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40% in GM plant get half pay General Motors' plant in Lake Orion will employ an outsized percentage of workers at about half the standard wage in a bid to make a profit on the subcompact Chevrolet Aveo, said Mike Dunn, chairman of UAW Local 5960. Under contract details the UAW explained Sunday to members, 60% of Lake Orion's hourly workers will make $28 an hour with full benefits, Dunn said. The other 40% will work for the UAW's second-tier wage for newly hired workers, starting at about half the other workers' wages but with full benefits, Dunn said. That's higher than the 25% allowed companywide, and it's the first UAW contract to apply the new wage to current members. If some of the 1,500 Lake Orion workers on layoff don't want to work for the lower wage, they can join the pool of workers seeking transfers within GM, Dunn said. The Aveo launches next year as the smallest car built in the U.S. Last year, GM agreed to build the Aveo in Michigan instead of importing it from a lower-wage country in exchange for UAW concessions ahead of its bankruptcy. UAW President Bob King told the Free Press last month that he doubted GM's and the UAW's chances of building it profitably because of labor costs. Automotive News, a trade journal, first reported the new labor agreement at Lake Orion, which is currently closed for retooling. Joe Ashton, UAW vice president and chief negotiator for GM, said the report wasn't totally accurate, but declined to be more specific. The new pay system doesn't have to be approved by members, since it fleshes out the part of the 2009 labor agreement that said the plant would use "innovative labor agreement provisions" to build the subcompact profitably. "It worked out -- we're keeping jobs in America," Dunn said. As for the members' reaction Sunday, "I can't say everyone was happy, but they seemed to understand it." The pay structure is in effect until at least 2015, Dunn said, and he hopes all the plant's workers will return to the higher wage at that time. "GM has worked closely with the UAW to create new and innovative contractual language that will allow this facility to be flexible and lean -- essential elements in this highly competitive, small-car market segment," said Kim Carpenter, a GM spokeswoman. But she declined to confirm details of the Lake Orion agreement. This week, the Lake Orion plant will officially get another vehicle. GM is to announce on Thursday the compact Buick Verano will be made at the plant, a person familiar with the situation said. The car, based on the Buick Excelle GT in China and the next-generation Opel Astra in Europe, shares a platform with the Chevrolet Cruze and will likely go into production next year for the 2012 model year. |