Almost as quickly as it began, the strike at Nexteer Automotive is over. The walkout, which lasted less than 48 hours, had its top customer, General Motors, sweating it out for a while.
Nexteer produces components for GM’s full-size pickup trucks produced at the maker’s plant in Flint, Michigan, which is less than an hour from the supplier’s plant in Saginaw. The new deal, which addresses the workers concerns about pay and health care, goes to a vote later this week.
“Following an interruption in production on Dec. 8, 2015, employees have resumed regular schedules as Nexteer and the UAW have reached a new tentative agreement,” Mark Decker, vice president and chief human resources officer of Nexteer, said in a statement.
The first contract saw went down to defeat on Dec. 6, when more than 97% of UAW Local 699 workers voted no and shortly thereafter on Dec. 8, they went on strike. UAW’s leadership rejected the second contract offer presented by Nexteer because it did not go far enough in meeting the objections of Nexteer’s workers.
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The 3,200 hourly employees at the company are now back reporting back to work.
“We are pleased the issues between Nexteer and the UAW were resolved,” GM said in a statement, reported the Detroit Free Press.
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The plant had once been part of General Motors Corp. and then Delphi Automotive before being sold to Chinese investors in 2010. The complex in Saginaw is the center of its manufacturing operations as well as its chief engineering center.
Nexteer Automotive is a $3-billion dollar company that builds electric and hydraulic steering systems, steering columns and driveline products for manufacturers in North and South America as well as Europe and China.
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The company has 20 manufacturing plants, six engineering centers and 14 customer service centers strategically located in North and South America, Europe and Asia. Nexteer serves more than 60 customers worldwide, including GM, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford Motor Co., Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroen, as well as automakers in India, China and South America.
