Four and a half months after a contract was declared ratified, the Nexteer Automotive plant in Saginaw, Michigan, has begun what the company calls staffing adjustments, a phrase that describes a quieter form of loss than a headline would suggest. The company will not say how many people will leave their jobs, so the shape of the change is known mostly through the accounts of workers, gathered by a partisan outlet, many of whose details remain unconfirmed. What is visible is a familiar pattern in the industrial towns of the Midwest: plants consolidated, property sold and leased back, and the wo
Nexteer Layoffs and Part-Time Tier Expose the Costs of UAW-Backed Contract in Saginaw
Roughly 1,200 Saginaw plant workers face permanent layoffs, forced shift changes and a reported part-time tier earning under $800 a week without benefits; one worker is described as victimized.
Part-time pay, under $800 a week, and workers buy their own health coverage
Mark
Start with the basics. What is actually confirmed here?
Mimi
Nexteer acknowledged staffing adjustments at Saginaw, citing changing manufacturing needs. It also sold about 1.8 million square feet of plant property to Phoenix Investors on August 27, keeping Plants 3 and 4.
Luke
And that's about where confirmation ends. The company wouldn't give a layoff number. The part-time terms come from unnamed workers.
Mark
The $27 an hour part-time rate sounds higher than the $24 base. Why is that a problem?
Mimi
Because of the cap of 27 to 29 hours and no health coverage, vacation or sick days. Under $800 a week, and workers buy their own insurance.
Luke
Worth noting the comparison is murky. The $24 figure is for full-time production workers with benefits, so it isn't a like-for-like wage.
Mark
What about the claim that the 10 percent part-time cap is gone?
Mimi
Workers say the old contract had it and the new one doesn't. If true, management has wide room.
Luke
Big if. Workers say they haven't received the signed contract, so nobody quoted can point to the text. Even the article says it is unconfirmed.
Mark
What does the vote tell us?
Mimi
Three rejections, an 86 percent strike authorization, then a 831 to 635 ratification that was held inside the plant.
Luke
The vote counts are the union's. The claim about being told to round up new hires is one worker's account. And this is an openly partisan outlet advocating for its own committee, so read it that way.
Le Pouls
- Roughly 1,200 Saginaw workers face permanent layoffs and forced shift changes, with some senior employees bumped onto less desirable second and third shifts.
- A reported part-time tier at $27 an hour, capped near 29 hours a week and without health coverage, threatens to leave laid-off workers earning under $800 weekly.
- Nexteer declines to give job-cut numbers, UAW Local 699 has hung up on reporters and withheld transfer lists, and the full signed contract has not reached the workers who must live under it.
- The contract was pushed through on a 57 to 43 percent vote after three rejections and an unused strike authorization, and the fallout is now landing on the floor without a clear public account.
Four and a half months after a contract was declared ratified, the Nexteer Automotive plant in Saginaw, Michigan, has begun what the company calls staffing adjustments, a phrase that describes a quieter form of loss than a headline would suggest. The company will not say how many people will leave their jobs, so the shape of the change is known mostly through the accounts of workers, gathered by a partisan outlet, many of whose details remain unconfirmed. What is visible is a familiar pattern in the industrial towns of the Midwest: plants consolidated, property sold and leased back, and the work of a community reorganized around terms that its members did not clearly choose.
Four and a half months after a contract was declared ratified at Nexteer's Saginaw plant, the company has confirmed what it calls staffing adjustments. Jill Dralle, the company's USA division president, points to shifting manufacturing requirements. Nexteer will not say how many jobs are going, and nearly everything else comes from workers who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site, an outlet that opposes the UAW leadership, so much of it remains unconfirmed.
According to those workers, Plants 5, 6 and 7 are being closed or consolidated, with production moving into Plants 3 and 4, and the cuts fall most heavily on those with about three years of seniority or less. Nexteer's own August sale of nearly 1.8 million square feet of industrial property to a Milwaukee firm lines up with that account, though the company has leased back parts of the buildings during a transition.
The reported terms for laid-off workers are hard to hold in the mind. They could be rehired part-time at $27 an hour, for 27 to 29 hours a week, with no employer health insurance, paid vacation or sick days. Workers say the old 10 percent cap on part-time staff is gone, a claim that has not been verified, and that they still lack a complete signed copy of the agreement.
Senior workers are not spared the disruption. Those moved from Plant 7 to Plant 3 can bump others from preferred shifts, and some were told of their transfers by voicemail two days ahead, without knowing their new department or shift. Workers say the local has not published transfer lists, and when reporters called, the union office hung up.
The contract fight that led here was bitter. The old agreement expired in March and was extended repeatedly without votes. Workers rejected three tentative agreements, and in May 86 percent authorized a strike that was never called. The fourth deal was voted on inside the plant rather than at the union hall, and passed 831 to 635 in late June, with more than 200 workers not voting.
The layoffs arrive alongside other closures in the Detroit area, and UAW President Shawn Fain has not publicly answered for Nexteer. A rank-and-file committee aligned with the WSWS is demanding the full contract, a fight against layoffs and part-time replacement, and the reinstatement of a worker it calls victimized. What comes next depends on whether Nexteer or the union confirms these terms and releases the numbers.
Four and a half months after a contract was declared ratified at Nexteer Automotive in Saginaw, Michigan, the company has confirmed what it calls staffing adjustments across its Saginaw operations. Jill Dralle, Nexteer's vice president and USA division president, attributed the changes to shifting manufacturing requirements. The company would not say how many workers are losing their jobs. Most of what is known about the scale and terms comes from workers who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site, a partisan outlet that opposes the UAW leadership, and much of it is unconfirmed.
According to those workers, Plants 5, 6 and 7 are being closed or consolidated, with production concentrated in Plants 3 and 4. Those with roughly three years of seniority or less are reportedly the ones being cut. The plant employs about 1,200 workers. Nexteer's own property moves line up with the account: on August 27 it announced the sale of about 1.8 million square feet of industrial property, including Plants 5, 6, 1 and 7, to Milwaukee-based Phoenix Investors. The company kept Plants 3 and 4 and arranged to lease back portions of the sold buildings during what it called a planned transition. More than half a million square feet in Plant 5 was opened to new tenants.
Laid-off workers can reportedly be rehired as part-time employees at $27 an hour, capped at 27 to 29 hours a week, with no employer-provided health insurance, paid vacation or sick days. Production workers currently top out at $24 an hour, rising to $29 by the end of the contract. At $27, weekly earnings would stay under $800, and workers would have to pay for their own medical coverage. Workers also say the previous agreement capped part-time employment at 10 percent of the workforce and the new one has no such limit. That claim is unverified, and workers say they still haven't been given a complete signed copy of the agreement.
The disruption reaches senior workers too. Employees moved from Plant 7 to Plant 3 can displace less senior workers from preferred shifts, pushing those workers onto second or third shift. One worker said some transferees were told by phone or voicemail two days before moving, without knowing their department or shift. Workers also complain that UAW Local 699 has not published transfer lists showing who is moving and with what seniority. When the WSWS called the local for comment, the union office hung up.
The contract fight was bitter. The previous agreement expired March 16, and the UAW repeatedly extended it without membership votes, according to the account. Workers rejected three tentative agreements, the first by 96.2 percent. In May, 86 percent voted to authorize a strike, but UAW International and Local 699 officials did not call one. Officials, including International Servicing Representative Jason Tuck, warned that continued resistance could bring layoffs, closures or an arbitrator imposing worse terms.
The fourth tentative agreement, which workers describe as essentially the same as the third, was put to a vote at three locations inside the plant rather than the union hall. One worker said he was told to round up new hires and tell them to vote yes. On June 26, local officials announced passage 57 to 43 percent, 831 to 635, with more than 200 workers reportedly not voting. Among production workers the margin was 54 to 46.
The cuts come amid others in the region: Dakkota Systems in Detroit is closing, threatening 397 jobs, and further cuts are pending at Detroit Chassis (175 jobs), ADAC Automotive (98) and Ford supplier Kern J.G. Enterprise (156). UAW President Shawn Fain, recently reelected with votes from about 6 percent of eligible members, has not publicly responded to the Nexteer layoffs, according to the article.
The Nexteer Workers Rank-and-File Committee, which is aligned with the WSWS, is demanding release of the full signed contract and all side agreements, a fight against layoffs and part-time replacement, and reinstatement of worker Antwiane Sanders, whom it calls victimized. What to watch: whether Nexteer or the UAW confirms the part-time terms and releases layoff numbers.
Citations marquantes
Staffing adjustments across Saginaw operations, attributed to changing manufacturing requirements.— Jill Dralle, Nexteer vice president and USA division president
Some people moved from Plant 7 were told by phone and voicemail two days before the move, not knowing their department or shift.— Nexteer worker, to the WSWS (paraphrased)
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