WENTZVILLE — Nearly 500 workers at Lear Corp.’s Wentzville plant walked off the job this week for the second time in two years to protest the company’s handling of employee health and safety concerns.
The strike, which officially began at midnight Sunday, has halted production at GM’s nearby Wentzville assembly plant since Monday morning when it became clear that no more Lear-made seats were available to install in the vehicles, said Bill Hugeback, president of UAW Local 282, which represents about 460 Lear workers.
The Lear plant produces seats for several Chevrolet models.
“Some of the larger health and safety issues that drove us to strike back then have been sort of addressed, but they also haven’t been addressed,” Hugeback told the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday. He said workers at the plant have developed severe back and knee pain, as well as carpal tunnel syndrome, due to the monotonous work on the assembly line.
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“This type of work is very labor-intensive and requires many hours of work with many small screws and torque wrenches,” he said. “It’s physically demanding.”
Assembly line worker Sheila Buckley tries to keep her cool on the picket line as members of United Auto Workers Local 282 strike against Lear, a manufacturer of auto and truck seats in Wentzville, on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
Robert Cohen, Post-Dispatch
On Tuesday, Lear employees marched down the street in front of the Lear plant carrying signs protesting the company and supporting the United Autoworkers union.
Vehicles blocked the entrances to Lear’s employee parking lot, which was empty Tuesday morning. Protesting workers danced to music, played cornhole and celebrated while a steady stream of motorists leaving other nearby auto parts manufacturing factories honked or waved at them.
In a statement, Lear said its representatives “have been negotiating in good faith with the UAW for some time to reach a new collective agreement.”
“With over 100 years of experience in the automotive industry, we are proud of our successful relationships with our employees and union partners. We remain committed to reaching an agreement that benefits all parties,” the company said in a statement.
Lear’s statement was sharply criticized by UAW officials, including Brandon Campbell, director of UAW Region 4.
“Shame on Lear for failing to reach a fair settlement with the 500 members of UAW Local 282 who are now forced to strike for their fair share,” Campbell said. “The company had plenty of time to make things right, but instead spent half a billion dollars on stock buybacks and dividends last year. Now Wentzville Assembly is on the ground because Lear refuses to negotiate a fair deal.”
The GM Wentzville plant employs approximately 4,100 people, of whom about 3,700 are union members represented by UAW Local 2250. The plant is one of GM’s largest manufacturing sites in the United States.
GM released a statement on Tuesday calling on both sides to quickly resolve their differences.
“We can confirm that GM’s Wentzville Assembly Plant has been impacted by parts shortages due to a labor dispute at one of our suppliers,” the statement said. “We hope both sides work quickly to resolve their issues so we can resume our regular production schedule to support our customers.”
Hugeback said GM workers – who had just ended their 45-day strike last fall – visited the Lear picket line and offered striking workers food and bottled water. Others drove by and raised their fists in solidarity with the workers.
Every passing motorist expressing support for the striking workers lifted the spirits of Kevin Hummel of rural Jonesburg, who has worked for Lear since December 2020.
“This shows me that they are behind us. They are another reason why unions are still important today. When workers stand together, good things happen,” Hummel said.
Lear production worker Abigail Fletcher supports the picket line on her minibike as members of United Auto Workers Local 282 continue their strike against the auto and truck seat manufacturer in Wentzville on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.
Robert Cohen, Post-Dispatch
Fifteen months ago, Lear workers went on strike for about two days to protest other safety concerns. This time, UAW officials had been negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement for the past 45 days, demanding higher wages and better health benefits for Lear workers. But by Sunday it became clear that negotiations had stalled, and workers were striking as the previous contract was about to expire, union officials said.
Also on the picket line Tuesday was Timothy Walston of Wentzville, who said he was proud of the UAW and its commitment to workers.
“I was worried when I first heard about the impending strike, but when I heard the final offer the company made to us, I was ready to strike,” Walston said.
He said the company boasted to employees at the Wentzville plant that their work, in particular, would help the company achieve record profits. The company then offered employees a 45-cent-an-hour pay raise, he said.
“I think this shows exactly what they think of us as workers,” Walston said. “This company needs to wake up. The days of them treating their employees like dirt are over. We can barely pay our bills and barely put food on the table to feed our families. They need to pay us more.”
