Alex Santana—Shop Chairman • Mike Haineault—1st Shift Zone • Jeff Hall—2nd & 3rd Shift Zone
Kevin Sautter • Colie Lynch • Erin Schumacher • Luther Page • David Blackwell • Billy Flynn
John Hanning • Greg Hill • Jerry Gray • Stan Bowers • George Mellinger
Doug McKeithen • Kevin McCray • Darrell Shanklin • Dwayne Hawkins • Turnage Corr • Quinten Bowens
Larry Garrison • Howard Newson • Stephen Ying • B.J. Hutto • James Hunter

Volume III, No. 9 • March 14th, 2008

Educate Yourself

Local Agreement

SECTION III PERMANENT LAYOFF AND RECALL PROCEDURE

A. Division I

In the event of a permanent reduction in force, employees with the greater seniority who are capable of doing the work available will be retained as provided for below:

1. The number of employees to be retained in each department will be established. Thereafter, the work force will be reduced as provided in sub paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 5 below:

2. Employees with insufficient seniority to remain in their respective departments will be reduced in line with their seniority, according to the attached seniority group charts.

3. Once departmental seniority cutoff dates have been established in accordance with 1 and 2 above, employees who have insufficient seniority to be retained in their department but have sufficient seniority to be retained within the division will, providing they are actively at work, be given the opportunity during a mutually agreed upon application period to specify two (2) departments with vacancies resulting from the implementation of these provisions they desire to be placed in. Thereafter, such employees will be placed in the requested department, seniority permitting, and providing they are capable of performing the available work. Remaining employees will be placed on jobs that are operating division wide that they are capable of performing. All of the above placements shall occur within the time limits specified in 5 below.

4. Employees with insufficient seniority to remain at work in the plant on a division wide basis will be laid off as they are displaced.

5. Management will endeavor to minimize the loss of time to employees in placing them in accordance with the layoff and recall procedure and, in any event, employees eligible to be retained on other available jobs, will be placed within five (5) working days within their department or ten (10) working days within the division.

6. The seniority of employees transferred under these provisions will be carried into the new occupational group and will become effective as of the date of transfer.

7. Seniority employees laid off in accordance with the above procedure will be recalled in seniority order to work in Division I provided they are capable of doing the work available. Seniority permitting, employees will be placed in their former department when recalled from permanent layoff.

B. Division II

In the event of a permanent reduction in force, the number of employees to be retained in each occupational group will be established. Thereafter, the employees with the greater skilled trades seniority date of entry will be retained in each such group in accordance with the attached seniority charts. Employees with insufficient seniority to be retained in their respective occupational group will be laid off from Division II and will be recalled in accordance with their seniority except as provided herein:

1. At the time of a reduction in force, employees being laid off from their occupational group will have a right to file an application for work in Division I. Thereafter, they shall be placed on a job in Division I in line with their plant seniority provided they are capable of performing the work. Placement will occur in accordance with the time limits outlined in Section III.A.5 of this Local Seniority Agreement. Such employees will retain seniority rights in their Division II group.

2. If the employees do not file an application for work in Division I, they will be laid off and will be recalled to work only in the Division II group from which they were laid off.

3. The provisions of Paragraph 70 of the National Agreement are hereby waived.

4. When qualified journeymen are transferred from a non skilled classification into a skilled trades group and have not previously established seniority in that skilled trades group, they will have a date of entry seniority status in the skilled trades group as of the date of transfer and will be laid off and rehired in accordance with the attached skilled trades seniority charts and the provisions of this section. When qualified journeymen are transferred from one skilled trades occupational group to another, they will have a date of entry seniority status in the skilled trades group as of the date of transfer and will be laid off and rehired in accordance with the attached skilled trades seniority charts. Skilled trades employees who transferred prior to the 1993 Local Agreement will retain their seniority in the new classification.

Management has the right to make temporary assignments of active employees to a skilled trades occupational group for jobs of short duration or emergency in lieu of recalling employees who have not elected to work in Division I as provided above. In this regard, Management will first utilize skilled trades employees placed in Division I to work within their basic skill. Such temporary assignments will not exceed fifteen (15) working days unless extended by a mutual agreement with the Union. If such temporary assignments are contemplated, Management and the Union will review and discuss such assignments in advance.

Shop Talk

The battle still continues...
Management will recognize the strong support of UAW Local 2166 membership. Your dedication and commitment has made us who we are today. Thank you to each and every one of you!!

Downtime: No downtime scheduled.

2008 UAW-GM Special Attrition Program: Under Option one (1) should you reach your eighty-five points prior to July 1, 2008 (before reaching your thirty years by December 31, 2008). We have been notified per management you cannot be forced out July 1st on 85 points if you opt to retire with thirty (30) years on the 1st of the month following the month in which you attain your thirty (30) years.

Transfers: Fairfax, KS has a requisition in and Lake Orion, MI also has a requisition in.

As a result of the SAP, we do not know how many available openings, if any, will occur in other facilities but if there is one you may want to transfer to, submit your transfer application. Replacements due to the SAP will be back filled by Appendix “A” first then followed by Appendix “K”.

New Attendance Procedure: Hopefully everybody understands the new attendance procedure. The only way to protect you is to come to work every day. Schedule your time off in advance. Use your vacation restricted (VR) wisely. Please take notice before it is too late.

GMS Training: Beginning March 10, 2008 until further notice there will be approximately one (1) hour set aside per day for GMS training. We will be building approximately 200 units per shift, 400 units per day.

Holiday Pay: Use of VR hours will not be permitted, unless excused in advance for Thursday, March 20th or Tuesday, March 25th prior to and following the Easter holidays. If not excused, this would disqualify you to receive Holiday Pay and also fall under the guidelines of Document 8 of the National Agreement to be disciplined for attendance.

Vacation Time Off: Applications for vacation time off for May, 2008 through January 4, 2009 will be accepted starting Monday, March 3, 2008 and will close at the end of your shift Friday, March 14, 2008. Any applications turned in after the deadline will be on a first come first serve basis.

Layoff (Division I): Approximately one hundred seven (107) people have been placed on indefinite layoff in production as of Wednesday, March 12, 2008. Currently, of the remaining thirty-eight people facing indefinite layoff, twenty-six will be retained as permanent employees on job openings due to the Fairfax, KS transfers; leaving twelve (12) still faced with being laid of on Friday, March 28, 2008.

Layoff (Division II): Notification was given to UAW Representatives Monday, March 10, 2008 at approximately 2:00 p.m. that the skilled trades will also be faced with an indefinite layoff to begin at the end of their shift Friday, March 14, 2008. Approximately forty-five (45) skilled trades’ people will be indefinitely laid off.

Red Shirt Day: Wear a red shirt on Friday to support our troops!!!

“The essence of trade unionism is social uplift. The labor movement has been the haven for the dispossessed, the despised, the neglected, the downtrodden, the poor.” (quote from A. Phillip Randolph)