UAW Elections to Come at Pivotal Time for Union

With his truck-making plant slated to close, you would think that Chris Kimmons would be mad at his union for not doing enough to preserve the 2,350 jobs there.

But the president of United Auto Workers Local 919 at the Ford Motor Co. assembly plant in Norfolk, Va., says he has faith in the union’s leadership. He plans to support President Ron Gettelfinger at the UAW’s constitutional convention starting Monday in Las Vegas.

“I have confidence in the UAW, still have and always will,” said Kimmons, who has attended every convention since the late 1970s.

Even with concessions to the auto companies, factory closures and retirees unhappy with increased healthcare payments, many local union leaders say Gettelfinger should have no trouble winning a second four-year term running the union.

And they say he’s the right person to lead the UAW as it heads into treacherous times that could threaten its existence.

Financially troubled automakers are hiring fewer workers as factories become more productive. Both Ford and General Motors Corp. have announced sweeping restructuring plans that will shave thousands of jobs and shutter plants in the next few years -- moves that will be felt by the UAW.

Its membership fell from 676,000 active workers in 2002 to just under 599,000 last year, the union said. That’s 1.6 million fewer active members than at the UAW’s peak in 1970.

“I think it’s very pivotal. I think we’re probably at the -- you could say, the most critical time for the UAW in our history,” said Mike O’Rourke, president of Local 1853 at a GM Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tenn.

The union also will have to choose three new vice presidents to replace those in charge of negotiations with the domestic Big Three automakers, in the year before negotiations begin on a new contract.

Those retiring are Richard Shoemaker, who is in charge of negotiations with GM; Gerald Bantom, who heads negotiations with Ford; and Nate Gooden, who is in charge of bargaining with DaimlerChrysler.

“There’s a lot of knowledge that’s leaving us with the retirements that are coming up at the convention,” said Jim Hurren, president of Local 467 at a Delphi Corp. plant near Saginaw, Mich., that the auto parts maker wants to sell or close.

But Hurren and others said well-trained younger members with bargaining experience were in line to take their places.

Shoemaker in particular will leave big shoes to fill because of his storied tenure at the union and because he is leading negotiations with Delphi, said Russ Reynolds, head of Local 651 at a Delphi plant in Flint, Mich.

The auto parts maker wants to close factories and cut wages as it reorganizes under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and Shoemaker helped secure buyout packages for its workers. Delphi has asked a federal bankruptcy judge in New York for permission to scrap its union contracts but has said it would prefer a negotiated settlement with the UAW and other unions.

Reynolds said the next round of UAW contract negotiations next year could affect many in the middle class because auto workers set the standard for benefits given in other industries.

“It’s going to be very important because this is going to be one of the hardest contracts to face the UAW,” Reynolds said.

Gettelfinger is backed by the administrative caucus, a group of union leaders that essentially forms a political party within the UAW. Seldom does anyone run against an incumbent president or executive board candidates picked by the caucus.

UAW spokesman Paul Krell said he knew of no other candidates but said some could be nominated from the convention floor.

Although his reelection may be assured, Gettelfinger may hear some dissent from rank-and-file members who think more should be done to fight plant shutdowns.

Union member Kimmons, whose Ford F-150 pickup plant is scheduled to close in 2008, plans to offer a resolution at the convention demanding that the union fight companies on factory closures and lobby Congress to end foreign trade agreements.

The resolution also calls for companies to reopen closed plants and return work that was outsourced to other countries.

Regardless of whether the resolution gains approval, Kimmons said, he hopes it will get attention.

“If enough of us get up there and holler” about plant closures, he said, “then Mr. Ron Gettelfinger is going to know we’re serious.”