The UAW has a new president, after Bob King was elected today after a long roll call vote at the UAW national convention. King, 63, succeeds Ron Gettelfinger, 65, who is heading into retirement after leading the union through two turbulent four-year terms, which included last year’s auto recession. King has conceded some popularity in [...]
Ron Gettelfinger, UAW President, said today that he’s a fan of Sergio Marchionne, Chrysler’s new CEO, and Ed Whitacre Jr., CEO of General Motors. Gettelfinger said that he likes the CEOs because they aren’t a “showboat.” “They’re down to earth, not a showboat,” he said. “This industry has had too many showboats.” Gettelfinger, who is [...]
UAW officials have unanimously endorsed Bob King as successor to President Ron Gettelfinger. Gettelfinger would be unable to seek reelection at the UAW national convention due to his age and the union policy that restricts those older than 65 from seeking election to office. King inherits the union, as has been long expected, that has [...]
The United Auto Workers overwhelmingly rejected new proposed concessions Ford had said that it needs to stay competitive with domestic rivals General Motors Company and Chrysler Group LLC. However, the Canadian Auto Workers on Sunday accepted the cuts to retain jobs. While an official UAW tally is not yet available, it is reported that workers voted [...]
United Auto Workers President, Ron Gettelfinger, is questioning Toyota Motor Corp’s final decision to close it New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. facility just after benefiting from the government’s cash-for-clunkers program. The plant was originally jointly operated by GM and Toyota before GM pulled out earlier this year. “It’s unfortunate the company chose to close a [...]
A total of 1,000 UAW members accepted FoMoCo’s buyout offers last quarter, the Dearborn automaker said. Ford said it doesn’t have plans to offer anymore buyouts, which have cut the number of active UAW employees to 47,000 – down from 95,000 in 2003. Ford said that the workers’ departure is scheduled to be completed “in [...]
It was reported earlier this month that GM is looking to import Chinese-made subcompact cars to the United States. The Detroit automaker had planned to export more than 51,000 vehicles from China by 2014. Yes, that had the UAW up in and arms and now, as a part of its concession deal with the UAW, [...]
As GM comes closer to its government-imposed June 1 deadline to restructure or face bankruptcy, UAW officials said that they expect talks with the struggling Detroit automaker “to intensify this coming week.” In a letter sent to rank-and-file workers, the UAW also showed its opposition to GM’s plans to start importing vehicles from China as [...]
The UAW is positioned to become the majority shareholder of the new company that will come out of the Chrysler bankruptcy. According to UAW president Ron Gettelfinger, the UAW has no interest in retaining a long-term ownership in any auto company stock. He said that the UAW’s Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) will eventually sell [...]
The members of the United Auto Workers have ratified a contract with Chrysler on the eve of the government-imposed deadline for the Auburn Hills automaker to show its viability in the long-term. 82 percent of production workers and 80 percent of skilled-trades workers voted in agreement, while 90 percent of office and clerical workers voted [...]
