State of the Union June 3, 2015

State of the Union June 3, 2015

From Chairman Mike Bullock: An increase in our plant population has created a need to redistrict the plant from our current 12 districts (4 per shift) to 15 districts ( 5 per shift). Some Districts have been realigned to bring them under 250 members per district. By contract we are allowed 7 representatives on the shop committee. Currently, there are 5 on days, 2 on 2nd shift and none on 3rd shift. I have reduced a shop district on days and replaced it with one on 3rd shift, after this change, we will have 4 on days, 2 on 2nd shift and 1 on 3rd shift, all shifts will now be represented on the shop committee. All existing committeeman and alternates will remain.

A new districting agreement is posted at all entrances and union bulletin boards. Signups for new committeeman and alternates will be in July and an election will be held August 4th.

· Here are the temp hire dates and their conversion dates:
• o Anyone hired as a temp on 2/16/2015 will have a conversion date to permanent of 6/1/2015
• Anyone hired as a temp on 2/19/2015 will have a conversion date to permanent of 6/8/2015, sign paperwork on 6/5 in cafeteria training room
• Anyone hired as a temp on 2/23/2015 will have a conversion date to permanent of 6/15/2015, sign paperwork on 6/12 in cafeteria training room
• o Anyone hired as a temp on 3/2/2015 and a GMIN that begins with 8 or less will have a conversion date to permanent of 6/22/2015, sign paperwork on 6/19 in cafeteria training room
• All conversion meetings are held in the cafeteria training room.
• If the temp works 1st shift, their meeting is at 2:30pm
• If the temp works 2nd shift, their meeting is at 2:00pm
• If the temp works 3rd shift, their meeting is at 6:30am

This schedule is subject to change.
· The Vehicle Advocate Program (VAP) will kick off this Friday, June 5. Winners will be notified in advance and given instructions when they complete the drivers pass. Thanks to everyone who bought raffle tickets for the overnight drive vehicles. Almost $3900 was raised for Habitat for Humanity!
Local Agreement – Districting 06/02/2015
(Based on current plant population: 3,750)
Shop Committee: Two (2) Shop Committee person At Large (1 Chairperson & 1 Zone) & Five (5) Shop Committee persons

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 2-1, 2-2, 2-3,2-4,3-2,3-3,3-4,3-5

Description of Districts
Shop District 1-1 Shop District 3-1	District 2-1
District 1-2 District 3-2	District 2-2
Shop District 1-3 District 3-3	District 2-3
Shop District 1-4 District 3-4	District 2-4
District 1-5 District 3-5	Shop District 2-5
Districts
Descrip. of Districts		# Emps
Shop District 1-1, First Shift              All 1st shift employees assigned to the TRIM		260
District 1-2, First Shift All 1st shift employees assigned to the Chassis and K-Line Body Fitters		245
Shop District 1-3, First Shift  All 1st shift employees assigned to Body, Stamping, General Stores and Reclamation		240
Shop District 1-4, First Shift All 1st shift employees assigned to Skilled Trades and Material		218
District 1-5, First Shift  All 1st shift assigned to Quality, Final Process, And Paint		218
District 2-1, Second Shift All 2nd shift assigned to Trim		260
District 2-2, Second Shift  All 2nd shift employees assigned to Chassis and K-Line body fitters		245
District 2-3, Second Shift All 2nd shift employees assigned to Body,Stamping, General Stores and Reclamation		240
District 2-4, Second Shift  All 2nd shift employees assigned to Skilled   Trades and Material		218
Shop District 2-5, Second Shift All 2nd shift employees assigned to Quality, Final Process, and Paint		218
Shop District 3-1, Third Shift All 3rd shift assigned to Trim		260
District 3-2, Third Shift  All 3rd shift employees assigned to Chassis      And K-Line body fitters		245
District 3-3, Third Shift All 3rd shift employees assigned to Body Stamping, General Stores and Reclamation		240
District 3-4, Third Shift  All 3rd shift employees assigned to Skilled      Trades and Material		218
District 3-5, Third Shift  All employees assigned to Quality, Final Process, and Paint		218
Flex employees will be represented by the Committeeman in the districts that they are working. Employees assigned to Dept. 79 and 83 will be represented by the Committeeman in the districts they are working.  Opieu#13

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

State of the Union June 2, 2015

Good news: This week 134 temporary employees will be made permanent. Congratulations to all those members!

· The raffle to raise money for Habitat for Humanity will run through Tuesday, June 2. The raffle is for the weekend VAP vehicles as well as the full week of June 29 – July 5. Tickets are available in the cafeteria at break time on all shifts. Prices are $5 apiece or 3 for $10. Once again the 3 vehicles are an extended cab GMC Canyon, a crew cab Z-71 Chevrolet Colorado and a Cadillac ATS coupe.

· From the Women’s Committee: Saturday, June 20 is our work day for Habitat for Humanity Women Build. We need all the help we can get. It’s OK to show up at the home site that day. The address is: 710 Cheryl Ann Drive, Wentzville, MO 63385. There are 2 shifts – 8 am to noon and noon to 4 pm. You will need to fill out a volunteer release and waiver of liability. Workers must be at least 16 years of age and should dress in the proper shoes and attire as this is a construction site.
Also: there is a Women’s Committee meeting on June 3 in the cafeteria. Third shift meeting will be after the shift that morning, 2nd shift will be at 1:45 pm and 1st shift will be at 2:35 pm. ·

Teams Needed: The UAW Local 2250 golf tournament will be held Saturday, June 20 at Country Lake golf course in Warrenton. Check in is noon with a 1:00 pm shotgun start. It is a 4-person scramble and the cost is $75 per person/ $300 per team and includes dinner, prizes and contests. There will also be a skin game, 50/50 raffle and silent auction. Proceeds go to Bridgeway, 5 Game Changers and CAP (community action program). Entry forms are available at the entrances.

· From Wane.com: General Motors will spend more than $1 billion to expand operations at the Fort Wayne Assembly Plant in what the company is calling one of its largest investments ever at a U.S. manufacturing facility. GM will invest more than $1.2 billion to expand and upgrade the existing 3.3 million-square-foot facility. The new construction will add 1.5 million square feet of new space at the plant, will include a new pre-treatment facility and expanded body shop, as well as an expansion of its general assembly capabilities.

After all the construction is done, the total campus will expand to 4.8 million square feet. The upgrades will improve the efficiency of the plant which will include a reduction in emissions. “The upgrades taking place at Fort Wayne Assembly assure we can meet consumer demand and grow customers for life for years to come,” said Cathy Clegg, vice president of GM North America Manufacturing. “The Fort Wayne plant is a critical, important plant for us. It’s got a great product in the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra.” Work is expected to begin in June and will take several years to complete. Production at the plant will not be affected. GM leaders said the investment shows what a strong workforce the Fort Wayne plant has. “The workforce here is incredible, and they’re building such a great product. They’re stepping up to the plate every day and solving problems, and continuing to improve, so it really is a testament less to us as this workforce,” UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada said.
“All the players came to the table- GM, UAW leadership, UAW local membership, state and local leaders and officials so I think this is a model that we’ve got to continue to have across the United States in whatever industry.” The Fort Wayne Assembly Plant first opened in 1986 and produces full-size Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks and employs approximately 3,800 workers. Union leaders said the improvements will make the plant a leader across the country. “Our membership, they build the best quality pick-up trucks of anybody and this is just a testament to what we do. The investment of General Motors in our plant shows their commitment to us and we’re going to show our commitment to them,” UAW Local 2209 President Brian Hartman said.

· The Nissan Navara, the presumed replacement for the current Frontier midsize pickup, is making the journalist rounds down under. The review at drive.com focuses on the 2 diesel powertrains, forgoing the “petrol” version, which resides in the price leader. That would be a 2 wheel drive with manual, priced at the equivalent of $20,130 US dollars. Add another $1900 for an automatic. The smaller, single turbo diesel 2wd is priced at $24,540 US for a manual and $26,970 US for an automatic. It produces 161 hp and 297 lb.ft. of torque. A 2.3 liter twin turbo diesel is priced at $29,630 for the manual and $31,530 for the automatic. It makes 188 hp and 332 lb.ft. of torque. For comparison, our upcoming 2.8 liter turbodiesel is rated at 180 hp and 325 lb.ft. of torque. Prices top out at $41,410 for a 4wd automatic. The fuel economy is listed at up to 7.1liter per 100 kilometers which works out to around 33 mpg. The reviewer liked the interior but lambasted the steering (“it feels like Nissan's engineers went for a long lunch midway through the Navara's steering development. Slow and unevenly weighted at low speed, a monster 3.75 turns lock-to-lock will save traditional buyers from performing arm curls at the gym.”). Brakes drew another demerit, with only drum brakes in the rear. And for the record, the Aussies call the pickup bed a “tray” and the bedliner a “tub liner” (why not tray liner?). At any rate, there has been no confirmation from Nissan that this vehicle will be the replacement for the Frontier, but it sure seems like a good bet that it is.

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