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UAW Members Ratify First Contract at Mexican Industries

13 September 2000

UAW Members Ratify First Contract at Mexican Industries

    DETROIT, Sept. 12 UAW members at Mexican Industries, an
automotive parts supplier located in Southwest Detroit, voted on Sunday,
September 10 and Monday, September 11, to ratify their first collective
bargaining agreement by a 78% to 22% margin.
    The new contract, covering more than 1,300 workers at eight plants in
Detroit, includes across-the-board pay raises for all Mexican Industries
workers in the first and second years of the agreement, with a wage re-opener
in the third year.
    "This is a solid first contract," said UAW President Stephen P. Yokich.
"Workers at Mexican Industries now have the tools they need to improve their
company."
    The contract also includes increased health and dental benefits at reduced
premiums for workers and their families, thirty paid holidays during the life
of the agreement, and a first-ever negotiated grievance procedure, including
binding arbitration, to resolve workplace disputes.
        "No matter what language you speak, a union contract is the best way to
provide job security and economic opportunities for workers and their
families," said Gerald Bantom, Director of UAW Region 1A, who led the union's
bargaining team at Mexican Industries.  "Our union is going to continue to
reach out to workers from diverse backgrounds."
    "We're all very pleased with the results of these negotiations," said
union Bargaining Committee member Marilyn Lebron-Jasso, a Laser Tech Operator
at Mexican Industries' Miller plant.  "It was important for us to sit down
with the company, discuss workplace issues, and work together to find
solutions.  We're going to keep working together to make this a better company
for everybody."