For an American vehicle, the much-anticipated Chevy Volt has been a shocker in more ways than one. That statement is even more true when one considers that the Volt is a GM product, since the market is accustomed to The General’s gas hungry Tahoes and Escalades (which are – mind you – awesome in their own ways). Instead we’re seeing a (gasp!) Prius-shaped thing rolling off a GM production line. But the surprises don’t stop there! GM has shocked a number of people by not using UAW labor to produce the Volt’s battery at its Brownstown Township plant.

GM expects to have up to 100 employees on a single shift at the non-UAW plant when the Volt begins retail production later this year. Right now, however, only one quarter of that number are employed at the Brownstown Township plant. Increased demand will hopefully translate to the addition of more shifts.

Also of interest in Brownstown is the way in which workers will be compensated. The UAW and GM have two tiers of pay, beginning at $14 an hour. Without the UAW present however, The General will pay around $12 to new plant employees. GM claims that it’s able to avoid UAW rules because the new facility is operating under a GM subsidiary. This news comes to us after the Volt has begun pre-production assembly just a few short weeks ago. More as it happens.

[Source: TheGMSource]