Workers at the General Motors plant in Linden, N.J., which faced a permanent shutdown by 2005, got yet another reprieve that would keep it open into 2007 as a result of a tentative settlement reached yesterday between the company and the United Auto Workers, a union official said. þþGuy Messina, president of Local 595 of the United Auto Workers, the union that represents workers at the 65-year-old plant, said he had been informed of that portion of the tentative settlement by officials of the international union. þþMr. Messina said that the reprieve for the plant, according to national union officials, would last the four-year term of the tentative agreement, which will be voted on by the local's membership next week.þþÿThis four years gives us time to, first, give our members some peace of mind,ÿ Mr. Messina said. ÿSecondly, it gives the company time to find a new product for us to build at this plant to keep it open even longer, and we have a gut feeling that something is in the wind.ÿ þþDan Flores, a spokesman for General Motors, would not confirm Mr. Messina's statement and said that the company would have no comment on any aspect of the tentative settlement at this time. As far as he knew, he said, the company's position remained that of closing the Linden plant by 2005. þþBut the office of Senator Jon S. Corzine, who last month urged the company to keep the plant open, said that they, too, had heard from union officials and others in Detroit, where the negotiations concluded yesterday morning, that the tentative agreement would keep the Linden plant operating for four more years. þþDavid Wald, a spokesman for Senator Corzine, said it was ÿterrific news for New Jersey, where the recession has hit hardest in manufacturing and telecommunications sectors.ÿ þþIn February 2002, G.M. officials, citing decreased demand for the two- and four-door Chevrolet Blazers and pickup trucks built at the plant, announced that they would shut it by 2004. The announcement came a month after Ford Motor Company announced plans to close its nearby Edison plant and lop off 3,000 jobs. The announcements dealt a body blow to the state's industrial midriff. þþAt the G.M. plant, the announcement meant an immediate cutback to one shift from two. This meant the loss of 1,200 of the plant's 3,000 jobs almost immediately. Among the plant's major problems, union and company officials said, was its age and that its per-unit costs were inflated by its distance from many of the Midwestern parts suppliers that the company used. þþBut five months later, taking note of an uptick in the demand for the plant's products and amid pleas and promised incentives from the administration of Gov. James E. McGreevey, the company extended the life of the Linden plant one year, to 2005. þþ
Source: NY Times
