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Category Archives: manufacturing
Canadian Unifor Members Approve GM Pattern Agreement
“I am proud of our members at General Motors for their solidarity throughout their brief but decisive strike action and for ratifying this contract that contains life-changing improvements,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “This agreement reflects true collective bargaining. Our goal was to bring more fairness and equity to auto workplaces and to lift everyone up. We did that.” Continue reading
Ford Thoughts on the UAW Strike at Kentucky Truck Plant
Ford Motor executives tonight presented their version of the latest developments in the 2023 UAW contract negotiations with a notable and commendable change in tone from the initial Ford response last night. Continue reading
Posted in AutoInformed Editorial, blog, economy, labor issues, manufacturing, news analysis
Tagged 2023 UAW Ford contract negotiations, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Ken Zino, Kentucky Truck Plant, Lincoln Navigator, Shawn fain, Super Duty
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BMW i Ventures Invests in Formant Robotics Data Platform
“Autonomous robotic systems have broken free from R&D departments and are now being deployed at scale to drive business outcomes and resilient operations,” said Kasper Sage, Managing Partner at BMW i Ventures. “Their proliferation across mission-critical functions as well as support tasks for humans in various industries underscores the urgent need for seamless data management and orchestration across robotic endpoints. Formant is the operating system underpinning the future of the automated enterprise.” Continue reading
Stellantis, Samsung SDI Pick Kokomo for Second Gigafactory
Stellantis has announced plans of reaching a 100% passenger car battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by 2030. To achieve these ambitious sales targets, the Stellantis said it is securing ~ 400 GWh of battery capacity, at what are planned to be non-union facilities. Stellantis, which was created by a mega-merger of Fiat Chrysler (FCA) Renault and Peugeot, thus far is taking a ‘let them eat cake’ position with the unions. This is a high risk strategy, because the unions are sticking to their knitting, so to speak. Sean Fain, the head of the UAW has roots in Kokomo Continue reading
Posted in electric vehicles, global warming, labor issues, manufacturing, mobility company, news analysis, public health
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Big Three 2023 contract negotiations, Ken Zino, Kokomo, Mark Stewart, Sean fain, Stellantis, unifor
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An Awakened GM Agrees to Unifor Pattern Agreement
Unifor working for its Canadian members and General Motors have reached a tentative agreement following today’s strike action at Oshawa Assembly Plant, St. Catharines Powertrain Plant and Woodstock Parts Distribution Center. GM management apparently came to its senses and abandoned a ‘let them eat cake approach’ ~12 hours after refusing to accept the Unifor pattern contract that was agreed to at Ford Motor. The new tentative agreement follows the Ford contract “to the letter” covering ~ 4300 autoworkers at Unifor locals 222, 199 and 636. Strike actions are on hold to allow the membership to vote on the tentative agreement, approval of which is likely because this agreementsignificantly lifts everybody up. Continue reading
Oh Canada! – GM Rejects Pattern Agreement – Unifor Strikes
“This strike is about General Motors stubbornly refusing to meet the pattern agreement. The company knows our members will never let GM break our pattern – not today – not ever,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “The company continues to fall short on our pension demands, income supports for retired workers, and meaningful steps to transition temporary workers into permanent, full-time jobs.” Continue reading
Posted in economy, labor issues, manufacturing, people
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, autoworkers 2023 contract talks, gm canada, Jason Gale, Ken Zino, Lana Payne, Oshawa Assembly, St. Catharines Powertrain, unifor, Woodstock Parts Distribution
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UAW Now on Strike at Mack Trucks in Three States
Mack Trucks and the UAW reached a tentative agreement minutes before the initial deadline on 1 October. UAW leadership recommended that members approve the deal. On Sunday 8 October Mack Trucks’ UAW members rejected the contract. UAW leadership then issued a strike notice to the company, citing “many topics [that] remain at issue, including wage increases, cost of living allowances (COLA), job security, wage progression, skilled trades, shift premium, holiday schedules, work schedules, health and safety, seniority, pension, 401(k), healthcare and prescription drug coverage, and overtime.” Continue reading
GM Employees in India Start Hunger Strike
The GM employee’s union in India started “an indefinite relay hunger strike” on 2 October, demanding that the workforce of General Motors’ Talegaon plant be absorbed by Hyundai Motors India as the plant is sold. General Motors Employees Union in … Continue reading
What Strike? September US Vehicle Market Grows Sharply
US light vehicle (LV) sales grew by 19.7% year-on-year (YoY) in September, to 1.34 million units, according to the latest analysis by the respected GlobalData consultancy. The UAW Big Three Strike that began halfway through September has thus far had little apparent effect. However, YoY comparisons are supercharged because of a low base of weak September 2022 sales. Ironically, Labor Day sales appears to bolstered sales. Continue reading
Ford Motor 2023 Q3 Sales up 8%
“We saw strong balanced sales growth providing choice to our customers in the third quarter, with growth coming from our gas engine, electric, hybrid and commercial van lineup,” said Andrew Frick, vice president, sales, distribution and trucks. “Ford’s truck lineup remains the industry’s top seller.” Continue reading
NHTSA Expands Ford Engine Failure Probe to 700,000 Vehicles
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation released today documents that shows it has expanded a preliminary Ford engine failure inquiry to an engineering analysis that covers more than 700,000 vehicles and questions Ford’s previous attempts to fix the safety defect. Explorer, Bronco, Edge Lincoln Nautilus, Aviator SUVs, as well as The F-150 pickup truck from 2021-2022 model years are susceptible to sudden loss of engine power. Continue reading
Posted in customer satisfaction, litigation, manufacturing, recalls, safety
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Explorer F-150 Aviator Bronco Nautilus safety and quality defects, Ford EcoBoost engine failures, Ford Quality and recall problems, Ken Zino, NHTSA ODI
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Bill Ford Asks UAW to Choose His View of the Right Path
“We can stop this now and I call on my great UAW colleagues, some of whom I’ve known for decades, many are close personal friends. We need to come together to bring an end to this acrimonious round of talks. I still believe in a bright future, one that we can build together. I still believe the automobile industry is a major force for good in our country and we will continue to be there when America needs us most. Continue reading →