General Motors may have to stop testing employees for marijuana if it wants to hire hundreds of new temporary staff.
The car manufacturer wants to hire 400 temporary employees at its Flint assembly plant and an additional 275 temporary employees at its Fort Wayne site. However, it is struggling to fill these roles having received just 60 applicants following a recent job fair in Fort Wayne. GM may have better luck if it stops testing for marijuana, UAW Local 598 shop chairman recently told the Detroit Free Press.
“When you have a line of people waiting for a job, then it’s OK to test for it,” he said. “But if you don’t have enough candidates, testing for marijuana might turn people off from applying.”
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Marijuana has been legal to use recreationally in Michigan since 2018 but GM continues to test for it. What’s more, it actually conducts hair follicle tests that can detect marijuana use from several weeks prior. Metro Times notes that CBD products can produce a false positive for THC in hair follicle tests.
In addition, shop chairman at GM’s Fort Wayne Assembly site Rich LeTourneau believes that the starting wage of $16.67 per hour is also a deterrent, particularly since GM has made pay increases at other facilities.
“What really needs to happen is lift that $16.67 cap and hire them in at $18,” LeTourneau said. “Pizza Hut is paying $20 an hour to deliver pizza here.”
