UAW and Detroit Three Agreements Bring Jobs, Cars to U.S.

[Krista Davenport]

UAW and Detroit Three Agreements Bring Jobs, Cars to U.S.




The United Auto Workers and Chrysler reached a new four-year contract today, capping Detroit Three negotiations that included ratification with GM on Sept. 28 and vote-pending ratification with Ford, which union officials expect by Monday.

The contract agreements should add to the UAW’s Detroit Three ranks — currently at 112,000, a fraction of its membership in the 1970s and ‘80s — with jobs and cars returning to the U.S. Despite ruffled feathers at Chrysler when the UAW bumped Ford ahead in its negotiations, the process wrapped up in orderly fashion, with little apparent strife.

The agreements should create more than 14,000 new jobs: 2,100 at Chrysler, 5,750 at Ford and 6,400 at GM, the UAW says. Those are proportionate additions to current GM and Ford ranks, with a smaller addition to Fiat-owned Chrysler. The three automakers will invest more than $13 billion in U.S. salaries and infrastructure over the next four years, with a handful of future models locked in. Rather than getting hourly raises, UAW employees at all three companies will receive signing bonuses and profit-sharing programs, an important step for Detroit carmakers to keep labor costs down. Entry-level workers will get an hourly raise.

The agreements bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.
Ford will bring production of its next-generation Fusion to Flat Rock, Mich., where the Mustang and Mazda6 are currently built. Ford builds today’s Fusion in Mexico, a country where autoworkers average just $3.75 an hour compared with an average of $33.46 in America, IHS Automotive reports. That could put the popular Fusion in contention for Cars.com’s American Made Index if Ford builds enough of them here. The UAW contract names Flat Rock as a "second source" of Fusion production, meaning some production could remain south of the border.

Other insourcing includes the Transit Connect cargo van, which Ford will build in Kansas City, Mo. Currently, all Transits bought here are built in Turkey. The UAW deal also slates the C-Max hybrid, next-generation Escape crossover and next-gen Mustang for U.S. production.

GM, meanwhile, will reopen its Spring Hill, Tenn., plant — made famous in Saturn commercials — to build two midsize vehicles. The redesigned Chevrolet Colorado pickup will stay here, possibly at GM’s Wentzville, Mo., plant. The next-gen Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra will retain production in Fort Wayne, Ind.

The product fruits of Chrysler’s contract remain unclear, but Automotive News reports the U.S. could see production of two Alfa Romeo vehicles in Chrysler plants in Toledo, Ohio, and Sterling Heights, Mich. As reported before, a new Dodge compact will come out of Chrysler’s plant in Belvidere, Ill.


http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2011/10/uaw-and-detroit-three-agreements-bring-jobs-cars-to-us.html

[Krista Davenport]

Just think, if Obama hadn't bailed out the auto industry, we wouldn't have ANY of these jobs right now.

[Volitzer]

Wow so after all the billions given to them to bail them out, I guess the Big-3 need to act like they are bringing jobs here to America in order to get Obama re-elected in the mid-west.

This is like giving someone an appetizer to lull them in, then giving them a picture of a big meal.

Let's see 14,000 as compared to the millions laid off.

They could have opened more if they weren't shipped to Brazil.

[Krista Davenport]

See, I looked up that Brazil outsourcing thing the other day and there are very few autoworker jobs in Brazil, so Kucinich or whoever you got that from is full of crap.

As for 'millions' of auto workers being laid off, how many auto workers do you think would have been laid off if Romney and Paul got their way, both of whom wanted to let them fail?  How about all of them??

[Volitzer]

Not let them fail, let them declare bankruptcy.  There is a difference.

Besides all this is just a PR stunt.

GE leaves USA
 
General Electric is planning to move its 115-year-old X-ray division from Waukesha, WI, to Beijing. In addition to moving the headquarters, the company will invest $2 billion in China and train more than 65 engineers and create six research centers. This is the same GE that made $5.1 billion in the United States last year, but paid no taxes-the same company that employs more people overseas than it does in the United States.
 
So let me get this straight. President Obama appointed GE Chairman Jeff Immelt to head his commission on job creation (job czar). Immelt is supposed to help create jobs. I guess the President forgot to tell him in which country he was supposed to be creating those jobs.
 
If this doesn't show you the total lack of leadership of this President, I don't know what does.  Please pass this information to others and think about it before you buy a GE product.
 
 
 
 
http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LOUVYE1A74E901-5NJ1IVKV8LVLITS4VGNO46MQH9
 

[Krista Davenport]

There is no difference between "letting them fail" or letting them declare bankruptcy.  You are still at the mercy of your creditors, who take you to court, and can take whatever they want to make you pay off your debts.

As for the GE stuff, that is wrong, you have your facts wrong, as usual.

GE Healthcare X-Ray Division

At the end of July, GE Healthcare announced it would move 4 executives of the X-Ray Division to China to lead the development of specific products for use in China. Subsequent media reports inaccurately described the announcement – GE is not moving its entire X-Ray Division to China. The team on the ground in China will develop X-Ray products suited to the specific needs of the Chinese market: for example, Chinese hospitals in rural markets require very basic products. This on the ground business development will help support jobs at home.

GE’s overall business in China—across all divisions—will support nearly 4,500 American jobs, including those along GE’s U.S. supply chain.

http://www.gereports.com/ge-and-china-growing-market-overseas-more-jobs-at-home/

GE is adding 125 new workers at the Greenville plant this year, part of an overall addition of 6,500 manufacturing staffers in the United States since 2009.

http://www.gereports.com/ge-and-china-growing-market-overseas-more-jobs-at-home/

[Volitzer]

Yeah until they can ship these 4500 jobs over to China.

They always act like they are just catering to the Chinese market before moving their entire operation over there.

[Krista Davenport]

Part of the agreement with the auto companies when they got the auto loans was that they keep more jobs here. Those loans wouldn't have happened if the Repugs would have been in charge cause both Paul and Romney wanted them to FAIL.