As Lansing UAW members brace for strike, 'people are nervous'

LANSING – UAW members with ties to Lansing General Motors facilities said they are prepared to strike early on Monday, although some are wary of the possible toll.

"I'm still leery about it," Paul Ellingson, who works in the body shop at the GM plant in Delta Township, said Sunday morning.

Ellingson, a DeWitt resident, spoke in front of an entrance to GM's Delta Township Assembly plant, the larger of GM's two Lansing area production sites. Lansing Grand River Assembly is south of I-496 in downtown Lansing. Together, the sites have some 4,400 hourly and salaried employees.

Despite the turmoil of the pending strike, the Lansing Delta Assembly site was serene Sunday, with no picketers or television crews.

"No one wants to go on strike," Ellingson said, while acknowledging the issues that have caused it.

Union leaders cited disagreements over health care, temporary workers and wage increases in announcing their decision to strike.

Ellingson is one of some 3,900 hourly workers who work at the Grand River or Delta Township sites either in assembly, paint and body or stamping operations.Their leadership voted to strike at a Sunday morning meeting in Detroit after having decided to let their contract with GM expire at 12 a.m. Nevertheless, union leaders instructed UAW autoworkers to report for Sunday shifts.

GM's media website lists some 4,400 hourly and salaried workers between the two production campuses. It was unclear when picket lines might form at the two Lansing plants, although they will because the UAW requires members workers to perform strike duties such as picketing to get their strike assistance benefits.

Union halls of both UAW Local 602 and 652, which represent Lansing area GM workers, were closed at mid-day Sunday and calls to officials of the locals were not returned.

Late Sunday afternoon, Jeff Kerley, an electrician at the Lansing Delta Assembly facility, visited the UAW Local  602 union hall on West Michigan Avenue in Lansing.

The 24-year GM veteran noted that the company could still strike a deal. "I think that's what everyone's going for," Kerley said.

Still, he added, someone's got to take a stand. "It's going to be us."

He supports the strike action and said workers must trust their representatives.

"We're behind them," he said.

Ellingson, a 13-year veteran of GM, was scheduled to work a shift beginning at 9 p.m. Sunday and expects the strike action to begin before the end of his shift at 6:30 a.m. Monday.

"We might walk out (at midnight)," he said Sunday afternoon.

The thought caused mixed emotions. "This is our home," Ellingson said. "This is our bread and butter."

The strike would be the second during his tenure at GM.

The effects of the walkout will hit union members hard financially, as they are due to receive $250 a week from the union if the strike reaches an eighth day. Workers will not receive dental, vision, hearing or sick and accident benefits for the duration of the strike.

Ellingson said he's worked a lot of overtime and feels prepared financially for the strike.

“You have a lot of people who live check to check,“ said GM team member Reggie Hattaway, a 23-year company veteran. “People are nervous. I’m nervous to be honest with you.”

Hattaway also said he feels financially prepared, as long as a strike doesn’t drag on.

Hattaway accepted a transfer from the Delta Township plant to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2016 and now commutes between Lansing and Indiana.

“I kind of see it from all sides and I talk to people with the perspective of both of the plants,” Hattaway said. “We have a union willing to stand up for us.”

General Motors’ two-tiered wage system and its reliance on temporary workers has sparked contention, Hattaway said. 

“You could be working next to someone who does the exact same work as you, working just as hard as you but is making less,” Hattaway said. “In some ways, they might be working harder because they don’t have the same vacation days and the same benefits as you do.”

Strike got strong support in member votes

Although workers may be nervous about making do on strike benefits, the overwhelming majority voted to support a strike action just a few weeks ago.

Both locals held strike votes in late August, and both published results on social media saying 98% of membership supported strike action if negotiations were not successful. 

Nationally, UAW officials announced on Sept. 2 that 96% of total membership supported strike action.

It's also worth noting that Lansing workers have a leading voice at the bargaining table. 

The National Bargaining Committee chair is Ted Krumm of UAW Local 652, who was quoted in the national statement released this morning after the strike vote: “We have been clear at the table about what GM members have indicated we will accept. We are standing up for what is right. We as local unions will sacrifice to stand up for what we deserve.”

GM officials said they, too, want a strong future.

"We continue to work hard on solutions to some very difficult challenges," said Lansing-based GM spokeswoman Erin Davis. "We are prepared to negotiate around the clock because there are thousands of GM families and their communities – and many thousands more at our dealerships and suppliers – counting on us for their livelihood. Our goal remains on building a strong future for our employees and our business."

There are more people than GM hourly and salaried workers who will be watching closely.

In Greater Lansing, the economic impact if the strike that lasts beyond a day or two could reach beyond GM and its workers to parts suppliers and local businesses that depend on GM workers' spending.

Total wages for GM workers at the Lansing area assembly plants and stamping operations are $254.5 million annually, while income taxes paid total nearly $44 million, according to information at GM's website.

Contact business reporter Christian Martinez atcmartinez@lsj.com or (517) 267-1342. Follow him on Twitter at @ChristianM_CA.

Support local journalism: Purchase a Lansing State Journal subscription here.