North American production of the Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet Volt and Chevrolet Cruze is slated to end on March 1st and now the UAW is suing GM.
In a lawsuit (PDF) filed yesterday, the UAW said GM’s decision to unallocate plants violates their plant closing and sale moratorium agreement. The agreement prohibits the automaker from closing or idling any plant during the term of their collective bargaining agreement.
The UAW goes on to say GM’s preferred term of “unallocated” is just an illusion as the word is a synonym for closed or idled, two things prohibited by the UAW’s agreement with GM.
The lawsuit focuses on Lordstown Assembly in Ohio, Baltimore Operations in Maryland and Warren Transmission Operations in Michigan. Detroit/Hamtramck Assembly was apparently left out of the suit as GM announced plans to move its closure date from June 2019 to January 2020. This is worth noting as the lawsuit says the UAW’s agreement with GM doesn’t end until 11:59 pm EST on September 14, 2019.
The lawsuit asks the court to declare GM in breach of its contractual obligations and force the automaker to keep the three plants open. The suit also seeks “award damages to make affected employees whole for all losses resulting from the Company’s breach of contract, including, but not limited to, back wages and benefits.”
GM has stayed relatively quiet about the lawsuit, but a spokesperson told Reuters the company’s decision to close the plants doesn’t “violate the provisions of the UAW-GM National Agreement.” GM might have a point as the plant closing moratorium letter allows for some wiggle room as it notes “conditions may arise that are beyond the control of the Company, (i.e. market related volume decline, act of God), and could make compliance with this commitment impossible.”
