SATURN VISION IS UP TO THE UNION, NOW

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 14, 1993                   TAG: 9301140082
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C5   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SPRING HILL, TENN.                                LENGTH: Medium
SATURN VISION IS UP TO THE UNION, NOW
United Auto Workers at the Saturn Corp. plant voting Wednesday whether to keep a labor agreement that sets them apart from fellow union members at other Big Three auto plants.
About 5,600 workers were eligible to vote on the contract's team approach by labor and management. The contract gives rank-and-file participation in their own management and bonuses.
"It's a `yes' or `no' vote," said Dora Mack, recording secretary of UAW Local 1853. "Essentially, it says, `Do we want to keep the existing structure?' "
Dissident union members forced the vote on the contract, which industry analysts call key to the success of the innovative General Motors Corp. division. Saturn cars have won acclaim for their quality, and the division is having trouble satisfying consumers' demand for them.
The Saturn-UAW agreement is unique among the Big Three automakers, though Japanese carmakers have used the shared-responsibility approach to great advantage.
Saturn has declined to comment on the union vote, calling the matter an internal union issue.
Local union leaders, who had been unusually quiet about the referendum, opened up a bit after voting started in the plant at 6 a.m. Voting lasted through the day and results won't be known until today.
"It's just like every other thing we do here. People get involved," said Jack O'Toole, Local 1853's vice president for people systems. "We expect a heavy turnout."
O'Toole declined to predict an outcome.
Officially, local union leaders are not taking a position. But rank-and-file members said last week the leadership paid to print buttons that said "Say `yes' to the Saturn vision."
Some union members have told UAW representatives they're unhappy with the current contract that, among other things, sets up work units of six to 15 employees with a unit counselor picked by fellow team members. The counselor acts as supervisor and union representative.
One UAW member, who asked not to be identified, said some auto workers had accumulated years of seniority at other GM plants, but their seniority means little in the team concept at Saturn.
Reinstating seniority privileges would upset the work force and "change the whole concept of Saturn," a worker said. "Then Saturn wouldn't be Saturn."
Some dissatisfied workers also have drafted a slate of candidates to challenge UAW officers in a May election, another worker said.
Among the eligible workers are UAW members who came from other GM plants and will comprise a third crew starting April 1.
Two crews now each work five 10-hour shifts a week, producing 1,050 to 1,100 cars a day.
To be profitable, analysts say, Saturn needs to produce about 350,000 cars a year. The third crew would provide that capacity.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB