By Nora Naughton
Unionized workers at several major General Motors Co. factories
have voted to back a proposed labor contract, an encouraging sign
for United Auto Workers leaders under pressure to get a deal
approved and end a six-week nationwide strike.
A majority of UAW-represented workers in Flint and Lansing,
Mich. -- where GM has massive manufacturing operations employing
more than 6,000 blue-collar workers -- cast ballots in favor of the
tentative agreement, according to results posted by the union
online. The deal was struck last week by UAW and GM bargainers.
Workers at a transmission factory in Toledo, Ohio, also have
overwhelmingly voted in support of the new labor accord, along with
members at a number of smaller plants that build engines, parts and
supply other materials to GM's U.S. assembly factories.
The new labor pact offers GM's UAW workers wage increases, hefty
signing bonuses and no changes to their health-care contributions
-- all gains that union leaders are holding up as wins for the
membership. But GM will move forward with closing three U.S.
factories and made no commitments to relocate factory work to the
U.S. from Mexico as union officials had hoped, a disappointment to
many workers.
Final results are expected Friday evening. Union workers at
several other major assembly operations, including truck plants in
Texas, Indiana and Missouri, vote Thursday and Friday. UAW locals
representing more than a third of GM's factory workers have
reported results as of Thursday morning. A simple majority is
required to approve the deal and for the contract to go into
effect.
UAW leaders did experience some setbacks: GM factory workers in
Bowling Green, Ky., and Spring Hill, Tenn., rejected the proposed
contract. Members at a handful of other parts operations have also
turned down the deal, signaling officials could still face
challenges in winning broad support for agreement.
Many workers say they have mixed feelings but are willing to
vote yes, concerned about the financial impact of prolonging the
nationwide strike or that sending bargainers back to the table
could be a gamble that isn't likely to result in a much better
deal.
"I just want to go back to work," said Stu Smith, an
assembly-line worker at GM's vehicle factory in Flint, one of GM's
largest plants with 4,800 hourly workers. More than 60% of UAW
members at the Flint assembly plant voted to support the deal,
according to results made public by the union hall there.
"You never get everything. I think this deal is good for the
times we are in," Mr. Smith said.
The voting marks a critical moment for UAW President Gary Jones,
who needs the GM membership to back the four-year labor agreement
to end a nationwide strike that is weighing financially on both the
company and the union and having a broader impact on the Midwest
economy.
If the contract is approved, the UAW will then call off the
strike, providing relief to more than 46,000 GM workers who have
gone without a company paycheck for six weeks, and then move on to
talks with the other two major U.S. auto makers, Ford Motor Co. or
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.
The now 39-day walkout, already the company's longest nationwide
work stoppage since 1970, has halted all production at more than 30
U.S. factories and cost GM more than $2 billion in lost earnings,
analysts say.
A rejection of the contract would mark a significant setback for
the UAW, one of the nation's largest private-sector unions, which
is already embroiled in a federal corruption investigation that has
eroded trust among its rank-and-file members. Mr. Jones then would
have to decide the union's next steps, which could include
returning to the bargaining table with GM or turning its attention
to either Ford or Fiat Chrysler.
In an accelerated push to sell the deal to members, UAW leaders
are traveling to GM plants around the country this week to attend
union hall meetings and answer workers' questions about the
proposed contract.
UAW leaders say the contract delivers considerable gains for its
members, including a record $11,000 signing bonus, a shorter
timetable to full wages for new hires, and a path to permanent work
for temporary employees.
Still, some workers have complained the contract language on
temporary workers -- a key issue during the strike -- is too vague
and doesn't do enough to protect them. Others expected more on job
security after the UAW's top bargainer for GM, Terry Dittes, made
it a focal point during contract talks, telling members publicly
that they were pushing for more work to be brought back to the U.S.
from Mexico.
Tabitha Edmonds, who works on the assembly line at GM's assembly
plant in Orion Township, Mich., said she wanted to see stronger
language in the contract that would prevent GM from closing more
U.S. factories. She added that the proposed deal consists of the
same loopholes GM took advantage of to shutter three plants earlier
this year.
"It wouldn't hurt for GM to bring back some cars from Mexico,
too," Ms. Edmonds said, adding that she plans to vote no. The union
local representing her plant votes Friday.
The walkout has cost the UAW an estimated $80 million in lost
membership dues and spending on strike pay, which offers members
financial support while on the picket lines, according to the
Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. The union's
strike fund held nearly $800 million before the strikes began, the
UAW spokesman said.
If the contract is ratified, GM will immediately begin efforts
to restart production at more than 30 factories and about two dozen
parts warehouses and distribution centers, a company spokesman
said.
Heading into contract talks with GM this year, Mr. Jones pledged
to fight for a better deal for UAW members. He blasted the Detroit
auto makers at hand-shake ceremonies this summer for building too
many vehicles outside the U.S. and at a UAW convention this spring
told members to prepare for a conflict.
Shalonda Dozier, a 29-year-old assembly-line worker at GM's auto
factory in Detroit, said she had some reservations about the deal
and many people expected more after six weeks on strike, but she
still plans to vote yes on Thursday.
"There is some good and there is some bad," she said. "I know
some people want more, but you can't turn down a good offer. We're
not going to always get everything."
--Ben Foldy and Mike Colias contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 24, 2019 11:46 ET (15:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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