Workers Angry, Anxious About GM Closure Plan : Union Leaders Vow to Fight to Get the Decision Reversed

The mood was grim Friday at United Auto Workers Local 645 as workers and labor officials gathered to talk about the impending closure of the General Motors Van Nuys plant across the street.

“It’s like a blow to the chest,” said Johnny Nieto, who has worked at the facility 14 years. “We all thought we had a future in this plant.”

Some officials began to plot ways to force GM to keep the plant open. But many of the current 2,600 workers were worried about their future and that of their families.

Greg Guerra, 33, who works in the paint department, said he is concerned about how he will provide for his five children. He hopes to learn another trade by the time the plant closes. But even with new skills, he doubts that he will be able to find a job that pays the $16 to $17 an hour many Van Nuys production workers earn.

“Maybe I’ll get two jobs,” the 12-year GM veteran said.

Despite numerous signs that GM was winding down operations at the plant--including layoffs, production cutbacks and temporary closures the past few years--many workers said they remained hopeful that the sprawling plant would remain open. Many were counting on GM to turn the facility into a “flex plant” that would be capable of building different cars on short notice.

Those hopes were dashed Friday morning when GM officials broke the news as workers finished production on 1991-model-year Chevrolet Camaros and Pontiac Firebirds. Blaming a slumping auto market, managers told workers that the “flex plant” idea was no longer viable. They said the factory is closing for good in August, 1992.

“It’s a shocker, to say the least,” said Jess Pacheco, 39, a 22-year GM veteran who is coordinating training programs for laid-off workers.

Jobless workers can take some comfort in the fact that their current labor contract requires GM to guarantee about 95% of their take-home pay when they are laid off. The benefits--part of which come from state unemployment funds and the rest from the company--last until employees are called back to work or find another job.

The contract also requires that laid-off workers be returned to full pay after 36 weeks, whether or not there is work. The 900 workers who were laid off earlier this year will likely go into a “jobs bank” and may perform community service or take classes to learn new skills, union officials said.

Nick Faiella, who has worked at the plant 12 years, most recently in a position that involves filling in for absent employees, plans to take advantage of a buyout provision in the contract that would give him $47,000. Faiella, 30, already has a job lined up working for his brother’s business--finishing bathtubs and tile.

Some workers worry that the wave of job cuts that have hit the auto industry will quickly drain the $4 billion GM set aside for laid-off workers. Even if the funds are sufficient, many employees say they would rather have jobs.

“I don’t want unemployment. I want to work,” Pacheco said.

GM workers who attempt to find jobs outside the industry may face a difficult search given the weak economy, said Richard A. Ruppert, the local’s shop chairman. In the past, many idled auto workers could land jobs at aerospace concerns such as Lockheed in nearby Burbank. But Lockheed is moving most of its production out of state.

Ruppert said he and other UAW officials are prepared to fight hard to persuade GM to keep the plant open. Bruce Lee, the UAW’s Western states regional director, said there may be attempts to organize a boycott of GM cars.

“We refuse to accept this decision,” Ruppert said. “We need industrial jobs like these for our children.”

Van Nuys Workers

Employment at the General Motors plant in Van Nuys

1947; Plant opening: 1,108 workers

1979; Peak employment: 5,132 workers

Friday; 2,600 workers*

* Does not include 900 workers on layoff

Source: General Motors, Van Nuys MAIN STORY: A1