Regardless of the final tally of votes, the UAW’s resort to lies, intimidation and other underhanded methods to ram through its contracts following the rebellion by Fiat Chrysler workers last month has only further discredited this pro-company outfit.
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Leaders of UAW locals will meet in Detroit on Monday to vote on sending the proposal to workers for approval. The UAW said in a statement Friday that it will hold meetings with skilled trades members at each plant to determine “what reason(s) they had for rejection of the tentative agreement”. Those GMCH workers will have a chance to move to assembly, powertrain or stamping plants, but until there are openings they would be paid between $16.25 and $19.86 an hour, depending on seniority. The vote was 51 percent in favor while 49 percent of the workers in the west Toledo plant voted no.
The four-year deal, for which no details have been released, also precedes UAW members ratifying their deal with General Motors, according to a report from Bloomberg Business.
Ford executives have complained that the company’s labor costs have climbed above those of its domestic competitors because it isn’t subject to same wage system that enabled the Detroit Three automakers to hire 39,150 workers in the past four years.
There are also specific provisions for “skilled tradespeople”, who are a separate category of workers, that could increase their responsibilities and, in time, reduce their numbers.
In early voting, nearly half of UAW’s members rejected it, wanting more guarantees of job security in wake of GM’s improved financial condition. Skilled tradespeople have voted to reject the contract by larger percentages than the regular production workers.
The pact would cover 52,600 GM workers at 63 US facilities.
The close vote has surprised auto industry observers, including Art Schwartz, a longtime GM negotiator and president of Labor and Economics Associates in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Williams said lower-tier workers – who make up 20 percent of GM’s hourly workforce – will now be eligible for traditional health care benefits.
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Finally, for the hundreds of workers who took positions at GM plants away from home – one of the effects of the 2008-2009 collapse and bailout of the United States auto industry – the contract would allow any affected employee to come back home though special “one-time enhanced language.” Fiat Chrysler is giving workers $800 based on percentage gains in its North American margins. GM will pay out that incentive to as many as 4,000 UAW production workers.
