Local GM talks unlikely until after Jan. 1

The UAW has frozen local labor contracts to iron out a new two-tier wage plan.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

LORDSTOWN — One final detail needs to be wrapped up before General Motors brings new models to its Lordstown complex: local labor contracts.

No negotiations are under way, however, because the United Auto Workers has frozen talks at all auto plants. Talks probably won’t be restarted until after the first of the year, said Ben Strickland, shop chairman of UAW Local 1112 in Lordstown.

The holdup is a new national labor contract between the UAW and GM, which was ratified in October. The contract creates a two-tier wage system that gives workers in “noncore” jobs half the pay of workers in “core” jobs.

The higher-paying jobs are those connected directly to the assembly line, while the lower-paying jobs are support jobs, such as housekeeping and moving parts.

Strickland said UAW leaders in Detroit want all local union officials to understand how each job will be classified. UAW leaders intend to visit each plant to meet with local union leaders but haven’t started making those visits, Strickland said.

The freezing of local talks also prevents GM from pitting plants against one another, said Sean McAlinden, vice president of research for the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.

UAW leaders were concerned that local union leaders would make concessions on other issues in order to gain a higher percentage of core jobs, he said. Local contracts cover plant-specific issues such as seniority and overtime issues, while the national contract covers pay and benefits.

UAW leaders are talking to GM about making the distribution of core jobs even, McAlinden said.

Strickland said negotiations between Local 1112 and GM had been going well before they were stopped in September when the UAW went on a brief strike.

McAlinden said senior GM and UAW officials also are talking about the terms of upcoming buyout and early retirement offers. The union wants to open the offers to any worker, while the company is proposing offers targeted at certain types of workers, such as skilled trades workers, he said.

Last year, GM used incentives to cut the work force at the Lordstown assembly and adjacent fabricating plants by 1,600. The two plants now have about 3,500 hourly workers. Workers at the fabricating plant are represented by UAW Local 1714.

Workers with at least 30 years were offered $35,000 to retire, while those with between 27 and 30 years were offered 60 percent of their normal wages until they qualified for full retirement benefits. Workers with less seniority were offered either $70,000 or $140,000 to leave the company.

Strickland said details on new models coming to Lordstown will come after local contract talks are completed.

GM told the UAW in contract talks that Lordstown is slated to receive a new small car starting in 2009, followed by two versions of a new midsize model in 2010. Production of the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 are scheduled until June 2009.

shilling@vindy.com