Mitsubishi union keeps strike vote quiet
Mitsubishi union keeps strike vote quiet
Automotive News | August 4, 2008 - 4:22 pm EST
Unionized workers at Mitsubishi Motors North America have voted on whether to strike the beleaguered Illinois auto assembly plant but are keeping the decision secret until their Aug. 28 contract deadline.
A statement issued jointly by Mitsubishi and the UAW said the vote took place Sunday, Aug. 3, and called the vote a standard procedure of contract negotiation.
UAW Local 2488, which represents about 1,300 hourly workers at the plant, is in contract talks with the Japanese automaker after three years of contract extensions.
Labor relations at the Normal, Ill., plant have been relatively smooth since it opened in 1988, despite Mitsubishi’s struggles to sustain U.S. sales.
The Mitsubishi factory is one of only four unionized auto assembly plants in North America that are owned in part or entirely by foreign automakers.
Originally opened to employ 3,000 workers and assemble 240,000 cars a year, the plant will produce about 68,000 Galant and Eclipse cars and Endeavor SUVs this year. Twice in the past three years, the union agreed to extend the contract while Mitsubishi tried to regain its footing.
In 2006, the local agreed to a $4-an-hour wage decrease. Earlier this year, the company offered buyouts to reduce the work force by 100.
