Old Versus New at GM

As General Motors Co. gears up to add a third shift at its Allen County assembly plant in April, up to 19 Fort Wayne electricians might be bumped onto the production floor.

The workers would be transferred to make room for more senior electricians from Pontiac, Mich.

Union officials are trying to persuade GM to keep all the employees working as electricians, said Orval Plumlee, president of United Auto Workers Local 2209, which represents workers at the plant.

A provision in the UAW contract with GM allows workers at GM’s plant in Pontiac, which closed last year, to bump less-senior workers in Fort Wayne because trucks that were made in Pontiac will now be built in Fort Wayne. Workers in other positions don’t stand to be bumped because enough openings will be created by the new shift to accommodate Pontiac workers who want to make the move, Plumlee said.

Being bumped from electrician to production worker would mean a decrease in pay, but Plumlee declined to say how much. Electricians should know within weeks whether they’re being bumped, Plumlee said.
Germany’s Siemens to cut 4,200 jobs

German industrial conglomerate Siemens AG said Thursday it will cut 4,200 jobs worldwide at its information technology unit as it restructures the business.

The company wants to put Siemens IT Solutions and Services, or SIS, “on a solid long-term foundation,” acting Chief Executive Christian Oecking said.

The plan calls for the job cuts – out of a current workforce of 35,000 – to be made by 2011, Siemens said in a statement. About 2,000 of the job cuts will come in Germany.

The company “will exhaust all possibilities for voluntary measures” and will immediately open consultations with employee representatives, Siemens said. It added that it hopes to achieve some of the cuts by not renewing temporary contracts.
Regional program aims to retain jobs

The Northeast Indiana Foundation on Thursday announced NE Insider, a program intended to keep jobs in the region and help employers to expand.

The mission of NE Insider will be to connect businesses with resources such as training grants, assistance with infrastructure improvements and zoning changes.

Economic development organizations in Allen, Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley counties will participate in the program.
Hooters employees cite work, wage issues

Three dozen current and former Hooters workers are suing over work and wage violations, saying they were forced to buy their own uniforms and work without pay.

Attorneys representing the former and current employees filed two lawsuits seeking class-action status Tuesday in Sacramento, Calif., and Los Angeles. They follow a lawsuit filed in San Francisco last year.

The plaintiffs say the Atlanta-based franchise required them to buy their own uniforms and work off the clock and failed to provide lunch breaks as required by law. The lawsuits say managers skimmed money from tips.

The national restaurant chain, which has a Fort Wayne location, did not immediately return an e-mailed request for comment Wednesday.