Dear Brothers and Sisters,           

Happy New Year!!  I hope we are all as blessed in 2012 as we were in 2011.  Last year was a good one for GM’s Lordstown Complex.  We worked long and hard and have an awesome product to show for it.  This year will be a political circus with so many important seats open.  Not only do we have local candidates, but our US Senator Sherrod Brown, our President Barack Obama, our US Congressman Tim Ryan, and even our local UAW officers and committeepersons are also nearing the end of their terms.     

Why do we pay close attention to politics?  Because these are the folks who are making the decisions on how our lives are controlled.  Think about the laws that the UAW helped to support and promote.  Things like minimum wage, child labor laws, premium pay, weekends, all kinds of discrimination in the workplace, and there are many others.  Without workers using their voices and money, many of the laws fought for would not be in place today.  And believe it or not, there are many who want to do away with all those laws, rules, and regulations.  There are people putting lots of money into our political system with the idea that they can take us back to 1776.            

We cannot let the anti-working class continue to take, take, take.  My parents and grandparents fought many battles against the injustice that greed causes.  I will not sit on the sidelines and let others take rights away from me, my kids, and their kids.  You cannot sit by either. We will all need to step up our game in 2012, to make sure that the people who get elected have working class values in their minds and hearts.  Please sign-up for V-CAP.  This is the only way your union can support many of the candidates who support us.  Make phone calls to your senators and congressional officials; let them know how you feel.  When we ask for phone-bankers, please take a couple hours out of your week and help us.  We are not fighting for personal gain, but rather to protect the rights that have already been won.           

As for our local union General Elections, these jobs are about serving others.  If anyone runs for these jobs for some believed financial gain or other perceived benefits, you may be disappointed after you get elected.  Don’t get me wrong, if you like to help others then you should consider getting more involved.  My hope is that everyone plays nice.  That is, don’t make personal attacks or put out false information, like those flyers with no names.  And before you vote, talk to the candidates and ask them real questions.  This is the best way to get to know how someone will react when it counts.           

We have all been counting on the Cruze to do well in the marketplace, and it has.  While I do not see as many Saturdays in our future, at least not like we had in 2011, I am sure there will still be some ‘OT’ for our members.  We need to continue to focus on quality not only for customers, but for ourselves as well.  Even our retirees will benefit if we continue to focus on quality.  We need to hold our market share and hopefully increase it over this next year.   So if it isn’t right, don’t ship it!           

Finally, I know that there is no obstacle we cannot overcome if we stand together.  I always talk about this membership as a working family and that is exactly what we are.  Just like in every family, we will not always agree on all things, we may not always like each other, we may need to turn the other cheek at times, but NEVER, EVER should we let those outside of our family divide us.  We need to put more energy and focus on that which unites us, because there is surely more that unites us than that which divides us.  Believe it!!  

 

 

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