GM workers suit over '08 pay cut dismissed

YOUNGSTOWN

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by 28 General Motors Lordstown workers whose pay was significantly reduced in 2008, and the employees and their lawyer still are considering whether to appeal.

The lawsuit, filed in 2011 against GM and the United Auto Workers International Union and Local 1112, sought $3 million in back pay.

The union had asked for a summary judgment dismissing the lawsuit based on two factors: The complaints were not filed within the statute of limitations, and the plaintiffs had not exhausted their internal appeals process.

U.S. District Judge Benita Y. Pearson, however, denied those claims and allowed the suit to go forward. There was a hearing in September.

In dismissing the case recently without a trial, Judge Pearson ruled that GM paid the employees in accordance with the union contract and that the plaintiffs failed to show the union breached its duty to represent them.

“The court concludes none of the plaintiff’s claims has merit,” Judge Pearson wrote in her 46-page decision.

The employees lost their jobs due to GM’s financial woes in 2007 and were rehired early in 2008 at their previous wage levels.

Two months later, they were reclassified as entry-level employees, and their wages were cut in the company’s transition to a lower wage tier for new employees under the collective-bargaining agreement.

Read more about the case in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.