February 22, 2014 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
• There will be an Education Committee meeting Thursday, Feb. 27 between shifts in the cafeteria. All are welcome to attend.
• From the Wall Street Journal: General Motors Co. is accelerating efforts to field a largely aluminum-bodied pickup truck by late 2018, under pressure from federal fuel efficiency standards and archrival Ford Motor Co. according to people familiar with the matter. The No. 1 U.S. auto maker recently locked-in supply contracts with Alcoa Inc. and Novelis Inc., which are now working to increase their aluminum sheet production to supply the next-generation GM pickup, the people said. Aluminum sheet for automotive bodies is in such high demand that companies need to order it years in advance. The push to develop what the industry calls an "aluminum intensive" large pickup marks an apparent change of direction for GM, which has pursued smaller and lighter weight steel-bodied trucks. Before Ford's debut last month of its 2015 F-150, with a body made almost entirely of aluminum, GM executives questioned whether such a vehicle could be cost competitive or appealing to U.S. customers. Instead, GM developed two small pickups, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, to meet rising demand for better fuel economy. Those two vehicles are due to arrive on the market as 2015 models this year. GM executives are betting they can offset Ford's lead by using more advanced welding techniques to produce a lighter, stronger and easier to assemble truck, according to people familiar with the company's plans. GM said it has a patented process that uses multi-ringed electrodes and eliminates lots of rivets from its assembly. The process has already been used in the production of the hood of the Cadillac CTS-V, the lift gate of hybrid versions of Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon and in the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Ford invested hundreds of millions of dollars to overhaul its truck plants to accommodate a shift to riveted aluminum panels from welded steel body parts. GM executives had considered moving to a largely aluminum design for its Silverado and Sierra pickups in 2008, but abandoned the idea over cost concerns amid the industry downturn, the people said. Those discussion resurfaced last year before Ford displayed its aluminum truck, they added. Mark Reuss, GM's global product development chief, last month hinted at the auto maker's potential aluminum push, saying executives and engineers were preparing a critique of Ford's new F-150, which cuts up to 700 pounds off the current model. Ford hasn't disclosed its 2015 F-150's mileage rating. One version is light enough to come equipped with a 2.7-liter six cylinder engine, considered tiny for a pickup truck. "We need to see how much aluminum is in it, not what they say is in it but what is actually in it," Mr. Reuss said the night before Ford introduced its truck. "We are going to look at what they advertise as the weight savings from it and then we are going to go back and do some math.…We can play this game real easily."
• From the International Union UAAW: The UAW filed an appeal (“objections”) with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today related to the interference by politicians and outside special interest groups in the union representation election held last week at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant.
A firestorm of interference from politicians and special interest groups threatening the economic future of the plant occurred just before and during three days of voting in an election supervised by the NLRB. Workers voted narrowly to reject representation, with a slim 44 vote swing. The objections detail a coordinated and widely publicized coercive campaign conducted by politicians and outside organizations to deprive Volkswagen workers of their federally protected right to join a union.
The campaign included publicly-announced and widely disseminated threats by elected officials that state-financed incentives would be withheld if workers exercised their protected right to form a union.
“It’s essentially saying, ‘If you unionize, it’s going to hurt your economy. Why? Because I’m going to make sure it does,’” said Volkswagen worker Lauren Feinauer. “I hope people see it for the underhanded threat that it is.”
The campaign also included threats by U.S. Sen. Bob Corker related to promises of a new product line awarded to the plant if workers voted against UAW representation.
The objections state, “Senator Corker’s conduct was shameful and undertaken with utter disregard for the rights of the citizens of Tennessee and surrounding states that work at Volkswagen. … The clear message of the campaign was that voting for the union would result in stagnation for the Chattanooga plant, with no new product, no job security, and withholding of state support for its expansion.”
“It’s an outrage that politically motivated third parties threatened the economic future of this facility and the opportunity for workers to create a successful operating model that that would grow jobs in Tennessee,” said UAW President Bob King. “It is extraordinary interference in the private decision of workers to have a U.S. senator, a governor and leaders of the state legislature threaten the company with the denial of economic incentives and workers with a loss of product. We’re committed to standing with the Volkswagen workers to ensure that their right to have a fair vote without coercion and interference is protected.”
An affirmative vote for union representation at the Volkswagen plant would have led to the establishment of a works council that would have been the first such model of labor-management relations in the United States.
The NLRB will investigate the election conduct and determine whether there are grounds to set aside the election results and hold a new election for Volkswagen workers.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
State of the Union February 19, 2014
February 19, 2014
online at www.uawlocal2250.com
Union meeting today at 4:45 pm.
As you all know, the VW workers in Tennessee voted against UAW representation 712-626. There is no shortage of Monday morning quarterbacks offering their take on the outcome. To be sure, the defeat is a setback for the organizing plans the UAW has for southern transplants. But while some refer to it as “The Death Knell” for the UAW, we don’t believe anyone at Solidarity House has climbed out onto the ledge yet. Rather than offer up our opinions about the proceedings and outcome, we’ll give you a sampling of commentary from a variety of sources both pro and anti union:
o The Detroit News: Of course, employees at the Asian and European plants in America are generally aware that their wages and benefits are kept high due to the presence of the UAW. What the UAW must do, therefore, is urge these employees not to take the union for granted and convince them that a viable labor movement is good for everybody. The UAW must make it loud and clear: No union, no high wages or benefits, whether at a foreign transplant or a domestic auto maker.
o Communications Workers of America: VW employees in Chattanooga have every right to support or oppose their own collective bargaining rights. The narrow loss in the National Labor Relations Board election Friday would have been just an issue of working Americans exercising their rights if it were not for the despicable interference of Senator Corker, Governor Haslam, Republican state legislators and outsiders like Grover Norquist and the Koch brothers.
o The Wall Street Journal: The UAW lost… and in defeat has predictably seized on last-minute comments by GOP Sen. Bob Corker, who argued that a "no" vote would cinch a new model. Bob King, UAW chief, complained of "unprecedented outside influence." Uh huh. Mr. King can be forgiven the necessary face-saving rituals. VW called a snap election to minimize outside input, but the union never had much faith in its chances anyway. Back in September, local organizer Gary Casteel confided to the Tennessean newspaper: "We know that if we go for a traditional election where the outside organizations could campaign against us, we'd probably lose."
o UAW President Bob King: It's never happened in this country before that a U.S. senator, a governor, a leader of the House, a leader of the Legislature here, would threaten the company with no incentives, threaten workers with a loss of product. We think that's outrageous. We'll look at all of our options in the next few days."
o The Tennesseean: The vote in Chattanooga could well be the death knell for the UAW. It certainly shows that even in the most union-accommodating circumstance, workers are reluctant to engage in drawn-out conflicts with management. The question is whether owners and their management are capable of reciprocating by re-evaluating their employment practices and their commitment to engage workers as intelligent assets versus interchangeable gears.
o The Detroit Free Press: The lesson here is that UAW, and American labor unions in general, are doomed unless they can make a more compelling case for the value proposition of union membership. Show how workers’ lives will improve, how unions will help communities grow jobs — or become extinct. The absence of that compelling case, as with any campaign decided at a ballot box, left a message vacuum that was quickly filled by negative messages from powerful UAW foes.
o The Huffington Post: Instead of seeing this as a devastating, disastrous and crushing defeat, the UAW should be encouraged by its remarkable showing against staggering odds. Some years ago I was tangentially involved in a certification vote at a manufacturing plant in Utah. Nearly 70 percent of the workers had filled out cards asking the NLRB to hold a union election. Even with 70 percent signing cards, the workers rejected the union. The final vote was 130 to 14. Now that's "devastating."
o The National Law Review: While this is a setback for the UAW, whose membership has steadily declined over the past decade, it is not the end of either the UAW organizing efforts in the South or the possibility of a union taking root in Volkswagen’s Tennessee plant. As many observers of developments in the southern operations of foreign auto companies have noted over the last year, the UAW has made substantial inroads into the foreign supplier base of those operations.
o Volkswagen workers: “You’ve got a lot of people in the middle,” said Craig Snyder, 42, of Chattanooga, who voted against the union. “You do not know what’s going to happen.”; “I am in support of the union, but if it does not go that way, it really does not bother me much,” Eddie Reel, 50, of Dunlap, Tenn., said after casting his vote; “That scared some people,” said Mike Cantrell, 56, who has worked at VW for three years and supported the UAW, referring to Sen. Corker’s comments o UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel: “Unfortunately, politically motivated third parties threatened the economic future of this facility and the opportunity for workers to create a successful operating model that that would grow jobs in Tennessee,”
o VW Chattanooga CEO Frank Fischer: Our employees have not made a decision that they are against a works council. Throughout this process, we found great enthusiasm for the idea of an American-style works council both inside and outside our plant. Our goal continues to be to determine the best method for establishing a works council in accordance with the requirements of U.S. labor law to meet VW America's production needs and serve our employees' interests."
o UAW Secretary Treasurer Dennis Williams: We're proud that these workers were brave and stood up to the tremendous pressure from outside," Williams, who directs the union's transnational program, said. "We hope this will start a larger discussion about workers' right to organize."
online at www.uawlocal2250.com
Union meeting today at 4:45 pm.
As you all know, the VW workers in Tennessee voted against UAW representation 712-626. There is no shortage of Monday morning quarterbacks offering their take on the outcome. To be sure, the defeat is a setback for the organizing plans the UAW has for southern transplants. But while some refer to it as “The Death Knell” for the UAW, we don’t believe anyone at Solidarity House has climbed out onto the ledge yet. Rather than offer up our opinions about the proceedings and outcome, we’ll give you a sampling of commentary from a variety of sources both pro and anti union:
o The Detroit News: Of course, employees at the Asian and European plants in America are generally aware that their wages and benefits are kept high due to the presence of the UAW. What the UAW must do, therefore, is urge these employees not to take the union for granted and convince them that a viable labor movement is good for everybody. The UAW must make it loud and clear: No union, no high wages or benefits, whether at a foreign transplant or a domestic auto maker.
o Communications Workers of America: VW employees in Chattanooga have every right to support or oppose their own collective bargaining rights. The narrow loss in the National Labor Relations Board election Friday would have been just an issue of working Americans exercising their rights if it were not for the despicable interference of Senator Corker, Governor Haslam, Republican state legislators and outsiders like Grover Norquist and the Koch brothers.
o The Wall Street Journal: The UAW lost… and in defeat has predictably seized on last-minute comments by GOP Sen. Bob Corker, who argued that a "no" vote would cinch a new model. Bob King, UAW chief, complained of "unprecedented outside influence." Uh huh. Mr. King can be forgiven the necessary face-saving rituals. VW called a snap election to minimize outside input, but the union never had much faith in its chances anyway. Back in September, local organizer Gary Casteel confided to the Tennessean newspaper: "We know that if we go for a traditional election where the outside organizations could campaign against us, we'd probably lose."
o UAW President Bob King: It's never happened in this country before that a U.S. senator, a governor, a leader of the House, a leader of the Legislature here, would threaten the company with no incentives, threaten workers with a loss of product. We think that's outrageous. We'll look at all of our options in the next few days."
o The Tennesseean: The vote in Chattanooga could well be the death knell for the UAW. It certainly shows that even in the most union-accommodating circumstance, workers are reluctant to engage in drawn-out conflicts with management. The question is whether owners and their management are capable of reciprocating by re-evaluating their employment practices and their commitment to engage workers as intelligent assets versus interchangeable gears.
o The Detroit Free Press: The lesson here is that UAW, and American labor unions in general, are doomed unless they can make a more compelling case for the value proposition of union membership. Show how workers’ lives will improve, how unions will help communities grow jobs — or become extinct. The absence of that compelling case, as with any campaign decided at a ballot box, left a message vacuum that was quickly filled by negative messages from powerful UAW foes.
o The Huffington Post: Instead of seeing this as a devastating, disastrous and crushing defeat, the UAW should be encouraged by its remarkable showing against staggering odds. Some years ago I was tangentially involved in a certification vote at a manufacturing plant in Utah. Nearly 70 percent of the workers had filled out cards asking the NLRB to hold a union election. Even with 70 percent signing cards, the workers rejected the union. The final vote was 130 to 14. Now that's "devastating."
o The National Law Review: While this is a setback for the UAW, whose membership has steadily declined over the past decade, it is not the end of either the UAW organizing efforts in the South or the possibility of a union taking root in Volkswagen’s Tennessee plant. As many observers of developments in the southern operations of foreign auto companies have noted over the last year, the UAW has made substantial inroads into the foreign supplier base of those operations.
o Volkswagen workers: “You’ve got a lot of people in the middle,” said Craig Snyder, 42, of Chattanooga, who voted against the union. “You do not know what’s going to happen.”; “I am in support of the union, but if it does not go that way, it really does not bother me much,” Eddie Reel, 50, of Dunlap, Tenn., said after casting his vote; “That scared some people,” said Mike Cantrell, 56, who has worked at VW for three years and supported the UAW, referring to Sen. Corker’s comments o UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel: “Unfortunately, politically motivated third parties threatened the economic future of this facility and the opportunity for workers to create a successful operating model that that would grow jobs in Tennessee,”
o VW Chattanooga CEO Frank Fischer: Our employees have not made a decision that they are against a works council. Throughout this process, we found great enthusiasm for the idea of an American-style works council both inside and outside our plant. Our goal continues to be to determine the best method for establishing a works council in accordance with the requirements of U.S. labor law to meet VW America's production needs and serve our employees' interests."
o UAW Secretary Treasurer Dennis Williams: We're proud that these workers were brave and stood up to the tremendous pressure from outside," Williams, who directs the union's transnational program, said. "We hope this will start a larger discussion about workers' right to organize."
Thursday, February 13, 2014
State of the Union February 13, 2014
February 13, 2014 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From Chairman Mike Bullock: There are still numerous openings in several departments that will be posted today at all the entrances. The union has successfully negotiated with management to open up all the remaining openings to all employees, permanent and temporary. The intention is that the temporary employees in the plant are going to be converted soon and they should also have the opportunity to bid on these openings. This agreement will be reviewed as openings are needed.
Reminder: This Saturday, Feb. 15 is the 22nd Annual African-American Heritage Celebration at the Union Hall. Doors open at 6:30 pm and dinner is served at 7 pm. Beer, set-ups and snacks will be provided and with music by DJ “T Gutta”. Come on out and help make this a memorable celebration!
General Motors has more segment award recipients than any other automaker in the J.D Power 2014 Vehicle Dependability Study, doubling last year’s segment awards from four to eight across its four brands. The 2014 study tracks 2011 model year vehicles in the third year of ownership. By brand, Cadillac was in the third spot overall (behind Lexus and Mercedes-Benz). Buick came in at fifth. GMC improved one position to come in at 16. Chevy dropped one spot to 13. For Chevrolet, the Volt received this highest dependability award in the Compact Car segment in its launch year. The Camaro ranked highest in its segment for a second year in a row, after also receiving the award as a launch vehicle last year. GM earned the top two spots in the Large Heavy Duty Pickup segment for dependability with the GMC Sierra HD receiving the segment award and Chevrolet Silverado HD ranking second. This marks the second year in a row that GMC Sierra HD ranks highest in vehicle dependability.
GM improved to 4th overall up from 6th in 2013
All four of GM’s NA brands are at or above industry average
Eight award winners (up from four last year) include the Chevy Camaro (Midsize Sporty Car), Chevy Volt (Compact Car), Buick Lucerne (Large Car), GMC Yukon (Large Crossover SUV), GMC Sierra LD (Large Light Duty Pickup), GMC Sierra HD (Large Heavy Duty Pickup), Cadillac DTS (Large Premium), Cadillac Escalade (Large Premium SUV)
Five additional models (same as last year) ranked in top three in their segments
GM has three of the 10 highest-ranked models in the study:
Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac DTS, Buick Lucerne
Powertrain issues were the top problems reported in this year’s study
Launch performance was mixed with the Volt launching at the top of its segment, but Regal and Cruze launched below their segment averages
Tennessee Sen. Bob “I’m not anti-union” Corker had pledged last week to cease commenting on the pending vote at the VW plant in Chattanooga. "During the next week and a half, while the decision is in the hands of the employees, I do not think it is appropriate for me to make additional public comment," Corker told news outlets last week. That stance drew praise from the UAW. "Other politicians," UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel said, "should follow the lead of Senator Corker and respect these workers' right to make up their own minds." But Corker, the former mayor of Chattanooga, subsequently announced this past Monday that he would hold a press conference Tuesday to weigh in on the UAW election. "I am very disappointed the UAW is misusing my comments to try to stifle others from weighing in on an issue that is so important to our community," Corker said in a statement. "While I had not planned to make additional public remarks in advance of this week's vote, after comments the UAW made this weekend, I feel strongly that it is important to return home and ensure my position is clear." (as if we don’t already know) But Mr. Inappropriate went further this time, saying the union drive is already hurting efforts to recruit other companies. "We know the impact these discussions are already having on our ability to attract companies -- not just to Chattanooga, but to Tennessee," Corker told reporters during a press conference in Chattanooga. "It's real. If it weren't for that, candidly, I wouldn't be weighing in on this issue." Not content to stop there, Corker revealed this bit of news yesterday: "I've had conversations today and based on those am assured that should the workers vote against the UAW, Volkswagen will announce in the coming weeks that it will manufacture its new mid-size SUV here in Chattanooga.” He would not reveal with whom he had these “conversations”. VW responded this morning: “There is no connection between our Chattanooga employees' decision about whether to be represented by a union and the decision about where to build a new product for the U.S. market," said Frank Fischer, CEO and chairman of Volkswagen Chattanooga. We’ll let UAW Local 1853 Chairman Mike Herron (Spring Hill) have the last word: “Statements made by Tennessee lawmakers and outside special interests couldn’t be further from the truth. The UAW has had a very positive impact on economic development in the state of Tennessee. The General Motors Spring Hill Assembly plant was idled during the economic crisis. It is only open today because the UAW negotiated to re-open the plant in 2011 collective bargaining. Our collective bargaining agreement resulted in a $350 million investment from GM and more than 1,800 jobs at plant and thousands more at businesses that support Spring Hill. GM will add at least another 1,800 jobs with the addition of two new products. GM does not have any problem attracting suppliers to Tennessee or getting incentives from the state. When you’re going to bring 2,000 jobs to the state, people are interested in participating. There's no shortage of elected officials who are eager to be a part of that process.”
• From Automotive News: Labor unions at all of Japan's automakers are seeking an increase in base salaries and bonuses, as companies including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. forecast record profits this fiscal year. Workers at Toyota will ask for a 4,000 yen ($39) average increase in monthly wages and annual bonuses valued at 6.8 months' salary. Toyota agreed last year to a union proposal for a 2013 average bonus of about 2.05 million yen ($20,032), the biggest in five years. It paid a 2.51 million yen bonus ($24,535) in 2008, according to the workers' union.
From Chairman Mike Bullock: There are still numerous openings in several departments that will be posted today at all the entrances. The union has successfully negotiated with management to open up all the remaining openings to all employees, permanent and temporary. The intention is that the temporary employees in the plant are going to be converted soon and they should also have the opportunity to bid on these openings. This agreement will be reviewed as openings are needed.
Reminder: This Saturday, Feb. 15 is the 22nd Annual African-American Heritage Celebration at the Union Hall. Doors open at 6:30 pm and dinner is served at 7 pm. Beer, set-ups and snacks will be provided and with music by DJ “T Gutta”. Come on out and help make this a memorable celebration!
General Motors has more segment award recipients than any other automaker in the J.D Power 2014 Vehicle Dependability Study, doubling last year’s segment awards from four to eight across its four brands. The 2014 study tracks 2011 model year vehicles in the third year of ownership. By brand, Cadillac was in the third spot overall (behind Lexus and Mercedes-Benz). Buick came in at fifth. GMC improved one position to come in at 16. Chevy dropped one spot to 13. For Chevrolet, the Volt received this highest dependability award in the Compact Car segment in its launch year. The Camaro ranked highest in its segment for a second year in a row, after also receiving the award as a launch vehicle last year. GM earned the top two spots in the Large Heavy Duty Pickup segment for dependability with the GMC Sierra HD receiving the segment award and Chevrolet Silverado HD ranking second. This marks the second year in a row that GMC Sierra HD ranks highest in vehicle dependability.
GM improved to 4th overall up from 6th in 2013
All four of GM’s NA brands are at or above industry average
Eight award winners (up from four last year) include the Chevy Camaro (Midsize Sporty Car), Chevy Volt (Compact Car), Buick Lucerne (Large Car), GMC Yukon (Large Crossover SUV), GMC Sierra LD (Large Light Duty Pickup), GMC Sierra HD (Large Heavy Duty Pickup), Cadillac DTS (Large Premium), Cadillac Escalade (Large Premium SUV)
Five additional models (same as last year) ranked in top three in their segments
- Chevrolet Tahoe (Large SUVs)
- Chevrolet Silverado HD (Large HD Pickup)
- Chevrolet Avalanche (Large LD Pickup)
- Buick LaCrosse (Midsize Car)
- GMC Canyon (Midsize Pickup)
GM has three of the 10 highest-ranked models in the study:
Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac DTS, Buick Lucerne
Powertrain issues were the top problems reported in this year’s study
Launch performance was mixed with the Volt launching at the top of its segment, but Regal and Cruze launched below their segment averages
Tennessee Sen. Bob “I’m not anti-union” Corker had pledged last week to cease commenting on the pending vote at the VW plant in Chattanooga. "During the next week and a half, while the decision is in the hands of the employees, I do not think it is appropriate for me to make additional public comment," Corker told news outlets last week. That stance drew praise from the UAW. "Other politicians," UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel said, "should follow the lead of Senator Corker and respect these workers' right to make up their own minds." But Corker, the former mayor of Chattanooga, subsequently announced this past Monday that he would hold a press conference Tuesday to weigh in on the UAW election. "I am very disappointed the UAW is misusing my comments to try to stifle others from weighing in on an issue that is so important to our community," Corker said in a statement. "While I had not planned to make additional public remarks in advance of this week's vote, after comments the UAW made this weekend, I feel strongly that it is important to return home and ensure my position is clear." (as if we don’t already know) But Mr. Inappropriate went further this time, saying the union drive is already hurting efforts to recruit other companies. "We know the impact these discussions are already having on our ability to attract companies -- not just to Chattanooga, but to Tennessee," Corker told reporters during a press conference in Chattanooga. "It's real. If it weren't for that, candidly, I wouldn't be weighing in on this issue." Not content to stop there, Corker revealed this bit of news yesterday: "I've had conversations today and based on those am assured that should the workers vote against the UAW, Volkswagen will announce in the coming weeks that it will manufacture its new mid-size SUV here in Chattanooga.” He would not reveal with whom he had these “conversations”. VW responded this morning: “There is no connection between our Chattanooga employees' decision about whether to be represented by a union and the decision about where to build a new product for the U.S. market," said Frank Fischer, CEO and chairman of Volkswagen Chattanooga. We’ll let UAW Local 1853 Chairman Mike Herron (Spring Hill) have the last word: “Statements made by Tennessee lawmakers and outside special interests couldn’t be further from the truth. The UAW has had a very positive impact on economic development in the state of Tennessee. The General Motors Spring Hill Assembly plant was idled during the economic crisis. It is only open today because the UAW negotiated to re-open the plant in 2011 collective bargaining. Our collective bargaining agreement resulted in a $350 million investment from GM and more than 1,800 jobs at plant and thousands more at businesses that support Spring Hill. GM will add at least another 1,800 jobs with the addition of two new products. GM does not have any problem attracting suppliers to Tennessee or getting incentives from the state. When you’re going to bring 2,000 jobs to the state, people are interested in participating. There's no shortage of elected officials who are eager to be a part of that process.”
• From Automotive News: Labor unions at all of Japan's automakers are seeking an increase in base salaries and bonuses, as companies including Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. forecast record profits this fiscal year. Workers at Toyota will ask for a 4,000 yen ($39) average increase in monthly wages and annual bonuses valued at 6.8 months' salary. Toyota agreed last year to a union proposal for a 2013 average bonus of about 2.05 million yen ($20,032), the biggest in five years. It paid a 2.51 million yen bonus ($24,535) in 2008, according to the workers' union.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
State of the Union February 11, 2014
February 11, 2014 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
This Saturday, Feb. 15 is the 22nd Annual African-American Heritage Celebration at the Union Hall. Doors open at 6:30 pm and dinner is served at 7 pm. Beer, set-ups and snacks will be provided and with music by DJ “T Gutta”. Come on out and help make this a memorable celebration!
• Management has officially announced that production is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22 on all shifts. As always, schedules are subject to change.
• Voting begins tomorrow at the VW plant in Chattanooga to determine if employees will be represented by the UAW. As you would expect, union opposition is reaching a fever pitch (and possibly crossing legal lines). State legislators are the latest to muddy the waters, as state Sen. Bo Watson said the automaker has conducted a labor campaign that's "unfair, unbalanced and, quite frankly, un-American." Watson and state House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick said potential financial incentives on any factory expansion are at risk if the United Auto Workers is accepted. If the workers opt for UAW representation, VW would have a "very tough time" securing more incentives from the state legislature, Watson said. According to Automotive News, UAW critics jumped on the lawmakers' claim to persuade workers to vote against union representation. A group called Southern Momentum quickly put out a statement that quoted Mike Burton, a paint-shop employee who leads a coalition of workers opposed to the union. "This confirms exactly what we have been telling people," he was quoted as saying. "A vote for the UAW is a vote against the expansion of the plant, plain and simple." State Rep. JoAnne Favors termed the incentives remark "coercion and intimidation" of employees. She and state Rep. Sherry Jones also were critical of "outside groups" attempting to influence VW workers at the plant. One of these groups is the Center for Worker Freedom, affiliated with anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, who has rented 13 billboards in Chattanooga. Among the messages: "The UAW spends millions to elect liberal politicians including Barack Obama." Jones, a Democrat who represents part of Nashville, said the Republican legislators are "threatening employees" with the incentives package. "I've never seen a member of the General Assembly come out against a company who wanted to allow their members an opportunity to organize," she said. Other legislators also weighed in. "In my 20 years on the hill, I've never seen such a massive intrusion into the affairs of a private company," said House Democratic Leader Craig Fitzhugh. "When management and workers agree -- as they do at Volkswagen -- the state has no business interfering."
• From the Detroit News: Nissan Motor Co. on Thursday showed off a concept diesel-powered version of its Frontier mid-size pickup at the Chicago Auto Show and said it will wait for feedback from customers before deciding whether to build it. "It's a technical study. We're going to use social media — Facebook, Twitter, so forth and the blogosphere to find out what people are saying about this truck, 'Do they like it? Do they want it? Should we build it?" and we're going to let them decide for us, basically," said Fred Diaz, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Nissan's U.S. unit. Last month, Diaz said the company was considering building a hybrid version of the next generation Frontier. The demonstration Nissan Frontier Diesel Runner gets an estimated fuel economy increase of 35 percent over the current Frontier V6. “Frontier continues to be a huge success story for us, with more than 60,000 units sold in 2013,” Diaz said. “Nissan has always valued the mid-size pickup segment, and with this technical study project, we are looking to explore what is possible for the next-generation Frontier."
• Speaking of pickup fuel economy, here’s a chart listing each company’s most fuel efficient powertrains for each model (listed as city/hwy/overall).
• As a followup to the article about recalls, here’s a chart listing recalls for each company, comparing the total to number of vehicles sold last year:
This Saturday, Feb. 15 is the 22nd Annual African-American Heritage Celebration at the Union Hall. Doors open at 6:30 pm and dinner is served at 7 pm. Beer, set-ups and snacks will be provided and with music by DJ “T Gutta”. Come on out and help make this a memorable celebration!
• Management has officially announced that production is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 22 on all shifts. As always, schedules are subject to change.
• Voting begins tomorrow at the VW plant in Chattanooga to determine if employees will be represented by the UAW. As you would expect, union opposition is reaching a fever pitch (and possibly crossing legal lines). State legislators are the latest to muddy the waters, as state Sen. Bo Watson said the automaker has conducted a labor campaign that's "unfair, unbalanced and, quite frankly, un-American." Watson and state House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick said potential financial incentives on any factory expansion are at risk if the United Auto Workers is accepted. If the workers opt for UAW representation, VW would have a "very tough time" securing more incentives from the state legislature, Watson said. According to Automotive News, UAW critics jumped on the lawmakers' claim to persuade workers to vote against union representation. A group called Southern Momentum quickly put out a statement that quoted Mike Burton, a paint-shop employee who leads a coalition of workers opposed to the union. "This confirms exactly what we have been telling people," he was quoted as saying. "A vote for the UAW is a vote against the expansion of the plant, plain and simple." State Rep. JoAnne Favors termed the incentives remark "coercion and intimidation" of employees. She and state Rep. Sherry Jones also were critical of "outside groups" attempting to influence VW workers at the plant. One of these groups is the Center for Worker Freedom, affiliated with anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, who has rented 13 billboards in Chattanooga. Among the messages: "The UAW spends millions to elect liberal politicians including Barack Obama." Jones, a Democrat who represents part of Nashville, said the Republican legislators are "threatening employees" with the incentives package. "I've never seen a member of the General Assembly come out against a company who wanted to allow their members an opportunity to organize," she said. Other legislators also weighed in. "In my 20 years on the hill, I've never seen such a massive intrusion into the affairs of a private company," said House Democratic Leader Craig Fitzhugh. "When management and workers agree -- as they do at Volkswagen -- the state has no business interfering."
• From the Detroit News: Nissan Motor Co. on Thursday showed off a concept diesel-powered version of its Frontier mid-size pickup at the Chicago Auto Show and said it will wait for feedback from customers before deciding whether to build it. "It's a technical study. We're going to use social media — Facebook, Twitter, so forth and the blogosphere to find out what people are saying about this truck, 'Do they like it? Do they want it? Should we build it?" and we're going to let them decide for us, basically," said Fred Diaz, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Nissan's U.S. unit. Last month, Diaz said the company was considering building a hybrid version of the next generation Frontier. The demonstration Nissan Frontier Diesel Runner gets an estimated fuel economy increase of 35 percent over the current Frontier V6. “Frontier continues to be a huge success story for us, with more than 60,000 units sold in 2013,” Diaz said. “Nissan has always valued the mid-size pickup segment, and with this technical study project, we are looking to explore what is possible for the next-generation Frontier."
• Speaking of pickup fuel economy, here’s a chart listing each company’s most fuel efficient powertrains for each model (listed as city/hwy/overall).
• As a followup to the article about recalls, here’s a chart listing recalls for each company, comparing the total to number of vehicles sold last year:
Friday, February 7, 2014
State of the Union February 7, 2013
February 7, 2014 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
By now you’ve all heard that our profit sharing payout this year is $7500. To get the full amount you will need to have 1850 hours last year. Any amount less than that will be prorated (for example, if you had 1500 hours you would get 81% or $6075). Remember, if you have a PSP account you can defer up to 100% of the amount. You must elect to do so by 4 pm EST, next Thursday Feb. 13. You can do so by going to gmbenefits.com or by calling 1-800-489-4646 (8:30 am – midnight EST). Profit sharing payment will be Friday, Feb. 28.
Congratulations to the following members who were elected to the Elections Committee (listed in order of votes received): Beverly Marsha Steele, Lisa Bargaineer, Elaine Silinzy, Traci E. Jones-Hamlin, Marva Ali, Darline Taylor and Kelly Seddens Poole.
There will be a Civil Rights Committee meeting next Tuesday, Feb. 11 in the cafeteria between shifts (not the Union Hall) due to line times and weather.
Things are heating up in the full-size pickup fuel economy wars. Tuesday Chrysler Group announced that the Ram pickup equipped with the “EcoDiesel” 3.0 liter engine achieved an EPA rating of 28 mpg highway, setting a much higher bar for Ford’s aluminum bodied F-150 to clear. Last month at the Detroit auto show, Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said he was "absolutely" confident the redesigned pickup would deliver class-leading fuel economy. Asked whether it would get 30 mpg highway, Mr. Mulally replied: "We're absolutely going to be the leader." Upon hearing the Ram numbers, Ford officials seemed to be backpedaling just a bit, saying that the new F-150 would lead the class in fuel economy against other similar gasoline engines. "Even customers who choose a base model F-150 are going to get improved efficiency," a Ford spokesman said, referring to the redesigned truck that will go on sale this year. "They don't have to buy a special engine to get best-in-class efficiency or performance.” So it sounds like it’s going to be a semantic argument around the word “class”. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel starts at $30,465, including delivery. The price is $2,850 higher than a similarly equipped Ram 1500 with a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine, the company says.
From the Detroit News: Chrysler Group LLC said Friday it is recalling 9,655 full-size vans to prevent accelerator pedals from sticking, which could lead to unintended acceleration. The Auburn Hills unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said it is recalling its 2014 Ram ProMaster vans to resolve a condition that may allow an accelerator pedal to stick in the wide-open position if force is applied at an angle.
Vice President Biden tells UAW delegates that without unions, the middle class evaporates
Vice President Joe Biden defines the middle class differently than an economist might. For him, middle class is a value, not a number. It means being able to afford a home instead of renting. It means having safe parks for children to play in, a chance to send your child to college and the ability to take care of elderly parents.
“Where I come from, that’s middle class,” he told the 1,500 delegates on the final day of the 2014 UAW National Community Action Program (CAP) Conference. “That’s not asking a helluva lot.”
But what’s happening in America is fewer and fewer people are in the middle class, chiefly because of the well-coordinated attacks on collective bargaining by right-wing extremists such as the Koch Brothers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “They know without you there, they call every shot,” Biden said, explaining that the recent right-to-work agenda pushed by right-wing business groups is more about their rights than those of workers. “Is it right for them to eliminate your right to have a say in your work?” Biden said.
The Vice President, whom UAW President Bob King called one of the “strongest advocates, allies and friends the UAW has ever had,” has a long history with our union. The UAW was one of his earliest supporters when he was first elected to the Senate from Delaware in 1972. “You were the ones who took a bet on me and you never left me and I never left you,” Biden said.
President King said Biden was a major reason why the auto rescue succeeded. President Obama essentially bet his presidency on the government, UAW workers and the auto companies’ ability to come together and work through the crisis. A Bush administration official in 2008 predicted 1.1 million jobs would be lost without an auto rescue. Instead, 380,000 jobs were added with the prospect of more to come. All three domestic automakers are producing exceptional vehicles.
Biden said his father, who ran two auto dealerships in Delaware, once told him that all the automakers needed to do was send him excellent product and he could do the rest.
“Guess what? You are sending product,” he said, adding that the direct worker input into quality and other manufacturing issues that the UAW negotiated into its contracts has borne fruit.
The Vice President said many politicians and elected officials have a problem pronouncing a simple, two-syllable word: union. If more learned how to pronounce it, he said, we could grow the middle class. He held up a graph that showed as the number of union members declined since 1968, the share of income going to the middle class has also declined. “We know collective bargaining is the bedrock of our economy. It’s not just about you,” he told delegates. “It’s about economic growth.”
The Vice President also credited our union with not simply being content to advocate for our members, but for a just society. It was a theme expressed earlier in the day in a stirring speech by UAW Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Williams, who referenced our support for the struggle for civil rights led by Walter Reuther in the 1960s and the struggle against apartheid led by President Owen Bieber in the 1980s. “Can you imagine (Bieber) explaining that to our members and why that was important to them?” he asked delegates.
Williams said we must communicate more with our members so they connect why a just minimum wage, global solidarity and other issues are critical to their own economic security.
By now you’ve all heard that our profit sharing payout this year is $7500. To get the full amount you will need to have 1850 hours last year. Any amount less than that will be prorated (for example, if you had 1500 hours you would get 81% or $6075). Remember, if you have a PSP account you can defer up to 100% of the amount. You must elect to do so by 4 pm EST, next Thursday Feb. 13. You can do so by going to gmbenefits.com or by calling 1-800-489-4646 (8:30 am – midnight EST). Profit sharing payment will be Friday, Feb. 28.
Congratulations to the following members who were elected to the Elections Committee (listed in order of votes received): Beverly Marsha Steele, Lisa Bargaineer, Elaine Silinzy, Traci E. Jones-Hamlin, Marva Ali, Darline Taylor and Kelly Seddens Poole.
There will be a Civil Rights Committee meeting next Tuesday, Feb. 11 in the cafeteria between shifts (not the Union Hall) due to line times and weather.
Things are heating up in the full-size pickup fuel economy wars. Tuesday Chrysler Group announced that the Ram pickup equipped with the “EcoDiesel” 3.0 liter engine achieved an EPA rating of 28 mpg highway, setting a much higher bar for Ford’s aluminum bodied F-150 to clear. Last month at the Detroit auto show, Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said he was "absolutely" confident the redesigned pickup would deliver class-leading fuel economy. Asked whether it would get 30 mpg highway, Mr. Mulally replied: "We're absolutely going to be the leader." Upon hearing the Ram numbers, Ford officials seemed to be backpedaling just a bit, saying that the new F-150 would lead the class in fuel economy against other similar gasoline engines. "Even customers who choose a base model F-150 are going to get improved efficiency," a Ford spokesman said, referring to the redesigned truck that will go on sale this year. "They don't have to buy a special engine to get best-in-class efficiency or performance.” So it sounds like it’s going to be a semantic argument around the word “class”. The Ram 1500 EcoDiesel starts at $30,465, including delivery. The price is $2,850 higher than a similarly equipped Ram 1500 with a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 engine, the company says.
From the Detroit News: Chrysler Group LLC said Friday it is recalling 9,655 full-size vans to prevent accelerator pedals from sticking, which could lead to unintended acceleration. The Auburn Hills unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said it is recalling its 2014 Ram ProMaster vans to resolve a condition that may allow an accelerator pedal to stick in the wide-open position if force is applied at an angle.
Vice President Biden tells UAW delegates that without unions, the middle class evaporates
Vice President Joe Biden defines the middle class differently than an economist might. For him, middle class is a value, not a number. It means being able to afford a home instead of renting. It means having safe parks for children to play in, a chance to send your child to college and the ability to take care of elderly parents.
“Where I come from, that’s middle class,” he told the 1,500 delegates on the final day of the 2014 UAW National Community Action Program (CAP) Conference. “That’s not asking a helluva lot.”
But what’s happening in America is fewer and fewer people are in the middle class, chiefly because of the well-coordinated attacks on collective bargaining by right-wing extremists such as the Koch Brothers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “They know without you there, they call every shot,” Biden said, explaining that the recent right-to-work agenda pushed by right-wing business groups is more about their rights than those of workers. “Is it right for them to eliminate your right to have a say in your work?” Biden said.
The Vice President, whom UAW President Bob King called one of the “strongest advocates, allies and friends the UAW has ever had,” has a long history with our union. The UAW was one of his earliest supporters when he was first elected to the Senate from Delaware in 1972. “You were the ones who took a bet on me and you never left me and I never left you,” Biden said.
President King said Biden was a major reason why the auto rescue succeeded. President Obama essentially bet his presidency on the government, UAW workers and the auto companies’ ability to come together and work through the crisis. A Bush administration official in 2008 predicted 1.1 million jobs would be lost without an auto rescue. Instead, 380,000 jobs were added with the prospect of more to come. All three domestic automakers are producing exceptional vehicles.
Biden said his father, who ran two auto dealerships in Delaware, once told him that all the automakers needed to do was send him excellent product and he could do the rest.
“Guess what? You are sending product,” he said, adding that the direct worker input into quality and other manufacturing issues that the UAW negotiated into its contracts has borne fruit.
The Vice President said many politicians and elected officials have a problem pronouncing a simple, two-syllable word: union. If more learned how to pronounce it, he said, we could grow the middle class. He held up a graph that showed as the number of union members declined since 1968, the share of income going to the middle class has also declined. “We know collective bargaining is the bedrock of our economy. It’s not just about you,” he told delegates. “It’s about economic growth.”
The Vice President also credited our union with not simply being content to advocate for our members, but for a just society. It was a theme expressed earlier in the day in a stirring speech by UAW Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Williams, who referenced our support for the struggle for civil rights led by Walter Reuther in the 1960s and the struggle against apartheid led by President Owen Bieber in the 1980s. “Can you imagine (Bieber) explaining that to our members and why that was important to them?” he asked delegates.
Williams said we must communicate more with our members so they connect why a just minimum wage, global solidarity and other issues are critical to their own economic security.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
State of the Union January 22, 2014
January 22, 2014 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
We are pleased to announce that Missouri Governor Jay Nixon will be visiting Wentzville Assembly Center tomorrow. UAW Region 5 Director Gary Jones is also expected to attend. Gov. Nixon has been a strong advocate of the auto industry in Missouri and for us here in particular, in addition to being a longtime supporter of labor. The Governor is expected to arrive here at 11:45 am and after meeting with plant leadership, will make his way down the A-aisle and go to the audit room where he will have a few remarks for the workforce at 12:30 pm. Afterwards he will pose with our new pickups and employees for photos. Then Gov. Nixon will head to the St. Louis Auto Show along with Chairman Mike Bullock, Launch Manager Rick Murphy and GM Vehicle Engineer Anita Burke to speak to the media about our great new trucks. Let’s give the Governor a warm welcome and thank him for his continued support!
• Reminder: Union meeting is today at 2:45 pm.
• From Automotive News: Bob King admits he was overly optimistic early in his four-year term as UAW president when he predicted the union would be able to organize at least one of the foreign-owned auto plants in the southern United States quickly. But King said he believes the UAW will begin representing Volkswagen Group of America workers in Tennessee before union rules force him to retire in five months. The UAW is waiting for VW to respond to its request to recognize the union without a vote by the plant's workers. It has submitted cards signed by what King says are more than enough workers to prove that the employees want UAW representation. Anti-union activists are fighting the effort and have circulated petitions that they say should invalidate some of the cards. "I think and hope it will be soon," King said in an interview last week after his speech at the Automotive News World Congress. "We've got a very strong majority there. I'm confident once we agree on the process that the workers will choose to have UAW representation." Labor experts say the dispute over whether enough workers support union representation means VW is unlikely to let the UAW inside the plant without an election. VW executives have said they will respect workers' wishes. "I will accept -- support or accept -- what the workers in Chattanooga eventually, at one point of time, will decide to do," Michael Horn, the new CEO of Volkswagen AG's U.S. unit, told reporters at the Detroit auto show last week. "There's a big back and forth."
In the race to get the weight out of pickups, General Motors -- not Ford -- may actually be the biggest loser. Ford rolled out the long awaited 2015 aluminum-bodied F-150 this week, and claimed the curb weight will be 550 to 700 pounds less than the 2014 version forged with steel sheet metal. Hats off to Ford. That's huge. Because the F-150 is the nation's top-selling vehicle -- car or truck – a redesigned model is a major event. The introduction at the Detroit auto show sucked the oxygen out of the building; few auto writers paid more attention to anything else.
Lost in the F-150 hoopla is that GM is also in the lightweight game. GM stayed with steel in redesigning the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra for 2014. Instead of embracing aluminum, GM this fall will offer a slightly smaller truck, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. The new Colorado is actually also full-sized -- if you compare its length, width and other specs to the full-sized trucks GM built in the 1960s to early '90s. In fact, many of the dimensions overlap.
In the 1970s, GM trucks ranged in length from 186 inches to 216 inches. The 2015 Colorado ranges from 208 inches to 224.5 inches, depending on cab style and bed length. Those old trucks were 78 inches wide, while the 2015 Colorado is 74 inches and change. But here's an interesting Colorado tech spec: Every variant of the Colorado weighs about 900 pounds less than the 2014 Silverado. It also weighs within 100 pounds or so of the full-sized Chevy trucks of the '70s and '80s.
The Colorado will offer an array of engines -- including a new diesel. We don't yet know about fuel economy, but Chevy seems to have made it a priority. A four-cylinder with a six-speed manual transmission will be available. It's possible the Colorado could see close to the 30 mpg that Ford is aiming for with the 2015 F-150.
We do know Chevy's new truck can be put to work. Chevrolet spokesman Tom Wilkinson says the Colorado's maximum tow rating is 6,700 pounds -- about twice as much weight as the average boat or camper that gets hauled to the lake on weekends. Yes, the new F-150 will clobber the Colorado in towing -- today's top-spec F-150 can drag 11,300 pounds down the road. But Chevrolet may be on to something with Colorado.
Pickups have ballooned in size in the last 20 years, while smaller trucks have withered and died to the point they are almost extinct. It makes no sense to develop a small truck, such as those sold by Datsun, Toyota, and Mazda in the '70s and '80s, because few other vehicles could be built off the same architecture. And once all the required safety and comfort features are added, that small truck would probably be too expensive to sell profitably.
GM's strategy of offering two sizes of light-duty trucks may just work. But pricing -- to be announced later this year -- is crucial. The first-generation Colorado showed that if the two trucks are separated by only a few hundred dollars, most consumers will choose the bigger truck. If Colorado costs thousands less than Silverado, it'll find an audience. Either way, come this fall, consumers looking for a fuel-efficient, lightweight truck will have more than just the F-150 from which to choose.
We are pleased to announce that Missouri Governor Jay Nixon will be visiting Wentzville Assembly Center tomorrow. UAW Region 5 Director Gary Jones is also expected to attend. Gov. Nixon has been a strong advocate of the auto industry in Missouri and for us here in particular, in addition to being a longtime supporter of labor. The Governor is expected to arrive here at 11:45 am and after meeting with plant leadership, will make his way down the A-aisle and go to the audit room where he will have a few remarks for the workforce at 12:30 pm. Afterwards he will pose with our new pickups and employees for photos. Then Gov. Nixon will head to the St. Louis Auto Show along with Chairman Mike Bullock, Launch Manager Rick Murphy and GM Vehicle Engineer Anita Burke to speak to the media about our great new trucks. Let’s give the Governor a warm welcome and thank him for his continued support!
• Reminder: Union meeting is today at 2:45 pm.
• From Automotive News: Bob King admits he was overly optimistic early in his four-year term as UAW president when he predicted the union would be able to organize at least one of the foreign-owned auto plants in the southern United States quickly. But King said he believes the UAW will begin representing Volkswagen Group of America workers in Tennessee before union rules force him to retire in five months. The UAW is waiting for VW to respond to its request to recognize the union without a vote by the plant's workers. It has submitted cards signed by what King says are more than enough workers to prove that the employees want UAW representation. Anti-union activists are fighting the effort and have circulated petitions that they say should invalidate some of the cards. "I think and hope it will be soon," King said in an interview last week after his speech at the Automotive News World Congress. "We've got a very strong majority there. I'm confident once we agree on the process that the workers will choose to have UAW representation." Labor experts say the dispute over whether enough workers support union representation means VW is unlikely to let the UAW inside the plant without an election. VW executives have said they will respect workers' wishes. "I will accept -- support or accept -- what the workers in Chattanooga eventually, at one point of time, will decide to do," Michael Horn, the new CEO of Volkswagen AG's U.S. unit, told reporters at the Detroit auto show last week. "There's a big back and forth."
In the race to get the weight out of pickups, General Motors -- not Ford -- may actually be the biggest loser. Ford rolled out the long awaited 2015 aluminum-bodied F-150 this week, and claimed the curb weight will be 550 to 700 pounds less than the 2014 version forged with steel sheet metal. Hats off to Ford. That's huge. Because the F-150 is the nation's top-selling vehicle -- car or truck – a redesigned model is a major event. The introduction at the Detroit auto show sucked the oxygen out of the building; few auto writers paid more attention to anything else.
Lost in the F-150 hoopla is that GM is also in the lightweight game. GM stayed with steel in redesigning the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra for 2014. Instead of embracing aluminum, GM this fall will offer a slightly smaller truck, the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. The new Colorado is actually also full-sized -- if you compare its length, width and other specs to the full-sized trucks GM built in the 1960s to early '90s. In fact, many of the dimensions overlap.
In the 1970s, GM trucks ranged in length from 186 inches to 216 inches. The 2015 Colorado ranges from 208 inches to 224.5 inches, depending on cab style and bed length. Those old trucks were 78 inches wide, while the 2015 Colorado is 74 inches and change. But here's an interesting Colorado tech spec: Every variant of the Colorado weighs about 900 pounds less than the 2014 Silverado. It also weighs within 100 pounds or so of the full-sized Chevy trucks of the '70s and '80s.
The Colorado will offer an array of engines -- including a new diesel. We don't yet know about fuel economy, but Chevy seems to have made it a priority. A four-cylinder with a six-speed manual transmission will be available. It's possible the Colorado could see close to the 30 mpg that Ford is aiming for with the 2015 F-150.
We do know Chevy's new truck can be put to work. Chevrolet spokesman Tom Wilkinson says the Colorado's maximum tow rating is 6,700 pounds -- about twice as much weight as the average boat or camper that gets hauled to the lake on weekends. Yes, the new F-150 will clobber the Colorado in towing -- today's top-spec F-150 can drag 11,300 pounds down the road. But Chevrolet may be on to something with Colorado.
Pickups have ballooned in size in the last 20 years, while smaller trucks have withered and died to the point they are almost extinct. It makes no sense to develop a small truck, such as those sold by Datsun, Toyota, and Mazda in the '70s and '80s, because few other vehicles could be built off the same architecture. And once all the required safety and comfort features are added, that small truck would probably be too expensive to sell profitably.
GM's strategy of offering two sizes of light-duty trucks may just work. But pricing -- to be announced later this year -- is crucial. The first-generation Colorado showed that if the two trucks are separated by only a few hundred dollars, most consumers will choose the bigger truck. If Colorado costs thousands less than Silverado, it'll find an audience. Either way, come this fall, consumers looking for a fuel-efficient, lightweight truck will have more than just the F-150 from which to choose.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
State of the Union January 14, 2014
January 14, 2014 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
• Van sales picked up in December. Combined sales of the Express and Savana were 9747, up 11.8% over 2012. Here’s how the rest of the segment fared:
The strong sales month depleted field supplies to 47 days from 68 at the end of November. For the 2013 calendar year GM van sales were 95,792 vs. 97,458 for 2012, a drop of 1.7%. GMC cutaways accounted for all of the decline and then some, slipping 3600 units. As you can see, it didn’t take long for the Ram Promaster to surpass the Nissan NV in sales. Ford is expected to begin production of the long-awaited full size Transit, which replaces the Econoline, later this year. Looking at midsize pickups, Toyota sold 12,761 Tacomas in December, down 9%. For the year they sold 159,485, up 12.8%. Nissan sold 5411 Frontiers last month, up 46.7%. For the year they sold 62,837, up 13.4%. So the segment is already growing even before we get involved.
Mark your calendars - GM is expected to announce 4th quarter and full year earnings on Thursday, Feb. 6. (profit sharing currently stands at $5500)
From the Detroit News: Mark Reuss, GM’s North American president, admits his company is taking a risk with its three-size truck strategy across two brands. Smaller pickups, GM believes, will offer customers a greater number of options and help the Detroit-based automaker meet federal fuel efficiency standards. But Reuss isn’t afraid that GM’s strategy won’t keep pace with Ford’s, which includes one popular nameplate — the F-Series — and a huge gamble on aluminum parts to help its trucks shed weight to meet the same fuel economy targets. “It’s wild,” Reuss said in a recent interview. “I’m loving it.” GM and Ford have important truck debuts at next week’s North American International Auto Show: GM, Sunday, re-introduced the midsize GMC Canyon pickup — sister of the already unveiled Colorado.
The two are being added back to its lineup. On Monday, Ford unwrapped its next-generation F-150, a truck much lighter than the current model thanks to more extensive use of aluminum in the body. The market segment of smaller pickups — known as midsize trucks — has declined for decades. And extensive use of aluminum in pickups is an untested approach. While truck owners are overwhelmingly brand loyal, there’s a real chance GM or Ford — or both — is choosing the wrong strategy for some of their most profitable vehicles.
“This could be a defining moment for Ford and the truck segment as a whole,” said Alec Gutierrez, an auto analyst at Kelley Blue Book. “Ford is subdividing the F-150 lineup to reach buyers and GM is using a multi-vehicle approach across the entire pickup segment,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for research firm LMC Automotive. Both could be successful approaches, he said, but “it’s not a slam dunk in either case.”
LMC’s Schuster said Chrysler had been considering a smaller truck, more like Honda Motor Co.’s Ridgeline (Chrysler’s Ram brand has shelved any plans to build a midsize truck, said spokesman David Elshoff). Honda said it will debut a new Ridgeline within two years and Schuster said it’s possible more automakers could look at smaller trucks to win younger buyers. IHS Automotive predicts the midsize truck segment will grow from about 1.6 percent of sales today to 1.9 percent or 2 percent of the industry by 2015 or 2016. Reuss said federal fuel economy regulations are part of GM’s business decision to offer midsize trucks. In 2016, automakers must meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy ratings of 35.5 miles per gallon in the U.S. He said the Colorado is some 900 pounds lighter than the Silverado. Jeff Luke, GM’s chief truck engineer, said the anticipated EPA sticker figures will top the fuel economy of the Silverado, Sierra and old Canyon and Colorado, which at best hit 25 mpg on the highway.
“If you look at this graphically and mathematically, you can’t get to an efficiency place that this truck is going to offer no matter what you do to a full-size pickup truck,” Reuss said during an interview with reporters at the LA Auto Show at which Ford executives were seen checking out the Colorado. “And so if you try and do it, all you’re doing is adding cost and not getting the return of the mass out of it.” Ford thinks differently, and although its goal is not to match the weight differential between GM’s full-size and midsize trucks, it could come close. The Dearborn automaker wants to shed at least 250 pounds — and upward of 750 pounds — from each of its vehicles to boost fuel efficiency.
From the Chattanooga Times Free Press: Volkswagen and the United Auto Workers union leaders say they are continuing to talk about how a works council may be created in Chattanooga to help bring workers and managers together to plan car production. But both sides say any decision about union representation at the VW plant in Chattanooga should be made by the hourly employees at the facility. Volkswagen of America’s new chief executive, in his first comments on union organizing efforts at the company’s Chattanooga plant, said Monday he will accept whatever workers at the factory decide on the issue. “Democracy is an important part of American culture,” Michael Horn said at the North American International Auto Show. “That’s a fundamental view I have personally,” he said. United Auto Workers chief Bob King said a majority of Volkswagen plant employees in Chattanooga have signed cards supporting organizing efforts and that he isn’t opposed to an election at the factory. “Card check is the fastest way” [to recognizing the union], he said. “We’re big supporters of workers having the right to decide representation. We favor elections.” King also said he doesn’t want an adversarial relationship with U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and he desires a collaborative one with Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, R-Tenn., who have both criticized the unionizing effort at the plant and worry about its impact on economic development in the state.
Tom Brune
• Van sales picked up in December. Combined sales of the Express and Savana were 9747, up 11.8% over 2012. Here’s how the rest of the segment fared:
| 2013 | 2012 | Change | Share | |
| Ford Econoline | 12,460 | 11,999 | +3.8% | 43.8% |
| GM | 9,747 | 8,717 | +11.8% | 34.3% |
| Mercedes Sprinter | 2,828 | 2231 | +26.8% | 10.0% |
| Ram Promaster | 1,872 | --- | --- | 6.6% |
| Nissan NV | 1,512 | 1250 | +21% | 5.3% |
| Ford Transit Connect | 3,787 | 3776 | +.3% | |
| Nissan NV 200 | 793 |
The strong sales month depleted field supplies to 47 days from 68 at the end of November. For the 2013 calendar year GM van sales were 95,792 vs. 97,458 for 2012, a drop of 1.7%. GMC cutaways accounted for all of the decline and then some, slipping 3600 units. As you can see, it didn’t take long for the Ram Promaster to surpass the Nissan NV in sales. Ford is expected to begin production of the long-awaited full size Transit, which replaces the Econoline, later this year. Looking at midsize pickups, Toyota sold 12,761 Tacomas in December, down 9%. For the year they sold 159,485, up 12.8%. Nissan sold 5411 Frontiers last month, up 46.7%. For the year they sold 62,837, up 13.4%. So the segment is already growing even before we get involved.
Mark your calendars - GM is expected to announce 4th quarter and full year earnings on Thursday, Feb. 6. (profit sharing currently stands at $5500)
From the Detroit News: Mark Reuss, GM’s North American president, admits his company is taking a risk with its three-size truck strategy across two brands. Smaller pickups, GM believes, will offer customers a greater number of options and help the Detroit-based automaker meet federal fuel efficiency standards. But Reuss isn’t afraid that GM’s strategy won’t keep pace with Ford’s, which includes one popular nameplate — the F-Series — and a huge gamble on aluminum parts to help its trucks shed weight to meet the same fuel economy targets. “It’s wild,” Reuss said in a recent interview. “I’m loving it.” GM and Ford have important truck debuts at next week’s North American International Auto Show: GM, Sunday, re-introduced the midsize GMC Canyon pickup — sister of the already unveiled Colorado.
The two are being added back to its lineup. On Monday, Ford unwrapped its next-generation F-150, a truck much lighter than the current model thanks to more extensive use of aluminum in the body. The market segment of smaller pickups — known as midsize trucks — has declined for decades. And extensive use of aluminum in pickups is an untested approach. While truck owners are overwhelmingly brand loyal, there’s a real chance GM or Ford — or both — is choosing the wrong strategy for some of their most profitable vehicles.
“This could be a defining moment for Ford and the truck segment as a whole,” said Alec Gutierrez, an auto analyst at Kelley Blue Book. “Ford is subdividing the F-150 lineup to reach buyers and GM is using a multi-vehicle approach across the entire pickup segment,” said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for research firm LMC Automotive. Both could be successful approaches, he said, but “it’s not a slam dunk in either case.”
LMC’s Schuster said Chrysler had been considering a smaller truck, more like Honda Motor Co.’s Ridgeline (Chrysler’s Ram brand has shelved any plans to build a midsize truck, said spokesman David Elshoff). Honda said it will debut a new Ridgeline within two years and Schuster said it’s possible more automakers could look at smaller trucks to win younger buyers. IHS Automotive predicts the midsize truck segment will grow from about 1.6 percent of sales today to 1.9 percent or 2 percent of the industry by 2015 or 2016. Reuss said federal fuel economy regulations are part of GM’s business decision to offer midsize trucks. In 2016, automakers must meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy ratings of 35.5 miles per gallon in the U.S. He said the Colorado is some 900 pounds lighter than the Silverado. Jeff Luke, GM’s chief truck engineer, said the anticipated EPA sticker figures will top the fuel economy of the Silverado, Sierra and old Canyon and Colorado, which at best hit 25 mpg on the highway.
“If you look at this graphically and mathematically, you can’t get to an efficiency place that this truck is going to offer no matter what you do to a full-size pickup truck,” Reuss said during an interview with reporters at the LA Auto Show at which Ford executives were seen checking out the Colorado. “And so if you try and do it, all you’re doing is adding cost and not getting the return of the mass out of it.” Ford thinks differently, and although its goal is not to match the weight differential between GM’s full-size and midsize trucks, it could come close. The Dearborn automaker wants to shed at least 250 pounds — and upward of 750 pounds — from each of its vehicles to boost fuel efficiency.
From the Chattanooga Times Free Press: Volkswagen and the United Auto Workers union leaders say they are continuing to talk about how a works council may be created in Chattanooga to help bring workers and managers together to plan car production. But both sides say any decision about union representation at the VW plant in Chattanooga should be made by the hourly employees at the facility. Volkswagen of America’s new chief executive, in his first comments on union organizing efforts at the company’s Chattanooga plant, said Monday he will accept whatever workers at the factory decide on the issue. “Democracy is an important part of American culture,” Michael Horn said at the North American International Auto Show. “That’s a fundamental view I have personally,” he said. United Auto Workers chief Bob King said a majority of Volkswagen plant employees in Chattanooga have signed cards supporting organizing efforts and that he isn’t opposed to an election at the factory. “Card check is the fastest way” [to recognizing the union], he said. “We’re big supporters of workers having the right to decide representation. We favor elections.” King also said he doesn’t want an adversarial relationship with U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and he desires a collaborative one with Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, R-Tenn., who have both criticized the unionizing effort at the plant and worry about its impact on economic development in the state.
Tom Brune
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