By Chrissie Thompson/Detroit Free Press
UAW members plan to picket outside General Motors’ Orion Township plant this morning, as negotiations have stalled between the union and an in-house supplier owned by the Ambassador Bridge’s Moroun family.
Employees of LINC Logistics currently make $9 an hour for their work at the GM plant and lack health-care benefits, said Pat Sweeney, president of Orion’s UAW Local 5960. The workers have negotiated with the company for months for their first contract. Last month, they turned down an agreement because its proposed raises were offset by a high health-care premium, Sweeney said.
The LINC workers unanimously voted in June to strike if UAW leaders call for a walkout, but the union is still weighing that decision. A strike could affect production at the factory, which builds the Chevrolet Sonic subcompact and the Buick Verano compact.