Automotive News - May 5, 2008 - (Page 14)

14 • MAY 5, 2008 Save a board seat for the UAW ROMAIN BLANQUART/ MCT/NEWSCOM 313-446-0361 E-mail autonews@crain.com Web site www.autonews.com Keith E. Crain Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Peter Brown Associate Publisher and Editorial Director DETROIT 313-446-0361 Fax: 313-446-0383 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207-2997 David Sedgwick Editor dsedgwick@crain.com Edward Lapham Executive Editor elapham@crain.com Richard Johnson Managing Editor rjohnson@crain.com John K. Teahen Jr. Senior Editor Mary Beth Vander Schaaf Deputy Managing Editor Charles Child International Editor David Kushma Retail Editor Dave Guilford News Editor Philip Nussel Special Projects Editor James B. Treece Industry Editor Karen Faust O’Rourke Insight Editor COPY EDITORS: Bob Allen, Tom Fetters, Patricia C. Foley, Kenn Jones, Gregory Skwira Susan Zavela Bamford/Graphics Editor Rick Kranz/Product Editor REPORTERS: Leslie J. Allen, David Barkholz, Mary Connelly, Ralph Kisiel, Jamie LaReau, Arlena Sawyers, Robert Sherefkin, Richard Truett, Bradford Wernle, Amy Wilson Mary Raetz Director, Automotive News Data Center Debi Domby, Camille Pippen Research Assistants Dan Jones Office Manager Robertta Savage Editorial Assistant Corinne M. Price, Michael Garrison Information Center LOS ANGELES Mark Rechtin/Bureau Chief 310-739-8009 Fax: 310-832-6362 Kathy Jackson/Reporter 323-370-2481 Fax: 323-655-8157 6500 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90048-4947 NEW YORK Diana T. Kurylko/Reporter Phone/fax: 908-273-6059 dkurylko@crain.com WASHINGTON Donna Harris/Reporter 540-668-7295 Fax: 540-668-7296 Harry Stoffer/Reporter 202-662-7212 Fax: 202-638-3155 814 National Press Building Washington, DC 20045-1801 MID-SOUTH Lindsay Chappell/Bureau Chief 615-371-6654 Fax: 615-371-6655 April Wortham/Reporter 615-371-6617 104 East Park Drive, Suite 315, Brentwood, TN 37027 TOKYO Hans Greimel/Asia Editor +81-3-3828-9060 Fax: +81-3-3828-9061 hgreimel@crain.com Yurakucho Denki Bldg., 20th Floor 1-7-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0006, Japan SHANGHAI Alysha Webb/Bureau Chief +86-21-6226-9485 Fax: +86-21-6226-9483 alyshawebb@yahoo.com TURIN Luca Ciferri/Reporter lciferri@craincom.de +39-011 961 0194 Fax: +39-011 961 0113 Viale Cavaglia, 8 10029 Villastellone (TO) Italy STAFF CORRESPONDENT: Eric Freedman/Legal file, 517-337-0269 www.autonews.com DETROIT Victor Galvan/Web Editor vgalvan@crain.com 313-446-0345 Scott Kennedy/Multimedia Editor EDITORIAL STAFF Edward Lapham Now that annual meeting season is just about here, shareholders, investors and corporate managers ought to consider a game-changing idea: It’s time to give the UAW a board seat at publicly traded automakers and suppliers. Most of the proxy statements already have been mailed to shareholders, so it’s too late to insert a proposal for this year’s meetings. But the topic should be raised this year by shareholders and discussed by management in preparation for next year. The need for union representation in the boardroom has never been more apparent. For example, all the consternation about how much financial and operational information American Axle should have shared with the UAW makes a strong argument for having a union representative on the company’s board. Had a UAW official been privy to the ongoing flow of information shared with the board, chances are good that the ugly, costly strike could have been avoided. At the outset of negotiations, the union would have known how serious the situation was — or the company would have realized it couldn’t run a bluff at the bargaining table. Either way, the cards would have been on the table. Yes, it’ll be a tough sell. The oldtimers and hard-liners will say that’s not what collective bargaining is supposed to be. They’ll say there has to be confrontation and haggling. And they’ll claim that politics in the boardroom and the union hall will stand in the way. They’ll also say it can’t possibly work, and if you need proof, just look at how screwed up the German system of co-determination is. Nonsense. comment Edward Lapham is executive editor of Automotive News. part of last fall’s contract, Ford agreed to give UAW Vice President Bob King a seat on the automaker’s manufacturing operations committee. That’s a start. Had a UAW official been privy to the ongoing flow of information shared with the American Axle board, chances are good that the ugly, costly strike could have been avoided. The industry doesn’t need a system like the one in Germany, where labor gets half the seats on a supervisory board that oversees a board of management that runs the company. Managers must be able to manage. But in this era when labor and management must work closer together than ever to ensure the survival of all stakeholders, the union ought to have eyes, ears and a voice in the boardroom. So why not forge an American solution? If the UAW represents most of the workers at a supplier or automaker, it ought to have a seat on the board. because Fraser stepped out of the room whenever the board discussed issues that would have compromised the relationship. When Fraser retired, his successor, Owen Bieber, took the board seat. After the workers had (more than) recovered what they had sacrificed, the union seat on Chrysler’s board went away. But the concept didn’t. Joe Laymon, who not long ago stepped down as group vice president of corporate human resources and labor affairs at Ford Motor Co., revealed recently that the UAW asked for a seat on the Ford Motor board. That’s a huge shift in thinking. Even the most collaborative union leaders traditionally considered a seat on the operations side to be more important because that’s where the action is. Even so, the company wasn’t prepared to go as far as a board seat. So as Do it now Consider that adding a union board member also might address another open issue: A union board member could be a tempering influence on corporate boards that grant ever-larger salaries, perks and other compensation to executives who don’t deliver shareholder value. A UAW representative on the board also would be a constant reminder of the need for equality of sacrifice in tough times. After everything the union and the automakers went through last fall to forge more workable relationships, it’s pathetic that the American Axle strike got out of hand and damaged people, companies and the economy. One way to avoid that kind of impasse, based on misinformation or lack of information, is to put a UAW official on the board. And the time to do it is now. You may e-mail Edward Lapham at elapham@crain.com Fraser made it work It’s not a new idea. As part of the bailout package that saved the old Chrysler Corp. nearly three decades ago, UAW President Doug Fraser got a board seat because it was clear the union was a partner that had sacrificed wages and benefits to get the loan guarantees through Congress. There never was a conflict of interest - You will find more columns by Edward Lapham on our Web site. Go to www.autonews.com/edwardlapham. autonews.com continued from Page 12 A car for everyone or cut, cut, cut, cut? To the Editor: All those so-called auto analysts call for General Motors to reduce its lineup and consolidate products, and then they lament the loss of models and variety of product. Which is it they want: something for everyone or cut, cut, cut and cut? I find it interesting that GM’s market share didn’t really begin to drop fast until it started to follow those suggested strategies of reducing the product offerings. I still have people longing for the Pontiac Firebird, Bonneville, Montana and, yes, even the Aztek. Soon to be lost is the Grand Prix. I could go on and on. I am sure most other GM dealers feel the same way. The strategy is faulted, and even Automotive News is beginning to agree. JOHN DELEHANTY Delehanty Pontiac Flushing, Mich. When those products were pulled, young folks stopped coming in. They started buying Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans. Then Mom and Dad were influenced by their now older and wiser kids, creating the problem we have now: mass defection from the brand. In defense of the General, I think that BuickPontiac-GMC can and will become a great franchise in the marketplace. The media must stop looking at Buick as a single entity and, above all, stop associating Buick’s numbers with the demise of Oldsmobile. Buick exists within the framework of B-P-G and as such is one of three numbers within that business plan. My neighboring Pontiac-GMC dealer acquired my Buick franchise in 2006, ending a relationship of more than 40 years that my family had with GM in Elgin. Now I’m an exclusive Nissan dealer. It didn’t make good business sense to go it alone as a single-point Buick dealer — not even in Chicago. SCOTT McGRATH President McGrath Nissan Inc. Elgin, Ill. A letter writer, a Pontiac dealer, says he still has customers who long for the Firebird. I watched Buick go from a full-line franchise, selling vehicles to everyone in the family, to the franchise it is now, a three-car lineup for retired people. When GM created Project 2000, it decided to combine Buick, Pontiac and GMC into one franchise and in doing so began systematically cutting back Buick’s product offerings. When I started selling Buicks, Mom and Dad would influence their kids to buy a Skyhawk, a Skylark or even an Opel. As those kids got older and had families, they would move up to a Century, a Regal or even a T-type LeSabre coupe. Think of Buick as part of B-P-G To the Editor: It’s true: As Buick in Chicago goes, so goes the nation (Comment, April 14). http://www.autonews.com http://autonews.com http://www.autonews.com/edwardlapham http://www.autonews.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - May 5, 2008

Automotive News - May 5, 2008 Dodge dealers battle to bust Ram logjam Used-car price slump slams luxury makes INDUSTRY IN DISTRESS Tesla opens first dealership in L.A. Los Angeles Top auto execs to talk marketing at seminar Nader and the Corvair: GM edition tells whole story Dealers take Tundra to the people UAW official expects American Axle buyouts Ford plans more UAW buyouts at 2 plants Honda to some dealers: Upgrade or else Hyundai: Powertrains will take us halfway to mpg target Diesel dynamo Daimler cuts Chrysler value, again Ford domestic dealer count dips below 4,000 Seems like old times: More cash on the hood Toyota sister car poses a challenge for Subaru Suzuki to offer standard navigation in $16,000 car Mpg plan fuels states-rights battle Kerkorian interest buoys Ford stock Henderson: GM will keep tight rein on inventory Is it real, or is it just temporary? Ford Motor must stay focused on recovery 'Have you lost your mind?' Dealers are victims of Axle strike Federal oversight? Good heavens, no Geoff Polites: A salute Save a board seat for the UAW A car for everyone or cut, cut, cut, cut? Think of Buick as part of B-P-G Costs up in China, but bargains still abound Mexico sales fall 17% in March Obituary Hyundai reworks Sonata sooner rather than later Nissan's Dominique gets to the big dance Dana seeks new business with Japanese companies ZF will supply Nissan Certified Tool closes a plant German engineering company plans Ala. factory Dealers A Lexus colossus Used-vehicle leasing boosts showroom traffic Certified buyers opt for extended service contracts Repossessed vehicles offer dealers a profit opening Prepaid plans spark service visits beyond oil changes Key to managing floorplan costs: Be realistic Long-term loans: Convenience or bad deal? Dealers hunt upside-down buyers with leases, incentives and long-term loans Where have all the investors gone? Dealer rebounds from contract mess Dealers must choose: Reynolds, GM — or start over AutoTrader.com makes big pitch to bump up new-vehicle sales CAW, Ford reach extensive early labor deal Infiniti asks: Do you smell something? Sure, Nissan GT-R is impractical — but what a rush Faurecia: We'll break even in N.A. Suppliers join carmakers' charge into Russia Chrysler small cars, Jeep crossovers are hot A dreary April in Detroit Penske earnings rise in 1st quarter Lithia posts $1.9 million loss GM makes 2nd ethanol deal Group 1's earnings slip Magna profits down; sales rise AIADA picks dealer of the year Vox(wagen) populi — plus a sales pitch Wagoner's pension shift: More earlier, less overall COMMENT: Bargaining barbs will sting for a long time Bugging the boss: Who's listening to Porsche CEO? New models from the post office Critics have kind words for Pontiac's G8 Ford can't picture kids at design studio

Automotive News - May 5, 2008

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