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Tribune Chronicle
WARREN -- United Auto Workers International today filed a lawsuit against General Motors claiming the automaker is violating terms of an agreement with the union by “unallocating” three U.S. plants, including Lordstown, before the UAW’s contract expires in September.
The lawsuit claims “unallocated” is a synonym for “idled” and “closed,” and there is no “material difference” between unallocating a plant or idling or closing a plant under the agreement -- the Plant Closing and Sale Moratorium -- the sides struck in October 2015.
The other plants in the lawsuit are Baltimore Operations transmission plant in White Marsh, Md., and the Warren Transmission Plant in Warren, Mich.
GM announced in November it intends to idle five North American plants this year as the automaker eliminates 14,000 salaried and blue-collar jobs as part of a restructuring effort to boost profit margins, prepare for a downturn and invest more in electric and autonomous vehicles.
The lawsuit states GM intends to close Lordstown on March 8; Baltimore Operations on May 3; and Warren Transmission on Aug. 1. The UAW’s collective bargaining agreement with GM expires at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14.
The case was filed in U.S. court in Youngstown.
It’s the second lawsuit the UAW filed against GM this year. The other alleges GM is sidestepping its collective bargaining agreement with the union by using temporary workers at its plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., instead of transferring eligible previously laid-off workers.
Read Wednesday’s print edition of the Tribune Chronicle or online at www.tribtoday.com for more on this story.