California IN BRIEF : FREMONT : Dissident Members Control UAW Local

Dissident union members have won a five-year fight to win control of the United Auto Workers local at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., where contract talks are on. The People’s Caucus won the presidency and took three of five other top posts in UAW Local 2244 from the incumbent Administrative Caucus. However, the union’s long-time bargaining chairman, George Nano, managed to keep his seat in the election that saw about 75% of the 3,000 members of the local vote. New United Motor Manufacturing, known as NUMMI, is a joint venture of General Motors and Toyota Motor Corp. The Administrative Caucus has worked closely with Japanese management to promote quality and keep grievances down. Focusing on job security, it contended that cooperation with management was needed to avert layoffs. The People’s Caucus also endorsed cooperation and trust, but it called for a more aggressive approach to ensure that management does not take advantage of workers.