http://tinyurl.com/25uky7

excerpt:

Manufacturing jobs, UAW at risk with 2-tier wage
October 4, 2007
BY KATIE MERX
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

If UAW members approve their new tentative agreement with General
Motors Corp. as expected, as many as one-third of the automaker's
U.S. hourly jobs could become part of a second tier of lower-paid
positions.

That could result in significant savings for GM and potentially
weaken the union's strength and solidarity.

GM and the UAW agreed to create a lower wage and benefit schedule for
all new hires into a group of jobs classified as noncore. Hires in
that category would earn about half the wage of current employees and
receive a lesser benefits package.

"It's going to mark the beginning of the end for the concept of good,
high-paying manufacturing jobs ... with job security," said Gary
Chaison, professor of industrial relations at Clark University.

The list of jobs to be categorized as noncore is not yet complete and
may depend on local contracts, known as competitive operating
agreements, workers and analysts said. The category includes such
positions as materials handling, truck driver and subassembly.

For GM, the agreement to create a second-tier wage could save it
about $1.2 billion annually, or about $300 per vehicle, analysts say.

But for workers and labor experts, the creation of a two-tier system -
- even more than the union's agreement to transfer retiree health
care liabilities from GM to an independent trust -- signals a risky
sea change in the union.

"Essentially what you're doing is voting for a wage cut for people
who are not in the room. Management then has an incentive to develop
the lower-paid tier and put fewer workers in the higher-paid tier,"
Chaison said. "Not only that, but two-tiered wage structures are not
what unions are about, when they talk about solidarity."





--- In ibmunion@yahoogroups.com, "Bob" <bobc4012@...> wrote:
>
>
> Actually, they don't need to wait until a few more losing quarters.
> It was published in my local newspaper that there are 15 GM plants
> in the US that can be shut (and probably will be) down in the next
> couple of years. The workers at those plants are against the pact
> and said the UAW sold them out. This would impact about 40,000
> hourly workers here in the US. GM has 58 factories inthe US, so
> 25% will eventually be shutdown over the next couple of years with
> the UAW's blessing (after hailing it won "job security" from GM).
>
> A quote in the newspaper, citing Gregg Shotwell, a GM worker and
> frequent UAW critic -- "The average GM worker understands that
> GM has never lived up to its job security guarnatees." He also
> predicted that "GM will pit the 15 plants against each other to
> extract further concessions later."
>
> In the meantime, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi were praising the
> new pact that the 74,000 hourly UAW members have yet to vote on.
>
>
> --- In ibmunion@yahoogroups.com, dave_lovelace <no_reply@> wrote:
> >
> > I wanted to respond to this comment because I think its important
to
> > point out some interesting things-
> > The comment was, 'I know GM has just signed
> > a contract guaranteeing they won't leave, but a few more losing
> > quarters and then a declaration of bankruptcy and they will
> > be gone.'
> >
>