There have been eleven new publications added to the Forum and the first one can be found in the UAW national, regional and local specific topics section. The article comes from a Free Press Business Writer reporting that the UAW said on Thursday that workers at the Tropicana Casino & Resort in Atlantic City overwhelmingly approved a contract with 91% voting in favor of the deal, giving the union a big win as it seeks to expand its membership.

Four new posts have been placed under the GM, Ford and Chrysler tab. The first article comes from the Detroit News telling that Bill Ford, the great-grandson of company founder Henry Ford, credit’s the automaker’s continued product development for helping it weather dark days. The second article, also from the Detroit News, gives a timeline of key events at General Motors Co., starting with its exit from bankruptcy protection last year to its filing for a public stock offering. The third article offers a little more information on GM marketing chief Jim Campbell, who co-wrote a controversial memo that angered Chevy fans, being reassigned, and replaced by Chris Perry who was named vice president of marketing at Hyundai just three months ago. Since Ed “old coot” Whitacre hasn’t left yet, I guess he is behind this shakeup; his way of saying adios suckers. The fourth article comes from the DRIVEON section of USA TODAY. It reports information on all of the women that were instrumental in the creation of the Chevrolet Volt electric car.

Once again it’s Friday and that means that it is time for this week’s edition of bcb monitor meds. We post articles like these hoping that you will find just one small piece of information that will make your retirement years healthier, happier and longer. Three new posts have been placed in the Medical, Dental and Vision portion. The first article comes from the Washington Post. It tells that if you flip on a reality-TV show about weight loss, you can expect to see an exercise montage and get a helpful nutrition tidbit or two. But if you ever try to emulate the participants’ success at home, you’ll quickly realize the cameras have forgotten to depict one critical thing: reality. This article gives you 7 days worth of exercises that involve everyday chores. The second article comes from the Health section of ABC News. It states that last year, Americans spent nearly $27B on dietary supplements, but critics say that at least 12 of them could be risky and do more harm than good. Listed in the article are the “dirty dozen” supplements you might want to stay away from or ask your doctor about. The third article comes from the website KevinMD.com. It reports that both maternal and paternal cigarette smoking can contribute to adverse chronic conditions, both physical and psychological, in children. These articles have been posted because our philosophy at Blue Collar Benefit Monitor is that true health care reform must start at home through maintaining a healthy diet, getting plenty of exercise, keeping regular medical, dental and vision checkups and by quitting smoking.

Two new posts have been entered into the Open Discussion section of the Forum. The first article comes from Bloomberg News. It reports that Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford says that some investors may reduce their holdings in his company to buy shares in General Motors Co.’s IPO to spread their risk across the automobile industry. The second article comes from the Washington Post stating that Toyota’s crash data recorders or “black boxes” have become a primary piece of evidence in investigations into runaway Toyotas, but can they be trusted? In a 2007 crash of a Toyota Tundra, that killed the 29 year old driver, the black box said that the truck was going 177mph. In 2008, Toyota questioned the reliability of the crash data recorders in an effort to prevent the driver of a Toyota Echo from using data from the black box in a lawsuit against the automaker. This just goes to show that what I have said all along is true: Toyota cares nothing about safety, quality, truth, ethics or human life. The only thing that Toyota cares about is MONEY.

One new post has been added to the Opinion category and comes from the Detroit News. The article tells that as desperately as General Motors Co. wants to shed its “Government Motors” rap and quash any appearance of political meddling from official channels, the walk up to an initial public offering of the new GM looks anything but that. I know that GM and Chrysler are grateful for the federal bailout of the auto industry, but I also know that both companies will be glad to pay back the taxpayers and once again become publicly owned entities.

We at Blue Collar Benefit Monitor hope that all of you have a great weekend and again, we thank you for your continued support.