As UAW contract ends, Wisconsin workers’ rights expand

A worker-freedom organization is sending a special legal notice to unionized employees of the Big Three automakers in Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan.


The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation wants United Auto Workers members at General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to know their new workplace rights now that they are residents of right-to-work states. Those new rights kick in Sept. 15, after the old UAW contracts, which included forced union dues, expire.


Read more at Wisconsin Watchdog Read More......

Union Says Photo IDs not Necessary to Vote — Unless You Vote to Leave Union

In recent arguments against states requiring voters to show a photo ID, the United Auto Workers Local 6000 has compared concerns about voter fraud to belief in the fictional Loch Ness monster and Yeti.  The union wrote on its Facebook page that requiring a photo ID for voting is the goal of the “billionaire funded” American Legislative Exchange Council, and is intended to create obstacles for voters who might support a more “progressive” agenda.  When its own members, however, want to exercise their freedoms under the new right-to-work law in Michigan to opt out of paying union dues as a condition of employment, UAW 6000 says they must show a photo ID.

Read more at Michigan Capitol Confidential Read More......

Chattanooga Volkswagen workers reject the UAW

NEW ARTICLE: More details surface [added 2/17/14]... - Examiner Editorial: Auto workers in Chattanooga choose freedom over unionization

By Michael Barone - It's official: The United Auto Workers lost the representation vote at the Volkswagen Chattanooga plant. The cleverly named nooga.com has the story. The vote was close: 89 percent of workers voted, and they rejected the union by a 712-626 vote. Read more at Washington Examiner Read More......

Will Obama Break His Promise not to Run GM?

Or is [it] just that Congress didn't get the message? Read more at ProfessorBainbridge.com...

Read also: "GM = Amtrak?" at ProfessorBainbridge.com... Read More......

UAW says equity stake ties union to GM success

REUTERS, 2/28/2009 by Kevin Krolicki - DETROIT: The United Auto Workers will emerge from a General Motors Corp restructuring as the second-largest stockholder in the reorganized automaker and with a more direct stake in its success, union President Ron Gettelfinger said on Thursday. Read More......

Letter from a Dodge Dealer

Via email (Hat tip: Stella Guenther) May 19, 2009 - My name is George C. Joseph. I am the sole owner of Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu, a family owned and operated business in Melbourne, Florida. My family bought and paid for this automobile franchise 35 years ago in 1974. I am the second generation to manage this business.

We currently employ 50+ people and before the economic slowdown we employed over 70 local people. We are active in the community and the local chamber of commerce. We deal with several dozen local vendors on a day to day basis and many more during a month. All depend on our business for part of their livelihood.

We are financially strong with great respect in the market place and community. We have strong local presence and stability. I work every day the store is open, nine to ten hours a day. I know most of our customers and all our employees. Sunshine Dodge is my life.

On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to another dealer at no cost to them.

My new vehicle inventory consists of 125 vehicles with a financed balance of 3 million dollars. This inventory becomes impossible to sell with no factory incentives beyond June 9, 2009. Without the Dodge franchise we can no longer sell a new Dodge as "new," nor will we be able to do any warranty service work.

Additionally, my Dodge parts inventory, (approximately $300,000) is virtually worthless without the ability to perform warranty service. There is no offer from Chrysler to buy back the vehicles or parts inventory.

Our facility was recently totally renovated at Chrysler's insistence, incurring a multi-million dollar debt in the form of a mortgage at Sun Trust Bank.

HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN?

THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY.

This is beyond imagination! My business is being stolen from me through NO FAULT OF OUR OWN. We did NOTHING wrong.

This atrocity will most likely force my family into bankruptcy. This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed. How will they provide for their families? This is a total economic disaster.

HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?

I beseech your help, and look forward to your reply. Thank you.

Sincerely,

George C. Joseph
President & Owner
Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu Read More......

Wage Demands Sink Auto Bailout In Senate

WASHINGTON (CBS News) ― A $14 billion emergency bailout for U.S. automakers collapsed in the Senate Thursday night after the United Auto Workers refused to accede to Republican demands for swift wage cuts. The proposal failed in a 52-35 procedural vote, reports CBS News Capitol Hill producer John Nolen. It needed 60 votes to move forward. The collapse came after bipartisan talks on the auto rescue broke down over GOP demands that the United Auto Workers union agree to steep wage cuts by 2009 to bring their pay into line with Japanese carmakers. Read more at CBS4Denver... Read More......