Lear workers get the right mix for a new contract

Photo: PAMELA LUTHER / UAW LOCAL 129

The solidarity of UAW Local 129 members at Lear Corp. paid off with a new contract. Among those who took shifts on the picket line were, left to right, seated, Sandra Parks, Cherri Moore and Subrina Greer; standing, Darryl Jefferson, Clyde Jackson, Diana Salazar, Mark Wang, Edward Hatley and Michelle Edwards.

In July, with temperatures soaring to 105 degrees, UAW Local 129 members at Lear Corp. found themselves locked out of their plant and replaced by temporary workers after having worked without a contract for nearly three months.

"It was not good," said Maverick Gayden, bargaining chair. "It had to be the hottest week of the year, and what the company was offering would have taken away almost everything we had."

That was July 19. A week later a new contract was on the table, and the 675 workers approved it by 97 percent and headed back to work.

But how they got there shows that solidarity makes a difference.

Workers at the Arlington, Texas, plant make seats and interior components for the sport utility vehicles General Motors Co. builds at its nearby truck assembly plant.

"It was a fight, and our members were willing to fight for what we felt was decent and fair," said Local 129 member and trustee Felecia Smith.

Their contract expired in April, but the union and company agreed to work under the existing contract while continuing negotiations. In early July the company imposed its final contract offer, which included wage freezes, pay cuts for some workers and drastically cut benefits.

The union said no.

The company erected barricades and had police meet union workers at the gate. Their work was farmed out to temporary help and salaried Lear workers.

UAW members grabbed picket signs, took shifts that started as early as 5 a.m. and ended at midnight, and protested the unfair treatment. Gayden estimated that about 250 workers and supporters showed up for each shift.

"Each day we had more people show up than the day before," said Gayden. "Local merchants would stop and bring goods. Some vendors wouldn't cross the picket lines, and cars and trucks rode by blowing their horns in support."

The company agreed to go back to the bargaining table, and on July 23 they announced a tentative agreement covering the Arlington workers and members of UAW Local 282 at Lear's seating facility in Wentzville, Mo.

"Our bargaining committee worked long and hard for this agreement," said UAW Region 5 Director Jim Wells. "We believe this contract serves the best interests of our members and communities."

"We got a good deal, especially in times like these," said Local 129 member Kemba Green.

And following the contract ratification, 37 nonunion Lear workers from the Arlington plant – a majority of unrepresented workers there – signed union cards.

"You can see that it was the union that made the difference. If we had not fought for a fair contract, everything we had would have been gone," Gayden said.

"All the ingredients were there," he added. "It was like when you bake a cake. We just had to go through the heat to come out well done. It was worth the fight."

Sandra Davis