Union files charges against Chrysler

The local UAW branch files an unfair labor practice charge over temporary workers

By Alex Gary
ROCKFORD REGISTER STAR
Click here for more information about Alex Gary

BELVIDERE — The number of temporary workers building the Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass continues to dwindle even as the battle over their use in the first place heats up.

The National Labor Relations Board is the latest entity being drawn into the dispute over the use of two-year temporary workers at DaimlerChrysler’s assembly plant in Belvidere.

In October, Tom Littlejohn, president of United Auto Workers Local 1268, filed an unfair labor practice charge against DaimlerChrysler for negotiating with the international UAW to change the contract covering Belvidere employees without including local representatives.

T

The charge comes to light a week after a Lake County woman, Kathy Hungness, filed suit in U.S. District Court in Chicago alleging breach of contract by the international UAW, UAW Local 1268 and DaimlerChrysler. Hungness was one of the 600 workers classified by the company as “enhanced temporary employees” with far fewer rights and benefits as her more tenured coworkers. Of the 600, 100 were eliminated in September and 90 more are being let go this month.

The unfair labor practice charge before the NLRB appears to be unique, a labor law expert says. It alleges in 2003 international UAW officials agreed to changes in the contract that covered workers at Belvidere with DaimlerChrysler without including UAW Local 1268 negotiators in the process.

Those negotiations led to the company pouring $419 million in the plant to retool it to build three new models. It also allowed the company to interpret a clause in the contract governing the use of temporary workers to mean it could hire workers on two-year contracts with no guarantee of future work and giving DaimlerChrysler the right to end the contract at any time.

Previously, temporary workers were hired for no more than 119 days.

“The UAW is known for centralized bargaining, so it’s not unusual that the UAW handled the situation in that way,” said Michael LeRoy, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law. “It’s unusual but not unprecedented for locals to get into disputes with the international. The A.E. Staley lockout (of the mid-1990s in Decatur) was similar. In that case, the local ended up breaking away and joining another union.

“But I have not seen it result in an unfair labor practice charge before the NLRB.”

NLRB officials said they are investigating the charge and expect to hand down a preliminary determination by the end of January. But LeRoy said final decisions are often appealed and take “years to decide.”

Michael Palese of Chrysler’s legal communications division said the charge before the NLRB is “without merit and we are confident we will prevail.” Littlejohn did not return phone calls. He has not been talking to the media since late August after giving an interview to Crain’s Communications Inc., which publishes Automotive News.

This summer, Daimler-Chrysler added 600 workers under the “enhanced temporary employee” classification to beef up the work force as the plant moved to three shifts. Many were new hires, but some were workers hired in 119-day temporary positions who were forced to sign the two-year deals.

Of those 600, 100 were let go in September because of a lack of need as the more tenured workers finished taking vacations. An additional 90 are being let go as “part of the normal plant efficiency process,” Chrysler spokesman Michelle Tinson said by e-mail Tuesday night.

Hungness, who used to live in Oregon, was among the workers eliminated in September and she is seeking class-action status for her lawsuit. Hungness and other current and former temporary workers scheduled a Sunday benefit in Rockford to raise money for the legal battle.

The Belvidere plant employs about 3,600 workers who assemble the Jeep Compass and Dodge Caliber and beginning this month, the Jeep Patriot. The company is the largest manufacturing employer in the area with an annual payroll of about $200 million.

Assistant Business Editor Alex Gary may be reached at agary@rrstar.com or at 815-987-1339