United Auto Workers President Gary Jones (left), and General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra shake hands to open contract negotiations July 2019.
United Autoworkers President Gary Jones announced late yesterday that the UAW has decided to proceed on bargaining with GM as the target company. Detroit Big 3 contracts all expire at midnight the evening of Sept. 14. UAW GM local unions have all voted and sent a national bargaining team supported by the UAW International Union and their UAW GM Department. The UAW has 55 sites at GM.
Gary Jones, of course is under an investigation by the FBI in the fraudulent diversion of funds from FCA Fiat that were supposed to support UAW worker training. He refused to stand down as president during the contract talks as criminal investigations ensue. A two-year probe has already led to the convictions of five people affiliated with the UAW and three Fiat Chrysler executives. Michael Grimes, a retired senior official with the union’s GM division, is charged with wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly receiving $2 million in kickbacks from UAW vendors pled guilty today to stealing from union members over a period of nearly 12 years, 2006 and July 1, 2018.
Grimes, if sentenced within the guidelines agreed upon in the plea deal, will spend a minimum of nearly four years in federal prison and up to four years and nine months.
Drivers Say No to Tracking Devices in New Cars
Well, at least they are not proposing – so far – tracking dirty cars.
Motorpoint – the UK’s largest independent car retailer – says two-thirds of motorists are opposed to tracking devices being installed in new cars. The web-based poll found 70% of drivers were against the introduction of so-called ‘black boxes’ into new cars.
Mercedes Benz recently made headlines in the UK after revealing they had fitted similar devices in their cars without warning drivers in advance. The news comes after EU proposals that could see all new cars made in Europe from 2022 fitted with location-tracking devices that would monitor a driver’s speed, driving behavior, as well as use of vehicle safety features. What’s worse in critic’s views, drivers would not be able to switch off these devices and the data collected could potentially be shared across countries. Continue reading →