Shortly after GM cut 250 temporary workers at its Fort Wayne truck plant in Indiana, UAW Local 2209, which represents the plant, is seeking approval for a strike. The root of the dispute is GM’s decision to move seniority members to other shifts and departments, which the UAW says is a violation of their contract. This news comes just two days after the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) port workers union began its first large-scale strike since 1977.
“The first thing management did here was violate our seniority agreement and take it out on high seniority members, not low seniority,” UAW Local 2209 chair Rich LeTourneau told The Detroit News. “Seniority agreements are a mandatory subject of bargaining and strike worthy.”
“GM has and will continue to comply with the provisions of the UAW-GM National Agreement,” GM spokesman Kevin Kelly said in a statement regarding the potential strike. “We do not believe that a strike is … warranted nor legal in these circumstances.”
LeTourneau is also challenging GM’s decision to let go of the aforementioned 250 temporary workers in the time frame that it did. He claims they were worked past the September 29th deadline, after which they must be hired according to the contract. “The company worked them past midnight and all day on the 30th which by the contract requires them to hire them,” he said.
We reported last week that LeTourneau refused to sign an agreement to extend the part-time status of these workers because he believed that course of action “would be exploiting our temps, and that contradicts everything the UAW stands for.” GM argued that extending the part-time temps to full-time status would be an unneeded cost. Since an agreement wasn’t reached, the temporary workers were let go.
The General Motors Fort Wayne assembly plant located in Roanoke, Indiana currently builds the Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500, which share the T1 platform. The factory’s output is approximately 1,300 trucks per day.
Comments
Salespeople need a union!
I am in full support of UAW Local 2209 standing up for those temporary employees! I hope the Local gets strike authorization from the International Union so they can take a stand on behalf of those temps. I know the members and leadership at local 2209 and I am confident you will win this fight if you get the approval to take GM on!
UAW people think they own the automaker.
Look up the word “temporary”!
Union dues is 2.5 hrs. of a workers pay for monthly union dues.
Follow the money……………….Temp worker makes roughly $16.00 an hour x 2.5 hrs. = $40.00
$40.00 x 250 temps = $10,000.00 a month for the greedy UAW.
Great idea to strike when all the auto makers have EXCESS inventory.
GM would thank the union!
Take a look at dealer lots across the US, packed with lot rotting vehicles.
Canada is the same.
UAW hand cuffs USA car manufacturers, protects workers that should be terminated for a number of reasons, increases the cost of new vehicles. There should be zero unions. If a company is not paying what people are willing to
do certain jobs for they won’t have good employees.
I am not implying that all union workers are sub-par, very many work well and would be recognized for there work without paying union dues.
Work hard, put forth a solid effort, show up on time and you will be an asset to any company and that company will want to keep you and do what’s necessary to keep good solid employees.
It seems as if nobody is willing to earn a living anymore, they just feel like they are entitled to high pay and time off for the least amount of effort.
Let me preface my comment with my grandfather, father and his brothers all worked for and retired from GM. From my perspective it seems union leadership is trying to put all the workers out of a job.
The international needs to step in to back them up. Learn the lessons from the cluster from the Lordstown unallocation and closing. Hopefully the new leadership will do a better job than Terry D did.
He told me “I have your back’ and ‘No stone unturned’ then he agreed with GM to close the plant. 5 years later
Employees from Lordstown are still waiting for GM and the union to resolve issues.