By Louis Aguilar & Christina Rogers; The Detroit News ~ Oct 09, 2010 Some unhappy hourly workers at General Motors Co.’s Orion Assembly Plant plan to demonstrate outside the United Auto Workers international headquarters next weekend against a two-tier wage deal they contend could impose lower starting wages on some veteran workers. A bulletin is being circulated by union dissidents among members of Local 5960, asking workers to join them at noon Oct. 16 in front of the Solidarity House in Detroit. The bulletin, circulated by UAW activist Wendy Thompson via e-mail, was obtained by The Detroit News on Friday. Local 5960 member Juan Gonzales confirmed plans for a demonstration seeking repeal of the two-tier wage agreement, under which about 60 percent of the workers will be paid $28 an hour, while others with less experience could earn $14. The bulletin asks participants to bring picket signs and petitions. The rally reflects divisions in the labor movement. UAW leaders want to save as many jobs as they can and insist they are protecting workers’ wages. Some workers fear the UAW is creating a loophole that will eventually force lower pay on veteran workers and want to protect the higher-paying positions. An Indianapolis UAW local earlier this month rejected a proposal for workers to take a pay cut in exchange for keeping open a GM stamping plant scheduled to close next year. The UAW negotiated the Indianapolis deal with a proposed buyer who wanted to keep making parts for GM, but is now abandoning the idea. Many workers rejected the Indy deal because they wanted to keep their right to transfer to another facility and keep their higher pay. Earlier this week, UAW leaders and GM unveiled an Orion agreement that both hailed because it means a low-price subcompact car can be built in America with unionized labor and make a profit — a first for a Detroit Big Three plant. It will build a new compact Buick and a replacement for the Chevrolet Aveo. Orion Assembly was scheduled to close in 2008, but it is expected to recall about 1,550 hourly and salaried workers when it reopens in summer 2011 after retooling for small cars. “That success now means that working together, GM and the UAW are able to bring — for the first time — production of a small, energy-efficient car, the Aveo, from South Korea to the GM plant,” UAW President Bob King said earlier this week. The automakers and UAW could negotiate the new pact under a broadly worded change in the GM-UAW national agreement that was approved by workers as GM prepared to enter bankruptcy in 2009. One of the Orion workers insists union leaders “twisted” the 2009 language and didn't explain its implications clearly to the membership. “A lot of the membership thinks they've been lied to and hoodwinked,” said Nick Waun, 31, who said his seniority will likely place him in the Tier 2 category, making about $14 an hour. The bulletin obtained by The News, written by Wuan, says King and UAW Local 5960 shop chairman Mike Dunn “have forgotten who they work for, let’s help them remember.” Dissident groups such as Soldiers of Solidarity and sites like Labor Notes and Factory Rat are helping spread the word about the Oct. 16 Solidarity House rally to other members. “There is a better way to go about doing this than forcing people to go to Tier 2,” Waun said. “This sets a new precedent; we’re afraid this will be (repeated) at other plants around the country in the next contract.” A labor analyst agrees. “Orion looks to be a big moment that can cause major problems for the company and the union further down the line,” said Gary Chaison, professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. “This looks like an effort of what was once considered the temporary position becoming the standard wage of auto workers. I am wondering if the company and the international will try to use this formula at other plants, or somehow include in the next contract.” UAW officials wouldn’t respond to news of the scheduled rally. But UAW leaders insist that no veteran workers at Orion will have to take the pay cut. About 1,150 workers were making the $28 an hour wage before the plant closed, UAW officials said. About 500 of the former Orion employees are working in other GM plants, they said. Another 300 are eligible for retirement and will be offered incentives to retire instead of returning to the plant. Any veteran worker who doesn’t want to accept the wage cut can request a transfer or wait for a Tier 1 job to open up at Orion. [email protected] (313) 222-2760 Additional Facts Special deal An amendment to the 2007 GM-UAW that allowed the Orion agreement:“The parties understand that the compact/small car segment is extremely competitive. The Company and the Union will work together, utilizing the provisions of the 2007 GM-UAW National Agreement and 2009 Addendum thereto, to arrive at innovative ways to staff these operations.” GM-UAW memo, May 16, 2009 © Copyright 2010 The Detroit News. All rights reserved. |
