Work out kinks quickly in Cruze local labor pacts

As General Motors Chev- rolet Division leaders gather at the opening of the Cleveland Auto Show today at a media event titled “Building on the Success of the Cruze,” they will have a firm foundation on which to stand.

That foundation has been buttressed by a chain of positive developments over the past year for the company, its workforce and the buying public. They include a record year of sales and profits for GM in 2015 and relatively speedy and cooperative ratification of new four-year national United Auto Workers contracts last fall. Locally, they were capped this week by majority overall approval of a new four-year local contract by members of UAW Local 1112, representing about 3,000 assembly workers at the sprawling Lordstown plant producing the Chevrolet Cruze. That came on the heels of its sister union, Local 1714 representing about 1,400 fabrication workers, approving a similar four-year local pact earlier this month.

One glitch, however, remains critical to overcome. Although both unions overall approved the pact, subgroups rejected it. Meetings are ongoing to target the contentious points and iron them out. We hope those disputes can be settled speedily and cooperatively so that the new contracts can be officially ratified as soon as possible by the international union brass.

The new local contracts, after all, do present a variety of perks for the Valley’s largest industrial workforce. Issues the committee worked on during negotiations included health and safety, job standards, temporary employees, departmental language, material guidelines, medical coverage, restroom sanitation, skilled-trades cross-training and other issues, according to UAW Local 1112.

“This was a long, hard-fought negotiation process which resulted in no exiting of work traditionally performed by the UAW and significant gains in local demands,” a UAW Local 1112 notice read.

The local contracts follow ratification of a national contract that brought numerous gains for workers, including wage and benefit increases, an $8,000 signing bonus and profit-sharing checks of up to $11,000 this year alone.

CLEAR LAST OBSTACLES

Rapid resolution of disputed areas in the local contracts will clear a path for the largest GM assembly plant in the nation to focus intently on the new and improved Next-Generation Cruze, which will be on display at the Cleveland Auto Show today through March 6.

After all, GM, its robust workforce and communities that depend strongly on the mammoth economic impact the Cruze plant provides have much riding on the success of the rollout into showrooms this spring of the newly redesigned and re-equipped small car. The Cruze has a stellar reputation upon which it must build.

Over the past five years, the Cruze has zoomed into prominence as the darling of the small-car market in the United States, winning praises from auto analysts and robust sales from American consumers. It’s also played a solid role in keeping members of UAW Locals 1112 and 1714 working round the clock to satisfy the ravenous demand.

In recent months, however, sales have declined markedly, largely we surmise because astute new-car buyers have been putting off purchasing decisions in anticipation of the arrival of the highly hyped Next Gen Cruze.

Given the positive reviews from auto analysts about the quality, performance and design improvements attached to the redesigned Chevrolet, many expect sales to rebound dramatically once it’s on showroom floors across the nation.

Count us among those faithful who believe the best days for the Cruze lie directly ahead. That’s why extra care and effort should be exerted toward working out the many inevitable kinks in such a large-scale transformation of a proven winner.

Nothing should be permitted to stand in the way of its promising path to heightened success. It is therefore imperative that speedy, mutually agreeable and final resolution of lingering areas of dispute in the local four-year contracts become a pressing priority. Once labor stability is ensured for another four years, nothing should stop GM Lordstown from strengthening its reign as the crown jewel of private industry in the Mahoning Valley.