am very optimistic that the negotiations process is entering its final stage. The members of your local unions who were elected to the UAW GM National Negotiating Committee have been instrumental in bringing your issues from the shop floor to the bargaining table. I would like to thank you, the membership, for your wisdom in sending such an outstanding team to represent you. I truly believe that a settlement is within reach.”
Any speculation by the media is just that – speculation. Regarding local negotiations, we are meeting and have also agreed to extend our deadline. Several issues have been resolved while several more still remain.
Finally, our “dancing robots” will be going on tour. Fairfax, whose open house is next week, has asked (begged) to have the robots featured there, so they will be heading west along with electrician and ace programmer Richard Smock.

Reminder: This year’s SOS “Support Our Soldiers” motorcycle ride and rally will be Saturday Sept. 17. Registration begins at 9:30 am at the Union Hall with last bike out at 11 am. Cost is $20 per bike, $5 per passenger and $5 for each extra hand. Proceeds go to Operation Homefront and Operation Undergarment. You can contact Steve Melson at 636-262-1234 or Judy Guzdial at 636-373-0730 for any questions.

Rather than give you the most recent stories from the various media outlets regarding national negotiations (and there isn’t anything worth repeating anyway), here are some more comments from UAW Vice President Joe Ashton on the uawgmnow website: “The press continues to simultaneously speculate and speak with authority about the terms of the agreement. However, as many of you know, their interest is to spark controversy in order to sell papers or increase viewership… We are going to remain true to our traditions while providing you with as much information as possible once a settlement is reached and has been approved by the UAW-GM Council. We ask that you be patient once a tentative agreement is announced as we will need some time to print the materials that the UAW-GM Council will review. We will be posting those materials on the www.uawgmnow.comwebsite after the Council hasapproved the tentative agreement.”

From Automotive News: The Ram brand will get a commercial van based on the Fiat Ducato large paneled van, supplier sources said at the Frankfurt auto show. Chrysler plans to build 30,000 a year in Mexico, the sources said. Chrysler already builds Ram heavy-duty pickups in Saltillo, Mexico. The van will fill a hole in Chrysler Group's commercial vehicle business that was created when the company stopped selling the Dodge Sprinter vans, produced by Mercedes-Benz, after the DaimlerChrysler divorce in 2009. Ram brand spokesman David Elshoff had no comment on the plans. The Ducato-based van is likely to arrive in 2013. It will be the larger of two Fiat-based commercial vans in the Ram portfolio. On Sept. 9, Fiat and its Turkish joint venture, Tofas Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi, said they had signed a memorandum of understanding on a seven-year deal to supply the Ram brand with 190,000 units of a smaller van based on the Fiat Doblo. The Doblo-based model will compete with the Ford Transit Connect, which also is made at a Turkish factory.

As mentioned in yesterday’s State of the Union, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne was upset that Bob King had chosen to focus on negotiations with GM at Chrysler’s expense. This snub resulted in a terse letter from him to King that many of you have probably read, and has driven much speculation about what it really means. Tom Walsh of the Detroit Free Press takes a swing at it: “Puzzled observers of the quadrennial bargaining ritual were trying Thursday to decipher answers to these two questions: Is there a dangerous problem lurking here, an impasse that could scuttle UAW-Chrysler talks and send the two sides to binding arbitration on key economic issues? Or is this just a fleeting moment of Sergio being Sergio, the imperial globe-trotting CEO tossing a hissy fit because King didn't drop everything to meet as soon as the Chrysler chief jetted into town from the Frankfurt Motor Show? It's tempting to shrug off Wednesday night's letter as a bit of bluster and theater from Marchionne. It wouldn't be the first time he has traded barbs with a UAW leader. In early 2009, as the terms of the Chrysler rescue were being jawboned, Marchionne lectured King's predecessor Ron Gettelfinger on the need for autoworkers to accept a "culture of poverty" instead of a "culture of entitlement," according to former federal auto task force chief Steven Rattner's book "Overhaul." Rattner and others have also cited episodes of Marchionne spewing colorful epithets at both UAW leaders and his own Chrysler executives. Still, it would be unwise to dismiss Marchionne's letter, in which he said that he and King failed Chrysler's workers by not finalizing a deal before the expiration date of the old pact, as mere posturing. For example, if the UAW strikes a deal first with GM on wages and benefits, that could hurt Chrysler's leverage if it was threatening to force arbitration on an issue such as health care co-pays. Make no mistake, forcing key issues to arbitration could be just as harmful as a strike. It would almost certainly trigger lawsuits and might take 12-18 bitter months to resolve. Perhaps Marchionne is merely making noise to ensure that Chrysler is not an afterthought to the UAW in these talks. "I know we are the smallest of the three automakers here in Detroit," he wrote to King, "but that does not make us less relevant. Our people are no less relevant."

State of the Union September 15, 2011

2011-09-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

Sept. 15, 2011 online at

From Chairman Mike Bullock: Thanks to everyone who helped make yesterday’s Open House a big success. We had over 7000 people attend despite the lousy weather. It was good to see all the smiles on workers’ faces between 8 and 9 am when you got a chance to see what was going on. If we could get just a third of our visitors into GM products it could make a big difference. I’m told that over 500 people took part in the ride-and-drive even though the rain limited participation, which could lead to hundreds of potential sales. The “UAW and the One Day Wonders” band did a great job of entertaining our guests and creating a festive atmosphere.
Regarding national negotiations, a message from Joe Ashton was posted on the uawgmnow.com website that reads: “On Wednesday, September 14, the UAW and General Motors agreed to extend the expiration of the National Agreement. Talks between the parties are continuing and we are hopeful that an agreement can be reached soon. While we have made significant progress, we have not been able to secure a new agreement that we would recommend for ratification. We will continue to bargain in good faith and represent the UAW-GM membership to the best of our ability. As soon as we reach a tentative agreement, we will post a statement at the uawgmnow.com website. At the 1947 UAW Convention, UAW President Walter Reuther summed it well, “while the road will be rough, we can meet the test.” We appreciate your patience and continued support.” As soon as we get word that there is a tentative agreement we will let you know.
Finally, the Wentzville Board of Aldermen passed a resolution last night that would exempt property taxes for 10 years for an estimated $290 million in upgrades to the plant. Apparently GM representatives told the city that the proposed investment would be much higher than that. All around it was a great day for us.

From the Detroit Free Press: Talks between the UAW and General Motors resumed this morning at 10 a.m. after both sides paused at 1:15 a.m. short of reaching a tentative agreement. Negotiators had hoped to reach a GM deal by midnight Wednesday, people familiar with the talks had said. The union had chosen GM as its lead automaker to negotiate, as UAW President Bob King concentrated on GM talks on Wednesday.
That decision irked ChryslerCEO Sergio Marchionne, who had flown back from Germany Tuesday night to meet with King, planning to finish the contract on Wednesday. After shuttling between GM and Chrysler since Labor Day, King is now focused on settling with GM first. Extending contracts beyond a deadline – in this case 11:59 p.m. Wednesday -- is typical for UAW negotiations. Since 1990, the UAW has taken an average of 3.7 days past the contract expiration to announce the first deal with a Detroit automaker, according to Kristin Dziczek, director of the labor and industry group for the Center for AutomotiveResearch. The Detroit Three have so far bargained with the UAW for about seven weeks. In 2007, the union took more than two months to reach a deal at GM, 2.5 months at Chrysler and more than three months at Ford.

Open House feedback: There was a great article about the Open House by Lisa Brown of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. While she was here she was very impressed with everything and everyone she saw. Camera crews and reporters from channels 2, 4 and 5 were also here and ran stories on their news programs. We will get a compilation of those stories to run on the monitors. Here are some of the comments from our visitors yesterday (from as far away as Brentwood, Tennessee and Detroit) who signed the guestbook:
o “Thanks. It was amazing.”
o “Bring on the jobs!”
o “We loved it! So American and makes us proud!”
o “God bless the USA!”
o “Awesome! God bless all you workers!”
o “Made in America – forever!”
o “Loved it! Hope I can work here someday.”
o From a grade schooler – “If I worked here I would love my job! Cool!”
o Another young boy – “Wow! GM is cool!”

Many people commented that they would like to see open house events more often. Virtually every comment was positive.

From the Tennessean: Local and regional union officials, Spring Hill plant workers and retirees said they were optimistic, if not confident, that their main goal for the negotiations — the reopening the vehicle assembly line — would be included in a pact. “I hope Spring Hill will get some good news out of the negotiations, but that’s all I can say about that right now,” said Mike Herron, chairman of UAW Local 1853 at Spring Hill. The plant hasn’t closed completely. There are about 1,100 hourly workers still employed there making GM’s popular four-cylinder engines, as well as body panels and plastic parts for a number of vehiclesassembled at other plants. A $500 million upgrade of the engine production facility is under way, which will add about 500 jobs over the next few months. “Job security is what we need most,” Herron said. “We’ve seen how devastating it is to this community to have (lost) a product. There is a multiplier effect. There are seven to 10 jobs created outside the plant for every new job we get in the plant.

State of the Union September 12, 2011

2011-09-13T06:28:00.000-07:00

Sept. 12, 2011 online at

•    FROM THE DESK OF VICE PRESIDENT JOE ASHTON
Negotiations Update #2

All 13 subcommittees are continuing to meet with management and are moving to resolve their issues. Despite what is printed in the press, there has been no agreement with regard to the economic package. Another example of shoddy journalism appeared in the Detroit Free Press last Sunday. The article stated “disgruntled workers have already voted out swaths of union leadership at their new factory homes, such as Flint Truck or Fairfax, Kansas.” In fact, at both the locations cited by the Free Press, both the Bargaining Chairpersons and their committees were re-elected. Please do not take what you read in the press as what will be presented when we reach a tentative agreement.
The process for ratification will begin with the announcement of a tentative agreement. If you have signed up to receive e-mail notifications at www.uawgmnow.com, you will receive an e-mail informing you that a tentative agreement has been reached. The next step involves the approval of the contract by the UAW-GM Council, which is composed of Presidents and Shop Chairs from all the locals. They will convene in Detroit to review the agreement and vote to approve or reject. Upon their approval, the information about the agreement will be available at www.uawgmnow.com. The next step will be the ratification meetings that will be held at local union halls. Finally, voting will take place at all the locals.
Thanks to all who have registered with www.uawgmnow.com. We are making progress towards reaching a settlement. We will continue to post negotiation updates as events warrant.

Reminder: Parking lots 4 and 5 (to the right or west of the main entrance) will be closed at the end of the shift today to prepare for the open house. These lots will reopen on Thursday. Also, employee handicap parking will be available at the front of lot 6 (chassis lot) the day of the open house. The rest of the lot will be for visitor parking.

Here is this week’s build information: 150 E-26 vans; 200 slider doors; 196 r/h door deletes; 237 exports; 121 diesels; 72 15-pass vans; 289 Onstar; 149 YF7s; 17 brake deck spare tire; 314 Enterprise cargo vans; 457 cutaways; 81.4% white vans.

The UAW/GM is participating in the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk, which is a nationwide event. You can contribute in many ways. You can purchase a UAW/GM Makings Strides T-Shirt and $4.20 of that will be donated to the American Cancer Society in UAW/GM Wentville Assembly’s name. All Cash donations will be accepted as well. The money raised from this event helps patients purchase wigs, provides transportation to and from chemo treatments, helps fund the Hope House in St. Louis, and supports cancer research to name a few. There are 18 local researchers here in St. Louis. The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk in St. Louis is October 29th at 9am in Forrest Park. If you would like to purchase a UAW/GM T-Shirt there are forms available at all Entrances. If you would like to donate online and/or sign up to walk you can go to http://makingstrides.acsevents.organd search for GM/UAW Wentville Assembly Team. If you want or need more information you can contact Pat Workman, Becky Schieffer, Kandi Kinsler, or Tamara Harris.

From the International Union UAW: Let’s send a strong message to Congress and demand that they put people to work on the work that needs doing! We have millions of people without jobs and millions of things that need fixing. Let’s put people back to work on repairing America’s infrastructure. Not only will it give our economy, the unemployed and working families a desperately-needed boost, but it’s also the only way to reduce the deficit in the long run. If you agree that creating good jobs is a higher priority than cutting government spending, add your name to our petition. We’ll deliver our petition to members of Congress and demand a sustainable good jobs creation program NOW! America wants to do the work that needs doing. Go to www.uaw.orgto sign the online petition that will be delivered to members of Congress.

From the Detroit News: Negotiators for the United Auto Workers union, General Motors Co. and ChryslerGroup LLC met Sunday, but no breakthroughs were reported as the clock ticks down toward Wednesday night's contract deadline. GM bargainers spent the weekend at the table meeting into the evening on Saturday and again on Sunday. UAW President Bob King was in and out of the GM sessions, which are taking place at the GM-UAW's human resources center in Detroit. In a report Friday, Barclays Capital said it thinks larger profit-sharing checks, as well as wage increases of about $2 an hour for second-tier workers, wouldn't scare off investors. A $2-an-hour raise for lower-paid workers will boost GM's labor costs by $250 million, and Ford's by $230 million during the four-year life of the contract.

From Automotive News: Ford Motor Co. and the UAW will “most probably” need to extend their labor contract beyond its Sept. 14 expiration date, Mark Fields, the company’s president of the Americas, said in an interview in Frankfurt. Fields described negotiations as proceeding smoothly. There was no immediate comment from a UAW spokeswoman.

State of the Union September 9, 2011

2011-09-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

Sept. 9, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

More Open House Info: Radio station WIL (92.3) will be doing a live broadcast from the plant the day of the open house, featuring the Danny Montana show, from 10 am – 2 pm. There will also be a brief interview to promote the event on KSDK Channel 5 on the plaza with plant leadership at 12:30 pm on Monday, Sept. 12. The Post Dispatch is planning to do an article about the Wentzville Assembly Center as well. Other media requests are under consideration and we’ll let you know what, if any, other participation there will be. Regarding the food being prepared by Pete’s Drive In, here is the menu: grilled brats or burgers will be $3; colossal potato chips are $4 for a small order, $6 for a large and $8 for a bag. There will be a GM employee special of $2.50 for a burger or brat and $6 with a small bag of chips and will be available at lunch time.

The following vehicles will be available for the Ride and Drive as well as in a static display for you to check out:
o Chevrolet - Silverado HD 2500, Traverse, Equinox, Malibu, Cruze ECO, Camaro convertible, Volt
o Cadillac – CTS Coupe, CTS-V Coupe, CTS Sedan, Escalade ESV
o GMC – Sierra EXT cab, Acadia Denali, Terrain
o Buick – LaCrosse, Enclave
•    From Reuters: General Motors Co. recognizes that its pension deficit represents a risk to the company that management is hoping to take "off the table" for investors, Vice Chairman Steve Girsky said on Wednesday. The automaker's pension plan in the United States was underfunded by $10.8 billion at the end of June, according to a slide presentation prepared by GM for an investor conference in New York. This does not include some $2 billion in stock the automaker put into the plan in January. Analysts have said the automaker's pension shortfall is among the biggest risks to investors. The recent drop in interest rates compounds these issues because it increases the size of the underfunding. "We want to take the pension risk off the table," Girsky said during the Credit Suisse Automotive & Transportation Conference. Girsky told investors that GM did not know how much it will put into the fund next year. The automaker is not required to make any contributions to its pension fund until 2015. "We don't have to put a penny into this thing until 2015 and there is a long runway from here to there," Girsky said. "That said, we think it's a risk. The idea is to de-risk the company."

A look at field supplies for the competitors to our van reveals that Ford Econoline supplies (excluding passenger vans) have risen 20.7% over July and are up 65% over last August, according to Wards Auto data center. The days supply stands at 65. The passenger version is up 41% over last month and is at 51 days supply. Sprinter supplies were up 6.6% over July and stood at 50 days supply. The Nissan NV supplies were up less than 1% but the days supply was 195, easily the highest days in field number for the entire light truck industry.

From the Detroit Free Press: General Motors' "fortress balance sheet" philosophy has caught on, earning it first place in Morgan Stanley analysts' automotivestock rankings, far above sixth-place Ford. Post-bankruptcy GM is shunning debt and holding onto cash, saying it will decide what to do with some of its $33.8-billion hoard once the economic environment stabilizes. Any payment to its pension fund or as a shareholder dividend would come only if the automaker thinks it has sufficient funding for its future product plans and any possible economic disasters, Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann has said. That's the philosophy behind the automotive stock rankings Morgan Stanley released Tuesday, which named GM, based in Detroit, and suppliers Johnson Controls, based in Milwaukee, and BorgWarner, based in Auburn Hills, as the analysts' top three "most likely to succeed," regardless of whether the U.S. enters a new recession this year. "A 'fortress GM' strategy enables the company to ride out years of downturn without sacrificing its long-term revival," analyst Adam Jonas wrote. "GM's castle isn't impenetrable, but its walls are high and thick." Fordhas only $8 billion of net cash, or cash minus debt. If the U.S. plunges into a second deep recession, Ford could have more debt than cash within 18 to 24 months, Jonas wrote. The stock rankings come as Morgan Stanley has cut its sales forecast for the coming years. This year, analysts Jonas and Ravi Shanker predicted, U.S. auto sales will number 12.6 million, down from their previous forecast of 13 million but higher than the 11.6 million light vehiclessold last year. Sales will increase to 14 million in 2012 and 15 million in 2013, they said. U.S. light-vehicle sales often hit 16 million before the recession. However, Morgan Stanley lowered its one-year stock price target for GM from $50 to $45, in light of slowing growth. Morgan Stanley also cut Ford's one-year stock price target from $21 to $18.

From Automotive News: Chrysler Group LLC and the United Auto Workers union are discussing a plan that would lift the base wages of entry-level workers at the No. 3. U.S. automaker over time, two people involved in the talks said. The development comes as Fiat-controlled Chrysler and the UAW make progress toward a new contract with less than a week before expiration of the current four-year deal on wages and benefits on Sept. 14. Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne could be involved in the contract talks as soon as the weekend, one of the sources said. That would follow a meeting earlier this week between UAW President Bob King and General Motors CEO Dan Akerson. Chrysler, which is controlled by Italian automaker Fiat SpA , has proposed "two to three" models for boosting those wages over time, one of the sources said. The other source said Chrysler has proposed to increase wages to between $16 and $18 an hour. The high end of the $16 to $18 scale would represent a wage increase of more than 20 percent, but stops short of the $19.50 an hour that Volkswagen AG's workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., can make after three years on the job. About 12 percent of Chrysler's 22,800 union-represented workers make the lower second-tier wage.

State of the Union September 8, 2011

2011-09-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

Sept. 6, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Open House Update: In order to give employees a chance to participate in some of the activities being offered at the Open House, daily team meetings are being cancelled through Thursday, Sept. 15 and 40 minutes will be added onto the 8 am break that day to give you an hour (8-9 am) to do the ride and drive and check out the various displays. To insure that everyone gets an equal chance to drive a vehicle, the following will be the schedule for the various departments to participate: 8-8:20 – Chassis, Final and Quality; 8:20-8:40 – Body, Paint and Stamping; 8:40-9:00 – Trim and Material (skilled trades will go with the department they are assigned to, or in the first group, whichever applies). There should be 8 opportunities to drive a Chevy Volt in the 20 minute time period so it is being suggested that the department groupings identify who is interested in driving one and draw 8 names from those people. Otherwise it will be first come, first served. There will be a total of 16 vehicles from each brand available to drive on a course set up in lot 4. Also, here is the schedule for parking lot closures next week:
o 9/12/11 through 9/14/11--Lots 1, 2, and 3 - Employee Parking (no changes)
o Monday, 9/12/11, following production, Parking Lot 4 & 5 to be closed. (Lot 4 is immediately to the west or right of the main entrance) Barricades will be placed on roadway blocking lots 4 & 5. (Event set up) All traffic for lot 6 & 7 to enter/exit through Gate 4 (Chassis gate).
o Tuesday, 9/13/11, All Day, Parking Lot 4 & 5 to be closed. Barricades will be blocking roadway blocking lots 4 & 5. (Event set up) All traffic for lot 6 & 7 to enter/exit through Gate 4 (Chassis gate).
o Wednesday, 9/14/11, Parking Lot 4, 5, 6, and South end of Lot 7 closed for event. Parking for employees in Lot #7 north end (closest to Hwy A). All employee traffic to enter/exit through Gate 4 (Chassis gate).

Here is this week’s build information: 264 slider doors; 101 E-26 vans; 51 15-pass vans; 67 brake deck spare tire; 100 diesels; 344 cutaways; 229 Enterprise cargo vans; 176 Onstar; 193 exports; 128 r/h door delete; 90 YF7; 87% white vans

The Women’s Committee Golf tournament for this Saturday is still in need of teams. If you had planned on playing contact Becky Schieffer, Karen Jones or any other committee member. You can pay your entry fee the day of the tournament. There is a shotgun start at 1:30 and the fee is $70 per person/$210 per team.

From Bloomberg: The United Auto Workers, bargaining a new contract for U.S. automakers, is turning to General Motors Co. (GM) to set the pattern for wages and benefits for the U.S. industry, said three people familiar with the discussions. UAW bargainers are seeking a large signing bonus and new work in U.S. factories in exchange for not increasing fixed labor costs at GM, Ford Motor Co. (F) and Chrysler Group LLC, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified as revealing internal discussions. Negotiations at GM are farthest along and will continue through the weekend, the people said. Detroit-based GM is offering buyouts in hopes that senior workers retire, making room for new hires who are paid half as much, said two people familiar with the proposal. “GM makes the most sense as the lead company because it remains the largest, it has shown renewed health and a willingness to work with the UAW,” said Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at the University of California at Berkeley. “GM is the company that is demonstrating that they want to get a deal.” Michele Martin, a spokeswoman for the UAW, denied that the union had selected GM. “That’s not accurate,” she said last night, declining to comment further. GM’s proposed buyouts are aimed at paring the ranks of senior employees and skilled-trades workers, who receive the highest pay, said the people familiar with the offer. New workers, even with a higher hourly rate than $14, would lower overall labor costs for the automakers, the people said. With a path to lower labor costs, the companies are willing to put more work in U.S. plants, rather than in low-wage countries such as Mexico, the people said.

From the Detroit Free Press: UAW President Bob King was cautious today about the status of discussions with the DetroitThree. “I would not describe it that way,” King said when asked if discussions for a new national contract are ahead of schedule. “I would just say they are going well. You don’t have a deal until the whole deal is done,” King said in an interview today on Spotlight on the News, a WXYZ-TV Channel 7 news program. Despite his caution, King said he is “really upbeat about the autotalks.” “I think the discussions that are going on are in-depth and there is an understanding of each other’s issues,” King said. The UAW leader also said U.S. President Barack Obama has the “full support” of the UAW’s leadership despite a lackluster economy and a national unemployment rate that stands at 9.1%. “He saved our jobs,” King said in reference to federal aid to GM and Chrysler in 2009. “Our members know there would not be an American auto industry today without Obama’s leadership.”

State of the Union September 1, 2011

2011-09-01T13:21:00.002-07:00

Sept. 1, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Reminder: This year’s Labor Day Parade will be Monday, Sept. 5 with the theme of “We Are One”. The UAW location in the parade lineup is 8th. Line up begins at 7 am on 18th Street north of Olive Street where we will decorate the fhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifloat. All are invited including friends and family.

General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today reported total sales of 218,479 vehicles in August, an 18-percent increase compared with August 2010. Retail deliveries were up 22 percent compared with the same month a year ago and accounted for 74 percent of GM sales. Deliveries to fleet customers increased 8 percent. “Our balanced portfolio of trucks and fuel-efficient vehicles like the Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain are helping GM continue to gain market share, which has now increased in seven of the past eight months,” said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations. “We’re carrying good momentum and we’re cautiously optimistic that we’ll see U.S. economic growth improve in the months ahead.” In August, year-over-year passenger car sales increased 18 percent, crossover sales increased 17 percent and truck sales increased 18 percent.

Van sales came in at 6714, up 16.8% over last August.

Chevrolet: Cruze sales surpassed 20,000 for the fifth month in a row; Equinox sales rose 58 percent compared with August 2010.

GMC: Terrain sales were up 88 percent; Acadia was up 54 percent compared with August 2010.

Cadillac: Combined sales of the Cadillac CTS sedan, coupe and wagon increased 39 percent compared with August 2010. Cadillac reduced its fleet sales by 51 percent.

Buick: August was the brand’s 23rd consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains, and the Regal had its best month since launch, more than doubling sales.
Month-end dealer inventory in the United States was 556,884 units, including 212,520 full-size pickup trucks. GM is on track to meet its target of ending 2011 with a full-size pickup inventory of about 200,000 units, thanks to improved sales, which were up 10 percent compared with July, and production adjustments. GM is closely monitoring consumer sentiment and other economic indicators but the company continues to expect that the full-year seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for U.S. vehicle sales will be in the low end of a 13.0 million – 13.5 million unit range.

One other issue that Diana Tremblay was asked about in the wrapup meeting was the status of national negotiations (in addition to being Vice President of Global Manufacturing she is in charge of Labor Relations). She said that most of what the press was reporting was not true and she didn’t know who these “people close to the negotiations” were because those folks were not speaking with the press. She also said that she would be “amazed” if the contract was settled early, although she didn’t rule it out entirely. The last thing she wanted was a hasty contract that got ratified that the parties had to spend the next 4 years trying to figure out what had been agreed too. With that said, here is a report from the Detroit News on negotiations: Talks also appear to be in full swing at General Motors Co., where another round of hourly buyouts is being discussed at the bargaining table, sources familiar with these negotiations said. GM-UAW negotiations haven't yet gone late into the night, nor spilled into the weekend, and topics at the bargaining table remain in the "idea phase," said one person close to the talks. "Talks continue as both the UAW and GM work on issue important to employees and our business," GM spokeswoman Kim Carpenter said, declining further comment. The UAW also declined comment. UAW President Bob King, however, told at least one GM union official to be ready to meet in Detroit late next week. King didn't specify the purpose of the visit. But typically, local union leaders are called to Detroit when the national bargaining team has reached a tentative agreement. GM and the UAW also are discussing another buyout program for factory workers, even as the company adds thousands of jobs. It's unclear whether the buyouts would be offered companywide or target certain plants or skilled trades. Sources said talks on the buyouts are preliminary and among many options being discussed.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer: About 4,500 GM autoworkers in Lordstown will be working some unexpected extra hours as General Motors struggles to keep the popular Chevrolet Cruze on dealer lots. "That's the demand that's out there," said GM spokesman Tom Mock. "We're building them as fast as we can." "There's definitely a shortage" of Cruze models on dealership lots, said Steve "Zap" Zapotechne, owner of Brunswick's eInventoryNow.com, an Internet-based business that lets GM dealers swap cars with each other. Zapotechne monitors GM's inventory levels and said the Cruze has been in short supply since April. Jim Cain, a spokesman for GM's Chevrolet brand, said the company tries to match plant production with market demand, but Lordstown can't produce vehicles fast enough. "It's a good problem to have," Cain said. The automaker plans to release August sales figures on Thursday, and Cain said it expects the Cruze to top the 20,000-vehicle mark for the fourth consecutive month. And that's not including the several thousand models that got to Canada and Mexico each month. The Cruze has been the best-selling compact in the country since May and was the best-selling car of any size in June.

State of the Union August 31, 2011

2011-09-01T13:21:00.001-07:00

August 31, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    Reminder: Tomorrow is a VR blackout day. Tuesday, Sept. 6 is the holiday pay qualifying day and a VR blackout day. Also, today is the deadline for getting your entries in for the Women’s Committee golf tournament to be held Saturday, Sept. 10.
•    Here are some notes from the diagonal slice meeting with Diana Tremblay:
A question was asked about the future of this plant regarding second shift and another product.

Diana Tremblay said that when GM went through bankruptcy the company sized the manufacturing footprint so that all of the plants left would be on three shifts (except Bowling Green because of the specialty of the Corvette) So the future of Wentzville is three shifts. The question is when does the market come to drive the additional shifts. The market has not come back as strong as we had expected. As far as second shift here you are right on the edge and she thanked everyone for working the crazy hours to build the vans the market is asking for. She said the intention of her visit was never to announce a second shift and that GM would be very cautious in adding a shift because they don’t want to have to undo it.

A question was asked about the future of the van and if the new fuel economy requirements would have any impact on it.

Diana Tremblay said that there are different standards for cars and trucks so there is a future for the van. There will also be credits for battery use in powertrains and other technology that will help offset the lower mpg products. GM will be OK with the product portfolio we now have, although the trucks like the Suburban and Tahoe that are not work vehicles will be a little trickier. She said we will build the van as far as she can see into the future. There will be a model change in 2016 and she expects the Ford Econoline to drop out of the market in a couple of years so we will be the only game in town.

A question was asked about money for plant improvements.

Diana Tremblay said the GM has protected more money for future plant investments to maintain their facilities. She acknowledged that there has been little money invested here in the past few years and that there is money for the plant now and she is working hard to protect that money.

•    Diana Tremblay also had some conversations with several members in Trim. Team leader Roger Spradley in HVAC was asked to compare being a TL when we built cars versus now with the van. He said that in the car days he had more people and fewer responsibilities and now he had fewer people and more responsibilities. She asked him if he felt he had enough time to fulfill all his responsibilities and he said yes and she said that’s good because we’re going to give you a new project to work on.
Core team member Jeff Queen was asked if the kitting area that was recently set up in the IP area for steering columns could support another product and he said yes. She asked if he was sure it could support another product and he said he was positive and she said we’re going to see if you can.
Team leader Doug Clark of the IP line told Diana Trembay that one of his – and other 1985 seniority members - concerns was being able to retire from this plant and she told him that he had nothing to worry about.
•    From Automotive News: A strike at Ford Motor Co. or arbitration at General Motors and Chrysler Group could be handled without harming the union's long-term relationship with the affected company, UAW President Bob King said today. King also said the union has asked for a wage increase for its 112,000 members at the Detroit 3, not just profit-sharing and performance bonuses. All parties want to avoid a strike or arbitration in this year's auto talks, he said, but the union had a short strike against GM in 2007 without lasting harm to the union's ability to work cooperatively with the company afterward. "I just feel we can do better" than a strike, King said during a press conference after a luncheon speech to the Detroit Economic Club. King said the current talks are about keeping the Detroit 3 competitive so they can continue to put jobs in the United States while allowing workers to share in the new-found profitability of the carmakers. The rank-and-file at the Detroit 3, King said, want and deserve a raise. For that reason, the union has proposed an increase. But King cautioned that that he is most interested in maximizing overall compensation for workers, not necessarily wages. The best route, he said, might be through profit-sharing and performance bonuses and some combination of wage increases and restoration of cost of living allowances. Only bargaining, however, will determine the best way to achieve that goal without hurting the long-term competitiveness of the Detroit 3 vs. the U.S. transplant operations of the German and Asian automakers. "There is room because of the current framework to make gains in different areas" and still keep the companies competitive, King said. He reiterated that the UAW is not allowing the contract talks to detract from efforts to organize the U.S. transplants. He said he was optimistic that at least one of the transplants would accept the UAW by the end of the year.

State of the Union August 24, 2011

2011-08-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

August 24, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: The National Agreement on Page 242 details management's right to require employees to work daily overtime past 11 hours during model change. Management can work us past 11 hours two weeks before model change (August 17) and for the week it launches the new model and three weeks thereafter or until the line reaches scheduled production, whichever is later (September 9). The additional overtime this week has been due to breakdowns in the glass area.

This year’s Labor Day Parade will be Monday, Sept. 5 with the theme of “We Are One”. The UAW location in the parade lineup is 8th. Line up begins at 7 am on 18th Street north of Olive Street where we will decorate the float. All are invited including friends and family.

From the Flint Journal: Saturday work is about to gear up at General Motors' Flint Assembly plant even as the company reins in production at its truck plant in Indiana. Workers at Flint Assembly have been told to expect to work five Saturdays in the next two months because of high demand for 2012 heavy- and light-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. The Saturday shifts will continue in addition to the start of a new, permanent third shift that started Sunday night. "We are trying to manage the total number of trucks (in inventory), and we need to make sure we have the right mix of trucks," said Jim Cain, a General Motors spokesman. "The pickup truck market is complex because of different bed and cab configurations." Flint Assembly, the city's last remaining GM assembly plant, will operate Sept. 10 and 24, and Oct. 1, 15, and 22, according to a notice sent to employees last month. Cain confirmed that GM is simultaneously adding the Saturday shifts here and extending a temporary shutdown of its Fort Wayne, Ind., area truck plant. Like Flint, that plant builds the Silverado and Sierra but it will close the last week of 2011 and the first week of 2012, according to this online report in Transport Topics. Saturday shifts at the plant have already been canceled for the year, the same report said. Cain said the difference in plans for the two plants is a simple difference in the type of trucks each produce. "It's not unusual that not every plant builds every (variation)," Cain said. The GM spokesman said the automaker not only wants to end this year with approximately 200,000 trucks in inventory -- equal to a 90-day supply -- it also wants to have every vehicle type available in sufficient numbers.

From Edmunds: Several participants at a session at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars earlier this month dissected the possibilities for the 2011 contract talks and settled on these probable primary aspects: the UAW will pursue an increase in the number of jobs – UAW membership has sunk to a 70-year low of around 111,000 – and better wages and benefits for all workers after a historic contract provision in 2007 that provided for a lower wage for new workers. The automakers want to retain their new, more-competitive labor-cost structure and increased operating and work-rule flexibility. One solution both the UAW and the automakers seem to agree could be an answer: more-generous and wider-ranging profit-sharing schemes. The groundbreaking two-tier wage structure agreed to in the 2007 UAW-Detroit Three contract has been the subject of endless discussion, but few organized-labor experts expect whatever accord comes this year to backtrack on that historic point. Newly-hired UAW workers are paid about $15-17 per hour, while more seasoned workers make about $28 per hour or more before benefits, but there are specific and complex limitations on the ratio of new, lowered-paid workers each automaker’s assembly plants can employ – and currently, only a small portion of the UAW’s rank and file are paid at the lower wage level. Nonetheless, hourly labor costs in 2010 were $20 to $29 lower than in 2006, said Kristin Dzicezek, CAR’s labor and industry group director, a substantial figure that still could not keep GM and Chrysler from bankruptcy court in 2009. Most experts now speculate the UAW will seek to bring these new entry-level workers to a higher overall pay by seeking more-remunerative profit-sharing provisions in the 2011 contract. Union president Bob King was quoted by the New York Times as saying the automakers should improve their profit-sharing formulas. At the CAR conference earlier this month, several auto-company executives mentioned “flex pay” in seemingly positive terms. Whatever the eventual structure, King is adamant that the Detroit auto companies are rebounding and everybody should be working to ensure an agreement that improves overall pay. “I don’t think you should be working in the auto industry at poverty-level wages when the companies are doing well,” King was quoted by the NYT, while also telegraphing in no uncertain terms that the UAW’s era of givebacks has come to an end. “There is no justification for any concessions in this round of bargaining. That is just not going to happen,” King insisted.

From the Detroit News: The most remarkable thing about this year's contract negotiations between the Detroit's Big Three automakers and the United Auto Workers is how unremarkable they are. There has been none of the usual drama, and both sides seem determined to keep it that way. UAW President Bob King said the companies and his union want to show American taxpayers that they appreciate the help they provided the industry, by negotiating win-win contracts without strikes, vitriol or eleventh-hour bargaining. King said the current system does not provide new workers with a living wage. "They're tough issues. They're complicated issues. But I'm confident that we have the history of creative problem-solving now to work through them," King said. "We've got good companies that we're dealing with…It's really important for the American public to know that both the companies and our membership really appreciate the loans that we got," King said. "We take very seriously the long-term success of these companies because of the impact it has on everybody in society." And while King has said he would like to announce an agreement with all three automakers by next month's deadline, he said it's not the most important thing. "What's more important than the deadline is a good result for our members, for the community, for creating jobs in America," he said. "We want consumers and the public to know that labor and management, community and government can all work together to make a better country — to rebuild the middle class in this country — so we do look at it as a great opportunity to demonstrate that."

State of the Union August 23, 2011

2011-08-24T06:19:00.000-07:00

August 23, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From UAW Vice President Joe Ashton: During contract talks, everyone wants to know, “What is going on?” With this in mind we are creating a new communication network that will provide regular updates to the UAW-GM team electronically. Initially, the messages will deal with contract negotiations. We will pilot the system through the end of the year. Based on your feedback we will consider expanding the network and the type of information available. All UAW-GM members will be receiving a letter around the end of August that will have a temporary user name and password as well as instructions for how to sign up for the site. You can visit the site at www.uawgmnow.com; however you cannot sign in until you receive your temporary user name and password. You will be receiving a letter at home from the UAW-GM that contains your personalized username and password to access this site. Participation is completely voluntary and you can opt-out at anytime. (Also) For the past two years, the UAW and GM have collaborated on a Facebook page to highlight all the great news coming out of our plants and warehouses. Visit http://www.facebook.com/uawgm.org.

Reminder: The deadline to sign up for the Women’s Committee golf tournament is Tuesday, Aug. 30. It will be held Saturday, Sept. 10 at Country Lake Golf Course in Warrenton. It is a three person scramble with a 1:30 shotgun start. Entry fee is $70 per person or $210 per team and will include food and beer after the tournament. There will also be longest drive and closest to the hole prizes as well as a skin game. The top three places in three flights will be paid. All proceeds will go to the Women’s Safe House. Entry forms are available from any committee member or at the entrances. The Women’s Committee is also selling raffle tickets for a board full of lottery tickets. Price is $1 per ticket or 6 for $5 and available from any committee member.

From Automotive News: UAW President Bob King says transplant automakers that pay workers more at some U.S. plants than at others are providing an opening for UAW organizing. In an interview Friday, King said the UAW would equalize pay and benefits for transplant workers in the Deep South who earn $5 to $6 less an hour in wages and benefits than co-workers farther north. It's a key point that King said he wants transplant workers to take from the current Detroit 3 contract negotiations. King said Toyota pays workers less at its San Antonio pickup plant than it does at Georgetown, Ky., where the Camry, Avalon and Venza are built. "If you go to San Antonio, to Canton, Mississippi, to Honda in Indiana, to any of the newer facilities, they're dramatically lower than what we are and dramatically lower than their own co-workers in the same corporation," King said. "That should really be bothersome."

From the Chattanooga Times Free Press: A powerful Volkswagen labor leader says he will not actively promote UAW efforts to organize the automaker’s Chattanooga factory, according to Reuters. Bernd Osterloh, who represents labor on the German car maker's supervisory board, said while he’s keen to see organized labor representation at the Chattanooga plant, he would not actively promote UAW efforts to broaden its membership there. Osterloh said in Hamburg, Germany, that it was up to the employees themselves to decide which union should represent them.

From Autoblog: Chrysler is officially killing the 2011 Ram Dakota this week, which the UAW fears may lead to nearly 150 hourly positions getting the chop. The move has already spelled the end for 39 temporary positions at Chrysler's Warren Truck Plant. Chrysler brass say they still haven't figured out who's getting cut, but if says if there are layoffs, the workers would likely be reassigned to another operation. According to Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, the Dakota will likely be replaced with a "lifestyle vehicle." Chrysler sold a scant 13,000 Dakotas last year. By contrast, Dodge moved 177,000 of the midsize pickups in 2000.

Here’s some more Q and A from the Dan Akerson interview:
Q.One of the things you have been able to do, Mr. Akerson, as GM has gotten more profitable and begun selling more cars in the past couple of years, is to hire back some of the people who you were forced to lay off as you closed plants. Do you worry that the economic weakness now might force you to rethink some of those hires?
Akerson: Well, I don't think so. I mean I worry about it -- about everything. I think we've been very prudent in hiring people back and obviously we can't control everything, and if things were to get a lot worse, obviously we're going to have to review the bidding. But we've been cautious in our hiring. That being said, we've hired back a fair number of folks, and we've gone to double and triple shifts in some of our plants. Of course, the question might be asked, "Why aren't you opening additional plants?" We want to make sure the demand is there and sustainable, because you open another plant and it takes a couple hundred, $300 million to $500 million in tooling and that's a difficult decision to recover from. So we have been prudent, but at the same time, we have hired folks back and we've invested another $5.5 billion roughly in new plant and equipment in this country, in the United States particularly, to try to make sure that we are as efficient and quality based as we can be. I think, as you say, we've made great progress but the future is always difficult to read and we just don't want to overextend ourselves in the current economic environment.
Q.Yeah, you've said a couple of times though that you're looking toward September and the rest of the year to keep up the pace that you guys have established since January. How are you going to do that when consumers aren't spending, when they're watching the stock market, and saying, "Oh my goodness! I have to stick everything under my mattress"?
Akerson: This is a team effort, it's a team game and as I say we've got a couple new products coming out that we think could be intriguing. We believe there is a fair amount of pent up demand. The average fleet, the age of the average car on the road, truck on the road in the United States is at a 25-, 30-year high. We know people have postponed purchasing over the last couple of years, with all of the turmoil going back to the start of the Great Recession in 2008. So as I say, we keep our breakeven point as low as we possibly can. We continue to invest in new products, new development, whether it be new cars, new models, but also new propulsion, advanced propulsion and technologies. We're playing for the long run, not the next three, four months, but over the next five, 10, 15, 20 years. That's one of the things I have tried to bring to the company, is to project forward to 2025, and 2050: Where do I want this company to be out five, 10, 50 years from now, so that we can be proud that GM is a national champion, if you will, here in the United States, North America, more generally; to grow and to embellish our brand, our reputation on a global basis as well. That's not going to happen in the next four months or the next four years, it's going to happen over the next 25 to 50.

State of the Union August 22, 2011

2011-08-22T13:13:00.000-07:00

August 22, 2011 online at
uawlocal2250

To avoid paying dual imputed income taxes on UAW-GM Legal Services, those members with both spouses working or have coverage as a retiree and surviving spouse from either GM or Delphi should call (800)521-7818, ext. 2389 and indicate they are calling regarding dual plan coverage. Please have names, ssn’s, locations of employment and local union numbers at the time of the call.

Here is this week’s build information: 67 E-26s; 146 slider doors; 252 15-pass vans; 417 Onstar; 67 diesels; 60 YF7; 28 brake deck spare tire; 390 Enterprise rent-a-car; 83.9% white vans.

From Automotive News: UAW President Bob King said today that the union is negotiating with the Detroit 3 for higher entry-level wages and to improve the health of parts suppliers. In an interview with Automotive News, King said the $14 an hour wage paid most entry-level workers at the Detroit 3 is not "a livable wage." King said a profitable Detroit 3 can afford to pay those workers better or risk losing them to other jobs if they don't see improvement. He declined to give a target. "We've got to raise those wages so workers will want to stay and workers can support their families by working full-time in the auto industry," said King, who made his comments following a labor panel hosted by the Rev. Wendell Anthony, the Detroit NAACP chief. King revealed today that the compensation of parts supplier workers also is a big issue in this year's talks. He said consolidation in the sector has caused wages and benefits to stagnate or fall at nonunion and union shops alike. "That industry has really slipped in terms of income and equality. That's a major part of our consideration," King said.

From the Tennesseean: Union officials hope a new national contract being negotiated between General Motors and the United Auto Workers — due by Sept. 14 — could include a restart of the idled autoassembly line at the company’s Spring Hill plant. There’s no deal yet, though, and recent comments by a top GM executive suggest that the Middle Tennessee plant might not be getting a new vehicle to build anytime soon. “We are hopeful that Spring Hill will get a new product under the contract, and there are multiple options in the negotiations,” said Gary Casteel, director of UAW District 8, which covers most of the Southeast, including Tennessee. “The union’s position, which we announced before the start of negotiations, was that we would be vigorously pursuing a product for Spring Hill,” Casteel said. “But it’s still a long way from that happening.” In a session with analysts last week, Diana Tremblay, GM’s global chief manufacturing officer, specifically referred to Spring Hill, saying that despite its near-ready status, the plant is not yet needed. “We look at (manufacturing capacity) on a continual basis,” she said. “…We have our Spring Hill facility, still sitting there, that is very flexible. If we should find that we would be short of something, we can quickly get that plant started up. Right now, we don't see any need to do that.”

GM CEO Dan Akerson recently gave an interview to Public Radio. In the next few days we will review some of the more relevant questions and answers from a transcript of the broadcast:
Q. Step back from GM for a minute and look at the broader economy and help me understand when major companies in this economy might start investing.
Akerson: Well, you know, job creation is critical to any recovery and central to any recovery and any incremental job growth is productivity -- you must be productive -- and innovation. So you're going to have to invest capital to gain productivity, and you're going to have to spend on research and development to create some dimension of innovation. I think what I've been trying to do, and I think met with at least some preliminary success, is to view our industrial relations with the UAW in a completely different way. They are partners. They are our employees, they're General Motors employees. They're part of the family. They may be represented by the UAW, but the UAW then is a partner. And we want to have constructive dialogue. For example, we are in midst of negotiations now, but one of the aspects of that that I have tried to espouse and time will tell if we see any real progress or success in this area, is let's not increase our structural cost by having commitments to x percent increase in salary every year. I think what would be good in America, to incent management and labor to have a more productive and more constructive dialogue is to say, "You know, let's all pull in the same oar." We have four metrics before management gets any bonus at General Motors. I might parenthetically say that the top 25 people don't get any bonus, period, because of our government ownership and I think that's fair. It's reasonable. But for the average manager in the company, say middle-level manager, he or she is measured in four metrics, one of them being quality. It's a composite; it's everything from J.D. Power initial quality to our warranties and whatnot and we run up a composite to measure the quality, which quite frankly is second to none. Our quality right now I would put against any of the foreign transplants or any of our domestic competitors and we are proud of that and we want to keep it. So we are going to incent our people alone those lines. What we are trying to do is say, "Look, if management gets a bonus, then I think our hourly people ought to get a bonus." It's, if you will, profit-sharing or success-sharing. Of course one of the concerns is how are we going to know that you are not going to game it? Well, if we have a great year and management gets a bonus then you will get a bonus. And we will argue about how to feather that in and what's the mechanism for determining the amount, but let's agree in principal on that. By the way, if we have a bad year and management doesn't get a bonus, it's very clear then that the union wouldn't get a bonus. And that way we share in each other's success, we are all motivated along the same lines. And I think that would make it easier for companies to say, and tech companies in Silicon Valley have a different paradigm than we do in industrial America, but this would be a way to open up a new era I think of more productive dialogue between management and labor and not have this great divide, but rather let's close the divide and all be on the same team and we all would be incented on the same four things. Going into the bankruptcy of one portion of your employees by virtue of a union contract, and no, not saying this has happened to General Motors, but it seems strange somebody would be getting a raise whether it would be 1, 2 or 3 percent while at the same time you're slashing head count and salaries for management. So let's all get us on the same sheet and let's all get everybody aligned so I think whether it would be on a microeconomic basis within a company or quite frankly on a global basis or on a national basis. I think America is known for its generosity, and quite frankly in the past, I think we've been known for our ability to compromise and play on the same team and that's the environment here that I hope to, and the management team hopes to create here at General Motors.

State of the Union August 19, 2011

2011-08-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

August 19, 2011 online at
UAW Local 2250
Open House Update: The plant tour route has been finalized. It will begin in the Tour Holding Room, where there will be displays from stamping, body and paint shop as well as the environmental group. Then it’s on to the shop floor, heading east down the A-aisle until the 26 aisle, where there will be a hands-on electrical display and the return of the famous Dancing Robots. The tour will continue south down that aisle to the P aisle, where it turns right (west) and will go to the 40 aisle. Visitors will go right (north) up that aisle that bisects GA, see a display at cab set and then go to the bleachers, where they will be treated to videos of the plant, displays from UAW Committees and live music from a special plant band.

From Crain’s Detroit Business: A day after unionized workers at its Cheektowaga, N.Y., plant announced that they had rejected a contract offer, American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. said it would close the plant. Two months ago, after it was unable to reach a labor contract with the UAW, American Axle announced it was closing its Detroit manufacturing complex. The closing in New York affects 66 employees represented by the UAW and up to 34 salaried employees. Negotiations broke down when the workers rejected American Axle's offer, according to the UAW. "Shifts in market demand toward more fuel-efficient passenger cars and crossover vehicles significantly reduced customer production volumes for the programs supported by this facility," Chris Son, director of corporate and investor relations, said in a statement to Crain's Detroit Business. In June, Son told Crain's that American Axle, a former General Motors Co. unit, continued to seek a competitive labor contract with the UAW that was much like a pact in place at the supplier's Three Rivers plant in southwest Michigan. Axle wanted to reduce total compensation to $30 an hour from $45 at its Detroit plant, which is likely what the supplier was seeking in New York. The Detroit complex and Cheektowaga plant will close after Feb. 26, 2012, when the current UAW contracts expire. Said UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada: "Here is a business that started out as an American company providing good-paying jobs to 6,000 employees. As a result of the hard work of these employees, it has grown to an international company with 32 factories worldwide. All of this success was achieved off the backs of the original 6,000 hard-working Americans." Said Scott Adams, director of UAW Region 9, which includes the Buffalo area: "The men and women in Cheektowaga stepped up to the plate and made huge sacrifices when the company was in trouble. Clearly, American Axle CEO Dick Dauch is more concerned with advancing his pay from millionaire to billionaire status at the continued expense of his employees."

From the Detroit News: Forecasting firm J.D. Power and Associates lowered its auto sales outlook Thursday, saying the uncertain economic outlook will hinder the market's recovery not only this year, but also next. The firm shaved its 2011 sales forecast to 12.6 million cars and light trucks from 12.9 million estimated previously. It lowered its 2012 forecast to 14.1 million units from 14.7 million. "The economy and automotive industry continue to wrestle with a series of unsettling developments, which are now likely too strong to overcome within 2011," said John Humphrey, senior vice president of automotive operations at J.D.Power. "Ascending from the recession is proving to be just as bumpy as the decline into it, and a full recovery in vehicle sales is further down the road than previously thought," he said. J.D. Power estimated this month's selling pace at 12.1 million light vehicles, up from 11.4 million in August 2010, but little changed from last month's 12.2 million units. Commenting on J.D. Power's August sales estimate, Itay Michaeli, analyst at Citi Investment Research and Analysis, said: "In light of the current market volatility, this is actually an encouraging data point suggesting that auto sales have not been significantly impacted thus far in the month." Edmunds.com, an online research firm, estimated this month's selling pace at 12.2 million vehicles. "Since the industry maintained sales in the face of last week's turmoil and uncertainty, then it is likely that confidence has not been undermined enough to prevent the release of pent-up demand this fall," said Lacey Plache, chief economist at Edmunds.com.

From the Detroit Free Press: Matt Blunt, Washington lobbyist-in-chief for the Detroit Three automakers, made his first visit to the Motor City this week since taking over in February as president of the American Automotive Policy Council. And for a "conservative Republican," as the former Missouri governor insists he is, Blunt said a bunch of nice things about the Obama administration, about the federal bailouts of General Motors and Chrysler -- and even about the UAW. Of the widely held perception that nonunion foreign-owned auto plants are more efficient than those of UAW-represented GM, Ford and Chrysler, Blunt said, "That's wrong." "There are great partnerships between management and labor" at the Detroit Three, he added in an interview with the Free Press. He did caution, though, that a strike or other labor strife during current UAW contract talks would be very damaging. Blunt applauded President Barack Obama's administration for standing by the auto industry and for forcing a restructuring of companies that enables them to be profitable even at today's low sales levels. Perhaps the most jarring episode for Detroiters in the near-demise of their hometown industry was the scorn heaped upon auto company CEOs and the UAW's Ron Gettelfinger by members of Congress who rejected rescue proposals in late 2008. Many, but not all, of the critics were from Southern states where Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes and others have nonunion plants. What nobody articulated clearly during those hearings were facts such as these:
• The three Detroit-based car companies have 41% of their worldwide work forces in the U.S., versus only 6% for their 13 major competitors.
• Domestic content in GM, Ford and Chrysler vehicles is 67%, compared with 32% for foreign rivals.
• GM and Ford spent, respectively, $6 billion and $5 billion in 2009 on research and development, dwarfing the amount spent by tech hotshots Google ($2.8 billion) and Apple ($1.4 billion).

State of the Union August 18, 2011

2011-08-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

August 18, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

From Chairman Mike Bullock: In the event that we get a sechttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifond shift, there will be a need for roughly 50 additional team leaders. If you are interested in becoming a team leader go to personnel and sign up for the assessment test. Also, there would be many new openings in each department that will be filled in part with 63B transfers, so you need to have a transfer request on file, which you can get at personnel.

From the Benefits Department: If you are a Tier 2 employee that recently became eligible for dental and eye exams, you need to see your benefit representative for assistance in contacting Fidelity to add any dependants as they are not automatically enrolled.

If you wish to check on the status of your employee referral you can call DDI at 1-800-973-1465.

Open House update: The Wentzville Assembly Center Open House – scheduled for Sept. 14 from 10 am to 5 pm – will feature many activities for our guests. Outside the plant, there will be a classic car display featuring vehicles from a couple of local groups; the Ambassador ride-and-drive featuring 2 Chevy Volts along with nearly the entire GM vehicle lineup; two of the Transformers vehicles – Bumblebee and Stingray; Safe Kids and NY Life child ID service: vendor tents for Make-A-Wish, Harrison’s Hope, United Way and Re-Store; a Harley Davidson display; a variety of our vans in upfitted fashion; a UAW/GM retiree’s booth and food specials from Pete’s Drive-In. The ride-and-drive route is still under discussion and when it is finalized you will be informed. Tomorrow we will cover the activities going on inside the plant. Flyers will be available at the entrances. No invitations required.

From the Veteran’s Committee: Veterans Commemorative Bricks are now on sale. The price is $35 per 4” by 8” brick and they will be used to construct a walkway at the Veterans Memorial in the front of the plant. Each brick will be limited to one name and 18 characters (including spaces) per line. The name on the brick shows your support of the Memorial and does not have to be a veteran. Order forms are available from members of the Veterans Committee and you can see Steve Melson at column C-40, front seat install.

According to an article at Automotive News, Ft. Wayne will be cancelling all Saturday overtime for the remainder of the year and have an additional downweek after Christmas break. The report cited a notice on the UAW Local 2209 website, which has subsequently been removed. GM has no official comment on the report, but it is widely known that pickup inventories are running high and GM VP of Sales Don Johnson has said that inventories would be adjusted through production moves as opposed to increased incentives.

From Bloomberg: Mike Sussman is one of the buyers helping General Motors Co. (GM) come back in the small-car business. The 45-year-old systems analyst just traded in a Toyota Prius for a Chevrolet Cruze, seeking both high mileage and more pep. “I was very, very leery about buying U.S., to be honest,” said Sussman, who lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. “They got me with the mileage. It actually drives like a regular car. With a Prius, you always feel like you’re driving a science experiment. It just doesn’t have a lot of guts.” The Cruze was the best-selling U.S. compact in July at 24,648 cars, beating the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai Elantra and Ford Focus, and it outsold cars of any size in June. GM has found the sweet spot in the market, pricing the Cruze at as little as $16,525, between the Corolla and the Prius, and delivering mileage of 30 mpg or more. The Cruze helped make GM the world’s top seller of vehicles in the first half, a ranking it lost on an annual basis in 2008, the year before the company’s government-backed bailout. The company’s rise in the small-car market, where GM has traditionally been a laggard, is emblematic of a turnaround for the automaker. GM’s U.S. market share rose to 20 percent in this year’s first seven months, from 19.2 percent in the year-earlier period. Passenger cars accounted for 42 percent of the Detroit- based company’s sales, compared with 39 percent last year, according to Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. While GM’s small-car revival has followed the March 11 natural disasters that delayed production at Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) and Honda Motor Co., the spurt may not be an anomaly. GM is benefiting from improved cars and new advertising plus missteps by the Japanese rivals, analysts and executives said. “We’re competitive for the first time ever,” Joel Ewanick, GM’s chief marketing officer, said in an interview. “The buyers are completely different than we’ve seen before.” GM has sold 147,620 Cruzes in the U.S. this year through July, more than the 74,427 Prius sold during that period while still trailing Corolla at 154,324. Cruze sells for $16,525 to $22,920. Prius sells for $23,520 to $30,000 while Corolla’s price range is $15,900 to $17,770. It’s a profitable car for GM, said Jim Hall, principal of consulting firm 2953 Analytics Inc. in Birmingham, Michigan. The Cruze’s average price is $4,200 more than Cobalt, the GM model it replaced. Cobalt lost money on all but the most- expensive trim levels, Hall said.

From the Wall Street Journal: Honda Motor Co.'s U.S. dealers say they are headed for their most difficult month of sales since the March 11 earthquake in Japan disrupted production at the automaker's factories at home and in North America. The Japanese automaker, which has been slower to lift production than rivals' Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co., is suffering from depleted inventories on U.S. dealer lots, leaving its retailers bracing for a significant decline in sales this month. "This will definitely be the worst month as it relates to Honda dealers," said Florida dealer Rick Case, whose Fort Lauderdale Honda store is one of the largest in the U.S. by sales. Mr. Case said his dealership has about one-fifth its normal level of supply and sales are falling dramatically as a result. "We're out of Civics, we are out of Accords, we don't have any Odysseys," Mr. Case said. He usually sells between 400 and 500 Hondas a month and keeps 1,000 cars and light trucks on his lot. He has fewer than 200 vehicles in inventory, he said. Honda's U.S. sales fell 28% in July and the company ended the month with 84,705 vehicles, enough to last 27 days at the current rate of sales, according to Autodata Corp. At the beginning of the year it had 227,438 vehicles in stock.

State of the Union August 17, 2011

2011-08-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

August 17, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Union Meeting is today at 1pm, 3pm, and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.

From the Detroihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gift News: General Motors Co. has leaped ahead of the other Detroit automakers and begun discussing the key issue of flexible compensation with the United Auto Workers, according to multiple sources close to the contract negotiations. With less than a month left before its contract with the UAW expires, they said Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC are still working to clear the decks of lesser issues before tackling the big ones of profit sharing and entry-level wages. So is GM, but it reportedly is eager to negotiate its own terms without reference to what the other two companies want. GM North America President Mark Reuss hinted at as much at an industry conference in Traverse City two weeks ago. "We're pursuing common hourly and salary quality rewards for excellence in our negotiations," he said, making it clear that GM wants to tie variable compensation to more than just profits. Reaching an agreement on those metrics will take time. GM would not comment on the specifics of the negotiations. "We're working with our partners and in discussion on issues that are important to our employees and the business," GM spokeswoman Kimberly Carpenter said Tuesday. "Talks are progressing." The UAW had no comment. "GM always wanted to be the lead," said Art Schwartz, former GM negotiator and president of Labor and Economics Associates in Ann Arbor. "Companies want to control their own fate." One person close to the talks said the UAW has yet to make its own wage proposal. Talks on new national agreements officially began three weeks ago. Sources say they are proceeding amicably at all three companies. There have been no late-night sessions. "In the early stages, they work on the very tedious work of carry-over language from the previous agreement," said labor expert Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automotive Research. That includes everything from the definition of an employee, to payroll schedules and compensation for jury duty. The entire text runs hundreds of pages. "They go down every one of them and say, 'Do we still agree on this?'" she said.

From the Detroit Free Press: The UAW’s top Fordnegotiator Jimmy Settles said today that talks with the Dearborn automaker are ahead of schedule and the union has asked all its Ford UAW locals to hold routine strike authorization votes by Sept. 2. “This is something we do every four years,” Settles told the Free Press. “We do this because we have the right to strike. We always do this before the expiration of the agreement. It is nothing unusual.” Settles and UAW President Bob King announced the decision to hold a strike authorization vote Tuesday at a gathering of UAW officials in Chicago. The UAW began negotiations with Ford in late July to replace a four-year contract that expires Sept. 14. For the most part, Settles said negotiations with Ford have been productive but remain in the early stages. “We are ahead of the pace that we have had historically,” Settles said. However, he noted that the two sides have not started talking about major issues, such as expected changes to the profit-sharing formula.

From the Toronto Globe and Mail: Hourly labor costs for General Motors of Canada Ltd. will rise by $14 to more than $70 an hour if a plan for a health care trust is rejected and the auto maker is forced to finance health care costs for its retirees, the Canadian Auto Workers union says. “That will make it very hard to win new investments in GM’s Canadian plants,” warns a leaflet distributed by CAW local 222, which represents workers at the company’s two assembly plants in Oshawa, Ont., and is in favor of the trust. GM Canada would contribute about $2.5-billion to the trust, but would be relieved of any future costs of financing retiree health care. The high Canadian dollar means the costs of producing vehicles in Canada are already the highest General Motors Co. faces around the world, the leaflet from local 222 says. The debate about the creation of the health care trust, which was one of the requirements demanded by the federal and Ontario governments when they contributed $10.8-billion to the GM bailout in 2009, comes as the CAW tries to persuade GM to reverse a decision to close one of the two Oshawa plants in 2013. The union is also waiting for GM to confirm publicly that it will continue to build the Chevrolet Impala in Oshawa when the car is redesigned in 2013. The discussion about the health care plan and whether it will relieve GM Canada of the continuing costs of financing health care for about 30,000 retirees also comes as the U.S. market appears to be slowing. American consumers buy about 80 per cent of the vehicles assembled in Oshawa. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” Chris Buckley, president of local 222, said Tuesday. Current hourly labor costs for active employees – which include wages of about $32 an hour, plus vacations, pension contributions and other benefits – are about $60 at GM’s Canadian operations, Mr. Buckley said. That compares with about $57 (U.S.) at GM’s U.S. operations, according to a presentation CAW economist Jim Stanford made at an industry conference earlier this month.

State of the Union August 16, 2011

2011-08-17T08:52:00.001-07:00

August 16, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
Union Meeting is this Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 1pm, 3pm, and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.

Motor Trend reports that both the Nissan NV van and the Mercedes (nee: Dodge and Freightliner) Sprinter are being recalled. With the Nissan, the issue is air bag control units that were assembled, or more acchttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifurately, wired incorrectly, potentially rendering them useless. The Sprinters, vintage 2002 and 2003, could have problems because, while they were designed for current ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, were sold in the U.S. prior to the introduction of same here. The result is corrosion of the intake manifold, which could lead to damage to the fuel return line and firewall around the manifold.

From Automotive News: General Motors Co.'s Cadillac brand and Toyota Motor Corp.'s namesake division and luxury Lexus line topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index's annual ranking of automakers. Toyota was the only non-premium brand in the top five, tying Cadillac and Lexus with 87 on a scale of 100, followed by Lincoln and Mercedes-Benz with 86. BMW was No. 11, receiving an 83, dropping three points to its lowest mark since an 80 in 1997. The auto industry improved by 1 point to 83, its second- highest mark. Chrysler Group LLC's Chrysler brand was the lowest-rated nameplate in the survey at 76. The index is scored on a 0-100 scale. The Ford brand rose 2.4 percent to 84, and Chevrolet rose 2.5 percent to 82.

From the Detroit News: The past 15 years have seen a steady increase in the average age of vehicles. In 2010, the average was 11 years old, up more than 2½ years from 8.4 years old in 1995, according to Polk. Likewise, customers are holding on to their cars longer. Based on data from the second quarter of 2010, owners kept their vehicle an average of 63.9 months, or more than five years, an increase of 4.5 months from the same time in 2009, Polk, a Southfield auto research firm, reported. The aging of cars on the road coincided with an industry-wide decrease in new-car sales during the recession, but the trend didn't cause the sales decline, said General Motors Co. spokesman Tom Henderson. He predicted pent-up demand will continue to drive new vehicle sales higher as the economy recovers. In addition, two-car families still are looking to replace at least one vehicle, said Lonnie Miller, vice president of marketing and industry analysis for Polk.

State of the Union August 15, 2011

2011-08-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

August 15, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

Union Meeting is this Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 1pm, 3pm, and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.

At the start of today, there were roughly 1100 vans lehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifft of the 2011 model year. Build out should be around 6:30 Wednesday morning off of K-line. Body shop will be building the first 2012 this morning. With that in mind the weekly build information will reflect the first 1307 vans of the 2012 model year scheduled for this week: 192 15-pass vans; 87 slider doors; 697 Enterprise rent-a-car; 226 OnStar; 29 government vans; no E-26 or exports.

From Automotive News: In the week after Standard & Poor's downgraded U.S. government debt, credit remained both available and affordable for the auto industry. But even as automakers say they'll stay the course on production and sales for the rest of the year, consumer confidence remains a big worry. "Consumer confidence is pretty fragile right now," Don Johnson, General Motors' U.S. sales chief, told analysts last week. "It's been ebbing and flowing throughout the year." But, he added, "We know that there is continuing pent-up demand in the market." Tom Doll, COO of Subaru of America, said the market plunge "appears to be an overreaction to the downgrade. At this time, we do not believe this is going to have any impact on our sales or production plans," Doll said. Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation Inc., the nation's largest dealership group, agrees, citing the pent-up consumer demand that should have the industry on the right track in the fourth quarter. "By October I think things will be booming," Jackson said. "It's all based on need." Ford Motor Co. and GM said they are sticking by their full-year sales projections. Spokesman John Stoll said that Ford still expects U.S. industrywide sales to "come in at the lower end of the 13 to 13.5 million range, including medium and heavy-duty vehicles."

From the Wall Street Journal: The Obama administration has put on hold plans to sell the rest of its stake in General Motors Co. because the auto maker's shares have slumped this year amid turbulence in the stock market, people familiar with the situation said Tuesday. The U.S. Treasury aimed to sell more of its 26.5% stake in GM by August or September. But GM stock for months has remained stuck below $30, and Wall Street's recent gyrations have made the market's future course uncertain. As a result, the Treasury is unlikely to move forward with a sale of shares until later this year, at the earliest, these people said. So far this year, GM stock is down 31%. Shares of rival Ford Motor Co. are down 35% year to date.

From Automotive News: With a big lift from its Fiat partner, Chrysler Group's Ram truck brand is moving beyond its core pickup truck business into commercial vans. The first entry will be the Ram CV cargo van, a panel van without rear windows. The Ram CV is a version of the Dodge Grand Caravan minivan that has been reworked for cargo use and rebranded as a Ram. These vehicles have been sold in the past as Dodge Caravans. Following that, more commercial vans are on the way for Ram from Italian partner Fiat. Ram is planning its own version of the Fiat Doblo, a Ford Transit Connect-sized small commercial van, and a larger commercial van to replace the Mercedes-built Dodge Sprinter. The Sprinter disappeared from Dodge dealerships after Fiat assumed control of Chrysler in 2009. The new large van is also likely to appear in 2013 as a 2014 model. Between Fiat and its Iveco commercial vehicle unit, Chrysler has two large commercial vans to choose from: the front-drive Fiat Ducato and rear-drive Iveco Daily. The most likely engines for the van are diesels. Diesels equipped the Sprinter, and Fiat has an array of diesel engines in its European commercial van fleet.

From the Detroit Free Press: General Motors is recalling certain 2012 model year Buick LaCrosses and Chevrolet Impalas in the United States and Canada over two separate defects related to steering. GM is recalling 4,293 LaCrosses, including 4,077 in the United States, because of an incorrect calibration of the StabiliTrak electronic stability system. A malfunction in the system could cause it to “falsely activate, resulting in sudden changes in the vehicle handling and deceleration,” according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This could “result in a crash without warning.” GM said today it knows of no crashes or injuries related to the defect. Separately, GM is recalling 11,905 model year 2012 Chevrolet Impalas, including 10,334 in the United States, to check for faulty installation of the power steering hose. GM said a wrongly placed hose could be damaged and “spray fluid onto hot parts of the engine creating potential for a fire.” The company said it knows of no crashes or injuries related to the steering hose problem, and that the condition was discovered at its Oshawa Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada. The 16,198 owners affected by the recalls of both vehicles are being sent notifications this month.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
From UAW Gimme Five: The war on collective bargaining goes on, this time at Verizon. Despite making $19.5 billion in profits and paying out $258 million to its top 5 executives in the last four years, Verizon wants to take back more than 50 years of collective bargaining and destroy middle class jobs. Verizon has refused to move from a long list of nearly 100 concession demands. CWA and IBEW have taken the unprecedented step of striking until Verizon stops its Wisconsin-style tactics and starts bargaining seriously. Verizon’s demands include: freeze pensions for current workers and eliminate them for future workers, allow contracting out and offshoring of more jobs, slash sick leave, completely gut health care plans for current and retired workers, and eliminate disability payments for injured workers.
How You Can Help: Adopt Verizon Wireless stores to picket and leaflet. Download the leaflet at cwa-union.org/Verizon, Sign our petition at cwa-union.org/verizongreed.

State of the Union August 11, 2011

2011-08-12T10:51:00.001-07:00

August 11, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
•    The 2 members returning from Ft. Wayne will, unfortunately, not be released by that plant to arrive here until Monday, Aug. 29.
•    The following committees will be having meetings after first shift tonight at the Union Hall: Veterans, Union Label, CAP and Education.
•    VCAP cruise raffle tickets are currently being sold. If you currently give to VCAP you will receive raffle tickets at a discounted rate. If you don't give to VCAP now is the time to sign up and receive bonus raffle tickets. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, see Van Simpson, Bill Loretto or your committeeman.
•    Sunday, Aug. 14 is General Motors Families and Friends night at the Shoe Carnival in O’Fallon. From 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm you will receive an additional 30% off all prices, including sale prices, by presenting your employee ID (does not apply to buy 1, get 1 half off sales). The store is located at O’Fallon Retail Walk, 2209 Highway K – (636) 240-5810.
•    Despite reporting what was the best quarter of earnings in most of our GM careers, GM stock has fallen to new lows ($23.92 as of yesterday). Undeterred, CEO Dan Akerson bought another 10,000 shares Tuesday. After that day’s presentation to analysts, there was unanimity among them that the stock is undervalued. A Bloomberg News average of about a dozen analysts predicts GM's stock price will be $42.42 in a year. Individually, Goldman Sach’s Patrick Archambault predicted a $40 price. Barclays analyst Brian Johnson is at $40 and Citi analyst Itay Michaeli predicts $48. Jefferies analyst Peter Nesvold is the most pessimistic. He put the price at $33. Citi’s Michaeli wrote that in context, GM shares look inexpensive under reasonable downside scenarios, and the company has a low break-even point that would allow it to generate cash in a down economy, unlike the past. GM, he wrote, will benefit from new products coming to market in the next year, strong cash reserves and efficiencies gained from cutting engineering and development costs by selling more models worldwide. "We still consider GM as the most compelling 1 to 3-year auto turnaround story," he wrote. GM executives said the company has $37.9 billion in cash and other liquidity, but the U.S. pension plan is $10.8 billion short of its obligations. "Depending on the extent of parts commonality between vehicles, we believe that the global platforms can drive significant operating leverage," Johnson wrote. He also wrote that stronger new products would help GM command higher prices for its vehicles, helping GM to grow earnings before interest and taxes.(a $53 share price is necessary to make the taxpayers whole)

•    Leftlane News compiled an interesting list of popular and common vehicle features that are strangely absent from vehicles in price ranges you would expect to find them. For example, At $17,295, the cheapest Focus definitely delivers more space, pace and refinement than is typical in the compact sedan class, but only front seat passengers are treated to power windows unless you step up to the $18,195 SE model. The Honda Civic, whose redesign has drawn the ire of Consumer Reports among others, is the most expensive “normal” car to come tunes-free that they could come up with. The price - $17,375 - also doesn’t buy you air conditioning or power adjustable mirrors. Going futher upscale, a Land Rover Range Rover Sport cannot be had with a power rear liftgate. And buyers of a BMW 335i, Lexus IS350 or a Mercedes-Benz E550 will not be entitled to split folding rear seats as standard equipment.
•    From the Wall Street Journal: The auto industry isn't taking its foot off the gas in the wake of the turbulence on Wall Street, at least not yet. Auto makers, dealers and industry analysts are all still expecting the pace of new-car sales to pick up in the second half of the year, undeterred by recent stock-market gyrations. "The only question is the rate of the recovery in auto sales, not if there is going to be a recovery," Michael J. Jackson, chairman and chief executive of AutoNation Inc., the country's largest chain of car dealerships, said during an interview. He added that he is sticking to his forecast that U.S. auto sales will total roughly 12.5 million cars and light trucks this year. That would represent about an 8% rise from 2010. In a presentation Tuesday for financial analysts, General Motors Co. reiterated its forecast for U.S. industry sales between 13 million and 13.5 million vehicles this year, including medium and heavy trucks. Making note of the turmoil on Wall Street, GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson said, "My personal expectation is on the low end of that." Toyota Motor Corp. and KBB.com, an auto-information website, also reaffirmed their 2011 sales forecasts of about 12.5 million light vehicles. Industry analysts said auto sales are underpinned by good credit availability. Most consumers with good credit records have no trouble getting car loans right now—a key difference from two years ago, during the recession, when the lack of credit helped drive down auto sales. Many consumers also deferred purchases of new vehicles during the recession and are now shopping for new wheels to replace aging vehicles.
•    From AutoblogGreen: A team of researchers from the University of Michigan and Ford has assessed the global availability of lithium and compared it to the potential demand from widespread use of electric vehicles. The result? Don't you worry your pretty little head about it. The researchers concluded that sufficient lithium exists to power electric vehicles until 2100 or beyond. The researchers compiled data on 103 lithium-containing deposits. The data collected included deposit location, geologic type, dimensions and lithium content. Using this data, the researchers estimate global lithium reserves at 39 million tons. Additionally, the study examined lithium demand for a 90-year period (2010-2100) and estimates that total demand for the silver-white metal is in the range of 12 to 20 million tons, depending on assumptions regarding economic growth and recycling rates. These findings led the research team to conclude that: Even with a rapid and widespread adoption of electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries, lithium resources are sufficient to support demand until at least the end of this century. Lithium, it seems, won't be the bottleneck in the plug-in vehicle push

State of the Union August 10, 2011

2011-08-10T12:50:00.000-07:00

August 10, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

One more member will return to Wenzville Monday, Aug. 15, bringing the total to 7.

There will be a St. Louis City Cap meeting tonight at 7:30 pm at the Union Hall. Refreshments will be served and all are welcome.

The Women’s Committee meeting for Thursday is cancelled. There will be a CAP meeting Thursday after first shift at the Union Hall.

There will be a Veterans Committee meeting Thursday after first shift at the Union Hall. This year’s SOS “Support Our Soldiers” motorcycle ride and rally will be Saturday Sept. 17. Registration begins at 9:30 am at the Union Hall with last bike out at 11 am. Cost is $20 per bike, $5 per passenger and $5 for each extra hand. Proceeds go to Operation Homefront and Operation Undergarment. Flyers are at the entrances and you can contact Steve Melson at 636-262-1234 or Judy Guzdial at 636-373-0730 for any questions.

From August 12 through 14 the road next to Lot 3 will be closed; Gate 3 will be closed; the PEP lot all the way to medical will be closed and Lots 4 and 5 will be closed – all for resurfacing.(weather permitting)

From the Detroit Free Press: General Motors has blown $1 billion annually on projects that later get canceled. Too many GM engineers do work that isn't for cars or trucks. Too often, GM has started vehicles from scratch, rather than borrowing underpinnings from other products. So the company is seeking to make product development more efficient, executives told analysts Tuesday at the automaker's second-annual business conference, held in Warren. The automaker has posted six straight quarterly profits in a weak global auto market, but it is still working to improve its profit margins from middle-of-the pack to best-in-class, Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann said. He cited Morgan Stanley forecasts that say GM will make 5% on its operations this year, while competitors Hyundai and BMW will make 10%. "All of the things we need to do are, by and large, in our control," Ammann said. "We're not relying on heroic market-share gains. We're not relying on substantial economic recovery." GM can start eliminating those mistakes, executives said, by keeping product-development spending constant despite economic troubles. "We'd be deep -- halfway, two-thirds of the way through -- on a project, and we'd cancel it because of a weakening economy," GM CEO Dan Akerson said. "The start-stop, on-again, off-again, herky-jerky nature of our product development process was very disruptive, and it produced poor products." Delays in development because of financial troubles added a year-and-a-half delay to the launch of the Lansing-built large crossovers such as the ChevroletTraverse, she said. With these sorts of holdups, she said, "we end up being second, third, or really at the back of the pack." GM is also seeking to simplify its product-development process to help improve speed, engineering costs and quality. For instance, in 2010, GM had 30 vehicle "architectures," or underpinnings, and it will have 14 by 2018, Barra said. The number of engine architectures should fall from about 20 to 10 by the end of the decade, she said.

From Wards Auto: General Motors’ manufacturing operations won’t be caught off-guard should the U.S. market rebound from today’s stagnant sales pace to pre-recession levels of 16 million-plus units a year, says a top executive. Diana Tremblay, global chief manufacturing officer, says despite taking out 1.5 million units of North American capacity post-bankruptcy, GM has several tricks up its sleeve to keep pace should the market make a comeback. Speaking during GM’s Second Annual Global Business Conference for financial analysts, Tremblay says the auto maker’s North American manufacturing capacity utilization should close in on 100% by the end of this year. But as demand increases further, third shifts could be added across the board to push plant utilization rates as high as 133%. “At that point, we could respond to a 16 million-unit market,” she says, noting overtime could push utilization even further, to 150%. The ability to build multiple vehicles at one plant also is essential, Tremblay says, noting by 2015 more than 50% of production will come out of a network of flexible assembly plants.

From Bloomberg: General Motors is unsure whether stock-market volatility will put its forecast for U.S. vehicle sales out of reach this year, Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson said yesterday. "There's a lot of turmoil in the business and turmoil means uncertainty, so we're a little unsure of these numbers," Akerson said of Detroit-based GM's forecast for at least 13 million vehicle sales this year. The worst stock-market rout since 2008 has exacerbated a decline in GM's shares, wiping out $6.7 billion from the value of the stock held by the U.S. Treasury Department. GM rose 97 cents, or 4 percent, to $25.54 at 4 p.m yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. (GM stock was down $1.21 today in early morning trading) The U.S. Treasury holds 500 million shares of GM, a stake that was worth $19.5 billion on Jan. 7, when the stock peaked at close of $38.98. At yesterday's closing price, Treasury's holdings were worth $12.8 billion. The government planned to evaluate GM's second-quarter earnings and the market's reaction before deciding whether to sell more of its investment, a person familiar with the matter said last month. The department wants to sell its stake for at least the November initial public offering price of $33 a share and would prefer to sell in the high-$30 range, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private.

From Automotive News: General Motors said Tuesday that 96 percent of its U.S. dealerships are enrolled in a program that offers financial rewards to those who meet training and customer service goals and carry out facility renovations. The program includes about 99 percent of the automaker's U.S. retail sales volume. The automaker projects that 460 of its dealerships will have been refurbished by the end of this year, and more than 4,000 will have been renovated by the end of 2014, said Don Johnson, GM vice president in charge of U.S. sales operations. Johnson, citing numbers from GM, R.L. Polk & Co. and the National Automobile Dealers Association, said GM's roughly 4,500 U.S. dealers are better off on a number of fronts: 92.8 percent are profitable, up 15 points since 2009, when GM slashed its dealer ranks as part of its bankruptcy; Their 2011 annualized new-vehicle throughput is estimated at 493 units, up 49 percent since 2009 and the highest of any domestic automaker's dealers.

State of the Union July 29, 2011

2011-08-02T06:55:00.000-07:00

July 29, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

No State of the Union next week due to ISO audit.

There is a new media website for the ongoing contract talks – www.uawgmtalks.com. In addition to updates about negotiations, there are contacts for both UAW and GM spokespersons as well as company news, plant information and other media stories.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Reminder: There is still time to opt out of the automatic enrollment in the PSP program. You can do so by accessing gmbenefits.com or contacting the GM Benefits & Services Center at 1-800-489-4646. You have until 4 pm eastern time today to do this. The first payroll deduction into the PSP (3%) will occur on August 5, 2011.

From Reuters: July auto sales should show an improvement from the past two months as the industry recovers from supply chain disruptions in Japan, but it could be a long time before the industry is fully back on track. "We think we're probably going to be into late August, early September before we get back on trend," General Motors Co's (GM.N) U.S. sales chief Don Johnson said in an interview last week. Auto sales are an early indicator each month of U.S. consumer demand. The final tally for U.S. sales in July is scheduled to be reported on August 2. GM is also due to report second-quarter earnings on August 4. July sales, expected to hit an annual rate of about 12 million vehicles, should mark the beginning of a recovery from a bottom in June, they said. That is still less than the 13 million-plus pace from earlier in the year. GM and rival Ford Motor Co (F.N) have forecast sales for the year at the low end of 13 million to 13.5 million vehicles. That includes medium and heavy trucks that make up about 300,000 vehicles. Not everyone is as cautiously optimistic. TrueCar.com forecasts light vehicle sales in July to finish at an annual rate of 11.4 million vehicles, which would be slightly worse than June's 11.45 million.
•    From the Detroit News: President Barack Obama — joined by Detroit's Big Three CEOs, the California governor and the head of the United Auto Workers union — is expected to unveil a landmark deal today to boost fuel efficiency standards of cars and light trucksto 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 in a move that will reshape what Americans drive. Last-minute haggling over final details was still taking place late Thursday, but automakers were confident a final deal would be reached before today's late morning event. The deal would extend a May 2009 agreement that boosted fuel efficiency standards to 34.1 mpg by 2016, costing the auto industry $51.5 billion over five years. As part of that deal, California and a dozen other states agreed not to impose state standards through 2016. Executives from nine automakers, including General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally and ChryslerGroup CEO Sergio Marchionne, are expected to attend. Also expected is UAW President Bob King, who is planning to fly from Detroit with Mulally. The pair pushed back the kickoff of contract talks until late Friday afternoon to attend.

State of the Union July 28, 2011

2011-07-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

July 28, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

National contract negotiations between the UAW and GM officiallhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gify kicked off yesterday. Here is a joint press release from the National Parties: The UAW and General Motors opened 2011 contract talks Wednesday together on the factory floor at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, replacing the traditional formal handshake with a crowd of plant workers and the GM cars they build. "We want the new GM to succeed and when it does, everyone will benefit,” said Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. “We are playing to win, and we’re counting on our work force -- hourly and salaried -- to take on the challenges together and forge new partnerships as a competitive advantage." UAW President Bob King noted the importance of focusing on products. “Our members bring a lot to any organization – a commitment to quality and producing the best product for the best price,” King said. “Our talks will center on the needs of our members and the need to continue to build great products.” A joint donation of $25,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project extended the ceremonial start of talks. UAW Vice President Joe Ashton, who directs the union's GM Department, and Cathy Clegg, GM vice president of Labor Relations, announced the contribution and recognized other charitable partnerships the UAW-GM team has with non-profit organizations across the country. GM also announced a commitment to increase the number of veterans in the work force as the company prepares for hiring new employees. Military service will be among factors considered in the screening process. On May 10, GM announced $2 billion of investment at 17 plants in eight states, creating or retaining about 4,000 jobs over the next 18 months. “Our work force is dedicated to producing great cars, trucks and crossovers every day,” Clegg said. “We’ll be working with our UAW partners to ensure our team continues to have the tools they need to build quality products and share in the success of the new GM.” Ashton commented on the energy across the UAW and GM team. “GM’s positive momentum has been outstanding,” Ashton said. “I was there when GM started trading again on the New York Stock Exchange and I have participated in many U.S manufacturing announcements. Our membership plays a critical role in the success of this company and I’m proud to represent this work force.”

With the opening of negotiations, many news outlets are reporting on the topic. Here are some of the quotes and comments offered up:

From the Detroit Free Press - “We certainly wish the UAW success in their (organizing) efforts,” Clegg said. “We’ve enjoyed a good partnership and a good relationship and it is going to be a key ingredient to making our company successful for the long term.” UAW Vice President Joe Ashton said the union will ask for cost-of-living increases to be reinstated. “We cannot be successful if we are not competitive,” Akerson said. “The world is quite brutal. It does not tolerate weakness.” However, Akerson said he doesn't expect health care to be a major issue in this year's contract talks. "We have the same challenges and the same opportunities as any company our size," Akerson said of health care for hourly workers. "I would say that is not a major issue in my mind."

From Automotive News: Appearing with GM CEO Dan Akerson, King said these collaborative contract talks with the Detroit 3 will prove that management and the union can work together to improve productivity, quality and competitiveness at transplant operations. "Those managements are going to understand that when they work together with their work forces -- when they treat them with respect and give them fair contracts and a middle-class standard of living -- that's the best way to be the most competitive country in the world," King said. During the ceremony, Akerson said GM now has competitive labor costs. He said he hoped that after negotiations that still would be true.

From Wards Auto: United Auto Workers union chief Bob King says a seat for labor on the board of directors at General Motors will be a key proposal during labor talks with the auto maker. “That is definitely one of our proposals – we think corporate governance is important. Nobody has a stronger long-term interest in the success of a company than the hourly workforce, and really the salary workforce, in the plant,” King said.

From the Detroit News: "We have a sacred obligation, all of us, to deliver on the promise and the helping hand the American public extended to this company," said GM's CEO Dan Akerson, an auto industry newcomer, leading the company through his first round of labor talks. Union and GM officials acknowledged a complicated set of talks ahead, but say it is crucial to forge a contract that keeps them competitive with their nonunion foreign rivals in the South. "I'm sure we won't agree on everything, but I'm sure we can find common ground that will sustain this company for years to come," Akerson said. UAW President Bob King reiterated his pledge to organize the transplant factories, which generally have lower labor costs, and level the competitive playing field for Detroit's Big Three. He cautioned his members that one of the union's most important tools in this organizing effort is to show cooperation. "We're proving that labor and management and government and community can work together," he said.

From Automotive News: Hyundai Motor Co.(which includes Kia) had a 37 percent gain in second-quarter profit as the company increased production to fill the void left by disruptions at Japanese rivals. Net income was 2.3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) in the three months ended June 30, compared with 1.68 trillion won a year earlier, the Seoul-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. Second-quarter sales volume rose 13 percent to 1.04 million units, according to the company's statement. Domestic sales gained 16 percent, and overseas sales rose 12 percent.

From Wards Auto: Negotiations between Kia and its workers union are in limbo after union members rejected a tentative wage agreement reached last week. And bargainers are making no progress in wage talks at sister company Hyundai. Securities analysts in Korea thought the Kia deal, which included record-high bonuses, was extremely generous. But only 47% of voting union members approved it. The pact included record-high bonuses of 7 million won ($6,666) per worker and 80 shares of Kia stock, valued at close to 6.8 million won $6,000). Analysts believe unionists are hoping management will put in an additional sweetener bonus, as has happened in the past when a preliminary wage agreement is rejected. Meanwhile, negotiations between Hyundai and its union broke off in acrimony when dissatisfied union bargainers abruptly ended the session.

From the Wall Street Journal: Volkswagen AG's net profit more than tripled in the second quarter as surging demand for its cars and trucks, particularly in emerging markets, kept the company on track for record sales in 2011. Europe's largest auto maker by sales said net profit in the second quarter rose to €4.67 billion ($6.71 billion) from €1.25 billion in the same period a year earlier, while revenue climbed to €40.3 billion from €33.2 billion. Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn told reporters earlier this month the company could sell eight million vehicles this year. In 2010, Volkswagen sold a record 7.14 million cars and trucks.