GM Lordstown UAW leaders plan info meeting at union hall, call strike 'a last resort'

Staff and wire report

The United Auto Workers union says its workers at General Motors will strike if it can’t reach a tentative agreement for a contract extension with the company by 11:59 p.m. tonight. Negotiations are continuing today.

GM employs about 53,000 UAW members. The Lordstown GM plant employs about 4,500.

In a post on the Facebook page of UAW Local 1112 about 3 p.m. today, Shop Chairman Dan Morgan and President Glenn Johnson said the Shop Committee would be at the plant at 11 tonight to keep workers informed. The union’s Executive Board also will be answering questions in Union Hall at 11 p.m., according to the post.

The post urges workers not to put down their tools unless instructed to do so and says a strike will be a last resort.

GM said Saturday it is working with the UAW and remains committed to reaching “an agreement that is good for employees and the business.”

Job security, wages, entry-level employee pay and benefits, and health care are the main issues, said Robert Morales, president of United Auto Workers Local 1714, which represents about 1,400 employees at the GM Lordstown Complex fabricating plant.