Despite the agreement reached last year between General Motors and the UAW, UAW Local 602 — which staffs GM’s Lansing Delta Township plant — has gone on strike, bringing production to a halt. GM’s Lansing Delta Township plant makes some of automaker’s best-selling SUVs — the GMC Acadia, Saturn Outlook and Buick Enclave.
Despite the UAW’s signing of a national contract, several local UAWs — such as Local 602 — have yet to sign local contracts. Local contracts involve specific plants, and center around absenteeism and work rules.
The news of the strikes comes on the heels of a UAW strike at Alliance Interiors — which provides interior parts for GM’s Lambda family of SUVs — which brought the Lansing Delta Township plant to a halt on Wednesday.
According to Automotive News, GM’s Lambda SUVs have been a success for the company through the first quarter of the year, despite an overall sagging market. GMC Acadia sales were up 77 percent compared to the same period last year and Saturn Outlook sales have spiked by 30 percent. The Buick Enclave wasn’t on sale during the first quarter last year, but has posted sales of 11,712 units through the first quarter of 2008.
The Lansing Delta Township plant was one of three that threatened a strike earlier this month.
