Union employees at General Motors' Indianapolis metal-stamping plant have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed pay cut that would have kept the facility open.
United Auto Workers Local 23 voted 457 to 96 against a contract with Illinois-based JD Norman Industries, union observers
said Monday.
The vote means General Motors won't be able to sell its Indianapolis metal-stamping plant to Norman Industries, and the
automaker may proceed with its plan to close the plant by September 2011.
"We are satisfied that the members of UAW Local 23 were allowed the opportunity to vote on JD Norman’s contract
proposal," said company CEO Justin D. Norman in a prepared statement released Monday evening. "Clearly, we are disappointed
in the final outcome. While we are withdrawing from pursuing the plant any further, we continue to hold the employees at the
facility in the highest regard and wish them the best in their respective futures."
The votes were counted Monday by the American Arbitration Association and observed by members of Local 23, said Gregg Shotwell,
the author of a labor newsletter called "Live Bait and Ammo." Shotwell, a GM retiree who lives in Grand Rapids,
Mich., said he learned about the count from local observers on Monday.
The vote, held by mail-in ballot, was arranged by higher-level UAW officials. Region 3 Director Maurice "Mo" Davison
could not be reached for comment Monday afternoon.
The Norman Industries contract would have cut unskilled workers' wages by about 50 percent, to $15.50 per hour. UAW national
officials promoted the contract as a way to keep the plant open and grow the membership in Indianapolis. Davison has said
in the past that he hoped under Norman Industries' ownership, employment would grow from less than 650 to 2,000.
Shotwell, who is also co-founder of Soldiers of Solidarity, a UAW dissident group that lobbies against workers accepting
concessions, said the local rank-and-file recognized that any additional work for the Indianapolis plant would come at the
expense of other GM plants. UAW members from various locals converged on Indianapolis on Saturday for a rally at the Region
3 headquarters, said Shotwell, who attended the rally.
The "no" vote doesn't necessarily mean UAW members will be out of a job. Many of them already are eligible
for retirement. Those who can't yet retire from GM have the right to transfer, once GM officially dsignates Indianapolis
as a closed plant.
One group of workers who may have voted to work for Norman Industries are the 60 temps, who currently earn less than $15.50
per hour.
GM has been planning to close or sell the 2-million-square-foot plant west of downtown for three years.
The facility employs about 640 hourly workers.
As IBJ reported last week, closing the plant could cost GM $50 million or more due to the cost of removing and possibly relocating the massive presses and dies used there now.
Some observers have speculated that the automaker, which has emerged from bankruptcy and is preparing for a public stock offering, might need the production capacity from the Indianapolis plant after all.
“They didn't lose as much market share as they thought they would in bankruptcy,” said Tracy Handler, a market analyst at IHS Global Insight in Detroit.
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â??They didn't lose as much market share as they thought they would in bankruptcy,â?? said Tracy Handler, a market analyst at IHS Global Insight in Detroit. The article said the plant "could" close. It now looks like it may stay open.
Unions add several thousand dollars to the cost of every car that rolls off the assembly line. How do you stay competitive? 2 options.
1) You ask people to pay more to support the unions, as a form of "patriotism".
2) You cut costs through cheap parts--many made in other countries--and sell the car for the same amount, which means you decrease its actual value.
Of course, neither option is really very good, and long term pursuit of this strategy could lead to business failure. Wait, it already did, didn't it?
Screw the UAW. Those gangsters won't get a dime from me and sooner or later their sugar daddy, the Federal government when run by Democrats, will cut off their allowance, bringing them back to Earth with the rest of us, who earn market wages and aren't proud of striking simply because we can or sitting around collecting unearned wages.
Say a heart surgeon makes $500k a year. Sure someone would take the job for half that wage, but obviously no hospital would hire them because they are not able to perform the duties required, which is why the surgeon can demand the higher wage.
Believe me, if my employer thought they could get he quality of work for half the price, I would be out of work, and rightfully so. That's why I have to prove my worth everyday. I don't have a cushy contract that dictates what I'm worth.
I am not taking sides in this case. I am trying to understand if there is any reasonable logic put into play here.
Journalistically, this section bugs me:
The "no" vote doesn't necessarily mean UAW members will be out of a job. Many of them already are eligible for retirement. Those who can't yet retire from GM have the right to transfer, once GM officially dsignates Indianapolis as a closed plant."
"Retirement" is not a job, by the way... And good luck to those wanting to transfer when they try to sell their home!! You have screwed yourself once again with your lack of education... how appropriate.
What's the one thing they all had in common? Union "Labor".
Doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that clue.
On to Bedford for some of these employees (I won't call them "workers"). What's the over / under on the life expectancy of the Bedford plant? 2-3 years?
the people calling these workers drunks & dopers don't have a clue. these are heroes, fighting even for dopes like the commenters, who cheer the bosses on as they rachet everyone down to poverty.
So yes, I agree, I already thought unions were worthless. It boils down to what is the value of the work. Apparently the free market says it is $15/hr. You have a contract that calls for more than that. Good for you, but you and I both know there are folks out there that would, and more importantly COULD, do the same work for less right here in Indiana. So shut the plant down, and maybe you'll be one of the ones who lands a job at the next soon to be closed plant. Maybe you'll be even luckier and you'll be one of the ones who gets to sit on their fannies and collect 90% of your salary from GM while doing nothing. Meanwhile, I'll proudly work my job for the market rate, and pay my taxes to support you. I drive a GM vehocle right now, but you can bet it is my last.
Eight hour days? I can only wish. I bust my rear to prove my worth to my employer, you vote to prove yours.