In fact workers increasingly understand that the UAW and the AFL-CIO are not "their unions," but their enemies.
"Nobody's happy about it," plant worker Kandy O'Neill told the World Socialist Web Site. "People are going to lose their homes. The UAW is not representing us. I know it's not representing me."
With 10 years experience, O'Neill is among those facing a 50 percent pay cut, as is her husband who is also employed in the plant. It was O'Neill who was attacked by New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin in November 2008 as an example of an auto worker supposedly living in the lap of luxury with "gold-plated" and "off-the-charts" wages and benefits. (See: "Michigan GM worker answers attack by New York Times columnist").
Another worker with 10 years experience, Jose Facundo, also denounced the agreement in comments reported by the Detroit News. "It's outrageous, and we never voted on this," he said. "This was never discussed. This is not in our contract and, as far as we are concerned, it's illegal."
The UAW no longer attempts to hide that its fundamental purpose is to maximize profits for GM. Dunn told an industry journal that the wage cut is necessary so that the production of the Aveo is profitable. "It's an integral part of the plan," Dunn told Automotive News.
Workers who don't like taking 50 percent wage cuts can quit, according to the UAW. "If some of the 1,500 Lake Orion workers on layoff don't want to work for the lower wage, they can join the pool of workers seeking transfers within GM," the Detroit Free Press reported, citing a union official. There are untold thousands of workers in the UAW's "transfer pool" who have almost no chance of ever being employed by GM again.
The Lake Orion plant is currently closed for retooling. Until last year it made larger model vehicles for Chevrolet and also Pontiac, a brand that has been scrapped in the reorganization of GM. Lake Orion won a competition for production of the Chevrolet Aveo that pitted it against GM plants in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Janesville, Wisconsin. The GM plants in Spring Hill and Janesville have been shuttered.
Production of the Aveo, which GM will market as a "global brand," will also continue at its current location in South Korea.
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