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UAW approves GM pact
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July 29, 1998: 1:42 p.m. ET
Flint Metal, Delphi East plants vote to ratify strike settlement with automaker
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Rank-and-file United Auto Workers members voted Wednesday to ratify the agreement the union reached with General Motors Corp., officially ending the 54-day strike that all but halted production at the No. 1 automaker.
The UAW said 76 percent of the members of Local 651 at the Delphi East plant in Flint, Mich., approved the pact. The Delphi East plant makes spark plugs, fuel systems, instrument clusters and other vehicle parts.
Members of Local 659 at the Flint Metal Center, which makes stamped metal parts such as hoods and fenders, approved the pact with a 90 percent vote.
More than 1,700 of the Flint Metal Center's 3,400 hourly workers voted, said Duane Zuckschwerdt, president of UAW Local 659. The exact tally of the Delphi East vote was unavailable.
GM has said workers could return to work when the second shift begins at 2:30 p.m. EDT.
Under the agreement, GM will drop its grievance against the UAW and refrain from selling the Delphi East plant and a pair of brake plants in Dayton, Ohio, before January 2000.
In return, the UAW promised to increase productivity and not to strike at parts plants in Indianapolis and Dayton.
Industry watchers had expected the deal to be ratified because union locals rarely reject an agreement once it has been blessed by union leaders in Detroit.
The 76 percent vote at Delphi East, however, reflected some dissent. A number of workers said the deal simply delayed the inevitable sale of the plant by GM.
"It's only a temporary stopgap. You're fighting a losing battle," said Paul Ganske, an electrician who has worked at the plant for more than 12 years. "I appreciate what they've done, but we're going to be back at this in less than two years."
At their height, the labor disputes halted 27 of GM's 29 North American plants. Two facilities recently came back on line, but the walkouts still have cost the automaker more than $2 billion.
Despite the settlement, investors were concerned that GM offered too many concessions without getting enough in return. GM (GM) shares fell 1-7/16 to 72-13/16 in midday trading.
"The big thing GM has been trying to do for the last five or six years is improve productivity in North America," Michael Ward, an auto analyst at PaineWebber, told CNNfn. "In one respect, the contract doesn't disallow that. But in many respects it won't be as rapid as GM might hope it would be." [220K WAV] or [220K AIFF]
Also at issue is how quickly GM will be able to resume normal business operations. J. Ferron, Pricewaterhouse Coopers co-chairman of automotive practice, told CNNfn the automaker should be able to meet target launch dates for new vehicles.
"Re-triggering GM is not an easy thing, but they've been planning this, so they'll be able to make launch dates," he said. "The car launch dates could be staggered a little more, and inventory doesn't have to be replenished. The 600,000 units lost could probably be replenished with overtime, if they wanted to, by the end of the first quarter of 1999." 
-- from staff and wire reports
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