National union rejects local pact

Top union officials won't accept proposed changes in seniority and job duties.
& lt;a href=mailto:shilling@vindy.com & gt;By DON SHILLING & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
LORDSTOWN -- Negotiators at the Lordstown Assembly Plant are back at the bargaining table over a labor contract that both sides thought they had wrapped up in 2001.
Officials at the United Auto Workers headquarters in Detroit didn't approve the deal so it has to be revised, said Ben Strickland, shop chairman of United Auto Workers Local 1112, which represents plant workers.
He added, however, that he doesn't expect the development to derail the ongoing upgrades of the assembly plant and adjacent fabrication plant.
The contract, which called for combining some jobs and other work rule changes, was cited last year as a key factor in General Motors Corp.'s deciding to spend $550 million to upgrade its Lordstown complex. The contract was called a shelf agreement because it wasn't to become effective unless GM committed to the investment.
Dan Flores, a GM spokesman, said the company still intends to build two new models, the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac Pursuit, at the plant. Construction is continuing.
Flores said that he couldn't comment on the contract talks, other than to say GM is confident an agreement will be reached.
Disputed sections
Strickland said UAW officials didn't like some parts of the contract that involved changes to seniority and the combination of jobs in skilled trades.
One significant change in the contract called for combining six of the skilled trades classifications into three, meaning those workers would have to perform added duties. Skilled trades includes jobs such as electricians, welders and toolmakers.
GM said it needed work rule changes to bring down operating costs.
Strickland said the changes to the agreement could be extensive enough to require another ratification vote by Local 1112 members.
In January 2001, about 81 percent of production workers and 74 percent of skilled trades workers approved the deal.
GM asked for early negotiations even though the plant had a local contract that didn't expire until this year. Local contracts cover work rules at individual plants, while national contracts between the UAW and automakers cover wages and benefits. A new four-year national agreement was ratified recently by the UAW.
More retirements
Meanwhile, Local 1112 reported that 155 workers retired as of Oct. 1, making 236 retirements so far this year.
The assembly plant's hourly work force, now at 3,900, has been falling in recent years as workers retire.
Better car design and new production methods allowed GM to cut the work force from 7,500 to 6,000 in 1994, the last time the plant was remodeled.
GM isn't commenting on staffing needs for production of the Cobalt and Pursuit, but Strickland said last month that the company is projecting staffing of 2,800. GM may decide it needs more workers as it nears the start of production, which is slated for next fall, Strickland said.
& lt;a href=mailto:shilling@vindy.com & gt;shilling@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;