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

DATE: MONDAY, March 21, 1994                   TAG: 9403210087
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE:  TODD JACKSON
DATELINE: DUBLIN                                LENGTH: Short

AUTO WORKERS, VOLVO GM RATIFY CONTRACT AGREEMENT

A new six-year contract was ratified Sunday afternoon by union workers at the Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corp.

The contract's approval came on a vote of 645-189, said Sherman Blankenship, president of the United Auto Workers Local 2069. The agreement will cover more than 1,100 plant workers.

The contract guarantees four rounds of pay increases for workers in two lump sums over the length of the contract. It also includes additional health-care benefits, quality bonus payouts and gain sharing, Blankenship said.

"We didn't lose any benefits [with the new contract]," he said. "Generally, I would say people are pretty pleased about it."

A three-year contract covering the Volvo workers expired at midnight March 11, but negotiators for the union and the company agreed to extend the agreement on a day-to-day basis.

"It's a good thing for this area," Blankenship said of the new contract. "Added to the possibility of the plant expanding, this means job security for a lot of workers."

by CNB