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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 11, 1998
9:00 PM
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CONTACT: United Auto Workers
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UAW Strikes at Delphi East in Flint, Michigan
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FLINT, MI
- June 11 - UAW Local 651 members at the Delphi East
plant in Flint, Michigan went on strike at 7 p.m. this evening over unresolved health and
safety, subcontracting and production standards issues.
"UAW Local 651 members are being threatened with job losses due to subcontracting to
vendors, speeded up conditions and over-loaded jobs that are clearly violations of the
local and national agreements just signed in 1996," stated UAW Vice President Richard
Shoemaker.
UAW Region 1C Director Ruben Burks identified some of the unresolved health and safety
violations that led to the strike.
"Workers at GM’s Delphi East plant have to contend with excessive and damaging
noise levels and lack of ventilation in welding areas," said Burks, who continued,
"In addition the corporation has failed to address improperly ergonomically designed
jobs, and violations of equipment lockout procedures that could lead to injury or
death."
"Clearly, we are not happy that GM has allowed these local issues to continue
unresolved so we must strike to force resolution," Shoemaker stated.
"The situation at Delphi East is made worse by the presence of hundreds of unresolved
grievances, as well as the threatened sale of parts of the plant and exiting other parts
of the business," Shoemaker stated.
"I remind you, if GM has their way Flint could lose about 11,000 jobs in the next two
years -- a devastating blow to this community," Shoemaker said.
"The issues here in Flint underscore the point that in GM’s ‘America
Last’ strategy, communities like Flint and elsewhere stand to loose out as GM
downsizes to take advantage of poverty-level wages in other countries," Shoemaker
declared.
"These issues concern our union as they should all clear-thinking Americans,"
Shoemaker said.
"Our immediate concern," he noted, "is resolving the strikes at Local 659
and Local 651 on the basis of the unresolved local union issues. And we are striving
diligently to reach a conclusion as soon as possible," Shoemaker concluded.
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