On Friday, January 13, 2012 striking hourly production workers at Manitowoc Cranes, who have been on strike since November 15, 2011 have overwhelmingly rejected a settlement offer from the company. The vote, conducted Friday, was 140-37 against the proposal.

 

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW)lodge 516overwhelmingly rejected a new contract proposal that still contained many union-busting provisions.

“Today Machinists at Manitowoc Cranes voted down a union-busting contract,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIOand long-time member of the IAMAW.  “This is America and the company should respect the workers right to have a union in their workplace.  We will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Machinists members at Manitowoc Cranes as they fight for all working people in Wisconsin.  We will increase our support to the striking families as they continue to put a check on corporate power by fighting for Wisconsin’s middle class.”

 

Nearly 200 men and women have been on strike at Manitowoc Cranes since November 15.  At issue, is non-economic contract language which would have zero impact on productivity and instead bust the worker’s union.  The language, which the worker’s have overwhelming voted down twice, would destroy the union and the worker’s ability to have a voice on the job.

We encourage everyone to join the striking Machinists on the picket line at 2401 S 30th St., Manitowoc.  

Strike Assistance gifts can be sent to: 

Strike Assistance Fund:  MCI Strike Fund c/o Machinists Local 516, P.O. Box 222, Manitowoc, WI, 54221-0222

 

The National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington contain some of the nation’s most cherished symbols: monuments to commemorate our greatest presidents; shrines to honor the courage and sacrifice of veterans; and memorials to celebrate America’s commitment to freedom. The newest of them, the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, majestically captures the civil rights hero's fight for justice everywhere. In word and deed, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. moved the nation toward a future anchored in dignity and nonviolence. He challenged every American to leave behind racism and intolerance and embrace a new future of hope and reconciliation. Carved today in the memorial's granite, his words still shape lives around the world. No one will ever forget his immortal words, “I have a dream” delivered on Aug. 28, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C.. He electrified a nation and  traced the struggle for racial equality from the time of slavery through segregation and painted his vision for a better nation. His words still resonate and none of us that heard that speech will ever forget the powerful closing; “Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring -- when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children -- black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics -- will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, We are Free at Last!” Martin Luther King jr. a True American Hero.

 

 

 

A Janesville sign company may be regretting its decision on where to place a billboard touting the job creation efforts of Governor Scott Walker. The sign was briefly put up in front of the shuttered General Motors plant in Janesville this week, but was taken down quickly after groups started pointing out the unfortunate placement.

 

The GM plant closed in 2009, causing thousands of job losses in the Janesville area. The plant was shut down well before Walker was elected governor.

 

The "Governor Scott Walker - Creating Jobs for Wisconsin" billboard was put up as part of a pro-Walker ad campaign being run by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.

WMC is of course the most powerful pro-corporate business lobby in our state who consistently cheers Gov. Walker's anti-working class agenda. Fact is Walker simply isn't creating jobs for Wisconsin.

 

 

On January 12, 2012 over 125 Texans greeted Scott Walker on his fundraising trip toAustin,Texas. Gov. Walker was the keynote speaker at the right-wing Texas Public Policy Foundation’s annual policy orientation for Texas legislators.

 

Occupy Austin, the Texas AFL-CIO and the Austin community held a rally to support Wisconsin workers and to protest Gov. Walker’s anti-worker agenda. Since taking office over a year ago Gov. Walker has staged an all out war on the middle class by stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights, raising taxes on the poor, slashing education and health care funding all while giving millions of dollars in tax breaks to corporate allies and the mega-rich.

Becky Moeller, the President of the Texas AFL-CIO explains: we believe in welcoming all comers to Texas, and we won’t break with that tradition today. But we must protest the anti-union zealotry, if not the presence, of Wisconsin Gov. Walker. Walker has played the partisan labor-bashing game since his election, doing the bidding of the Koch Brothers and other money player who wants to tamp down worker rights, who can’t stand the idea that health care has become available to more America and who would love to shave percentage points off democratic election participation.”

 

“Wherever Scott Walker goes, working people will stand together to hold him accountable for his union-busting, middle-class destroying agenda which not only hurts people in Wisconsin but hurts working people throughout the country,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  “We stand together as one movement to fight for economic equality and social justice in the global economy.” 

“We applaud the Texas AFL-CIO for their efforts to expose Scott Walker and his extreme agenda,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.  “Gov. Walker’s attacks on public employees, education, health care, child labor laws, and voting rights threaten the very fabric of our nation.  Fortunately, hard-working men and women are standing up in Texas and in every corner of the United States to say enough is enough.”

 

 

Since November 2011, thousands of volunteers have braved the cold by going door to door or by standing at busy intersections throughout Wisconsin to collect enough signatures to recall Gov. Walker, Lt. Gov. Kleefisch and four Republican Senators. Members of Local 72 did their part contributing hundreds if not thousands of hours. I want to thank all of you for your hard work.

 

The 2013 Dodge Dart redefines performance with Alfa Romeo DNA, fuel-efficient power trains and Dodge’s passion for performance. The all-new Dodge Dart is a thoroughly modern vehicle that’s fuel-efficient, beautifully designed and crafted, agile and fun-to-drive.

 

Loaded with innovative technology, class-leading safety features and clever functionality, the 2013 Dodge Dart sets a new standard in the compact car segment by offering unmatched personalization, roominess, style, functionality and fun-to-drive dynamics.

 

“The all-new Dodge Dart is a groundbreaking car that will surprise and delight customers who want a no-compromise, fun-to-drive car that’s a great value,” Reid Bigland, President and Chief Executive Officer — Dodge Brand, said. “With 12 exterior colors, 14 interior color and trim options, three powerful, fuel-efficient engines, three transmission choices, unsurpassed safety features and world-class aerodynamics, the new Dodge Dart sets a new standard for the compact car class.”

 

The 2013 Dodge Dart will be available in five trim levels: SE, SXT, Rallye, Limited and R/T. It will be built in the United States at Chrysler Group’s Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Ill. Production of the 2013 Dodge Dart will begin in the second quarter of 2012.

 

Dodge Dart starting price $15,995

 

 

The Tigershark will take its place on the Chrysler mantle beside the Pentastar V-6 and Fiat FIRE engine families. Dodge President and CEO Reid Bigland tells WardsAuto at the North American International Auto Show here.

 

Once touted as Chrysler’s 4-cyl. engine of the future, the World Engine family has been replaced by the Tigershark engine family, which makes its debut in the all-new ’13 Dodge Dart C-segment sedan.

 

The legendary history of the Hemi puts the V-8 family in a class by itself, Bigland says, but Chrysler watchers should not rule out the possibility that vehicles might someday feature Tigershark badges.

 

The auto maker spurned alternative names from a list “as long as my arm,” Bigland says. Tigershark comes from the codename by which the engine’s developmental project was known inside Chrysler. However, expect Chrysler to mention the name prominently in same manner Pentastar is used in marketing, Bigland says.

 

The new engine also is a telling barometer of Chrysler’s place within the Chrysler-Fiat alliance because it marks the introduction, along with the overseas-market Fiat Panda cross/utility vehicle, of the Italian auto maker’s latest version of MultiAir valve-actuation technology.

The Tigershark, which launches with displacements of 2.0L and 2.4L, is derived from the World Engine. But it borrows sparingly.

 

No more than 12% of their parts are common, says Bob Lee, vice president-engine and electrified propulsion engineering. “Our first objective was refinement; our second objective was fuel economy,” Lee tells WardsAuto.

 

Chrysler does not disclose fuel-economy ratings, saying that information will be released closer to the car’s second-quarter launch. But the 2.4L Tigershark’s performance is expected to benefit from “MultiAir 2,” which optimizes exhaust-gas recirculation by leaving open the engine’s valves for longer intervals during the intake cycle.

 

The ’12 Dodge Caliber, which is being replaced by the Dart, earns a combined city/highway fuel-economy rating of 27 mpg (8.7 L/100 km) when equipped with a 2.0L World Engine, and 24 mpg (9.8 L/100 km) when powered by a 2.4L World Engine. Addressing the refinement issues that plagued the World Engine, “we had to go after that fundamentally; no Band-Aids,” Lee says.

 

Chrysler fits the Tigershark’s all-new cast aluminum block with a new forged steel crank and connecting rods and a redesigned bearing beam. The resulting increase in stiffness reduces unwanted noise, the auto maker says, along with an oil pan that has acoustic material between its inner and outer steel surfaces. Most significantly, the Tigershark’s tubular exhaust manifold is moved to the front of the Dart’s engine compartment to further limit unwanted noise intrusion.

Lee chuckles when asked how much stress the Tigershark’s development placed on his engineers.

 

“This program was actually given the go ahead at the end of May 2010, and we’re in production now,” he says. “You know the routine.”

The dramatic scope of the program seems to fly in the face of Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne’s endorsement of the World Engine at last year’s Detroit auto show.

The World Engine “was not a disappointment,” he said at the time, describing it as a leading-edge solution in terms of 4-cyl. power trains.”