Lordstown plant forgotten in Gm-union deal

LORDSTOWN — General Motors Co. is proceeding with plans to part ways with the massive Ohio car factory it’s operated for more than a half-century.

The United Auto Workers couldn’t persuade GM to reconsider its decision to close Lordstown Assembly Plant, the union confirmed Thursday in a document summarizing the contract agreed to Wednesday. The fate of the factory has been fodder for President Donald Trump’s critics for almost a year, and the attacks are certain to continue on the campaign trail.

GM stopped making the Chevrolet Cruze at Lordstown in March.

Meanwhile, leaders of union locals voted Thursday to approve the tentative contract agreement with General Motors, but said workers will stay on the picket lines for at least another week until they vote on a tentative contract with the company.

After a lengthy meeting in Detroit, the group said voting by the 49,000 members of the United Automobile Workers at GM plants would begin Saturday.

GM announced in late 2018 that it wouldn’t allocate future product to the Lordstown plant. The automaker has been in discussions to sell the facility to Lordstown Motors, an affiliate of fledgling electric-truck maker Workhorse Group Inc. Though the UAW fought for GM to keep the factory in the fold, it settled for an allnew battery plant that will be built nearby and create about 1,000 jobs. Lordstown Motors plans to create 400 jobs initially, according to GM.

But workers at the Lordstown battery factory will be paid less than what vehicle assemblers make, people familiar with the arrangement said. They’ll be compensated under a separate agreement from the master contract.

That contract includes offers of $11,000 ratification bonuses for senior workers, $60,000 early retirement buyouts for up to 2,060 employees and annual raises and lump-sum payouts.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-ohio, said he’s concerned the Lordstown assembly plant wasn’t part of the tentative agreement.

“We have earned the right to have a vehicle there by doing the right thing for GM,” Portman said.

Union members from Lordstown showed up at the UAW’S meeting in Detroit to protest the fate of their factory.