US autoworkers’ union protest rattles investors (taipei times)

[Hannah Bell]

With General Motors Corp inching towards an initial public offering of stock, nearly 200 workers and retirees have turned up for a demonstration outside the gates of United Auto Workers (UAW) headquarters, underscoring the automaker’s tenuous relations with union members.

Saturday’s demonstration was organized by workers from automaker’s big assembly plant in Orion, Michigan, to protest the UAW’s decision allowing GM to assign workers with seniority of 10 years to a second-wage tier that would require them to take a 50 percent cut in pay.

The protest also drew attention from people in Indianapolis, Indiana, where members of UAW Local 23 overwhelming defeated calls for concessions. Local 23 members voted against concessions, saying they would rather see the plant close than accept a 50 percent pay cut. The plant is now scheduled to close next year. Greg Clark, the UAW bargaining chairman at the Indianapolis plants, said workers are fed up with concessions.

“I just did what the members wanted,” he said.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2010/10/18/2003485905

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[Hannah Bell]

2. during the bankruptcy gm closed a bunch of plants & laid workers off,

then hired a bunch of temps.

the plan:

- force tier one (higher wage) workers into a limited number of plants
- reopen the closed plants with tier two (low wage) workers
- don't let tier one transfer back unless they takes cuts to tier two
- use the tier two plants to whipsaw the remaining higher-wage people, with the threat of moving the work to the low-wage plants