WENTZVILLE, Mo. — General Motors is using salaried workers at its Wentzville plant to fill absences amid the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the union to file grievances against the automaker.
"We have had salaried employees working the line," GM spokesman Jim Cain told the Detroit Free Press, which first reported the news Tuesday. "The team on the ground in Wentzville is trying to navigate a very difficult situation to keep the plant operating, while accommodating employees who are not showing up to work due to concern of COVID."
The United Auto Workers issued a warning to GM, accusing it of violating a clause in their 2019 contract by placing salaried workers in union jobs, the Detroit News reports.
“We strenuously object to GM doing this,” UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg told the publication.
As of June, GM said it employed 4,148 people in Wentzville. About 1,250 employees work on each of three shifts at the local plant, producing the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize trucks and Chevy Express and GMC Savana full-size vans.
The automaker has had difficulty staffing all three shifts as it works to rebuild its inventory of the trucks after having suspended operation for nearly two months due to the pandemic. It resumed three shifts in late May, but in July said it would temporarily cut its third shift "to operate as efficiently as possible and accommodate team members who are not reporting to work due to concerns about COVID-19 increases in our local communities."
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