UAW Members at NUMMI Ratify New Four-Year Labor Agreement

    DETROIT, Aug. 6 Members of UAW Local 2244 voted to ratify
a new four-year labor agreement with New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.
(NUMMI) by a four-to-one margin.  Seventy-nine percent of members voted in
favor of the new agreement during a meeting on Sunday, August 5, at UAW Local
2244 in Fremont, California.
    Approximately 4,000 UAW members of UAW Local 2244 work at NUMMI's Fremont
facility, a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota.  The previous
agreement had expired at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 4.
    "This is an excellent agreement which keeps our members at NUMMI on par
with the rest of the auto industry," said UAW President Stephen P. Yokich.
"Our bargaining team worked diligently during these negotiations, and they
really delivered for our membership."
    "We've accomplished the goals we set for ourselves at the start of these
negotiations," said UAW Vice President Nate Gooden, who directs the union's
Transnational Department.  "We want to be certain that our members work in a
safe environment and are compensated for the quality and productivity they
deliver on a daily basis."
    "This contract means increased income for our members and for our
retirees," said Art Torres, Chairman of the UAW Local 2244 Bargaining
Committee.  "We also set up a new training fund, and improved our health and
safety programs.  It was a team effort, and we're all really proud of the
results."
    The new agreement includes a $1,450 lump sum payment for UAW NUMMI
workers, and a three percent wage increase in each of the four years of the
agreement.  The contract increases pension benefits for future retirees, and
boosts the company's contribution to worker's 401(k) savings plans.  In
addition, current retirees will receive lump sum payments of $550 in each of
the four years of the agreement, for a total of $2,200, while surviving
spouses will receive $330 in each of the four years, for a total of $1,520.
    Under the terms of the new agreement, UAW NUMMI workers with at least ten
years of service will now be able to retire at age 62 with full pension and
health benefits.  The previous agreement required a reduced benefit for those
who opted for early retirement.
    The new agreement also includes an improved Cost-of-Living Allowance
(COLA) formula which will provide better protection against inflation for UAW
members at NUMMI.  The formula will now provide a one-cent COLA increase for
every 0.25 change in the quarterly average of the Consumer Price Index for
Wage Earners (CPI-W).  The formula in the expired UAW NUMMI agreement required
a 0.26 change before a one-cent increase went into effect.
    The new agreement improves health and safety protections for UAW NUMMI
workers in a number of areas, including the creation of an ergonomics task
force to be staffed by eight full-time UAW members.  Task force members, who
will be paid by NUMMI, will evaluate production jobs for ergonomic hazards and
recommend and implement necessary changes.  In addition, the new agreement
enhances air quality standards in the Fremont plant, and establishes a joint
health and safety research fund.
    The new agreement also includes, for the first time, a joint activity fund
at NUMMI, which will commence in the fourth year of the agreement.  Similar to
programs at the Big Three automakers, the program will include jointly
developed education and training programs, tuition assistance for UAW NUMMI
workers and their dependents, and child care subsidies.  It will be financed
through financial penalties to be paid by NUMMI when excessive overtime is
assigned to UAW members.
    Election Day will be a paid holiday for UAW NUMMI workers in 2002 and 2004
under the terms of the new agreement, similar to a provision in UAW contracts
with Big Three automakers.  In addition, UAW members at NUMMI who work during
holidays will now have the option of trading holiday pay for additional
vacation time.
   The new agreement runs for four years and will expire on August 6, 2005.