No Meeting Scheduled for UAW, Management
Daniel Gilbert/Bristol Herald Courier
Published: April 14, 2008
Updated: April 14, 2008
Three days into their strike, union workers at General Dynamics had not crossed picket lines, and neither side had arranged to return to the negotiating table.Published: April 14, 2008
Updated: April 14, 2008
Officials for the United Auto Workers Local 2850 said they are “willing and ready” to meet with the management, but company officials were mum on Monday about a timetable for further negotiations.
Some 350 members of the union walked off the job after a contract proposal fell short of their expectations on wage increases, insurance coverage and pensions. They manned several picketing posts on Monday, strolling in front of the plant’s entrances beneath an intermittent drizzle, as security guards in raincoats trained cameras on them.
In a 302-44 vote, the union voted down the company’s proposal, which union officials said would scale back wage increases, double insurance premiums and ax pensions for new hires.
Gary Blevins, president of Local 2850 and a 22-year veteran of the company, said Monday that the management’s offer was a “slap in the face,” and spoke of “respect issues” that have deteriorated between the two sides over the last three years.
“I really thought we’d get a better offer,” Blevins said. “We’re just asking to stay afloat.”
Some 175 employees, who are salaried according to Blevins, continue to work at General Dynamics, a defense subcontracting firm. Employees inside the plant on Monday said they had no comment about the strike.
The company issued a statement on Saturday announcing that the UAW workers were on strike, and that the plant will remain open for business.
Greg Barton, a senior director of operations for General Dynamics, declined to comment on Monday. Gail Warner, a company spokeswoman, said, “We have no change to what we issued over the course of the weekend.”
Blevins would not say what terms the union was pushing, except that their goal was not to “go backwards.”
The last time the UAW local went on strike was in 1991, and it lasted for six weeks.
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