General Motors, Ford Motors Offers Temporary Workers Full-Time Promotions

Paula Liu
By Paula Liu
January 9, 2020Business News
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General Motors, Ford Motors Offers Temporary Workers Full-Time Promotions
A General Motors assembly worker loads engine block castings on to the assembly line at the GM Romulus Powertrain plant in Romulus, Mich., on Aug. 21, 2019. (Rebecca Cook/AP/File)

General Motors (GM) promoted nearly 1,000 of its part-time temporary workers to full-time staff, according to multiple reports.

As reported by USA Today, GM gave promotions to roughly 930 temporary workers at 30 of its 52 facilities in the United States that were represented by the United Automobile Workers (UAW), and according to the news outlet, more promotions are expected in the coming months.

In addition, the Ford Motor Co. had also handed out promotions to temporary workers to its 592 workers, giving them permanent placements in the company, according to the UAW. This is a part of a contract that GM made with UAW as a result of a 40-day strike that had taken place in October 2019, the news outlet reported.

According to the contract agreed on by GM and UAW, GM workers who have been with the company for at least three years will automatically be promoted to full-time positions, and a similar terms were established with Ford Motors. However, this means that temporary workers who didn’t hit this mark will have to wait until that three-year mark, leaving their position in the company uncertain, USA Today reported.

One of the longtime workers at the company, Adarrey Humphrey, recalled the local’s president saying, “As of tomorrow, you guys are full-time seniority employees of GM.”

Most of the workers thought that they were gathered for a routine meeting, but were pleasantly surprised by the good news.

“There was a gasp in the room for a few seconds. Some of us thought he misspoke. Then we had to say, ‘No, we heard him right!’ It was amazing,” Humphrey recalled.

Fox Business reported that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will also be undergoing similar job promotions.

GM praised its newly promoted workers, calling them “great, experienced employees.”

Ford Motor explained it was important to have temporary employees working in order to “help keep our plants running efficiently,” a Ford spokesperson told FOX Business. “We are pleased to be able to offer them full-time employment at this time, consistent with our collective bargaining agreement.”

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