GM avoids strikes at two factories

Two plants agreed to give GM 12 hours’ notice before calling a strike.

DETROIT (AP) — United Auto Workers locals at General Motors Corp. factories in Kansas and Michigan delayed threatened walkouts Friday and negotiated with the automaker over local contract issues.

Workers at the Fairfax Assembly Plant in Kansas City and a metal stamping factory in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming had threatened to strike Friday morning, but both agreed to give the company 12 hours’ notice if they intend to strike.

The Kansas City plant and a related stamping operation employ about 1,900 hourly workers and make the hot-selling Chevrolet Malibu. Any strike would crimp production and hurt GM’s profits. The Wyoming plant stamps metal parts and employs about 1,000 hourly workers.

Local plants negotiate their own operating agreements separate from the national contract, which was settled last year. The local contract deals with issues such as overtime and work rules.

Jeff Manning, president of Local 31 in Kansas City, said the union was preparing for a strike after talks recessed late Thursday. But both sides met again Friday morning and made some progress, he said.

“Talks are continuing and progress is being made,” Local 730 at the Wyoming plant said on its Web site. “As long as the talks continue and progress is made workers will continue to work and the strike will be avoided.”

GM spokesman Dan Flores also said progress had been made.

“Our focus is to continue the bargaining and avoid any more walkouts,” he said.

A GM plant in Delta Township near Lansing that makes strong-selling crossover vehicles went on strike April 17, and another local at a key transmission plant in Warren, Mich., is negotiating and could give a 12-hour strike notice at any time. In addition, workers at a metal stamping plant in Mansfield, Ohio, have threatened to strike Monday.

Flores says negotiations are under way at all the plants.

GM said earlier this week that the Delta Township strike has not yet hurt its sales of the Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook or GMC Acadia crossovers, but the strike is a concern to the company.

Industry analysts have speculated that the strike and threats are an effort by the UAW to get GM to put pressure on American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. to settle a bitter two-month strike.

GM accounts for 80 percent of American Axle’s parts business. About 3,600 UAW workers at five American Axle plants have been on strike since Feb. 26. Negotiations are continuing.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says the threats are about local contract issues and have nothing to do with American Axle.