Local 1714 OKs new contract

Staff report

LORDSTOWN

Members of Local 1714 of the United Auto Workers union at General Motors Lordstown voted 57 percent to 43 percent Saturday to approve a four-year national contract that pays a $5,000 signing bonus and increased entry-level pay.

Dave Green, president of Local 1714, said the skilled-trades unit of the union approved the contract by 68 percent, with the production unit approving it by 54 percent.

Green said he was surprised that a higher percentage of workers didn’t approve the deal.

“I really think it’s a good contract,” Green said, adding that he believes the “no” votes came from people with “personal or specific issues” with it.

Local 1714 has 1,450 members working in the fabricating plant; he would not say how many voted.

Workers represented by UAW Local 1112 in the assembly plant will meet today with a vote expected later.

One industry analyst said the signing bonus, pay increase of $2 to $3 per hour for Tier 2 workers and simplified profit sharing will add up to an additional $20,000 per employee over the course of the contract.

Among the unpopular aspects of the contract is the lack of cost-of-living adjustments and the continuation of the two-tier wage system.

Tier 1 workers, who make up a majority of GM’s 48,500 hourly workers, make about $28 an hour but will receive no COLA in the new contract.

Tier 2 workers, implemented in a 2009 national contract revision, make $14 to $16 an hour, though those figures will rise to $16 to $19 per hour if the contract is approved. About 5 percent of GM’s hourly workers are Tier 2.