GM Van Nuys Workers Get Pay Reprieve

The work has ended, the assembly line is still, but the salaries linger on--and on--for workers laid off at the Van Nuys General Motors plant.

Workers whose jobs ended when the plant closed its doors Aug. 27, 1992, have overwhelmingly approved a new union contract that provides them close to full wages and health benefits for three more years, without being required to accept work at another GM plant unless it is less than about 75 miles away.

The company is trying to nudge laid-off workers into retirement--the union says about half the 1,200 involved are eligible--in return for vouchers of up to $15,000 toward the purchase of a GM car, plus $6,000 in cash to cover taxes, license and registration fees. For those who do retire, the contract provides full pension benefits even if they find another job.

Workers too young to retire will be offered payments of up to $100,000 to quit, according to officials of United Auto Workers Local 645, which represents the Van Nuys workers.

GM also agreed to set aside $580 million to continue paying supplemental unemployment benefits to laid-off workers.

The company is not talking, referring questions on the generous contract to the union local, but this is an expensive proposition for GM, which last week reported losing $113 million in the third quarter. All told, GM has lost $17 billion on its North American operations in the last three years. And its unfinanced pension liability is expected to reach $24 billion by the end of this year.

See today’s Valley Business, page 3.