Employees to get profit-sharing checks

February 10, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

By Kristen Russo

LORDSTOWN

This year, General Motors hourly-wage employees will receive profit-sharing checks for the first time in half a decade.

Reports from major media outlets including The Detroit News, Automotive News and Bloomberg News speculated Wednesday on the dollar amounts of the checks, with estimates ranging from $1,775 to more than $3,000.

Representatives from GM corporate headquarters declined to comment on the speculation.

Jim Graham, president of United Auto Workers Local 1112, and Dave Green, president of UAW Local 1714 at the Lordstown GM plant, confirmed that there will be profit-sharing checks this year, but they said they did not know the amounts.

Graham said employees haven’t received a profit-sharing check in about five years.

“The company is healing,” Graham said.

“Whether it’s $1,700 or $3,000, it’s going to be a huge benefit to our area.”

Green shares that sentiment.

“Clearly, General Motors has turned the corner,” Green said.

“I think they’re moving in the right direction.”

Green said the hourly employees at the Lordstown plant have worked hard to help the company, and it will be a morale boost when they receive their profit-sharing checks.

“Just a couple years ago the future was not so bright, and there were a lot of people who wanted to see GM fail,” Green said.

“The company didn’t let that happen. The workers didn’t let that happen.”

Green said the employees probably won’t be getting the profit-sharing checks until March or April.

General Motors won’t be releasing the exact amounts for the checks until after it releases its 2010 year-end results.