National UAW leaders to visit Lordstown plant

Local union leaders are waiting for more details on the national contract.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

LORDSTOWN — National union leaders are expected to visit the General Motors car plant here by the end of the month, which would allow labor talks to restart.

Talks on a labor deal at the General Motors’ Lordstown complex have been on hold since a brief nationwide strike in September.

Officials from United Auto Workers Local 1112 told members in a flier this week, however, that the wait should end soon.

The visit from union leaders in Detroit is needed because they don’t want local talks to proceed until local officials understand the national contract that ended the strike.

The UAW is proceeding slowly with these meetings because of the ground-breaking changes that are included in the contract that was ratified in October.

The flier said the key issue is which jobs will be considered “core” jobs under the national contract. The agreement creates a two-tier wage system that gives workers in noncore jobs half the pay of workers in core jobs.

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

Local contracts are critical to plant operations because they cover plant-specific issues such as seniority, overtime and job classifications. The national contract covers pay and benefits.

Talks between GM and the two locals at the Lordstown complex had been under way until a nationwide strike in September. The local talks were halted and haven’t been restarted.

The two locals represent nearly 3,500 workers. Local 1714 represents workers at the fabricating plant, which is adjacent to the assembly plant.

shilling@vindy.com