As [active] union membership at The Big 2.8 continues to dwindle, the UAW is making a full-court press on the transplants. They've already launched an attack on Toyota and now they're targeting Honda, according to The Birmingham News. After an unsuccessful attempt to organize Honda's Marysville, Ohio plant, the UAW's now focusing on the Lincoln, Alabama facility. Union representatives have been meeting with small groups of employees at the plant, which turns out 300k Odyssey minivans, Honda Pilot sport utility vehicles and V-6 engines annually. They've warned workers they can expect the company "to step up a campaign of 'fear and intimidation' against pro-union workers." UAW organizer Frank White told employees, "The company will try to divide you by gender and along racial lines. They will try to divide you on shifts, saying day shift didn't reach quota so you'll have to work harder tonight." Sounds like the union knows a few "fear and intimidation" tactics of their own.

The jobs bank at GM's Lordstown, Ohio metal stamping plant is about to receive a deposit. The Warren, Ohio Tribune Chronicle reports that about 20 workers will join the 38 already in the "money for nothing and your checks for free" repository when their jobs are phased out over the next few weeks. The workers, skilled tradesmen, will draw a 40-hour salary plus bennies while waiting for another position to open up. UAW Local 1714 president David Green says that he'd like to negotiate more enhanced buyouts and retirement incentives so they could move some of the idle workers into the vacated positions. Green also said the workers could get training while waiting for Godot reassignment or retirement "We try not to let them sit," Green demurred.

According to the Detroit Free Press, back in '96, GM workers moving to Saturn's Spring Hill, Tennessee factory agreed to give up their seniority. As part of the Delphi settlement, GM agreed to let 300 workers at a plant in nearby Athens, Alabama transfer to the Spring Hill factory as jobs became available. BUT, since Spring Hill is no longer a Saturn-only factory, the old transfer rules are out the window. Any UAW member who heads over to the Volunteer State keeps their GM seniority, while workers who gave up as much as 20 years seniority to work for Saturn find themselves at the bottom of the pecking order– even though they may have more than 30 years with GM. At least this time the workers aren't blaming management for the problem: "The union needs to fix this. The local allowed it … and I feel like International turned their back to me." None of this in-fighting can be good for morale or product quality.

In a move somewhat akin to herding ADHD cats, the UAW is making a move to unionize bloggers. USA Today quotes Gerry Colby, president of the National Writers Union, a local of the United Auto Workers: "Bloggers are on our radar screen right now for approaching and recruiting into the union. We're trying to develop strategies to reach bloggers and encourage them to join." This might be a hard sell; most bloggers are independent, few are paid and even fewer make a living blogging. While some bloggers see union organization as a way to get health insurance discounts or conduct collective bargaining, others aren't that enthralled with the idea. Sounding almost like he's blogging for TTAC, Committee to Protect Bloggers' founder Curt Hopkins summed up many bloggers' feelings. "The reason I like blogging is that it's very anarchistic. I can do whatever I want whenever I want, and oh my God, you're not going to tell me what to do."

Even as United Auto Workers (UAW) contract negotiations are underway with The Big 2.8, 13 News reports almost 100 temp employees at Chrysler's Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant have filed a lawsuit protesting their contract. The temps have "little union representation," no dental, vision or prescription health care benefits. Their benefits and wages are the result of an agreement between Chrysler and the UAW– to whom they're expected to pay union dues. Even the UAW is split on how this should be resolved. Leadership at Local 1268 wants to see the temps made full time, but some workers fear if they do, it would result in diminished benefits for everyone. Chrysler, of course, has filed a motion to dismiss the suit.

Caterpillar's retired United Auto Workers (UAW) members are suing the company for cuts in health coverage their union approved. In return, Caterpillar is suing the UAW to make them pay– should their members win their lawsuit. As quoted in Forbes, Caterpillar spokesman Rusty Dunn asks, "How can the union sponsor lawsuits that fight the very terms that the union proposed, negotiated and ratified during collective bargaining?" Caterpillar also alleges the UAW encouraged their retirees to file the suits. The UAW has declined to comment on Caterpillar's actions. You can bet the automakers will be keeping an eye on how this progresses as they attempt to make similar changes in the health care coverage they provide for their thousands of retirees.

The Big 2.8 should consider themselves lucky in their current UAW negotiations if the union just wants keep what they have and not give anything back. The Moscow Times [sub] reports that workers at the AvtoVAZ assembly plant in Togliattigrad, Russia are demanding a pay increase that equals three times their current salaries. Five thousand of the 110k workers at the plant are threatening to strike if they don't get a pay increase of 25K rubles (about $980) per worker. The Times suggests that a strike of that size could effectively shut down the plant which produces, among other things, GM joint venture vehicles. No word yet on whether the UAW plans a show of solidarity in support of their comrades.

We've said it before: The Big 2.8 are on such shaky ground that it wouldn't take much to tip one or more into bankruptcy. While it's easy to focus on the big issues– UAW contracts, new products plans, foreign entanglements, etc.– a coupe de grace could come from any quarter. Automotive News [sub] reports that The International Union of Electronics Workers-Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA) have notified Delphi that they plan to terminate their contract with the bankrupt parts maker– a first step toward a possible October strike. It has also withdrawn permission given to Delphi to use temporary workers. It's hard to believe that the future of the entire American automotive industry could rest with 2000 employees (and one union boss), but not impossible. If Delphi goes dark in October, bad things will happen.

Right after taking control of the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi formed a panel to look into global warming. Now she's locked in a battle with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell over proposed CAFE standards, seeking to preserve a rapid rise in the new requirements. Domestic automakers haven't hidden their opposition to Pelosi's plan. Cerberus' Stephen Feinberg claims her approach would raise Chrysler's vehicle prices by $7K apiece. GM Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz estimates it would cost GM $8K per vehicle. They're all predicting that drastic increases in CAFE would cripple or kill the U.S. auto industry. The result: cutbacks, layoffs and bankruptcies throughout industry. Thousands of industrial workers would lose their jobs. People who belong to labor unions. Labor unions that contributed to Nancy Pelosi's election fund, to the tune of $63K in 2006. In fact, according to Freedom Works, Pelosi ranks ninth overall in contributions from Big Labor AND her largest single contributor was Occidental Petroleum, another industrial enterprise that relies on the auto industry for income. The Nance better watch that whole environmental zealousness shtick– she's biting the hand that feeds.

Quick! Which will earn you more: a doctorate in physics and a professorship at a university, or a high school diploma and a job with Chrysler? It doesn’t take a PhD in economics to guess the right answer to that one. Dr. Mark Perry from the University of Michigan looked at the average total compensation for auto workers (Big 2.8 and transplants) and college professors. He found the average autoworker with a high school diploma and maybe a year or two of technical school earned about $134K per year, while the average college professor makes about $93K in exchange for eight years of college and post-grad work. We won’t even look at what the typical high school or elementary school teacher makes in comparison to the janitorial staff in the auto plants.