February 13, 2015 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
• Last week, the nation’s second-largest health insurer, Anthem, reported that it had been the target of a massive, “very sophisticated external cyber-attack.” The attackers gained unauthorized access to Anthem’s IT system and obtained personal information about Anthem’s current and former members. If GM becomes aware of a potential breach of personal information, GM’s Personal Information Security Incident (PISI) process is triggered. “As soon as GM became aware of this incident, we contacted Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan immediately,” explained Chief Privacy Officer Jill Phillips. “GM takes the privacy and security of our employees’ and retirees’ information very seriously and Anthem administers Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance for GM employees and retirees in some states (including Missouri). Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield have assured GM that they are working closely to determine if any of GM participants’ data may have been compromised in this incident.” The GM impact remains unknown at this time, but Anthem has confirmed it will communicate directly with any impacted. To learn more about the actions Anthem is taking, Anthem has published a dedicated website: www.AnthemFacts.com. They also have established a dedicated toll-free number that both current and former members can call if they have questions related to this incident: 1-877-263-7995.
• There are Women’s Committee meetings Tuesday, Feb. 17 in the cafeteria. The 2nd shift meeting is at 3:15 pm. The 1st and 3rd shift meetings are after the shifts. The Bake Sale raised $530 for Habitat for Humanity. The winter coat with embroidered Colorado on front and donated by Pat Wyse will be raffled off. Ticket sales will run through Friday, Feb. 20. Drawing will be at 1st shift lunch time in the cafeteria. Tickets are $5 apiece or 3 for $10 and will be available from committee members.
• Reminder: The performance bonus will automatically be put into your PSP at your current elected deferral rate. You have until 2/20/2015 to change that percentage. W4 changes need to be submitted by 2/13/2013 (keep in mind that the PSP deferral for the performance bonus and the W4 changes will apply to all paychecks afterward until you decide to do otherwise).
• FYI – JLL (the facilities housekeeping and maintenance contractor) is hiring 4 mobile equipment repair persons. Our members can apply at http://www.careerbuilder.com or http://www.us.jll.com/united-states/en-us
• 2014 was a banner year for automobile manufacturers, with one notable exception: Tesla. Regular readers are familiar with our skepticism regarding CEO Elon Musk’s business model. But we’re not the only ones wondering aloud how this company can fetch $200 a share for their stock while delivering building 35,000 vehicles. Enter one Jim Cramer of CNBC and Fast Money fame. Take it away, Jim.
“Tesla said ‘'Our financials are better than they appear; not worse'" Cramer said, quoting Musk. "At the end of the day, Tesla lost $10,000 per car [last quarter]." Cramer made his comments on "Squawk on the Street" a day after the automaker posted a loss of earnings per share of 13 cents on revenue of $1.1 billion. Wall Street expected the company to post earnings of 31 cents per share on revenue of about $1.23 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. The company cited weather and shipping problems for its poor quarter. "This company should be stickered as not a real company," Cramer said. He added that before Wednesday's conference call, he thought the automaker could be a "huge company" by 2025. "This conference call was a rubicon that I have rarely seen crossed in my career," Cramer said. "Curly, Larry and Moe could do a better conference call."
Wow! We couldn’t have said it better ourselves, Jim.
• From Automotive News: Chevrolet's Super Bowl "Blackout" was more than a typical ad. Chevrolet executives, operating with the mindset of Las Vegas showmen, knew they needed to time the screen-distorting stunt perfectly. Paul Edwards, Chevrolet's U.S. vice president of marketing, and his team wondered: Just how long should people stare at their black screens before they're let in on the joke? Was a 14-second disruption too long? Was 4 seconds long enough? The debate wasn't concluded until less than a week before the game, when Chevrolet and NBC settled on 7 seconds. Only then did Chevy pop the question that would lead to its pitch for the Colorado's 4G LTE connectivity: "What would you do if your TV went out?"
The 7-second decision was a crucial one that executives at Chevrolet, ad agency Commonwealth//McCann and NBC wrestled with to coax maximum impact from the commercial. Chevrolet and Commonwealth executives were fully aware of the emotional tightrope they walked that night. Extend the blackout too long and they'd run the risk of inciting a legion of ticked-off fans. "Seven seconds was about that magic number where it was enough time to draw people in, but then to give them a big fat smile right after letting them know it was a commercial from Chevrolet," Edwards said. "If we played it out too long, you had the risk of people changing the channel, or shutting off the TV or, honestly, getting mad. I think we played it perfectly. It was a balancing act."
The length of the disruption was only one piece of the stunt. For heightened shock value, Chevrolet needed to place it in an ideal spot. Chevy was sold on the pregame when research found that anticipation peaked right before kickoff. The only drawback was that fewer people would be watching at that point, but it was an easy trade-off. Chevrolet, like a showman, knew its audience was ripe for the picking. "I'll take 80 million highly engaged consumers that are going to react immediately to 114 million that may or may not be paying attention in the third quarter," Edwards said. Edwards acknowledged that Chevy could have received a flood of hostile reactions on social media once "Blackout" ran. But he said the opposite happened. Chevy, measuring sentiment across 90 percent of the social space on sites including Twitter and YouTube, found that it garnered 93 percent positive sentiment among users.
Tom Brune
UAW Communications Coordinator
Wentzville Assembly
636-327-2119
No comments:
Post a Comment