BLOG: David Barkholz

Zetsche finds out the hard way: Che's not funny to Miami's Cubans

Posted 3:32 pm U.S. ET, Jan. 13
blogs David Barkholz is a reporter for Automotive News.
 
Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche is now aware of the risks of giving a public speech using the kinds of whimsical props that Fiat's Sergio Marchionne has made famous.
Zetsche is in hot water with Miami's vocal Cuban-American community for displaying a photo of Latin American revolutionary Che Guevara Tuesday during his first keynote speech at the C ...
     Continue reading "Zetsche finds out the hard way: Che's not funny to Miami's Cubans" » Jan 13, 2012 3:32 pm U.S. ET
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UAW workers should envy Social Security raise

Posted 3:37 pm U.S. ET, Oct. 19
DETROIT -- When the government reported today that Social Security recipients will get a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment next year, I was reminded again of what great deals the Detroit 3 wrested from the UAW during this year's contract negotiations.
Those recipients did better by the Social Security Administration than the 113,000 UAW members ...
     Continue reading "UAW workers should envy Social Security raise" » Oct 19, 2011 3:37 pm U.S. ET
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Marchionne stands firm against added labor costs

Posted 11:34 am U.S. ET, Oct. 11
DETROIT --  UAW President Bob King can have a new contract at Chrysler Group any time he wants it -- as long as it’s on CEO Sergio Marchionne’s terms.
Nothing has changed in these talks since King no-showed Marchionne almost a month ago to turn his bargaining to General Motors and Ford Motor Co. Those contracts are now done.
...
     Continue reading "Marchionne stands firm against added labor costs" » Oct 11, 2011 11:34 am U.S. ET
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Why GM's tentative contract isn't a 'win/win' for the rank-and-file

Posted 3:22 pm U.S. ET, Sept. 18
Pundits have called the new UAW and General Motors contract a win/win. I'll amend that to win/win/lose.
I agree that GM and the international union won. They met their goals.
But the contract is a loser for GM's 49,000 rank-and-file.
What happened to the $7,000 to $30,000 i ...
     Continue reading "Why GM's tentative contract isn't a 'win/win' for the rank-and-file" » Sep 18, 2011 3:22 pm U.S. ET
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No hard feelings, or money, from King-Marchionne dust-up

Posted 12:41 pm U.S. ET, Sept. 16
DETROIT -- There is no way that Chrysler’s Sergio Marchionne and UAW President Bob King will let their dust-up this week snag labor negotiations.
King no-showed Marchionne on Wednesday, the date the Chrysler CEO expected to sign a new four-year contract with the UAW.
And Marchionne voiced his displeasure ...
     Continue reading "No hard feelings, or money, from King-Marchionne dust-up" » Sep 16, 2011 12:41 pm U.S. ET
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Marchionne slight leaves UAW's transplant drive in tatters

Posted 12:27 pm U.S. ET, Sept. 15
DETROIT -- The hissing you hear today is the sound of air leaking from Bob King's dream to organize the transplant automakers.
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne punctured it at 10 p.m. Detroit time last night in a letter he sent to the UAW president, questioning whether King and the UAW had really changed.
To summ ...
     Continue reading "Marchionne slight leaves UAW's transplant drive in tatters" » Sep 15, 2011 12:27 pm U.S. ET
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Chrysler-UAW talks: much ado about nothing

Posted 12:09 pm U.S. ET, Sept. 14
What’s taking so long?
The Chrysler Group and UAW contract talks are dragging to the wire.
While there will be some faux drama before the deal is done -- envision Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne on an airplane back to Detroit from Frankfurt today -- it’s all about theatrics.
...
     Continue reading "Chrysler-UAW talks: much ado about nothing" » Sep 14, 2011 12:09 pm U.S. ET
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Chill Alert! Stay calm over UAW signing bonuses

Posted 3:05 pm U.S. ET, Sept. 12
Take a deep breath and relax all you folks seeing white over reports that the UAW wants signing bonuses of $8,000 from the Detroit 3.
It's admittedly a UAW record and a nice chunk of change by most automotive labor standards, exempting, of course, rock-star executives pulling down $26 million or so a year.
But ...
     Continue reading "Chill Alert! Stay calm over UAW signing bonuses" » Sep 12, 2011 3:05 pm U.S. ET
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UAW's King playing from behind in auto talks

Posted 4:39 pm U.S. ET, Sept. 6
It's pretty easy now to see why General Motors and Chrysler Group executives were so confident going into this year's contract negotiations with the UAW.
They're holding all the aces.
To summarize, GM and Chrysler workers can't strike and they would probably lose in binding arbitration. Moreover, UAW President ...
     Continue reading "UAW's King playing from behind in auto talks" » Sep 6, 2011 4:39 pm U.S. ET
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GM buyouts a hard sell to over-abundant trade workers

Posted 3:45 pm U.S. ET, Sept. 2
If General Motors offers a worker buyout as part of this year’s auto talks, the biggest target, skilled trades, will be hardest to coax to leave.
They make good money. They tend to have the least physically taxing jobs in an auto plant. And the economy isn’t exactly offering a lot of new job opportunities these days, says Kristin Dzicze ...
     Continue reading "GM buyouts a hard sell to over-abundant trade workers" » Sep 2, 2011 3:45 pm U.S. ET
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UAW claim of a Ford double standard could snarl auto talks

Posted 12:23 pm U.S. ET, Aug. 26
A grievance gambit that the UAW is running at Ford Motor Co. during the home stretch of national contract negotiations is a risky one for UAW President Bob King.
If this blows up in his face it could cost Ford a strike by hourly workers and damage King's initiative to organize the U.S. assembly plants of German and Asian automakers.
Continue reading "UAW claim of a Ford double standard could snarl auto talks" » Aug 26, 2011 12:23 pm U.S. ET
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UAW committeeman wants teeth in Ford strike authorization

Posted 4:18 pm U.S. ET, Aug. 22
Ford auto worker Gary Walkowicz says he heard something at a recent meeting of UAW leadership in Chicago that gave him pause.
UAW negotiations with Ford were going so well that people in the union discussed whether a strike-authorization vote was even necessary, says Walkowicz, quoting UAW President Bob King.
U ...
     Continue reading "UAW committeeman wants teeth in Ford strike authorization" » Aug 22, 2011 4:18 pm U.S. ET
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Auto talks prediction: GM, Chrysler rout Ford, UAW

Posted 3:37 pm U.S. ET, July 29
TGIF. Ford Motor Co. today was the last of the Detroit 3 to hold its ceremonial handshake to open contract talks with the UAW.
Thankfully, the prelims are over and negotiators can get to the business of bargaining.
Greeting UAW President Bob King today were Ford's heavy hitters: CEO Alan Mulally, Executive Chai ...
     Continue reading "Auto talks prediction: GM, Chrysler rout Ford, UAW" » Jul 29, 2011 3:37 pm U.S. ET
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Tough UAW talks at Ford may dampen kickoff festivities

Posted 1:30 pm U.S. ET, July 28
Look for a more somber start to the UAW-Ford contract talks on Friday than we saw at General Motors and Chrysler this week. At least, it ought to be.
Ford faces the toughest UAW bargaining among the Detroit 3 in this year's round of talks.
That's because Ford's 41,000 rank-and-file autoworkers will have a real ...
     Continue reading "Tough UAW talks at Ford may dampen kickoff festivities" » Jul 28, 2011 1:30 pm U.S. ET
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King zings transplants at GM hug fest

Posted 2:54 pm U.S. ET, July 27
The UAW-Detroit 3 Mutual Admiration Society made its General Motors stop today.
It paused at Chrysler Group Monday and is headed to Ford Motor Co. on Friday.
Mutual admiration is about the best way I know to describe the public banter between UAW President Bob King and Detroit 3 negotiators during the ceremonia ...
     Continue reading "King zings transplants at GM hug fest" » Jul 27, 2011 2:54 pm U.S. ET
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Chrysler-UAW talks start wrapped in the American flag… But why?

Posted 2:53 pm U.S. ET, July 25
DETROIT -- UAW and Chrysler contract negotiators wrapped themselves in an American flag at this morning's formal kickoff of auto talks.
Predictably, it wasn't pretty. In fact, it was unseemly.
There was UAW President Bob King loudly suggesting that his 23,000 hourly members at Chrysler won't get a raise during ...
     Continue reading "Chrysler-UAW talks start wrapped in the American flag… But why?" » Jul 25, 2011 2:53 pm U.S. ET
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