Uaw-gm Contract: to Solve the Unsolved
June 9th, 2010 | by admin |
Anthony Fontanelle asked:
General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers came up with a pact but the ratified pact seems to ignore the tough issues. Matter of fact, the labor says it does not solve the unsolved. The workers added hard work remains for the largest American automaker.
Local contract talks at dozens of GM factories across the nation are being held up over problematic issues left unresolved by the automaker’s new labor pact with the UAW. The ratified pact laid the groundwork for substantial changes in compensation and employment practices for the automaker’s 74,000 hourly workers.
On the contrary, the pact did not spell out precisely how to put those changes in place. Many of those details are yet to be hammered out in local negotiations taking place at factories from Detroit to Delaware, reported The Detroit News. Stakes are high for those local talks. Not only will decisions made there weigh heavily on how the new labor deal is executed, but a strike even at one plant could potentially bring GM’s operations to a grinding halt, the report continued.
Union leaders from the national level are lobbying to locals countrywide to address the issues. “You’re setting precedents with these local agreements, they’re very important and they can be contentious,” said labor expert Harley Shaiken of the University of California, Berkeley. “What the International wouldn’t want to see is one local going in one direction and another local going another way. There is a lot to talk about here because this is where the cars are made.”
Among the unsolved pivotal issues is the scope and exact definition of core versus noncore jobs. The union agreed to a second-level of lower paid workers for those jobs considered not central to auto manufacturing. Core jobs pay approximately $28 an hour, non-core jobs start at $14 per hour.
The Detroit-based automaker is driving local unions hard to implement contracts with new money-saving work rules. GM said it can save millions by getting plants to agree to changes such as looser job descriptions and fewer restrictions on bringing in outside labor. The UAW, on the other hand, is equally unwavering to fight for what it sees as hard-won protections and for job security.
Other issues also remain, such as hiring practices for the new workers who will replace veteran workers expected to leave with a new round of buyouts, the report continued. Even in the past contract years, local pacts take months to fully wrap up. At present, neither side is making any predictions on a resolution. The pact is seemingly inefficient unlike KYB shocks. It leaves workers hanging in the air.
“Local negotiations are continuing at a very slow pace,” wrote Al Benchich, president of Local 909 in Warren, in a union newsletter.
One essential reason for the holdup is that the UAW national leadership considers the issues too significant to be handled solely at the local level. But national leaders are tied up with talks at Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co.
“There are some issues that our Shop Committee and Local Management are waiting for direction from the National Parties,” wrote Local 1112 President Jim Graham, in a letter to his members in Lordstown, Ohio.
Watchers in the industry, meanwhile, say they have no reason to suspect local talks will result in a work stoppage.
Paint Stick
General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers came up with a pact but the ratified pact seems to ignore the tough issues. Matter of fact, the labor says it does not solve the unsolved. The workers added hard work remains for the largest American automaker.
Local contract talks at dozens of GM factories across the nation are being held up over problematic issues left unresolved by the automaker’s new labor pact with the UAW. The ratified pact laid the groundwork for substantial changes in compensation and employment practices for the automaker’s 74,000 hourly workers.
On the contrary, the pact did not spell out precisely how to put those changes in place. Many of those details are yet to be hammered out in local negotiations taking place at factories from Detroit to Delaware, reported The Detroit News. Stakes are high for those local talks. Not only will decisions made there weigh heavily on how the new labor deal is executed, but a strike even at one plant could potentially bring GM’s operations to a grinding halt, the report continued.
Union leaders from the national level are lobbying to locals countrywide to address the issues. “You’re setting precedents with these local agreements, they’re very important and they can be contentious,” said labor expert Harley Shaiken of the University of California, Berkeley. “What the International wouldn’t want to see is one local going in one direction and another local going another way. There is a lot to talk about here because this is where the cars are made.”
Among the unsolved pivotal issues is the scope and exact definition of core versus noncore jobs. The union agreed to a second-level of lower paid workers for those jobs considered not central to auto manufacturing. Core jobs pay approximately $28 an hour, non-core jobs start at $14 per hour.
The Detroit-based automaker is driving local unions hard to implement contracts with new money-saving work rules. GM said it can save millions by getting plants to agree to changes such as looser job descriptions and fewer restrictions on bringing in outside labor. The UAW, on the other hand, is equally unwavering to fight for what it sees as hard-won protections and for job security.
Other issues also remain, such as hiring practices for the new workers who will replace veteran workers expected to leave with a new round of buyouts, the report continued. Even in the past contract years, local pacts take months to fully wrap up. At present, neither side is making any predictions on a resolution. The pact is seemingly inefficient unlike KYB shocks. It leaves workers hanging in the air.
“Local negotiations are continuing at a very slow pace,” wrote Al Benchich, president of Local 909 in Warren, in a union newsletter.
One essential reason for the holdup is that the UAW national leadership considers the issues too significant to be handled solely at the local level. But national leaders are tied up with talks at Chrysler LLC and Ford Motor Co.
“There are some issues that our Shop Committee and Local Management are waiting for direction from the National Parties,” wrote Local 1112 President Jim Graham, in a letter to his members in Lordstown, Ohio.
Watchers in the industry, meanwhile, say they have no reason to suspect local talks will result in a work stoppage.
Paint Stick
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