Although most foreign automakers are not saddled with the responsibility of a unionized workforce, Mitsubishi i s now experiencing some of the headaches the Big Three are all too familiar with. UAW Local 2488 – which staffs Mitsubishi ’s Normal, Illinois plant – has voted whether to strike but is not revealing the result of the vote until August 28th.
Due to slumping U.S. sales, Mitsubishi has extended the UAW’s contract twice in the last three years, but it looks as though the situation is finally coming to a head. The August 28th announcement coincides with the UAW’s contract deadline.
Despite the three year extension, Mitsubishi and its Normal plant are still struggling in a tough U.S. market. The plant was originally intended to produce 240,000 vehicles per year, but will likely only produce 68,000 units this year. The Normal plant produces the Eclipse sports car, Galant sedan and Endeavor SUV. A strike would involve 1,300 hourly workers.
According to Automotive News, Mitsubishi’s Normal plant is one of only four North American auto manufacturing plants that is both unionized and owned or partly owned by a foreign automaker.
