Autoblog

Well, it was bound to happen eventually. Michael Schumacher, a veritable landmark in motor racing history, is to become an actual landmark.

To enable Schuey to continue to tower over the rest of the field, so to speak, a German company undertaking construction projects in the Gulf emirate of Dubai is building the Michael Schumacher Business Avenue. The construction project is to be highlighted by a 29-floor dual-purpose commercial/residential tower. The champion himself is expected to fly out to Dubai – where he already has his own island – to kick-start the project, which is expected to begin construction within the next three months.

Believe it or not, Schumacher won't be the first German-speaking, former Ferrari-driving, multiple-world-championship-winning F1 driver to get a complex named after him in the Dubai development: the Niki Lauda Twin Towers are located nearby.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Hourly workers at two Tower Automotive plants have voted to accept pay cuts that will ensure their plants remain open as the supplier struggles to emerge from bankruptcy. Tower had asked a judge for the power to cancel union contracts and cut workers as it saw fit, but the acceptance of wage reductions at these two plants have prompted the company to withdraw its request.

About 2,100 hourly workers will be affected by these pay cuts at plants in Bluffton, Ohio and Elkton, Michigan. Bluffton UAW members will be receiving a pay cut of about 75 cents an hour, while Elkton workers will see their hourly wages drop by about $1. Another plant run by Tower Automotive in Clinton Township, Michigan also voted on and approved a two-year contract extension with no changes. Tower Automotive had reached these tentative deals with the UAW and USW in late July and have been waiting since that time for union members to ratify the arrangement.

Clearly members of the United Auto Workers and the United Steelworkers of America that represent these facilities realized they would either have to accept a pay cut or risk the closing of the plants all together.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Just a few months ago, based on its threat to cancel union labor contracts, Tower Automotive appeared on the brink of a work stoppage - an event that would have halted a significant amount of North American vehicle production. Now we can all breath a bit easier, as the bankrupt supplier has reached a tentative deal with the United Auto Workers and United Steelworkers.

Details of the agreements have not yet been released, but presumably it's somewhat sweeter than the original proposal floated to the workers, which would have cut wages by $2-3, frozen the pension plan, and significantly raised health care costs. Tower's previous contracts were not nearly as "fat" as those from other manufacturers currently in the news, with wages reportedly in the $13-17 range.

[Source: Reuters]