Indiana Commerce Secretary Mitch Roob said he was completely surprised by local General Motors workers' refusal to vote
on a proposed contract by JD Norman Industries, a decision that appears to set up the plant for certain closure in September
2011.
GM is trying to sell the plant to JD Norman, based in Addison, Ill., but hasn't received much cooperation from United
Auto Workers Local 23, which represents 631 workers at the plant. Union members voted 384-22 on May 26 not to open contract
negotiations with Norman, which would pay a lower hourly wage, and—workers believed at the time—wipe out their
GM retirement eligibility.
Despite the initial vote, higher-level UAW officials continued to work with JD Norman and GM to come up with a proposal the
rank-and-file might accept. Norman is expected to become a GM supplier.
"I’m extremely disappointed that the employees were not given an opportunity to vote," Roob said Monday morning. "The real losers," he said, are the "thousands who will never have the opportunity to work at this facility."
Members of Local 23 shouted down the union's international representatives at a Sunday afternoon meeting to learn about the proposal. The meeting ended abruptly, and plans to hold a vote Monday were canceled.
General Motors Corp. had been planning to close the plant next year unless it is sold. JD Norman emerged as a potential buyer this spring, but the company said it needed wage and benefit cuts to make the deal work. Under the proposal, base pay would drop from $29 per hour to $15.50.
It's unclear whether JD Norman will now walk away from the deal. Michael Young, project director at economic development
organization Develop Indy, said he's still awaiting word from JD Norman about its next step. Young said, he was “very
surprised and disappointed” at the workers' decision.
Sunday's proposal was the result of negotiations by higher-level union representatives, who also wanted to keep the jobs
in Indianapolis. The second-round offer included bonuses of $35,000 for GM workers who agreed to quit or retire and work for
JD Norman for at least two years. Those who wanted to stay with GM and preserve their rights to transfer to another GM factory
could do so.
Roob said he now expects Indianapolis officials will start working on a reuse plan, which may take four or five years.
"It's hard to see a silver lining in this cloud today," he said.
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They have a painful choice to make on compensation vs. closure, and I don't think we should judge them for whatever route they choose. We don't have all the facts. I wish them well and hope they can find a way to get jobs that pays well enough.
Sorry gang. But everyone here going nuts about these people not agreeing to this are hypocrites.
If your boss came into the office tomorrow and said you need to take a 60% wage and benefit cut to work for another company at this location, or move to another location within our company and not take any cuts-you wouldn't take that pay cut either.
Just sayin...
I know it is tough to recognize that the world automotive market is no longer dominated by the U.S. and our union workers, but suffice it to say that the world has caught up, and in most cases has outperformed our automotive industry. So competition and the economy has driven down the wages and benefits of our post-WWII U.S. automotive industry, not the Pacers, the Simons, Brizzi, etc.; so if we are to again compete, the automotive management and union workers will need to work as a team if we are ever to return to our status of being a top automotive industry. For now, we can only begin to start over and work hard to re-establish our lost excellence.
I know it is tough to recognize that the world automotive market is no longer dominated by the U.S. and our union workers, but suffice it to say that the world has caught up, and in most cases has outperformed our automotive industry. So competition and the economy has driven down the wages and benefits of our post-WWII U.S. automotive industry, not the Pacers, the Simons, Brizzi, etc.; so if we are to again compete, the automotive management and union workers will need to work as a team if we are ever to return to our status of being a top automotive industry. For now, we can only begin to start over and work hard to re-establish our lost excellence.
I don't know enough about the details of the proposal to comment, except it likely would not have hurt the workers to have listened to what the Int'l Union and GM had to say about the sale and the wages/benefits and employment options. Unfortunately, I, like most of the community is saddened by the fact that the opportunity for dialogue was missed. I won't miss the gypsies, but I will miss those who have contributed to our Indianapolis community, and hope they may find other employment options here in the metropolitan area.
Regretfully, the meeting digressed into chaos, and that is never a forum for a constructive review of options.
Maybe after you are gone, then the plant will open back up and give opportunities to those who are willing to work hard and look at their job as a blessing rather than a right.
Bye the way, and just for future reference for when we meet later in life...Yes. I would like fries with that.
Many of the Indianapolis workers are â??GM gypsiesâ?? who have been forced to transfer from plant to plant during their careers. Shop Chair Greg Clark, for example, is on his fifth factory and third plant closing. The union contract gives workers the right to â??follow their work,â?? so if the plant closes next year as threatened, workers could likely find GM jobs in other towns.
Finally, Hoosier non-union, how would you feel about voting to lower your hourly wage from $29 to $14.65?