UAW reaches deals with Navistar, Clark County engineer’s office

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Navistar, union motor along at local plant

The Springfield News-Sun  /  September 5, 2016

A local union representing more than 1,500 area residents is seeing growth just a few years after local officials feared Navistar’s Springfield facility might close.

Instead, union leaders and company officials worked together and recently secured two major deals with GM expected to bring about 600 jobs to Springfield. Navistar has seen signs of success in Clark County after the company has faced struggles in recent years due to a failed engine technology. As recently as 2010, local officials have said the Springfield facility had as few as 300 workers.

But the company has since changed its top management, cut hundreds of jobs at its corporate offices and sold off parts of its business. The Springfield facility has benefited, and had closer to 1,500 workers even before the company announced two separate joint agreements with GM. In part that’s because of the relationship union officials have forged with the company’s top management, said Jason Barlow, president of the UAW Local 402, which represents most of the facility’s workers.

“At the end of the day, we have to keep our membership building quality products for our customers or we won’t have jobs,” Barlow said.

Last year, the truckmaker announced a deal with GM to build medium-duty trucks in Springfield with a pledge to add as many as 300 jobs over three years. This summer, the company reached a second deal with GM to add an additional 300 jobs in which workers will build a cutaway model of GM’s G Van beginning early next year.

The company has already begun to ramp up hiring, and will reopen a manufacturing line in Springfield that had been closed since about 2001 to build the vans. The company is now hiring between 20 and 25 people per week in preparation for new production, Barlow said. That means a boost for the union’s membership as well, many of whom joined the UAW since 2011.

“We feel this is a much-needed boost and reassurance, and Navistar said they want to make this a flagship facility,” Barlow said of the Springfield plant.

Another change could be on the horizon. Rueters reported Monday that Volkswagen will take a roughly 20 percent stake in Navistar International Corp for around $16 per share as part of a partnership deal.

Reuters reported that Volkswagen’s trucks division is close to announcing a partnership with Navistar, in the latest example of a deal driven by emissions regulations. Navistar officials could not be reached for additional comments on Monday.

In June, Navistar announced it turned a small profit for the first time since the third quarter of 2012. Analysts said the achievement was significant but should be kept in perspective because the company also lowered its estimate for future earnings.

Navistar is expected to release its third quarter earnings report later this week.

 

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UAW reaches deals with Navistar, Clark County engineer’s office

Springfield News-Sun  /  November 14, 2016

The United Auto Workers Local 402 has ratified a deal for more than 100 workers at Springfield’s Navistar facility, and reached an agreement with employees in the Clark County Engineer’s Office.

The two most recent agreements would mean all four of the UAW’s bargaining units are currently under contract, said Jason Barlow, president of the UAW Local 402. The units include Navistar’s Springfield production facility, Navistar’s Truck Specialty Center Bargaining Unit, the Clark County Engineer’s office and Akzo Nobel Paint in Springfield.

The UAW Local 402 represents more than 1,100 Navistar workers at its Springfield plant.

Hourly workers in the county engineer’s office were scheduled to vote on ratify a proposed three-year contract Monday evening, and no further details were immediately available. That deal, which covers about 25 workers, included changes in overtime pay, clothing allowances and other benefits, as well as raises each year of the deal, Barlow said.

Members of Navistar’s Truck Specialty Center Bargaining Unit also recently ratified a four-year contract with Navistar, covering workers at the company’s Springfield facility, Barlow said. The unit represents 131 UAW mechanics who perform truck modifications and pre-delivery inspection service on two shifts.

“This year was kind of a perfect storm,” Barlow said of the recent contracts.

The union and company reached a deal in October just as the previous contract was set to expire. The new agreement includes wage increases each year of the contract, a new training program for workers, offers a $2,000 signing bonus and strengthens the 401K retirement program for workers, Barlow said. The contract also includes some changes in work rules sought by the company, he said.

“In all reality, this was not a concessionary agreement,” Barlow said.

Overall, Navistar employs more than 1,500 workers at its Springfield plant, and thousands of retirees also live in the area. The company recently struck a new deal with Volkswagen in which the German firm pledged to buy a roughly 17 percent stake in Navistar and invest as much as $256 million in the manufacturer.

Employment has been steadily growing locally after the truckmaker previously announced two separate deals to build GM vehicles in Springfield.

The company is having a non-production week this week, Barlow said, in part due to light demand in the heavy truck market. Navistar’s competitors have laid workers off, he said, while Navistar has instead decided to implement down time for workers.

“We’re one of the only heavy truck groups in the U.S. that doesn’t have people on long-term layoff,” Barlow said.

The union leader is optimistic work at the facility will increase and he said the company is preparing to begin production as part of the joint agreement with GM in January or early February.

“That will bring some additional job security to Springfield,” Barlow said.

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