August 6th, 2011 | Courier-Journal
In The Courier Journal, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said the new employment opportunities at Ford Motor Company’s local assembly plant are “the biggest expansion of jobs in Louisville by an individual company in years.” With Kentucky’s state unemployment rate at approximately 10 percent and above the national average, this is certainly welcome news. Our community has been hard hit by the economic downturn and as we look for ways to turn things around, I think Ford’s recent experiences provide a useful guide.
August 5th, 2011 | Detroit Free Press
Here in auto-centric Michigan, the vibe has been upbeat. The Detroit Three all reported solid monthly sales gains: 7.7% for General Motors, 8.7% for Ford and a whopping 20.1% for Chrysler, which had its best July since 2007. GM topped off the sales data with a boffo second-quarter earnings report Thursday, posting net income of $2.5 billion, up 89% from a year ago, thanks mostly to strong pricing and profits in its home North American market.
August 4th, 2011 | Wall Street Journal
On Friday afternoon, United Auto Workers President Bob King sat across from Ford Motor Co.’s chief as contract talks opened in Dearborn, Mich. Hours earlier, the union boss and Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally were sharing a chartered jet to Washington for an announcement on new fuel-economy targets.
August 4th, 2011 | Reuters
A top General Motors Co executive said on Thursday that the company wants to share financial gains with its union-represented auto workers by increasing compensation based on producing quality vehicles. “We want to share in a performance culture in this company, and I don’t care who you are, but you ought to be (judged) based on quality performance, on sales performance, on product performance.”
August 3rd, 2011 | Associated Press
United Auto Workers President Bob King urged industry leaders on Wednesday to reject what he called a multi-billion-dollar campaign to destroy organized labor. He said strong unions will boost vehicle quality and improve the bottom line for companies as well as workers.
