Dwayne Humphries, Chairman of UAW 276 in Arlington, reported to retirees
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The Shop Chairman of the General Motors Local in Arlington, Texas, told their retirees meeting on October 2, "The agreement is good." The retirees had a 24-page report on the historic contract offer from General Motors that had been flaming with speculation in the commercial newspapers for weeks. One of the headlines was, "Pension Gains for Current, Future Retirees." Brother Humphries thanked the retirees for helping the pickets during the short 2-day strike the week before. He mentioned later that retirees were the only picketers for the first few hours of the strike. After that, they joined the active workers to reinforce the picket lines.
Instead of getting the cuts that many newspapers had predicted, General Motors retirees actually expect to get increased bonuses and monthly pensions if the new contract is ratified nationwide. Local 276 has set their vote for October 6. Humphries summarized, "For current retirees it was pretty much a plus on everything!"
Two days earlier, on September 1, UAW Local 848 ratified a new contract with Vought Aircraft. The contract summary there indicated no significant givebacks for current retirees, even though new hires and future retirees took a significant hit. The current retirees at both UAW locals, located only a few miiles apart, are going on to other important matters. Local 276 retirees barely discussed the contract at their regular luncheon. They spent some time filling out ballots for a presidential straw poll being conducted throughout UAW Region 5.
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