Conflicts of Interest: WaPo Article on the Dingells

by: kelster

Mon Jan 11, 2010 at 14:31:55 PM EST

Today's WaPo article on Rep. John Dingell and Debbie Dingell is a little more nuanced than the title:

Dingells and GM illustrate limits of congressional conflict-of-interest rules

Worth a read.

Why I bought a new GM vehicle built by Michigan workers

by: MarkSchauer

Mon Jun 08, 2009 at 17:02:17 PM EDT

While I certainly didn't run for Congress to defend the mistakes of the past, what's most important to me is protecting the working families in my district who rely on the auto industry to pay the bills and put food on the table.

For those who don't know, the 7th congressional district is home to the GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant, located just off I-69 in Eaton County. This world-class facility is where the GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, and Saturn Outlook are built.

While the news of GM's bankruptcy filing one week ago today was certainly a tough blow for the state of Michigan, the Delta Township plant will actually be increasing production later this year as the Chevy Traverse is added to the plant's lineup. This is a move I personally advocated for to Fritz Henderson on his first day as CEO of GM.

Build and innovate

by: jcherry

Wed Jun 03, 2009 at 09:53:29 AM EDT

Michigan innovators like Billy Durant, Ransom E. Olds, Henry Ford, and Walter Chrysler  built the auto industry that put the world on wheels. Innovators like Walter P. Reuther helped the auto industry build the modern American middle class and a standard of living second to none. At the start of the Second World War, it was General Motors' president William Knudsen who stepped aside to serve his country, turning the factories of the Big Three into the Arsenal of Democracy that helped us win the war.

We know Michiganders know how to build, and we know how to innovate. It's time to do both.

Yesterday, I visited GM's Romulus Engine plant to talk to workers, plant managers, and local union leadership about the future of our auto industry. There, I saw the faces of our auto industry the national media often overlooks: the hard working men and women who have built Michigan. The Romulus plant has a reputation for quality and environmental stewardship. Last year, it was ranked in the top ten most productive engine plants in North America by the Harbour Report. Romulus workers also were honored in 2003 and 2006 as exemplary "Michigan Clean Corporate Citizens". The workers I met were proud of the job they do, and with the high quality products they turn out -- they should be!

I told Labor Secretary Solis and Dr. Ed Montgomery, White House Director of Recovery for auto communities and workers, that only protecting and increasing employment -- American employment -- will help move us out of the recession we're currently in. Fortunately, GM has a new, innovative labor agreement with the UAW to build subcompact cars here in the U.S., at an existing plant. GM has also announced it will not make cars in China available for sale in the United States. These are the right steps to take in reinventing an great American icon like General Motors, and the only way we'll turn our economy around.

For decades, innovators have called Michigan home. In times of hardship, Michiganders pull together. We innovate. We build. We look to a better, brighter future. I'm confident that despite Monday's wrenching news, we have brighter days to look forward to.  

On Cutting Dealerships, Or, We Examine The Costs Of Selling Cars

by: fake consultant

Wed May 20, 2009 at 03:45:33 AM EDT

A Profound Grasp of the Obvious, Or "Wait. What?"

by: kelster

Thu May 14, 2009 at 15:51:33 PM EDT

Apparently, GM is "warning that U.S. involvement could have a negative effect in the longer term."

As a majority owner in General Motors Corp., the U.S. government could make it difficult to compete with other automakers and could influence business strategy in a way that harms the stock price, the automaker said in a recent regulatory filing.

Seriously?  

Here's a quick overview of GM stock pricing 2000- present

5/11/2000 - $82.38

5/10/2002 - $66.20

5/12/2004 - $44.03

5/12/2006 - $26.59

5/13/2008 - $20.29

5/13/2009 - $1.61 

It would be interesting to learn what, exactly, GM thinks will happen if the government doesn't step in. 

Isn't this the kind of thinking that got them into trouble in the first place? 

Congressman Gary Peters on The Ed Show

by: bfealk

Wed Apr 22, 2009 at 22:26:28 PM EDT

Congressman Gary Peters appeared on The Ed Show tonight talking about the announcement that GM is going to furlough its workers for 9 weeks this summer.

Wait, Why Does AIG's CEO Still Have a Job?

by: kelster

Sun Mar 29, 2009 at 21:54:29 PM EDT

Obama forces out Wagoner as GM chairman (Freep)

I understand that Rick Wagoner was closely associated with many of GM's bad decisions over the past few years. I also think it's reasonable for the federal government to have a say in how things are done when they loan $$ to a project.  

But why is it OK to axe Wagoner when leaders at AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America, Fannie, Freddie et al are taking hundreds of millions in federal bailout funds (not loans) and refusing to fully disclose how it has been spent?

Doesn't look as though there won't be any Washington housecleaning for Wall Streeters...

Could be that Wagoner is just an easy target, sacrificed to quiet an increasingly angry public who can't differentiate between Bernie Madoff and Bob Nardelli.  Maybe it's a bit of "pour encourager les autres."  

Either way, it's hard to understand the logic behind this decision, given that the banking boys are murmuring that $700 billion, while lovely, was really just an appetizer.

GM ANNOUNCES THEY DON'T NEED $2 BILLION IN GOV'T FUNDING!

by: Brainwrap

Thu Mar 12, 2009 at 12:12:33 PM EDT

OK, I have no idea what this actually means, and it's obviously WAY too early to be too encouraged, but this is certainly a long-overdue positive bit of news:

General Motors has just announced that they will no longer need the $2 billion in government funding that they had previously requested for March. The good news comes in tangent with the announcement that GM Canada has ratified a competitive agreement with the CAW.

GM states they no longer need the US funding due to an acceleration of company wide cost reductions and “pro-active deferrals of spending previously anticipated in January and February.”

GM Considering Bankruptcy

by: rich

Sat Feb 14, 2009 at 14:43:15 PM EST

More good news for Michigan and the country.

General Motors Corp, nearing a Tuesday deadline to present a viability plan to the U.S. government, is considering as one option a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing that would create a new company, the Wall Street Journal said in its Saturday edition.

The article from the WSJ is subscription only. Anyone who's got one want to fill in the details? Or anyone who works for GM care to comment?

It looks like the government loans, the buyouts to over 60,000 employees, and the announced layoffs of 10,000 salaried workers won't be enough to stave off bankruptcy for GM.

Happy Valentine's Day.

State Pensions and The Ren Cen

by: TomChoske

Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 20:39:14 PM EST

UPDATED -- Ford confirms: it's a Black Friday

by: lapojoynt

Fri Nov 07, 2008 at 10:35:21 AM EST

Ford Motor Company is holding a conference now to discuss their 3Q2008 financial report.

Released pre-market open, Ford announced that it experienced a larger-than-expected loss of $1.31 per share for the quarter, and that it will be cutting 10% of its North American workforce.

Analysts had expected a loss of $0.94 a share, as well as a lower cash burn rate than Ford is reporting.

[more]

Ebling and You Audio: The General Motors Restructuring

by: Jack Ebling

Thu Jul 17, 2008 at 09:04:26 AM EDT

Green Government?

by: Bibble

Fri Jan 18, 2008 at 15:35:41 PM EST

If they're looking for input (see bottom of article), let's flood them with support / advice / examples / whatever might help them actually enact this. It certainly can't hurt. There is a strong automotive/Michigan economy-specific motivation for doing so too. Many believe that part of the reason the Big 3 won't mass produce fuel-efficient vehicles, especially plug-in electric hybrids, is the real or perceived notion that 'there is no viable market' to warrant a large scale production ramp up for such vehicles. This could be the hard proof they need. Probably not. But again, it can't hurt. 

Please check out (and feel free to borrow from) the cheesy form letter below the copyright line at the end of the article. Then send an email to the address found in the article's last sentence. 

Thanks! 

http://ehscenter.bna.com/pic2/...

http://www.bna.com/

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy Dec. 28 proposed new "green purchasing policies and affirmative procurement programs" for all government contracting mechanisms and acquisition strategies to protect the environment and conserve natural resources and energy through contracting (72 Fed. Reg. 73,904). 

The letter would require agencies to give preference to green products and services, including alternative fuels and alternative fuel vehicles; bio-based products; Energy Star and Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)-designated products; electronics registered on the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool; low- or non-toxic hazardous chemicals or products; non-ozone depleting substances; recycled content and/or remanufactured products; renewable energy; and water-efficient products. 

"Agency acquisition policies and programs shall enhance and, where appropriate, mandate the purchase and use of green products and services covered in this policy letter," OFPP Administrator Paul Denett says in the proposed letter. 

The policies would implement a Jan. 26, 2007, executive order (Exec. Order No. 13,423) directing agencies to strengthen the management of environmental, transportation, and energy-related activities, as well as various environmental and energy policy statutes. The letter would supersede OFPP Policy Letter 92-4, "Procurement of Environmentally-Sound and Energy-Efficient Products and Services," dated Nov. 2, 1992. 

The proposed policies would apply to all acquisition and contracting mechanisms, including service contracts, purchases made using government purchase cards and fleet cards, and purchases valued at less than the micropurchase threshold. 

Green Affirmative Purchasing Program. 

Additionally, OFPP would require that each federal agency develop and implement a comprehensive affirmative procurement plan for the acquisition of green products and services, also to be referred to as a "green procurement plan." 

At a minimum, the plan would be required to: 

•?state a preference for the acquisition of green products and services, and require the flow of this preference down to all agency contractors and subcontractors; 
•?explain the green acquisition roles and responsibilities of contracting officials, program managers, product specifiers, purchase card holders, and program administrators; 
•?promote the acquisition of green products and services internally within the agency and externally to source providers and other government agencies, including agencies at the state and local levels; and 
•?provide annual compliance monitoring, corrective action, and/or auditing of the agency green procurement plan. 

Further, agency green plans should address: 

•?the development and use of templates for incorporating green purchasing requirements into solicitations and contracts; 
•?the use of government E-procurement tools, such as FedBizOpps.com, to publicize green acquisition requirements; and 
•?the use of past performance evaluations of contractor adherence to green acquisition priorities. 

Green Acquisitions, Socioeconomic Programs. 

Under the policy letter, agencies would be directed to first determine their specific performance requirements for products and services and, if they determine that a green product or service can meet those requirements, to give first consideration to mandatory and preferred sources in obtaining such green products or services. 

Socioeconomic programs administered by nonprofit agencies employing people who are blind or disabled, namely the AbilityOne program under the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act and the Federal Prison Industries' UNICOR program, are mandatory sources in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation Subparts 8.6 and 8.7. 

Small businesses, including small disadvantaged, women-owned, Native American, Alaska Native, Historically Underutilized Business-Zone, and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, are preferred sources. 

Additional Green Acquisition Requirements. 

The OFPP policy letter also would require agencies to: 

•?implement "automatic substitution policies" for the procurement of "functionally equivalent" green products and services in place of non-green orders for the same products and services ordered through central supply agencies such as the General Services Administration or the Defense Logistics Agency; 
•?include requirements and preferences for the use of green products in all newly awarded services contracts, or in recompetitions of existing services contracts; 
•?encourage the incorporation of requirements and preferences for the use of green products during modifications of existing services contracts; and 
•?require GSA, DLA, and other contract supply agencies to supply "designated green products" and to "phase out any competing non-green products from their catalogs and on-line ordering systems."

Comments on the OFPP policy letter, "Acquisition of Green Products and Services," are due Feb. 26. Comments may be submitted by e-mail to "OFPPGreen@omb.eop.gov"
; subject line: "Proposed OFPP Policy letter." 

Copyright 2008, The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington, D.C. 

____________________________________________________ 

To whom it may concern: 

This is a fantastic proposal, not only for the country and planet, but possibly, hopefully, for places like Flint, Saginaw, Detroit and the rest of the industrial Midwest. If you saw any of the coverage of the recent Michigan Primaries, you know how badly we are hurting here. Many have suggested that green technologies are our only hope to reinvigorate the Automotive industry, to create green jobs here. With no other industry likely to come in to replace Automotive in any substantive way (we in Michigan have lost nearly 400,000 good jobs and great people since 2001), planet-friendly cars can and should (heck, must) be a real solution. Unfortunately, the Big 3 have been sluggish, even downright indignant towards the move to more fuel-efficient vehicles, particularly plug-in electric hybrids. I have a strong suspicion that what holds them back is the real or perceived notion that, 'there is no viable market' to warrant mass production of these products. Now I'm no 'government to the rescue' guy by any means, but this policy letter really can be part of the hard proof I think they need in order to take their foot off the brake, and produce these products at the level the people of Flint, America and the world need. Congratulations on this proposal. Let's make it happen! 

Thank you, 

(Your Name)

(Your Address)

Hittin' the Mitten

by: smithj86

Tue Sep 25, 2007 at 21:45:45 PM EDT

Here in the Mitten State (or Wolverine State), we've been getting slapped around for a while.  In the late 1970's and early 1980's there was an exodus from the state as the U.S. auto industry hemorrhaged jobs and money.  Things stabilized, eventually, and with the exception of a dip in the 1991 recession, the times were pretty good.  When SUV sales took off, with concomitant massive profits for the Big 3, in the 1990's, Michigan was again awash in high wages and expanding auto plants.  Overtime was commonplace.  Auto workers were getting bonuses of several thousand dollars.  Employers in the lower part of the state had trouble filling positions because employment demand was so strong.  The Ford truck plant in Wayne, which made the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, grossed over $11 billion  in 1998.  [http://www.gladwell....]  The State of Michigan was awash in money.  So, how did the Great Lakes State invest this money?

GM's Superbowl Ad: Clever & Harmless or Tasteless & Offensive?

by: Brainwrap

Mon Feb 05, 2007 at 14:40:47 PM EST

http://youtube.com/w...

Vote for the (GM) Volt!

by: quaker21

Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 22:59:37 PM EST

GM has a poll for the North American International Auto Show with a slew of the unveiled vehicles.

Go to GM's web site and VOTE FOR THE VOLT in the upper left of the image to show some support for the GM Volt. 

Don't let GM pull another EV1, citing numbers that no one is interested in leasing the car or seeing its introduction into the marketplace.  If you're concerned about alternative fuels and domestic plug-in hybrids, visit the site, and vote!