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More locals veto Chrysler deal

by rockylee on Sat Oct 20 06:15:53 PDT 2007

UAW lobbies support as Detroit Axle, two other plants oppose contract Two more locals on Friday defeated the four-year tentative agreement between the United Auto Workers and Chrysler LLC, in the wake of a resounding "no" vote the day before at an assembly plant in Missouri. Workers at Detroit Axle narrowly defeated the contract by a 53.5 percent margin in a vote from Local 961 that represents about 1,430 workers at the plant. Earlier Friday, workers from Local 122 at the Chrysler Twinsburg, Ohio, stamping plant voted the contract down by a 53 percent margin. The plant represents 1,150 workers. Some 9,500 employees at six locals nationwide were to vote on the agreement Friday, including Local 372 in Trenton. Results from some locals were not available late Friday. The vote at Detroit Axle stunned Local 961 president Ed May. "I was totally floored," May said Friday night following the final vote count. "For that membership to turn that down, I was appalled. To me, it was like they really don't care. Some of the membership is confused; some were misled." Two workers at Detroit Axle on Lynch Street said the severity of the two-tier wage system was a key issue in the rejection. On the first day of voting Thursday, the contract drew a split decision, but the "no" vote was the loudest. At the St. Louis North Assembly plant representing 2,100 workers, the contract was rejected by 81 percent of voters, while at an engine plant in Kenosha, Wis., with about 800 UAW workers, 82 percent OK'd the deal. The rejection unsettled some of those voting in Trenton Friday. "That took me by surprise and made me think a little bit more about how I'd vote," said Dean DeMarco, who ultimately voted "yes" for the tentative agreement. "I think we could've gotten more, but what's the point in fighting for it? So we can go on another strike? I'll take what we can get." Two provisions of the landmark agreement are proving to be particularly troublesome for the rank and file: A two-tier wage system in which new hires in jobs not directly tied to the assembly of vehicles would be paid less; and the lack of specific product commitments for Chrysler plants. The deal does promise up to $15 billion in new domestic investment, offer workers a $3,000 bonus, and creates a union-controlled trust fund to cover retiree health care costs. Ratification of the contract requires a majority vote of some 45,000 Chrysler workers eligible to vote. Voting is expected to wrap up Wednesday. On Friday, some workers stood firmly in support of their leadership and the agreement. "The health benefits, retiree benefits and profit sharing are a good thing," said Ernest Milo, shortly after he voted for the contract at Local 961. "We are just trying to hold on to our jobs." Still, with more contract rejections Friday, that could affect the decisions of the more than 8,800 members scheduled to vote today and Sunday, said Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. "You are beginning to see a groundswell against this agreement," he said. "Opposition can be a self-perpetuating force. Once one local turns it down, others will be willing to vote 'no.' " John Hernandez, a worker at Sterling Heights Assembly Plant who will cast his ballot next week, said Friday that the Missouri vote is a wake up call for UAW leaders. "I think the (Missouri vote) is a good thing -- it's going to shake up the international office," he said. "They'll think twice about what they push in our laps." Hernandez said he's upset that Chrysler wouldn't say which products are coming next to many plants, including his own, while General Motors Corp. gave specific guarantees. He also said that the two-tier wage systems would split the membership. In an unprecedented move, top UAW leadership is lobbying the rank-and-file hard for passage. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and UAW Vice President General Holiefield this week have been visiting workers preparing to vote. And on Wednesday, Holiefield sent a memo to local union leaders asking all appointed union representatives to sign the memo endorsing the agreement. "With teamwork in the leadership and solidarity in the ranks, we will prevail and our members will be best served," Holiefield said in the memo. Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at University of California-Berkeley, said while such direct lobbying is unusual, it's not surprising given the complexity of the deal. "They've got to sell it not on what's making workers angry, but on the alternatives they face. (Leadership) feels it did the best they could in a tough economic situation." http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071020/AUTO01/710200338/1148- /rss25 -Rocky

Re: 2006 Odyssey EXL RES & NAV in Cleveland, Ohio [arbabc]

by cinderina on Fri Jun 02 11:08:01 PDT 2006

We are in Twinsburg and are looking at purchasing the basic EX-L within six months. Could you advise what dealer you purchased from? Also, what is the reason for your first ground rule? Thanks.

Nav systems, new Toureg, etc etc etc

by markcincinnati on Fri Jun 27 07:34:12 PDT 2003

First an admin note -- hopefully ALL CAPS does not translate into "I'm pissed." This is a discussion forum and other than FOR EMPHASIS, I would hope that the translation of all caps means the writer is yelling at us will cause us all to rethink writing everything in caps. Nav systems -- I don't know nuttin' about hand held Nav systems, so I will not, cannot comment about them. If they do what is said, they would seem to be a good thing, but for the life of me, I can't imagine using one as I walked around a "strange" city. But that is just me. On the other hand, I find -- even in my home town of Cincinnati -- that I use the Nav system regularly. And, since I am an IT and software consultant with a territory of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, southern Michigan and wester Pennslyvania (and a sometimes visit to West Va); and since a drive from Cincinnati to Cleveland takes 3.5 hours (which these days is about the same time it takes to fly) -- well I drive a lot. One day I have to go to "Twinsburg" Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland), the next day greater Lousiville, Kentucky then a quick trip to Columbus, Ohio followed by Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Of course, I could go on -- about all the little towns and even non-towns, but thankfully I won't. I use my sat nav system almost daily. Last night for example, my wife and I had opera tickets -- downtown Cincinnati. I was in a north eastern suburb of Cincinnati and started down the interstate highway. Traffic jam. I programmed my destination (which was a familiar location in downtown) and pushed the "traffic jam" button. The nav system rerouted me, I made it in plenty of time (10 min to spare) and enjoyed dinner and the opera. The computer took me ways that I would never have dreamed of -- and I have lived in this City since 1977. I consider sat nav as a technology that is "approaching the status of necessity." I consider it a time saver and perhaps more importantly a safety feature. I do not have to -- in unfamiliar surroundings -- concentrate on road signs and other guideposts -- I can concentrate on defensive driving, the sat nav lady takes care of virtually everything. And, she never gets mad if I miss a turn or ignore her deliberately. She knows where gas stations and ATM's are and when I was going to -- for me -- East Egypt (Sommerset Pennsylvania) and I was hungry, she introduced me to a wonderful Italian restaurant in Washington PA. Sat Nav -- by this time next year -- a necessity, not just a toy, not just a convenience. A time saver and perhaps a life saver. The in-car kind, FOR ME, the only way to go. We are on our fourth Audi with this technology and in Europe VW's of all kinds have the option of this technology. Don't leave home without it. And, this is not meant to be a slam on the hand held or aftermarket types -- When I was in Sacramento last month on business, I rented a Hertz car specifically with Neverlost (an aftermarket product) and used it successfully for three days to drive into Sacramento, Folsom and all around "wine country" where my client wanted to go to visit wineries that use the software we work with. One more must have rear Parktronic. Especially in an allroad and I would suspect in a Toureg it would be way beyond novel. And, a friendly response to the common sense comment: Common sense is an oxymoron. Common sense is generally "your sense" and therefore only "common" as in everyday and routine to 1 person or at most a small group of people (twins often have "common sense") -- if there was such a thing as common sense, why would anyone EVER pass on the right? And the list could, but once again thankfully will not go endlessly on. Strike the word common and I am OK -- common sense means reason and logic TO ONE PERSON -- it is hardly common to all or even many.