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Unifor may establish local union for Toyota's Canadian plants

Union tactics apparently translate across borders, as Canada's Unifor may take inspiration from the United Auto Workers' recent move at the Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, TN, and establish a local for the Toyota factories in Cambridge and Woodstock.
Unifor last attempted to organize the workers at the two factories, which are responsible for production of the Toyota Corolla (above), RAV4 and Lexus RX back in April, but that vote was eventually delayed. According to that report, 3,000 of the two plants' 7,500 employees signed union cards, but that apparently wasn't enough for Unifor to force a vote.
Because of this, the union is looking at the local approach, like what the UAW is attempting with VW.

Toyota recalls 52k units of 2011-2012 Avalon for potential short circuit

Toyota is issuing a recall for roughly 52,000 examples of its 2011 and 2012 Avalon sedans in the US because a possible short circuit in the wiring for audio system's subwoofer may cause a fire. According to Toyota, it's possible for the subwoofer's wires to move out of position if contacted by cargo in the trunk. If one of the wires then contacts the metal frame of the speaker, it could trigger a short circuit. "If this occurs, the subwoofer could overheat, increasing the risk of a fire," according to the automaker. "There were two reports of thermal events – no outright fires," said Toyota spokesperson Cindy Knight to Autoblog. Toyota reports there are no reports of injuries, fatalities or crashes from this problem. Dealers will repair this problem at no cost, but until then, they will immediately disconnect the rear subwoofer as a precaution for owners. The recall notices will be sent out in mid-February, according to Knight. TOYOTA RECALLS CERTAIN 2011-2012 MODEL YEAR AVALON VEHICLES TORRANCE, Calif., January 28, 2015 – Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today announced plans to conduct a safety recall of approximately 52,000 Model Year 2011-2012 Avalon sedans. In the involved vehicles, cargo could contact one of the audio system subwoofer wires located inside the trunk, and move the wire out of its normal position. If one of these wires contacts the metal frame of the subwoofer, it may result in an intermittent short circuit. If this occurs, the subwoofer could overheat, increasing the risk of a fire. Toyota is not aware of any crashes, injuries, or fatalities caused by this condition. Owners of the involved vehicles will receive a notification by first class mail. Toyota dealers will provide a repair for the audio system. Until the remedy is available, as a precaution, Toyota dealers will disconnect the rear subwoofer. Detailed information is available at www.toyota.com/recall and by calling Toyota Customer Service at 1-800-331-4331. ###

Fernando Alonso reportedly will race for Toyota at Le Mans

When it was recently announced that Fernando Alonso would race in the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, it was described as a warm-up for an eventual attempt to win Le Mans. "Eventual" may come pretty fast: It now looks like the Formula One champion will race in the Le Mans 24 Hours next season as well. Or so reports BBC Sport, which says he'll race for Toyota. But wait, there's more: The BBC also says he's in talks with Toyota to drive most of the entire World Endurance Championship — while keeping his day job driving for McLaren in F1. "Le Mans is agreed," a source close to Toyota told the BBC. "The rest of the season is still being negotiated, but it looks like he will do most of the races." BBC's sources say Alonso will drive a Toyota WEC car in the season's last race, in Bahrain on Nov. 19, to get his feet wet. The season's final Formula One race is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Nov. 26. Neither Alonso nor Toyota would confirm an impending deal. Alonso said at practice for this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix: "So far, nothing to comment. We will see. Just rumors." What's motivating him is this: He's 36 years old and is intent on becoming only the second driver, after Briton Graham Hill, to win motorsport's Triple Crown. That entails winning the Formula One title (or just the Monaco Grand Prix according to one interpretation) as well as Indianapolis and Le Mans. He has won Monaco as well as the 2004 and 2005 world titles. He recently signed a contract extension keeping him at McLaren in 2018. As for the Indy piece of the Triple Crown, Alonso famously raced there this year and was running competitively when his Honda engine failed in the closing stages of the race. So expect to see him there again as well. Racing with Toyota at Le Mans and other endurance races should give him better luck than he had this season with McLaren-Honda in F1 and at Indy. Though Toyota has never won Le Mans, it is known to be developing a new WEC car. Traveling the globe to race in both the WEC and F1 in the same season sounds grueling, but it might be possible. The circuits have provisional schedules, and there's just one conflict — the U.S. Grand Prix and a WEC race in Japan are both penciled in for Oct. 21. But McLaren sounds none too keen on him doing the whole WEC schedule. McLaren racing director Eric Boullier told the BBC: "He has said he is keen to do some races outside. There is a case-by-case discussion. His main and first focus is F1, so that has to be the priority.