Automotive News Discusses The UAW Historic Contract Negotiations On 'Auto Trends'

Michael Martinez is an automotive news reporter.  (Photo Credit: LinkedIn)

This year could be dubbed as the year of the workers. Everyone from the railroad laborers to Kaiser Permanente healthcare employees to UPS workforce have stood up to their employers, demanding that they be fairly compensated, after years of sacrificing, as the companies they have worked for racked up record profits.

The automotive industry also joined the fight this fall. Since 2009, assemblers have made major sacrifices, saving 'The Detroit Three,' General Motors, Ford and Chrysler during the Great Recession. Automotive News reporter Michael Martinez talks to Auto Trends with JeffCars.com about the United Auto Workers (UAW) historic contract negotiations. Martinez, who is based in Detroit, has been covering the UAW extensively for the past 10 years. In an eye-opening conversation, we'll examine the pros, cons and more of the historic UAW Stand Up Strike. 

'Auto Trends' Talks One-On-One With One Of The Leading Black Voices In The EV Battery Lane

 

While the world is familiar with Elon Musk and his line of mass produced, all-electric Teslas that achieves just over 200 miles on a battery charge, Denise Gray, who's a much quieter player in the hybrid and electric battery field, is one of the pioneers revolutionizing the industry, too.

Gray and her team are directly responsible for designing and developing battery packs to fuel, no pun intended, such vehicles as GM's new Tesla fighter, the mass-produced Chevy Bolt. Like the California built Teslas, the all-electric Bolt also has a driving range that surpasses 200 miles on a full battery charge. Conversely, unlike the pricey Teslas, the Bolt is currently one of a handful affordable EV alternatives on the market today to Musk’s luxury electric vehicles.

'Auto Trends' Talks To Trevor Pawl About The Electrification Pact Formed By 5 Midwestern States

 
Trevor Pawl, Michigan's first chief mobility officer (Photo Credit: SOM)

In order to get ahead of the trend of the car industry slow shift toward electrification, five Midwestern states formed an automotive pact this past October. With electric vehicle sales still hoovering under 3 percent of total U.S. retail sales, Trevor Pawl, the state of Michigan's first chief mobility officer, joins Auto Trends with JeffCars.com to discuss the vision for this group and how it will move the country forward toward being prepared for the future of electric vehicles. Pawl will also define his role, as the first chief mobility officer in the country and this agreement will benefit consumers.