A rogue strike at four of Johnson Controls#; manufacturing facilities has halted assembly at two General Motors and two DaimlerChrysler plants, according to BRG Automotive Newswire.
About 700 Johnson workers either walked out or began picketing plants in Shreveport, Louisiana, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Earth City, Missouri and Northwood, Ohio, complaining about unfair labour practices and alleging the company has engaged in anti-union activities, BRG reported.
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According to Reuters, company and union officials are negotiating the first labour contracts at the Shreveport and Earth City plants which were unionised in the past two years.
Talks at the company’s Oklahoma City factory, also for an initial contract, were set to begin later this month while the fourth plant, in Northwood, has no official union representation, Reuters added.
BRG reported that UAW officials said the union had filed numerous charges with the National Labour Relations Board over alleged labour law violations at each of the four plants.
Reuters said the union’s charges include failure to provide legally required information; publicly belittling and disciplining union supporters; unilaterally changing work rules, job rotations, attendance policy, overtime, insurance packages and shift-operating times; and failure to bargain in good faith.
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By GlobalDataBRG Newswire said that GM had run out of seats at an Oklahoma City plant by mid-morning Wednesday, and a little later at a plant in Shreveport.
DaimlerChrysler#;s Toledo North Jeep Liberty/Cherokee plant also stopped production early Wednesday morning and the St. Louis South minivan plant stopped assembling early in the afternoon due to a shortage of headliners, BRG added.
According to Reuters, Chrysler usually builds about 700 Liberty SUVs a day in Toledo and about 1,000 Chrysler Voyager and Dodge Caravan minivans a day in St. Louis.
Reuters said that the Johnson Controls plants supply components for General Motors’ Chevrolet S-10 and GMC Sonoma mid-size pickup trucks built in Shreveport and GM’s new stretched mid-size sport utility vehicles manufactured in Oklahoma City.
The plants also provide instrument and door panels for DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler and Dodge minivans made in St. Louis and instrument panels for the Jeep Liberty/Cherokee SUV produced in Toledo, Reuters added.
Johnson Controls spokesman Bill Dawson told Reuters: “We are continuing to talk and hopeful of a swift resolution.”
Reuters added that Dawson declined to discuss contingency production plans for the four plants in the event of a lengthy strike.
