Lordstown, Ohio—Three weeks after General Motors suspended production at its factory here, workers at
the United Auto Workers Local 1112 union hall were livid. They agreed to make $118 million a year in concessions to save the plant in mid-2017, only to see it idled, possibly forever. “Everything they asked us to do, we did,” Local 1112 shop chair Dan Morgan, the chief negotiator of the agreement, told the Los Angeles Times. “And still, we don’t have a product to build.” A GM spokesperson responded that because small cars aren’t selling as well, “it was a market-driven decision” to discontinue the Chevrolet Cruze produced at Lordstown, and “there were no products to allocate” to the plant. The 2017 “Super Competitive Operating Agreement” allowed GM to outsource non-assembly jobs such as handling of parts and materials, repairs, and overtime skilled-trades work. The UAW says GM told them the Cruze was profitable, and that it was the sixth best seller out of its 38 U.S. models. Meanwhile, about 520 of the plant’s more than 1,400 workers have taken offers to move to GM plants in other states. The rest, and workers at parts suppliers in the area, are in limbo. Read more
