GM-UAW talks begin this week, Lordstown is priority

Staff report

LORDSTOWN

What are expected to be contentious contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers of America and General Motors are scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The talks in Detroit are of particular interest to the thousands of former workers at the GM Lordstown Complex who have lost their jobs because of the closing of the plant in March.

The existing contract expires Sept. 14.

From the union’s point of view, allocation of a product to the Lordstown GM facility is at the top of the list of issues most important, said Dave Green, president of UAW Local 1112 at the Lordstown plant.

“We’re hopeful GM will allocate a product to build at the plant. The negotiators say that is what they are bargaining for. I haven’t given up. It would be nice to get some product in the plant. But, the No. 1 goal is for GM to put a product in,” said Green.

GM’s hiring of temporary employees to replace permanent employees is also an issue, said Green, who was himself a temporary employee for several years.

“GM likes to exploit people by offering them lower pay and lesser benefits,” said Green, who is not on the national negotiating committee and is staying at the Lordstown plant to help former employees who applied for and received offers at other GM plants and others issues.

“We’ve got a lot of people coming into the union hall everyday looking for help,” Green said.

Five hundred members have turned down transfer offers. They have either found other jobs or are getting retrained.

More than 1,000 have accepted transfers to other GM facilities, and there are about 500 more to be placed, said Green.

The GM Lordstown assembly plant opened in 1966 building Chevrolet Caprices, Impalas and Bel Airs. More than 35,000 people applied for 5,700 jobs then.