UAW 1714 ratifies local contract

By Kalea Hall | March 12, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

LORDSTOWN

United Auto Workers Local 1714 members have officially ratified their local contract.

Local 1714 production members, who make up the majority of the membership, had to re-vote on the contract Thursday and Friday after voting it down last month.

Now, on their second vote, the production workers approved the local contract with 61 percent in favor to 39 percent against.

Local 1714 has 1,400 members who work in the fabrication plant at the General Motors Lordstown Plant where the best-selling Chevrolet Cruze is built.

Skilled-trades workers passed the contract on the first vote 68 percent to 32 percent.

Production workers voted it down 52 percent to 48 percent.

Overall, the contract initially passed with 53 percent in favor and 47 percent against.

Because the minority of the membership cannot overrule the majority, another vote had to take place for the production workers. Some of the concerns from those workers included combining of classifications, ownership of work to an area for the press room, team-leader language and special assignment person language.

“It’s been a long process,” said Robert Morales, president of Local 1714. “The membership is just ready to go back to work and do what they do best.”

A majority of the United Auto Workers Local 1112 members voted in favor of a new local contract with GM in February.

The contract passed with 76 percent voting yes and 24 percent of members voting no.

The production members passed the contract 78 percent to 22 percent while the skilled-trades members voted down the contract 55 percent to 45 percent

Both UAW Local 1112, which consists of 3,000 assembly workers at Lords-town, and Local 1714 voted in favor of the international agreement with GM in November.

Ninety percent of the Local 1112 membership voted with 72 percent approving the contract, which includes pay raises across the workforce, improved health care for tier-two workers and an $8,000 signing bonus if ratified.

Eighty-seven percent of the Local 1714 membership voted with 65 percent approving the contract.