UAW local in Ohio sets May 15 strike deadline
UAW local in Ohio sets May 15 strike deadline
Automotive News | May 13, 2008 - 10:59 am EST
A UAW local has threatened to become the third to strike a General Motors plant.
GM spokesman Dan Flores said Local 549 has notified GM that it will strike at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 15, at a metal-stamping factory in Ontario, Ohio, near Mansfield.GM declined to specify what products are produced at the plant.
Flores said the plant employs about 1,500 hourly and about 150 salaried workers. The local and GM have been negotiating for several months.
"We continue to focus on bargaining and good faith toward reaching an agreement on a new local contract," Flores said.
The Delta Township assembly plant near Lansing, Mich., has been on strike since April 17. The plant makes the popular Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook crossovers. Workers at the Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan., have been on strike since May 5. That plant makes the popular Chevrolet Malibu sedan.
GM was notified of the possible strike one day after production resumed at five plants impacted by a shortage of parts caused by the UAW strike against American Axle.
GM restored one shift at its truck and car plants in Oshawa, Ontario. The truck plant makes the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, and the car plant makes the Chevrolet Impala and Buick Lacrosse. GM also resumed regular production of the HHR crossover at its assembly plant in Ramos Arizpe, northern Mexico.
As GM planned last week, the first shift at assembly and stamping plants in Wentzville, Mo., near St. Louis, restarted production of Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana vans.
