UAW deal on narrow road to approval as votes roll in

Last year, when workers at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant voted on whether to allow the United Auto Workers to represent them, Volkswagen was accused of being too friendly with the UAW.

UAW officials are under significant pressure to get the GM deal ratified after having run into resistance to a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV deal in October.

The agreement was narrowly turned down by a mere eight votes. The vote was 1,839 to 1,311 at the plant, which makes GM pickups. “So it takes 51% of the entire membership to pass locally”.

“It’s real good for the company and it will be good for future profit sharing payments”, said Andy Bohner, a 57-year-old production worker at Flint Truck Assembly with 37 years of seniority.

In a message posted on UAW Local 31’s Facebook page by the unit’s president, Vicki Hale, earlier this week, members were told that UAW leadership have determined that if the tentative agreement fails nationwide the union “will have no other choice than to strike”.

There are also concerns among thousands of temporary or “flex” workers, who would receive a $2,000 signing bonus and less generous health care than their permanent coworkers, if the contract is ratified.

The UAW’s push at GM precedes negotiations with Ford Motor Co. that are expected to be tense.

The Detroit Free Press reports that workers at GM’s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, three sites in Pontiac and large plants in Missouri and Tennessee all gave the new contract clear majorities on Wednesday.

The Toledo Blade reported mixed results from ratification votes at UAW locals across the country. Workers at plants in Lake Orion, Mich. (1,553 workers), Defiance, Ohio (1,026 workers) and the Lansing Grand River plant in Michigan (1,570 workers) also accepted the deal. Workers at several factories subsequently rejected during the initial round of voting.