• From Chairman Mike Bullock: Those employees who transferred under extended area hire and accepted Basic Relocation are automatically on the list for return to their home plant after 6 months. They can only return when there are permanent job openings at the home plant.
•Reminder: Friday, May 28 is the last day to cancel or opt out of automatic enrollment in the PSP. Call 1-800-489-4646 or go to gmbenefits.com.
•After the 10 recalls, there will be 200 members still laid off.
•From Automotive News: Honda has halted vehicle production at all four of its plants in China at least until Saturday, May 29, after 1,850 workers at a parts-making unit went on strike demanding a pay raise. The employees at the parts plant are demanding monthly pay be boosted to between 2,000 yuan ($293) and 2,500 yuan, from 1,500 yuan ($219), Matsuura said. The workers are requesting they be paid about the same as those at Honda’s car-making factories in China, the company said.
• Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to 'Taps."
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
State of the Union May 26, 2010
•From Chairman Mike Bullock: Ten more employees will be recalled for June 1st. Everyone up to seniority date 9/22/1999, SSN 3800. These are temporary job opportunities. Also, a reminder that Thursday and next Tuesday are VR blackout days.
•Today marks the 73rd anniversary of the “Battle of the Overpass”, which saw Walter Reuther, among other UAW organizers, brutally beaten by “security” thugs hired by Henry Ford. News photographers documented the event, although most were also attacked and had their equipment confiscated or destroyed. Detroit News photographer James Kilpatrick offered useless photographic plates to Ford’s men and hid the good ones under his car seat. Those are the pictures everyone is familiar with and which caused the creation of a Pulitzer prize for photography.
•From the USA Today: The government on Tuesday raised the death toll from what could be Toyota unintended acceleration crashes to 89, but emphasized the incidents haven't been verified. In an update, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it now has 6,200 reports of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles from 2000 through May 20. Those include allegations of 71 crashes in which 89 people are said to have died. That's up 71% from NHTSA's previous report that it had allegations of 52 deaths resulting from Toyota unintended acceleration. Safety consultant Sean Kane, often hired by lawyers suing car companies, says the numbers might be a lot higher. He says, "Incidents reported to NHTSA usually represent only a fraction of the total" and that Congress has reports of "nearly 38,000 potential" acceleration incidents involving Toyota vehicles, much higher than NHTSA's 6,200.
•Today marks the 73rd anniversary of the “Battle of the Overpass”, which saw Walter Reuther, among other UAW organizers, brutally beaten by “security” thugs hired by Henry Ford. News photographers documented the event, although most were also attacked and had their equipment confiscated or destroyed. Detroit News photographer James Kilpatrick offered useless photographic plates to Ford’s men and hid the good ones under his car seat. Those are the pictures everyone is familiar with and which caused the creation of a Pulitzer prize for photography.
•From the USA Today: The government on Tuesday raised the death toll from what could be Toyota unintended acceleration crashes to 89, but emphasized the incidents haven't been verified. In an update, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it now has 6,200 reports of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles from 2000 through May 20. Those include allegations of 71 crashes in which 89 people are said to have died. That's up 71% from NHTSA's previous report that it had allegations of 52 deaths resulting from Toyota unintended acceleration. Safety consultant Sean Kane, often hired by lawyers suing car companies, says the numbers might be a lot higher. He says, "Incidents reported to NHTSA usually represent only a fraction of the total" and that Congress has reports of "nearly 38,000 potential" acceleration incidents involving Toyota vehicles, much higher than NHTSA's 6,200.
State of the Union May 25, 2010
•Now that we’ve seen what the various parties are owed by GM, what is it going to take to make them whole? According to CNNMoney writer Chris Isidore, GM’s market value will need to be $67 billion for taxpayers to get their money back. What about the VEBA? With 17.5% of 500 million shares, a $67 billion market value would equate to around $11.4 billion. Combined with the $6.5 billion in preferred shares and the $2.5 billion promissory note, the $20 billion obligation is met. If, as one analyst estimates, the market value is $90 billion, that would be another $4 billion. Of the four estimates offered by Isidore, the lowest is $64 billion, so it seems possible, if not likely, that the VEBA will in fact be funded to the pre-bankruptcy agreed level of $46.7 billion ($26 billion was transferred at the beginning of this year when the VEBA came on line).
• With last week’s announcement that Toyota and electric car maker Tesla will partner building electric vehicles and reopen the NUMMI plant to produce them, there is renewed hope for UAW members who lost their jobs there a couple of months ago. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said, “Our union’s hope is that this venture will give first hiring preference to former NUMMI employees who are already trained and highly skilled.” Estimates for employment are around 1000 with job one, a $50,000 Model S sedan, due in 2012.
•Reminder: There will be another blessing of the bikes Tuesday, May 25, by the arch 15 minutes after longest line time or 5:45, whichever comes first.
•Reminder: Friday, May 28 is the last day to cancel or opt out of automatic enrollment in the PSP. Call 1-800-489-4646 or go to gmbenefits.com.
• With last week’s announcement that Toyota and electric car maker Tesla will partner building electric vehicles and reopen the NUMMI plant to produce them, there is renewed hope for UAW members who lost their jobs there a couple of months ago. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said, “Our union’s hope is that this venture will give first hiring preference to former NUMMI employees who are already trained and highly skilled.” Estimates for employment are around 1000 with job one, a $50,000 Model S sedan, due in 2012.
•Reminder: There will be another blessing of the bikes Tuesday, May 25, by the arch 15 minutes after longest line time or 5:45, whichever comes first.
•Reminder: Friday, May 28 is the last day to cancel or opt out of automatic enrollment in the PSP. Call 1-800-489-4646 or go to gmbenefits.com.
Monday, May 24, 2010
State of the Union May 24, 2010
• From Chairman Mike Bullock: The Missouri Career Center is signing up laid off Missourians for training for "Green Jobs". UAW laid off members receive priority on the training. Call John Arthur Miller at 636-278-1360 ext 293 to be put on the list.
• Reminder: There will be another blessing of the bikes Tuesday, May 25, by the arch 15 minutes after longest line time or 5:45, whichever comes first.
•Reminder: Friday, May 28 is the last day to cancel or opt out of automatic enrollment in the PSP. Call 1-800-489-4646 or go to gmbenefits.com.
•The recent GM repayment of the government loans has raised many questions about how much various parties are owed. Here’s the breakdown: President Bush approved a bailout plan on December 19, 2008, which would give loans of $17.4 billion to U.S. automakers GM and Chrysler. Bush initially provided $13.4 billion, with another $4 billion available in February 2009. Of that, GM got $9.4 billion and Chrysler $4 billion. GM did not take the second payout scheduled in February. GM filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on June 1, 2009. The Feds provided $49.5 billion in what is called “Debtor-In-Possession” financing. The U.S. provided $6.7 billion in loans and took 61% of the company’s equity in exchange for $42.8 billion in cash. The Canadian government gave GM $1.4 billion in loans, and $8.1 billion cash in exchange for 12% of the company’s equity. So the total General Motors received from the U.S. was $59 billion, including the $9.4 billion before the bankruptcy. As part of the bankruptcy deal, the UAW’s Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association Plan (VEBA), which pays healthcare benefits to GM retirees, agreed to forgive $20 billion GM owed the VEBA during GM’s bankruptcy proceedings. The union agreed to accept a 17.5% stake in the new GM, plus $6.5 billion in preferred shares and a $2.5 billion promissory note from the U.S. government. Holders of GM’ corporate bonds were owed $27.2 billion before the bankruptcy. Those bonds were backed by hard assets of GM, such as factories and real estate. In order to get to them to agree to the bankruptcy terms, bondholders received a 10% equity stake, plus so-called stock “warrants” that could eventually give them a 15% stake.
• Reminder: There will be another blessing of the bikes Tuesday, May 25, by the arch 15 minutes after longest line time or 5:45, whichever comes first.
•Reminder: Friday, May 28 is the last day to cancel or opt out of automatic enrollment in the PSP. Call 1-800-489-4646 or go to gmbenefits.com.
•The recent GM repayment of the government loans has raised many questions about how much various parties are owed. Here’s the breakdown: President Bush approved a bailout plan on December 19, 2008, which would give loans of $17.4 billion to U.S. automakers GM and Chrysler. Bush initially provided $13.4 billion, with another $4 billion available in February 2009. Of that, GM got $9.4 billion and Chrysler $4 billion. GM did not take the second payout scheduled in February. GM filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on June 1, 2009. The Feds provided $49.5 billion in what is called “Debtor-In-Possession” financing. The U.S. provided $6.7 billion in loans and took 61% of the company’s equity in exchange for $42.8 billion in cash. The Canadian government gave GM $1.4 billion in loans, and $8.1 billion cash in exchange for 12% of the company’s equity. So the total General Motors received from the U.S. was $59 billion, including the $9.4 billion before the bankruptcy. As part of the bankruptcy deal, the UAW’s Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association Plan (VEBA), which pays healthcare benefits to GM retirees, agreed to forgive $20 billion GM owed the VEBA during GM’s bankruptcy proceedings. The union agreed to accept a 17.5% stake in the new GM, plus $6.5 billion in preferred shares and a $2.5 billion promissory note from the U.S. government. Holders of GM’ corporate bonds were owed $27.2 billion before the bankruptcy. Those bonds were backed by hard assets of GM, such as factories and real estate. In order to get to them to agree to the bankruptcy terms, bondholders received a 10% equity stake, plus so-called stock “warrants” that could eventually give them a 15% stake.
State of the Union May 21, 2010
•In case you haven’t heard, we will be producing compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquid propane gas (LPG) versions of the van for the 2011 model year. Tryouts will start in early September. There are no estimates on volumes yet. More details to come.
•There will be another blessing of the bikes Tuesday, May 25, by the arch 15 minutes after longest line time or 5:45, whichever comes first.
• The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure will be Saturday, June 12. The team name this year is UAWLOCAL2250-GM. You can go to the website komenstlouis.org for more information and registration.
•GM President Mark Reuss had this to say to a group of commercial and fleet buyers in Detroit: “You’re a big part of that effort (moving forward profitably) and we want you to be an even bigger part. Make no mistake: I want your business. No matter what you may think, and especially no matter what you may hear. I’ve been told that one competitor in particular has even gone so far as to tell you, our fleet customers, that GM is getting out of the fleet business. I’ve heard that our competitors are saying GM’s not out of the woods yet, GM’s not stable, don’t buy GM’s products because they may not be around, and so on …Ladies and gentlemen… bunk. That’s what that is. One hundred percent processed and packaged baloney.”
• General Motors Co.'s retail sales are up 9% so far this month while rival Toyota Motor Corp. has seen a 12% drop, according to a report from car-buying research Web site Edmunds.com on Thursday. "We're noticing that Toyota's incentive program is starting to fall on deaf ears since most of the people who were open to getting deals from the automaker already made their purchases," analyst Jessica Caldwell said. "Our Toyota cross-shopping data indicates that the brand has not yet recovered from recent image problems."
•There will be another blessing of the bikes Tuesday, May 25, by the arch 15 minutes after longest line time or 5:45, whichever comes first.
• The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure will be Saturday, June 12. The team name this year is UAWLOCAL2250-GM. You can go to the website komenstlouis.org for more information and registration.
•GM President Mark Reuss had this to say to a group of commercial and fleet buyers in Detroit: “You’re a big part of that effort (moving forward profitably) and we want you to be an even bigger part. Make no mistake: I want your business. No matter what you may think, and especially no matter what you may hear. I’ve been told that one competitor in particular has even gone so far as to tell you, our fleet customers, that GM is getting out of the fleet business. I’ve heard that our competitors are saying GM’s not out of the woods yet, GM’s not stable, don’t buy GM’s products because they may not be around, and so on …Ladies and gentlemen… bunk. That’s what that is. One hundred percent processed and packaged baloney.”
• General Motors Co.'s retail sales are up 9% so far this month while rival Toyota Motor Corp. has seen a 12% drop, according to a report from car-buying research Web site Edmunds.com on Thursday. "We're noticing that Toyota's incentive program is starting to fall on deaf ears since most of the people who were open to getting deals from the automaker already made their purchases," analyst Jessica Caldwell said. "Our Toyota cross-shopping data indicates that the brand has not yet recovered from recent image problems."
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
State of the Union May 18, 2010
•Union Meeting is this Wednesday, May 19 at 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
•Reminder: The 10th Annual Blessing of the Bikes will be this Thursday, May 20th. The blessing will be held on the visitor’s parking lot by the arch 15 minutes after the longest line time or 5:45, whichever comes first. All bikes and bikers are welcome with or without your bikes.
•From Wards Auto: SRG Global Inc., a supplier of chrome-plated plastic parts, has developed a prototype louvered grille for General Motors Co. aimed at improving the efficiency of the auto maker’s fullsize pickup trucks to help meet upcoming stringent U.S. emissions and fuel-economy regulations. “What we heard is that GM is moving 100% of their vehicles to louvered grilles,” VP Jon DeGaynor said. In theory, the louvers would be connected to the engine control module, opening and closing per engine temperature.
•Reminder: The 10th Annual Blessing of the Bikes will be this Thursday, May 20th. The blessing will be held on the visitor’s parking lot by the arch 15 minutes after the longest line time or 5:45, whichever comes first. All bikes and bikers are welcome with or without your bikes.
•From Wards Auto: SRG Global Inc., a supplier of chrome-plated plastic parts, has developed a prototype louvered grille for General Motors Co. aimed at improving the efficiency of the auto maker’s fullsize pickup trucks to help meet upcoming stringent U.S. emissions and fuel-economy regulations. “What we heard is that GM is moving 100% of their vehicles to louvered grilles,” VP Jon DeGaynor said. In theory, the louvers would be connected to the engine control module, opening and closing per engine temperature.
Monday, May 17, 2010
State of the Union May 17, 2010
•Union Meeting is this Wednesday, May 19 at 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
• General Motors Company today announced its first quarter 2010 results, marked by revenue of $31.5 billion and operating income of $1.2 billion. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $0.9 billion, resulting in earnings per share on a diluted basis of $1.66. GM’s first quarter adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was $1.7 billion, after adjusting for the favorable impact of the sale of the Saab brand. GM North America had EBIT in the first quarter 2010 of $1.2 billion (the same as Ford), up from a loss of $3.4 billion in the fourth quarter 2009. GM Europe had a loss before interest and taxes of $0.5 billion; an improvement of $0.3 billion from the fourth quarter. GM International Operations posted EBIT of $1.2 billion, up $0.5 billion from the fourth quarter. Cash flow from operating activities was $1.7 billion and after adjusting for capital expenditures of $0.7 billion, free cash flow was $1.0 billion. GM ended the first quarter with $35.7 billion in cash and marketable securities, including funds in escrow.
• Reminder: If you have received notification of automatic enrollment in the GM Personal Savings Plan (PSP) and do not wish to participate, you have until May 28 to opt out. You may do so by accessing www.gmbenefits.comor by calling the GM Benefits & Services Center at 1-800-489-4646. If not the first payroll deduction will occur on June 4, 2010, and will be at a 3% pre-tax contribution rate.
• General Motors Company today announced its first quarter 2010 results, marked by revenue of $31.5 billion and operating income of $1.2 billion. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $0.9 billion, resulting in earnings per share on a diluted basis of $1.66. GM’s first quarter adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was $1.7 billion, after adjusting for the favorable impact of the sale of the Saab brand. GM North America had EBIT in the first quarter 2010 of $1.2 billion (the same as Ford), up from a loss of $3.4 billion in the fourth quarter 2009. GM Europe had a loss before interest and taxes of $0.5 billion; an improvement of $0.3 billion from the fourth quarter. GM International Operations posted EBIT of $1.2 billion, up $0.5 billion from the fourth quarter. Cash flow from operating activities was $1.7 billion and after adjusting for capital expenditures of $0.7 billion, free cash flow was $1.0 billion. GM ended the first quarter with $35.7 billion in cash and marketable securities, including funds in escrow.
• Reminder: If you have received notification of automatic enrollment in the GM Personal Savings Plan (PSP) and do not wish to participate, you have until May 28 to opt out. You may do so by accessing www.gmbenefits.comor by calling the GM Benefits & Services Center at 1-800-489-4646. If not the first payroll deduction will occur on June 4, 2010, and will be at a 3% pre-tax contribution rate.
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