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Filed under: Etc. , Plants/Manufacturing , UAW/Unions , Lifestyle , Event Alert In case you didn't know this was going on, Detroit is in the grips of the Assembly Line Concert, a 240-hour non-stop shebang that still has more than 100 hours to go. A. J. O'Neil, a Detroit-area coffee shop owner, decided to attempt a record-breaking charity event that would assist, support, and call attention to the American auto worker. He's done it by trying to line up 240 acts -- from professional bands to politicians (no, really) to Detroiters who just want to play a ditty to show their love -- that will perform one hour sets for ten straight days. And even though the folks in the logo are obviously listening to Skynyrd, the Free Bird folks won't be appearing. So far there are 213 acts scheduled. There's still time to play if you've got the feeling, and if you just want to watch, you can head down any time of the day or check out the concert's live feed . [Source: Assembly Line...
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Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , Chrysler, LLC. , UAW/Unions , Canada Remember the worker standoff at Aradco, the Canadian supplier of engine mounts to Chrysler? The automaker had said that the dispute would need to be settled by the end of the week - that would be today, of course - and that's exactly what has happened. According to Canadian Driver , an agreement has been reached between the Canadian Auto Workers union employees and the automaker that sees the displaced employees repaid most of what they were owed, which they claim included a total of $1.7 million in severance, termination and vacation pay. Even though this particular event had a mostly happy ending, union officials in Canada have scolded Chrysler for allowing it to happen in the first place. With a possible bankruptcy looming over two of America's major automakers, this is a salient point that could be revisited time and time again until things get back on track. In Canada's case, though, the country...
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Filed under: Government/Legal , Chrysler, LLC. , FIAT , UAW/Unions According to The Detroit News , the United Auto Workers is giving its blessings to a potential Chrysler-Fiat tie-up. Chrysler honcho Bob Nardelli earlier pegged the possible union as a $10 billion bonanza for Chrysler, since the Pentastar would save money on developing a range of platforms, engines, and cars. The UAW's interest is, of course, the job savings: the partnership has been said to be worth 5,000 jobs that might otherwise be lost. But with current timelines, the question is where Chrysler and the UAW will be by the time such a partnership gets to the next stage. Fiat expects to complete its due diligence of Chrysler by the end of this month. But by that time, Chrysler will need to have secured concessions from the UAW and bondholders in order to get additional money from the U.S. government. Whether it will get the concessions from both parties - and what the government will do when it comes time to write a...
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Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , UAW/Unions Despite rumors to the contrary, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger is getting off the merry-go-round in 2010. The embattled union head honcho had been rumored to be considering seeking a third four-year term , but Gettelfinger himself has since gone on record saying that such notions are "totally untrue and totally unfounded." Instead, he will retire at age 65 next year in accordance with UAW policies. There is no word yet on who will replace Gettelfinger next year, and if the current economic and auto industry malaise continues, whoever succeeds him will assuredly be stepping into a very difficult position. In the meantime, Gettelfinger will continue to work with the Detroit 3 and other union officials to try and protect worker benefits and compensation packages. [Sources: DowJones via CNNMoney.com ; Detroit News | Image: Bill Pugliano/Getty] REPORT: UAW Chief Ron Gettelfinger confirms retirement in 2010 originally...
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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Chrysler, LLC. , Dodge , Earnings/Financials , UAW/Unions , Rumormill According to The Canadian Press , Chrysler may elect to pull all manufacturing operations out of Canada if it cannot come to an agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers by month's end. The embattled automaker is looking negotiating with the CAW in part to reduce wages from an average of $76 to $57, and as part of a contingency plan/ bargaining chip, it is reportedly architecting a wholesale pullout from America's northern neighbors. The pullout would jeopardize some 10,000 jobs at the company's two plants in Ontario and another facility in Toronto. It would also mean that production would have to shift (or end) for a number of key Chrysler products, including the company's minivans (and Volkswagen's Routan), as well as the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and Dodge Challenger. The likely alternatives, say analysts, would be to push minivan production back to the St....
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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Ford , Earnings/Financials , UAW/Unions , Canada GM just ratified an agreement with the Canadian Auto Workers union, and as soon as it did, Chrysler blasted it for being "weak." Chrysler's complaint was that the CAW didn't offer enough concessions to bring production costs into line with market realities. Now Ford has piped up in Chrysler's corner, saying " We believe the recently negotiated agreement between General Motors Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers will not keep Ford's Canadian operations competitive in today's global economy ." Ford's Canadian labor costs per hour are supposed to be $70 Canadian, about $55 in U.S. dollars. Even though that is the amount that Ford recently just got its American labor costs down to, the company says it will need more savings from up north. GM, which hailed the agreement as promising, hasn't commented on its competitors' assessments, and neither has the CAW...
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Filed under: GM , Earnings/Financials , UAW/Unions , Canada The Canadian Auto Workers union has ratified a new contract with General Motors that should help substantially reduce the automaker's operating costs in Canada. The template of the agreement is very similar to the one reached here in the U.S. between Ford and the UAW recently. CAW said 87% of its GM workers voted to accept frozen wages, paying more for health care and losing some paid time off, among other rollbacks. However, the cuts won't take effect until Canada's government finalizes and distributes aid money to General Motors. The U.S. automaker has asked the Canadian government and province of Ontario for up to C$7 billion ($5.4 billion) in loans. UPDATE: GM's official statement included after the jump. [Source: Automotive News , sub. req'd] Continue reading GM Canada workers approve contract concessions GM Canada workers approve contract concessions originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 12 Mar 2009...
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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing , Ford , Earnings/Financials , UAW/Unions Two years ago when Ford was negotiating a new contract with the UAW, the automaker was paying its union workers the oft-bandied amount of $70 per hour. That amount wasn't the actual hourly wage of each employee, though, but rather the employee's hourly wage plus the cost of contributions to current and future benefits for retirees and workers still with the company. Now, due to a newly signed agreement with the United Auto Workers union, Ford projects that total cost per worker will go down to $55 per hour. That puts The Blue Oval only about $5 away from the total hourly compensation paid by transplanted automakers like Toyota and Honda to their non-union workers. Among measures such as cutting overtime, bonuses, cost-of-living increases, and one paid holiday, Ford reworked its contribution to the VEBA account that will fund retiree healthcare so that it can pay into it with stock instead of cash, the total...
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