Workers Vote to Drop Ruiz in Dispute at GM

In the latest flare-up of the feud between rival factions at the United Auto Workers local in Van Nuys, an estimated 300 to 400 union members voted unanimously Thursday to suspend chief negotiator Ray Ruiz indefinitely.

Officials of UAW Local 645 said, however, that they don’t believe the suspension can be enforced.

The move came after Peter Z. Beltran, the local’s president, charged that Ruiz broke a promise made last spring to block the introduction of Japanese-style labor practices at General Motors’ Van Nuys assembly plant unless the company made a long-term promise to keep the facility open.

On May 30, the local narrowly approved the so-called team concept that Ruiz and GM supported. Under that concept, workers operate in small teams and have more voice and responsibility in the way a car is manufactured.

The issue has split the local’s membership, pitting Beltran and Ruiz against each other in a bitter power struggle. Neither could be reached for comment.

“Pete has taken it on himself to remove Ruiz from office,” said Joe B. Garcia, financial secretary for the local and a Beltran supporter.

But Bruce Lee, the UAW’s Western regional director, said Ruiz never promised to get any commitment from GM to keep the plant open. He called the vote a “nuisance,” saying it ignored proper procedure.

A “trial” must be held by the local before any official can be removed, Lee said. He said only a small percentage of the local’s approximately 2,000 members showed up to vote.

The move came on the same day that the U. S. Transportation Department reduced gas-mileage requirements for 1987 and 1988 cars. GM had threatened to close its Van Nuys plant and possibly seven others if the standards weren’t relaxed.