The United Auto Workers (UAW) union reportedly plans to withdraw the federal lawsuit it filed in a bid to block the shutdown of the General Motors assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio, if the union’s tentative new labour agreement with GM is ratified this week.
According to thedetroitbureau.com, union officials said the final tallies on the ratification vote would be counted on the afternoon of Friday, 25 October as local union officers began the process of selling the contract to members.
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In many cases, the ratification meeting would be left to members of the union staff.
The report said the cost of the month long dispute continued to grow as GM assembly plants and warehouses that feed replacement parts to dealers remain closed, pending the ratification vote. The shutdown already had cost GM an estimated $2bn and the losses would grow this week since GM has been forced to shut down production of the new Chevrolet Blazer at the Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, due to a parts shortage.
Thedetroitbureau.com, citing sources familiar with the agreement, said the tentative agreement would clear the way for GM to move ahead with plans to shut down the Lordstown plant because the federal lawsuit was rendered moot by the tentative agreement and would be withdrawn.
The report noted GM announced in late 2018 it wouldn’t allocate future products to the plant. It had been in discussions to sell the facility to Lordstown Motors, an affiliate of fledgling electric truck maker Workhorse Group. While the UAW fought for GM to keep the factory, it basically settled for an all-new battery plant that would be built nearby and run through a joint venture.
The battery plant could create as many as 1,000 new jobs.
But workers at the Lordstown battery factory would be paid less than what vehicle assemblers make, people familiar with the arrangement told thedetroitbureau.com. They would be compensated under a separate agreement from the master contract UAW members were expected to vote on in coming weeks, one person said.
Strikers aren’t guaranteed to pass this proposed contract, thedetroitbureau.com noted, adding there had been significant pushback from the rank-and-file on several parts of the deal.
