Hourly workers at a General Motors Corp. truck plant in Flint, Mich., reached a tentative agreement with the company today on a new local contract.
Mark Hawkins, chairman of United Auto Workers union Local 598 at GM's Flint Truck Assembly plant, said the deal with GM covers work rules and other local issues not detailed in the union's 2007 national contract with the company. Details were not released.
A union official could not immediately be reached for comment, but Hawkins told local television stations that the deal would keep open the plant that employs about 520 salaried and hourly workers.
"It will have a trickle-down affect to the vendors, suppliers and the whole community," he told WNEM-TV.
Workers must vote to ratify the contract. Local 598 scheduled a meeting Sunday to discuss the agreement with members.
"It's tough times, but I believe it's going to be an easy sell," Hawkins said. "We've made significant changes in the agreement, but at the same time what we get out of it, the value of the plant being open and these jobs is enormous."
In February, Hawkins said GM was negotiating a deal to sell the medium-duty truck unit to Isuzu Motors of Japan.
"GM and UAW Local 598 are pleased to confirm that we have reached a tentative local agreement that will improve GM's competitiveness and contribute to our overall viability plan as we work through the significant challenges facing the industry and the U.S. economy," said Denise Johnson, GM's plant manager for Flint Truck Assembly. "We appreciate our union partners' willingness to work with us as we restructure our business for long-term success."
The local contract in Flint is separate from the tentative agreement reached last month that would modify the UAW's national contract with GM. The automaker must obtain labor concessions to meet the requirements of $13.4 billion in government loans it has already received.
Details of the GM concessions, and a similar deal with Chrysler LLC, have not been released while the companies negotiate changes to union-run trusts that will take over retiree health care costs next year.
http://www.freep.com/article/20090313/BUSINESS01/90313090/1014/UAW+gets+tentative+deal+with+GM+for+Flint+plant
