More than 850 UAW janitorial workers strike GM plants in Michigan, Ohio

DETROIT – More than 850 Aramark janitorial workers at five plants in Michigan and Ohio walked off the job at midnight on Sunday while the 2015 national labor contract between the UAW and General Motors expired. 

UAW-represented auto workers, told Saturday to continue on the job without a new contract, crossed picket lines early Sunday morning as UAW-represented Aramark workers struck outside. Members voiced their displeasure over the decision, according to media reports and online communication from local leaders. 

The issue became a moot point by the end of the day -- the UAW declared a national strike against GM and walked off the job at 11:59 p.m. EDT.. 

While union-represented auto workers were told to continue on the job without a new contract, the janitorial workers who struck had been operating on an extended contract since March of 2018.

Aramark maintenance workers in Hamtramck, Warren, Flint and Grand Blanc in Michigan, along with Parma, Ohio, were affected, according to a union press release. Issues included wages, health insurance, vacation time and 401K.

“Every day, UAW members go to work and keep these plants profitable,” UAW Region 1 Director Frank Stuglin said in a statement. “It’s astounding that Aramark has not agreed to bargain in good faith over their contributions.”

Aramark workers at the Detroit-Hamtramck GM assembly plant were on the picket line Sunday on Trombly Street. 

Consuela Moses-Gellum, who cleans and does maintenance at the assembly plant, said job security is on the forefront of her demands.

Her original team of 40 co-workers, Moses-Gellum said, is now just 13 and is still “getting the job done.”

“We’re on a skeleton shift,” she said. “If we’re still getting the job done I believe that we deserve something.”

“We’ve been without a contact for a year and a half,” Moses-Gellum said. “We’re not standing for it no more. It’s time to move … It’s time for action.”

Moses-Gellam, who has worked at the plant for over eight years, said the old contract’s benefit and wage promises don’t keep up with the cost of living.

“We’ve been at a freeze for eight years,” she said. “Everything’s going up except our paychecks. We don’t want to be at a standstill when we’re doing skilled jobs.”

At GM's Flint, Mich., assembly plant, which just launched a new heavy-duty pickup, UAW Local 598 leaders told members employed directly by GM they should report to work, crossing picket lines set up by fellow Local 598 members who work for Aramark. But union members could choose not to cross those lines, Reuters reported.

The Flint heavy-duty pickup is vital to GM's profits. The UAW could call local strikes that target plants critical to production of large pickups and sport utility vehicles as an alternative to a company-wide strike that would more quickly drain union strike funds.

“We have UAW members who work long, hard hours and are still on public assistance,” Gerald Kariem, director of UAW Region 1D, said in a statement. “It’s shameful.”

GM, in a one-sentence statement, said: “We have contingency plans in place to cover any potential disruptions.”

Reuters contributed to this report.