UAW hopes recall of workers leads to third Lordstown shift

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Dave Green

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Jim Graham, President of UAW Local 1112

Union officials are hoping more laid-off workers can be recalled to build the Cruze.

By Don Shilling

LORDSTOWN — General Motors brought back 1,050 laid-off workers at its Lordstown complex Monday, but union leaders aren’t satisfied.

“The hope is the second shift is just the beginning. Hopefully down the road, we’ll see a third shift added,” said Dave Green, president of United Auto Workers Local 1714, at the metal stamping plant.

GM brought back a second shift of 1,000 hourly workers and 50 salaried workers to increase the supply of Chevrolet Cobalts and to prepare for the launch of the Chevrolet Cruze in April.

Jim Graham, president of UAW Local 1112 at the assembly plant, said he enjoyed seeing people who had been off work since December.

“It’s good to have all those faces back in the plant. Hopefully, we can get everyone else back at some point,” he said.

Union leaders are hoping the Chevrolet Cruze, which will be launched from the complex in April, will sell well enough that GM has to add a third shift.

The complex still is recovering from the steep drop in car sales at the end of last year. Sales were so slow that GM laid off the afternoon and midnight shifts at the complex.

The complex operated with one shift for much of this year, but even the day shift was laid off this summer when the entire complex was shut down. Those workers were brought back in August.

With the second shift back on the job, the assembly plant has about 2,400 hourly workers, and the stamping plant has about 850.

Graham said the speed of the assembly line is being slowed to prepare for the Cruze launch. GM wants to be sure that the quality of the Cruze models is strong from the start, Graham said.

The plant has started to produce test models of the Cruze as it continues to build the Cobalt. The line speed has been reduced from 62 cars an hour to 54.

Second-shift workers are starting this week at 1 p.m. so that they can train with first-shift workers for part of the day, Graham said. Some of the work has changed as the line was slowed.

Starting next week, the first shift in most departments will work from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the second shift will work from 6 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Both shifts will work Monday through Thursday.

shilling@vindy.com