Jul 13, 2009 5:55 pm US/Central
Arlington GM Workers Back To Work, With Doubts
Compiled from staff reports
ARLINGTON (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
After eight weeks, workers at the GM plant in Arlington headed back to the assembly lines Monday.
Arlington GM employees hadn't worked since May 18, after General Motors closed 13 North American factories for two months to slash inventory. The company filed for bankruptcy and then emerged from it during the shutdown.
Monday, local workers we talked to were happy to be back at work. "It's nice to be back," said Manny Salazar. "You kind of spend a lot of money while you're out there. But we got the honey-do list done. But it is nice to be back at work."
Starting soon, probably in September, a new labor contract will shift the work week to four 10-hour days. For now, regular eight-hour days will be in place.
During the downtime workers received about 70 percent of their normal wage. For many, it was still tough to get by.
"It was a long time to be out of work," said Enrique Flores, Jr., President of UAW Local 276. "Our bills are still at 100 percent. For two months, it does hurt you."
The closure also had a ripple effect on nearby businesses. The
staff at the Las Ranitas restaurant across the street from the plant
says business has been slow. Marissa Martinez says her waitressing
tips have been cut in half.
"We used to have tables of eight or nine coming from GM,"
Martinez said. "My other friends that work there, they have to find
jobs somewhere else."
The Arlington plant is GM's only full-size SUV factory. But even with a shift in focus toward fuel-efficient vehicles, many are confident the Arlington plant will survive for now.
"You talk about going green for the future, we produce the hybrid SUV there," said Craig Eppling, GM Communications Manager. "It's been there for 54 years," he said, referring to the Arlington plant. "It's got a good, stable workforce."
While workers say they're happy to get back to the plant,
they'll be off again next month for a mandatory two-week vacation.
Workers who don't have enough vacation time won't get paid.
And
even after that hiatus comes to an end, Arlington's workers are
concerned for the future. There is no long-term production plan for
the plant, which only assembles full-size SUVs. And finding new
workers who want to go along with GM's bumpy ride isn't easy.
"It's a good paycheck," Flores said, "but it's not a very secure job.
And they're looking at other venues to find more permanent work."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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