3,000 Workers Walk Off Jobs at Two GM Brake Factories

DAYTON, Ohio —  About 3,000 workers went on strike Tuesday at two General Motors Corp. factories that supply brakes to nearly all the company’s assembly plants, threatening to disrupt production at the No. 1 auto maker.

Members of the United Auto Workers cited job security and worker safety concerns in walking off the job at the two Delphi Chassis System plants in Dayton. The plants produce parts used on nearly all GM cars and trucks.

Tom Klipstine, a GM spokesman in Warren, Mich., said the strike would have no immediate effect on other GM operations. A three-day strike at the plants two years ago idled five GM assembly plants.

Analysts said the latest dispute could hurt GM production if it is not resolved quickly.

Harley Shaiken, a labor professor at UC Berkeley, said GM may have been able to stockpile brakes because it has known for more than a week that a strike was possible.

“But my sense is that these are critical plants and GM will be feeling the pinch very soon,” he said. Normally, the auto maker keeps a low inventory of parts.

The workers walked out shortly after a 10 a.m. deadline they had set for resolving contract disagreements. Negotiations had continued until the start of the strike and were set to resume Wednesday morning.

Joe Hasenjager, president of the striking UAW Local 696, said one unresolved issue was outsourcing--the production of parts by outside plants or companies. The union considers the practice a threat to their jobs. GM has issued outsourcing notices that could affect 125 jobs, the union has said.

“They just want to continue to take jobs away from this plant, away from this community,” Hasenjager said.

Alan Dawes, vice president of GM’s Delphi Chassis division, said it was critical to end the strike quickly.

“However, it is imperative that any settlement not jeopardize the competitiveness of these plants and hence the job security of our employees,” Dawes said.

Gerry King, spokesman for GM’s truck assembly plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., said that plant could close temporarily if it ran out of brake parts from Dayton. He did not say how long it could operate without the parts.

Local 696 had been operating under the union’s national agreement, which expires in September. But the contract allows the union to reopen negotiations and to strike under certain circumstances.

The union originally set a Feb. 26 strike deadline, but it delayed it until Tuesday to continue negotiations.