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McCain Stiffs U.S. Workers

by dallasdude1 on Tue Jul 22 17:03:33 PDT 2008

continued in denying an immense new contract to Boeing for refueling planes and helping the European Aeronautics Defense and Space Co. (EADS) get it instead, there was outrage from union halls to the halls of Congress over the impact on U.S. jobs, prestige and national security. On Monday, Boeing said it will formally challenge the decision. The company said it will ask the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to review the contract award. SPEEA President Cynthia Cole says: I am very disappointed for our members and all employees at Boeing. I’m surprised the Air Force chose an unproven technology and an inferior product for this important program that supports the men and women in our armed forces. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says his union supports Boeing’s decision to challenge the award: Instead of buying a tested refueling tanker, made in America by American workers, the Air Force is proposing to spend billions of our tax dollars on an untested plane, to be built by a government-subsidized European consortium. UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles, who directs the union’s Aerospace Department, notes that neither EADS nor Northrop Grumman has ever built a tanker with a refueling boom. Boeing, on the other hand, has been building refueling tankers for the U.S. military for more than 75 years. New Jersey AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech called the decision “unexplainable and reckless.” I am shocked by the Air Force’s intent to move the manufacturing of military aircraft to foreign soil, giving other countries the ability to slow down our military capacity, especially during a time of war and the necessity of heightened security. In a statement issued during its March 4–6 meeting in San Diego, the AFL-CIO Executive Council called for Congress to “do its job and exercise closer oversight of the relations between the Defense Department and foreign contractors.” In particular, the council said Congress should “defund” the contract, as well as conduct a full investigation into the circumstances under which the contract was awarded to a foreign contractor. The Executive Council also urged all the presidential candidates to condemn the contract and call for it to be overturned. Click here to read the council statement, “Offshoring America’s Economic And National Security.” Gene Lantz, radio host, KNON Editor, UAW 848 Secretary, Texas Alliance for Retired Americans Organizer, North Texas Jobs with Justice Communications Secretary, Dallas AFL-CIO and a few other things I don't get paid for "It is not sufficient to fight, it is also necessary to win."

McCain Stiffs U.S. Workers

by dallasdude1 on Tue Jul 22 17:00:45 PDT 2008

Helps Europeans Win Air Tanker Deal by James Parks, Mar 12, 2008 At a time when American jobs are disappearing and our manufacturing base is being decimated, working people are outraged that Republican presidential nominee John McCain played a key role in the Bush Defense Department’s decision to award one of our largest military contracts to a foreign company. Had Boeing been awarded the air tanker deal, it would have supported at least 44,000 new and existing jobs in the United States, many of them good union jobs, and more than 300 suppliers in 40 states. But now only a few thousand lower-paying nonunion jobs will be created. (Click here to send a message to your representatives in Congress, urging them to overturn this decision.) The DOD announced Feb. 29 the awarding of a $40 billion to $100 billion contract for the construction of Air Force refueling tankers to Northrop Grumann and the European firm EADS, which makes the Airbus. Defense expenditures are supposed to comply with federal Buy American Law provisions, which require purchasing certain products from American companies when possible. But this administration has granted more waivers of the Buy American provisions than any administration in history. Time magazine reports that McCain has been a “key figure” in the Pentagon’s attempt to complete the tanker deal. According to the news magazine, McCain wrote letters and pushed the Pentagon to change the bidding process so that Airbus’s government subsidies could not be considered when deciding to whom to award the contract. This placed Boeing, which receives no subsidies, at a clear disadvantage and conflicted with U.S. trade policy. In fact, the U.S. currently has a complaint before the World Trade Organization (WTO) charging unfair trade practices resulting from Airbus’s illegal subsidies. Time also reveals that two current advisers to McCain worked on the deal for Northrop and EADS as lobbyists. They gave up their lobbying jobs when they came to work for McCain’s campaign, but a third lobbyist, former Rep. Tom Loeffler (R-Texas), lobbied for EADS while serving as McCain’s national finance chairman. Click here to read the Time article. To top it off, OpenSecrets.org reports that McCain received $28,000 in contributions from EADS’s American employees, including CEO Ralph Crosby, Senior VP Sam Adcock and lobbyists representing EADS. This is the third time in three weeks it has been reported that McCain was involved in highly questionable conduct that belies his claim to be a crusader for integrity. Newsweek and The Washington Post reported that McCain pressured the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to vote on an application to buy a TV station submitted by Paxson Communications at the same time McCain was flying on Paxson’s corporate jet and accepting tens of thousands in campaign contributions. The media also pointed out that McCain weighed in on behalf of Glencairn Ltd, a client of one of his lobbyist friends, to urge the FCC to abandon efforts to close a loophole that was “vitally important” to Glencairn business. Click here to read the Newsweek article and here for the Washington Post story. Machinists (IAM) District 751 President Tom Wroblewski says U.S. taxpayers deserve a better deal. Now with this decision, America has to rely on a foreign country to defend our nation. This is wrong! And we will not stand silent on this issue. This is an unjustified gamble, which puts our armed services at risk. U.S. taxpayers shouldn’t be lining the pockets of Europeans. Tom Buffenbarger, president of IAM, says working people will fight “tooth and nail and get this decision overturned.” How we could turn over the crown jewel of support for our nation’s Air Force to foreign manufacturers is beyond me. We’re going to see that America gets what it deserves in the form of economic justice and fairness for American workers. Gregory Junemann, president of International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), says: By turning our backs on American workers, we have certainly missed a prime opportunity to reinvest American taxpayer dollars in our own workforce. Our tax dollars are still at work, but in this circumstance, they are working to the benefit of foreign workers, not U.S. workers. IAM and IFPTE combined represent 55,000 workers at Boeing. The stakes in the bidding were high. Boeing would have performed much of the tanker work in Everett, Wash., and Wichita, Kan., and used Pratt & Whitney engines built in Connecticut. The company said the contract would have supported at least 44,000 new and existing family-supporting union jobs at Boeing. The Northrop-Airbus proposal calls for converting new Airbus passenger jets, currently built in Toulouse, France, into tankers. Northrop said the planes will be constructed of European components that will be shipped to this country and assembled in a yet-to-be-built plant in Alabama, a so-called right-to-work state, resulting in far fewer U.S. jobs. In states with such laws, the average pay for workers is 15 percent less than in states where workers have rights to bargain contracts (including wages and benefits). Richard Spevak, a member of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace/IFPTE Local 2001 (SPEEA) in Wichita, speaks for many working people when he says: I’m so mad I could spit. As an American taxpayer and worker, this is the most blatantly stupid thing our government has done.. Most of the jobs in this will be in a foreign country when it could be done here by Americans. I feel truly betrayed by the U.S. government. Also consider this: How safe are we when major military equipment has to come from outside the country clear across the ocean? SPEEA members played a big role in designing the Boeing tanker. Workers in Washington state and Wichita weren’t the only losers. Dominic DiFrancesco, former national commander of the American Legion, wrote in the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot: For Pennsylvania, the stakes couldn’t be greater. The federal Base Realignment and Closing Commission’s decision to close a number of military facilities here will eliminate nearly 2,000 military and civilian jobs. On the other hand, we have a number of respected aeronautics companies in the state that would become subcontractors to Boeing if it wins the bid. We’re talking about preserving and growing hundreds of jobs. The Downwithtyranny blog says the extent to which workers reject the policies of McCain were highlighted in yesterday’s strong worker support for the Democratic winner in the special congressional election in Indiana on Tuesday over a McCain-backed Republican. André Carson’s victory was a referendum on “McBush.” Shipping American jobs overseas may be someone’s idea of “free trade,” but it doesn’t go over outside of the board rooms. When McCain bragged about having been instrumental

Re: Chrysler sales [scoutll]

by tractor_17 on Sat Jul 05 07:16:19 PDT 2008

"combined don't exceed the US payroll of just Chrysler," Don't you mean DAIMLER Chrysler? The german/europe based company? Daimler AG From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from DaimlerChrysler) Jump to: navigation, search Daimler AG Type Public (FWB: DAI, NYSE: DAI) Founded 2007 Headquarters Stuttgart, Germany Key people Dieter Zetsche, Chairman/CEO Industry Auto & Truck Manufacturers Products Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Maybach, Smart, Western Star, Freightliner, Orion Bus, more Revenue ▲€ 99.4 billion[1] (2007) Net income ▲€ 8.7 billion[1] (2007) Employees 272,382[1] (2007) Website daimler.com Daimler AG (ISIN: DE0007100000) (formerly DaimlerChrysler AG, Daimler-Benz AG) is a German car corporation (not to be confused with the British car-maker Daimler Motor Company) and the world's thirteenth largest car manufacturer. By revenue it is the largest German company. As well as automobiles, Daimler manufactures trucks and provides financial services through its Daimler Financial Services arm. The company also owns major stakes in aerospace group EADS, auto engineers McLaren Group, Japanese truck maker Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation and US automaker Chrysler Holding LLC. DaimlerChrysler was founded between 1998-2007 when Mercedes-Benz manufacturer Daimler-Benz (1926-1998) of Stuttgart, Germany merged with the US-based Chrysler Corporation. The deal created a new entity, DaimlerChrysler. However, the buyout failed to produce the trans-Atlantic automotive powerhouse dealmakers had hoped for, and DaimlerChrysler announced on 14 May 2007 that it would sell Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management of New York, a private equity firm that specializes in restructuring troubled companies, effectively unwinding the original transaction.[2] On October 4, 2007 a DaimlerChrysler Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting approved the renaming of the company. From October 5, 2007, the company has been titled Daimler AG.[3] The US company adopted the name Chrysler LLC when the sale completed on 3 August 2007. Daimler produces cars and trucks under the brands of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Smart, Freightliner and many others. Contents [hide] 1 Former Chrysler operations 1.1 Sale of Chrysler 2 Management 3 Daimler shareholders 4 Brands 5 Holdings 6 Biofuel research 7 See also 8 References 9 External links [edit] Former Chrysler operations Chrysler has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years, culminating in DaimlerChrysler's agreement to sell the unit to Cerberus Capital Management in May 2007 for US$6 billion. Through most of its history, Chrysler has been the third largest of the "Big 3" US auto makers, but in January 2007, DaimlerChrysler, excluding its luxury Mercedes and Maybach lines, also outsold traditionally second place Ford, though behind General Motors and Toyota. Chrysler reported losses of US$1.5 billion in 2006. It then announced plans to lay off 13,000 employees in mid-February 2007, close a major assembly plant and reduce production at other plants in order to restore profitability by 2008.[4] The merger was contentious with investors launching lawsuits over whether the transaction was the 'merger of equals' that senior management claimed or actually amounted to a Daimler-Benz takeover of Chrysler. A class action investor lawsuit was settled in August 2003 for US$300 million while a suit by billionaire investor activist Kirk Kerkorian was dismissed on April 7, 2005.[5] The transaction claimed the job of its architect, Chairman Jürgen E. Schrempp, who resigned at the end of 2005 in response to the fall of the company's share price following the transaction. The merger was also the subject of a book Taken for a Ride: How Daimler-Benz Drove Off With Chrysler, (2000) by Bill Vlasic and Bradley A. Stertz.[6] Another issue of contention is whether the merger delivered promised synergies and successfully integrated the two businesses. As late as 2002, DaimlerChrysler appeared to run two independent product lines. Later that year, the company launched products that appear to integrate elements from both sides of the company, including the Chrysler Crossfire, which used extensive Mercedes parts and the Dodge Sprinter/Freightliner Sprinter, a re-badged Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. [edit] Sale of Chrysler DaimlerChrysler had reportedly approached other carmakers and investment groups to sell Chrysler in early 2007. General Motors was reported to be a suitor while Volkswagen, the Renault-Nissan auto alliance, and Hyundai Motor Company had said that they weren't interested in buying the company. On August 3, 2007, DaimlerChysler completed the sale of Chrysler Group to Cerberus Capital Management. The original agreement stated that Cerberus would take an 80.1 percent stake in the new company, Chrysler Holding LLC. DaimlerChrysler changed its name to Daimler AG and retained the remaining 19.9% stake in the separated Chrysler.[7] The terms saw Daimler pay Cerberus US$650 million to take Chrysler and associated liabilities off its hands. This is a remarkable reverse in fortunes on the US$36 billion paid to acquire Chrysler in 1998. Of the US$7.4 billion purchase price, Cerberus Capital Management will invest US$5 billion in Chrysler Holdings and US$1.05 billion in Chrysler’s financial unit. The de-merged Daimler AG received US$1.35 billion directly from Cerberus but directly invested US$2 billion in Chrysler itself. [edit] Management Dr. Dieter Zetsche has been the Chairman of Daimler and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars since January 1, 2006 as well as member of Board of Management since 1998. He was former President and CEO of the Chrysler, LLC (previously owned by Daimler AG), he maybe best known in the United States as Dr. Z from a Chrysler advertising campaign called "Ask Dr. Z". Current members of the Board of Management of Daimler AG are: Dr. Dieter Zetsche: Chairman of the Board as well as Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. Gunther Fleig: Head of Human Resources and Labor Relations. Dr. Rudiger Grube: Head of Corporate Development. Andreas Renschler: Head of Daimler Trucks. Bodo Uebber: Head of Finance and Controlling as well as Financial Services. Dr. Thomas Weber: Head of Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. Current members of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG are: Heinrich Flegel, Juergen Hambrecht, Thomas Klebe, Erich Klemm, Arnaud Lagardère, Jürgen Langer, Helmut Lense, Sari Baldauf, William Owens, Ansgar Osseforth, Valter Sanches, Manfred Schneider, Stefan Schwaab, Bernhard Walter, Lynton Wilson, Mark Wössner, Manfred Bischoff, Clemens Börsig and Uwe Werner. Dr Manfred Bischoff serves as the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG and Erich Klemm as Vice-Chairman. [8] [edit] Daimler shareholders The largest voting shareholder of Daimler is the Kuwait Investment Authority with 7.2% (as of December 31 2007).[9] T

Re: '06 It's NOT A Headrest [jpo4]

by blane on Tue Sep 04 14:30:58 PDT 2007

Those things behind your head are not for resting. They are Active Head RESTRAINTS (AHR) to keep your head restrained, thus minimizing potential whiplash. Anyone who tries to replace, modify or otherwise defeat the engineers' work is not doing themselves a favor. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_restraints/headrestraints.aspx?honda http://www.iihs.org/sr/pdfs/sr3609.pdf

Re: Refocus Mercury to be European...? [nvbanker]

by davethecarnut on Sun Jun 10 23:21:17 PDT 2007

Ford should absolutely bring that Mondeo over here. What a great looking car. Very close to the 3 series BMW but not quite as "Bangled". But Alan may not bring it over. Bill will have to remind him it's not made by EADS.

Gas Price Increases

by jae5 on Fri Nov 10 10:24:10 PST 2006

Here's an interesting article Ir ead today about the current fuel prices. Has a tie-in to the elections, crude oil prices, production cuts, the usual: Fuel prices at the pump have inched higher over the past three days, as the price of crude oil has seesawed on production cuts and forecasts for higher global demand. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded stood at $2.22 today, up 2 cents from Tuesday, Nov. 7, according to AAA, of Heathrow, Fla. Today's average price is just 3 cents shy of the month-ago average, and 12 cents less than the average from a year ago. The average prices for midgrade and premium unleaded gasoline are also up 2 cents a gallon from three days ago. Midgrade sells today for an average of $2.35 a gallon and premium sells for an average of $2.44 a gallon. Diesel fuel continues to be more expensive than gasoline. A gallon of diesel sells today for an average of $2.61 a gallon, up 1 cent from three days ago. One year ago, diesel was selling for an average of $2.85 a gallon. The price of crude oil jumped above $61 a barrel on Thursday, Nov. 9, after U.S. elections and an International Energy Agency report forecasting higher demand for oil in the fourth quarter of this year, according to the Associated Press. The report expected higher demand in the United States in this year's final quarter, when compared with the same period last year. A year ago, demand fell as fuel prices soared in the wake of damage from Hurricane Katrina. But crude oil prices slid back to near $60 a barrel this morning, despite those factors and hints that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may consider another production cutback. OPEC member nations agreed to reduce production by a combined 1.2 million barrels a day, starting Nov. 1. Las Vegas was the site of the highest price for regular unleaded gasoline in the nation at $3.35 a gallon, according to spotters at GasPriceWatch.com. Spotters found regular unleaded selling for $1.89 a gallon in Verona, Va., the lowest price listed on the Web site. GasPriceWatch.com uses volunteer spotters to monitor fuel prices. National Unleaded Average Regular Mid Premium Diesel Current Avg. $2.22 $2.35 $2.44 $2.61 Yesterday Avg. $2.21 $2.35 $2.43 $2.61 Month Ago Avg. $2.26 $2.39 $2.48 $2.62 Year Ago Avg. $2.35 $2.50 $2.59 $2.85