Autoworkers Call In Sick at Missouri Chrysler Plant

10/01/96

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that almost 500 autoworkers at Chrysler's van plant in Fenton, Missouri participated in a sickout last Thursday to protest Chrysler's plan to layoff workers.

Glenn Shagena, human resources manager at the plant said that 75 employees at the Fenton plant had already been laid off, and that Chrysler planned to cut an additional 100 to 150 workers by the end of the year. Shagena said the layoffs have nothing to do with demand for the minivans the plant produces, which are the top selling minivans in the country. He explained that the company would fire the "extra" people it hired to limit snags in production when it re-opened the Fenton plant to start making minivans last year. He said that Chrysler no longer needed the workers, since they helped the company work the kinks out of their van assembly process. "All we're doing now is leveling down," he said.

Shagena said that laid off workers might be able to work at Chrysler's Fenton truck plant, provided sales of the Ram trucks pick up. He also noted that some of the laid off workers might be re-hired at the minivan plant when older workers retire.

The Post-Dispatch reported that 470 workers were absent from Thursday's first shift, nearly double the normal number of workers who call in sick. About 2,400 people work on each of the plant's two shifts, building 1,300 minivans for Chrysler everyday.

Shagena said Thursday's production was delayed for several hours while management at the plant scrambled to move workers from other areas of the plant to the assembly departments that were hardest hit by the absenteeism. The plant management required employees who did show up to work an extra hour to try and make up for the delay.

One worker suggested that the layoffs were meant to intimidate workers as contract talks begin: "they want to keep everyone on edge," said the longtime employee, who asked not to be identified.

Local 110 of the UAW represents the workers at the van plant, but could not be reached for comment.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel