Saturn and UAW Pact Averts Strike
Saturn Corp. and the United Auto Workers said Friday that they have resolved a closely watched dispute, averting a possible strike against the small-car maker that is considered a standard-bearer for labor-management teamwork.
The two sides refused to discuss the settlement but issued a statement that said it “reaffirms Saturn’s unique partnership with the UAW” while enhancing job security for workers and backing the company’s expansion plans.
The deal will be presented to workers by UAW Local 1853 President Joe Rypkowski and Chairman Mike Bennett at a rank-and-file meeting in Spring Hill, Tenn., on Tuesday. The settlement does not require a ratification vote.
A majority of the auto maker’s 7,200 workers authorized a strike on July 19 while Saturn’s parent, Detroit-based General Motors, was in the midst of a crippling strike by two parts plants in Flint, Mich. The key issues involve subcontracting, joint decision-making and pay.
The dispute drew widespread attention not only because of the larger strike against GM, but also because Saturn promotes labor-management cooperation.
Conceived in the 1980s as a small-car import fighter, Saturn has been one of GM’s few successes of the last decade with high marks for quality and customer satisfaction. But it has suffered recently from a slump in small-car sales.
The labor strife comes as GM is speeding the restructuring of its North American operations. The reorganization includes integrating Saturn more into GM’s global small-car group--using common parts and designs--while maintaining its independence as a semiautonomous unit.
The current dispute largely was centered on the lack of union input on major product and parts sourcing issues, including what vehicles are brought to market, where they will be built and who makes the parts.
Dale Brickner, a retired labor professor at Michigan State University, said the confrontation is the natural result of changes both at GM and the new-car market. As part of an evolving GM, Saturn must change as well, he said.
In the next few years GM will expand Saturn’s lineup to include a mid-size sedan and small sport-utility vehicle, and in some areas Saturn provides a blueprint for GM.
“While Saturn is still a unique plant, it’s becoming a much more important part of GM,” he said. “The question is, can the rank and file accept that?”
The dispute arose in March, just four months after Saturn workers reaffirmed support for their innovative contract, which stresses cooperation and promises job security. The contract, which is separate from the UAW national agreement, provides for flexible work rules, joint decision-making and performance bonuses that offset lower base pay.
Union discontent has increased as Saturn’s sales have slipped 10% in 1997 and for the first eight months of 1998. The UAW charges GM has been slow to create new Saturn models and has cut the union out of key decisions on new models.
“We’ve had our problems at Saturn,” UAW Vice President Richard Shoemaker said at an Aug. 25 news conference. “They [GM] don’t want to abide by commitments they made previously, some of which go to the very foundation of the Saturn agreement.”
Bennett has questioned GM’s commitment to the Saturn partnership. For instance, he criticizes GM’s decision to build a new mid-sized Saturn at an idle plant in Wilmington, Del. He also worries that Saturn plans to use outside contractors to supply parts for the next generation of vehicles to be built in Spring Hill. That could jeopardize jobs at the plant.
Don Hudler, Saturn chairman and president, has steadfastly maintained that GM is not wavering in its support of the company, but argues that the partnership must change if it is to be competitive.
