UAW-GM "white book" contract released on web
It turns out the 24-page document we showed you last week was not the full UAW-GM contract the two parties negotiated after an historic 40-hour strike, but rather a highlights booklet to make the nuts and bolts of the deal easier for the union's rank and file to digest. The real contract, called the "white book" by union members, has also now hit the web. We found it hosted at Factoryrat.com, all 82 pages of legalese. Some mainstream outlets found the "white book" too and began sifting through its jargon to determine if anything in the official contract conflicted with what the highlights booklet contained. It turns out that what was initially reported by insiders as firm commitments to allocate the production of particular vehicles at certain plants, thus guaranteeing job security through the four-year life of the contract, are actually worded as "opportunities" instead of allocations. That has some worried their job security isn't as iron clad as they believed it would be last week. Here's a link to a Detroit Free Press article that analyzes the "white book" in more detail because, well, it's Monday and our ADHD attention spans don't permit for in-depth contract analysis.
[Source: Factoryrat.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brian Dreggors 2:15PM (10/01/2007)
The interesting thing is Wilmington isn't even running at close to full capacity with the Kappas. Moving that production to Bowling Green could mean a) Kappa won't spawn other vehicles (esp not with the superior Alpha on the way) and b) Wilmington could be kept waiting in the wings if something else needs more capacity.
Sad that Orion Township may be shuttered. We've two Orion cars in the driveway and they're impeccable.
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SPG 6:48PM (10/01/2007)
Things worked out pretty well for the UAW workers.
They had to fight hard and they got a lot of what they were asking for.
I wonder if this will start somthing bigger?
Maybe all the Burger King workers will strike next?
Even better, all the toll booth workers around the USA will walk off the job leaving people debating: "should I just run it?".
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Larry 10:31AM (10/02/2007)
The 82 pages of legalese are just the most relevant culled from the 400+ pages of the "contract settlement agreement" which also includes about 5 more "exhibit" books covering medical plans, pension plans, etc and all of them are 300+ pages. Then there are the Memoranda of Understanding --- and the books of legal interpretations of previous vague language ------- the UAW contract is a monster and a mini-industry all its own.
All of the glowing promises of the UAW leaders are undercut and negated by fine print elsewhere in the guts of this monster. The "highlights" are written by -- the UAW "Public Relations" department.
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