At GM, perfect attendance could earn you a free car

LORDSTOWN — Perfect attendance soon will earn workers at General Motors’ Lordstown complex a chance to win a new car.

The program begins Jan. 1 and is part of the new labor contract recently signed by GM and the United Auto Workers.

Any UAW worker at GM who has perfect attendance in 2008 will be eligible for a drawing the following year. Five winners will be selected companywide.

The winners will receive a voucher worth $15,000 that can be used to buy a GM vehicle. They also will receive a cash payment of $6,000 to pay taxes and other charges.

Excused absences will be allowed, such as jury duty, bereavement and vacation.

The contract also calls for a change in how employees can use their “vacation restricted” time, which is five days a year that can be called off without disciplinary action.

A flier from officials at UAW Local 1112 in Lordstown notes that now the VR days can’t be used preceding and following holidays or on the last or first work days of a week.

The flier also said that a doctor’s note is no longer enough for an absence to be considered excused. The Detroit News said more detailed proof will be required, such as a prescription slip or test results.

The newspaper said a disciplinary process kicks in once unexcused absences go beyond the five allowed days. The measures that can be taken against employees range from warnings to termination, it said.