The Tooling Class
Local 1292 members at Grand Blanc
Weld Tool Center install what they build You’ve heard the saying, “We buy what we make.” At the Grand Blanc Weld Tool Center, UAW Local 1292 members have taken this concept one step further.
Not only do they build tool systems for GM assembly plants, but they also install them, eliminating the need for subcontractors. It’s a process the company and union describe as a “win-win” situation because it saves money, keeps the work in house and is done by workers who know the tools inside and out.
Backed by its storied 65-year history (see box), the Flint-area, Mich., facility underwent a consolidation in 2003 with other UAW-represented GM and Delphi workers from Lansing and Pontiac, Mich., and Mansfield, Ohio. It now employs about 700 workers.
The plant was designated the Weld Tool Center (WTC), assembling and integrating weld tool systems for all of GM – the only one of its kind in North America.
They also produce global weld guns made of high-grade aircraft aluminum. They’re light, strong and durable. They’re global because they’re used worldwide, and the same designs built here are incorporated into the systems built at GM’s overseas facilities in Europe and elsewhere.
The idea of installing what they build has been kicking around the halls of this 1 million-square-foot plant for more than a decade. After working with other UAW local unions and GM management, it became a reality in March 2006.
“Grand Blanc is just another good example of what our skilled-trades membership can accomplish given the right support,” said UAW Vice President Cal Rapson, who directs the union’s General Motors and Skilled Trades departments. “The idea of using our own skilled trades to build and then install equipment and tooling is not new. But to go from vision to reality takes the cooperation of our membership, support from the regional directors, and the agreements made between the corporation and the UAW. This is the type of initiative we intend to continue.”
At the WTC, all workers – from skilled trades to nonskilled workers – were involved. Traveling installation teams were selected by seniority and on a voluntary basis.
The first tool install was last summer at GM’s Flint Truck and Bus plant. The second was completed in April at GM’s Lake Orion (Mich.) plant, where they build the Pontiac G6.
J.P. Reischling, with 24 years as a toolmaker, simplifies this very complex work.
“It’s sort of like that old Mousetrap game where you build it up, make sure it works properly, and then take it down and build it back up again,” said Reischling, who worked on both Flint and Orion installs. “There’s a real sense of teamwork and pride.”
According to Flint project reports, there were no injuries, customer feedback was positive, and the installation was completed on time (in about three weeks) and under budget. (Orion project reports were not available at press time.)
“As a former contractor, I know how tough it was to convince them (management) to allow us to do this. But in the end, it just makes sense,” said Mike Fraley, a pipe fitter for 22 years and part of the 30-member Flint install team.
Skilled-tradesmen Jim Rubis and Ron Stafford are part of Orion’s own Project Team, which also includes millwright Mike Puckett and toolmaker Gary Graham.
Both of UAW Local 5960, Rubis, a 36-year electrician, and Stafford, a 35-year pipe fitter, followed the project from beginning to end. They walked through the plant to check infrastructure in advance of the install and worked with the WTC tradesmen during actual tool making.
“The beauty of the whole thing is that we knew them from the beginning,” said Rubis. “It’s better than using a contractor because we can’t tell contractors what to do. They just install it, and we inspect it later. But these guys improved on their initial tool (testing) integration at Grand Blanc. That’s pretty impressive.”
Stafford said they were somewhat reluctant about how the company would deal with UAW members from another GM facility coming to Orion to do the work.
“You wonder how the whole plant will react, but all of the skilled tradesmen embraced it. Our people helped their people, and they were real pleased to get our input,” Stafford said.
Said toolmaker Ken Collins, a 26-year veteran and member of the Orion team: “We’ve shown that several trades can work together and get along as a team without problems.”
Orion was a bigger job, said truck driver Danny Glasstetter, a 30-year UAW member, “but we learned lessons from the first job in Flint and gained confidence with Orion.”
Millwright Ray Torok, a 28-year member, agreed. “It all went up very smoothly. At Orion the chief engineer was so pleased that he was sad to see us go.”
