Union workers at General Motors’ assembly plant...

Union workers at General Motors’ assembly plant in Van Nuys reelected Richard Ruppert as their chief representative, thus indicating continued worker support for a controversial, Japanese-style “team concept” management approach that the plant has used since 1987.

Ruppert, who supports the concept, was one of 22 United Auto Workers union representatives elected by the plant’s workers last week. He remained shop chairman, the top union position at the plant, by defeating team-concept foe Cal Gutierrez, said Joe Garcia, treasurer of UAW Local 645, which represents GM’s hourly workers in Van Nuys.

Ruppert won 57% of the 2,583 votes cast. The plant has about 3,800 hourly workers.

However, opponents of the concept won at least eight of the other representative positions. And last month, five team-concept dissidents--including Gutierrez--were among seven delegates elected by the workers to attend the UAW’s annual convention later this month.

Team concept organizes workers into groups that have the power to make suggestions and halt production to fix problems. The method is supposed to improve quality, but its critics contend that GM is using the concept to win concessions from workers.