Statement of UAW Region 2B Director Wayne Blanchard on Collins Aerospace Lockout and Refusal to Bargain in Good Faith for Troy Area Workers and Families
March 29, 2020 – Since January, General Motors has been taking decisive action around the world to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The health and safety of our employees, and everyone who enters our facilities, is our top priority. We can confirm that a FWA employee who has been absent from the plant since March 17, 2020 has a confirmed case of COVID-19/coronavirus. This employee did not have close contact with anyone on the plant floor.
Here are some important facts about the case: • We were notified of this diagnosis late in the afternoon of March 26, 2020. • We have been in contact with the employee, and the employee has been receiving medical care. • The employee’s last day worked was March 16, 2020 (the employee has been out of the plant since this date). • GM has contacted the 9 people who had close contact with this employee and have asked them to complete self-quarantine through March 31st (14 days after last close contact with affected employee). No one else is required to self-quarantine. • None of the 9 employees who had close contact have reported any symptoms of COVID-19. • GM has cleaned all areas / surfaces with which the affected employee came into contact.
Based on advice from our Medical team, when we are notified that an employee has tested positive for the coronavirus, we will only send site-wide communications if that employee has had close contact with other employees at the work site within 48 hours of exhibiting symptoms. Contact tracing will be conducted to identify close contacts and notify them of their potential exposure.
Please continue to take appropriate hygiene and social distancing measures as we work together to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Continue to monitor Socrates for all company information.
Thank you for your support.
Sisters and Brothers,
We have been notified today that two more members of our UAW family have fallen to the virus. One member worked at Ford Motor Company Dearborn Stamping and a skilled trades brother who worked at the Ford Data Center in Dearborn, Michigan. Our prayers and support go out to their families and communities.
My Brothers and Sisters,
As always, I want to recognize and thank all of the brave men and women on the front lines of this crisis and extend my sincere sympathies to any one of us who is sick, or struggling with family or financial issues or loss in these difficult, dark days.
In my message today, I want to report that we got some good news on several fronts.
This is an urgent message to our UAW family. I am reaching out to ask for your support in reporting fatalities related to COVID-19 among our members to the UAW Health and Safety Department.
As a union, we are tasked with the essential role of protecting the health and safety of our coworkers. As the pandemic continues to impact our workplaces, we need to stay informed and take the actions needed to protect the lives of our members. We are receiving increasing number of reports of fatalities and critically ill members. It is important that we track these illnesses.
We are asking for this information because:
We want to ensure that any deaths from work-related exposure to the virus are properly reported to OSHA.
We need this information to learn everything we can about how to fight back against this pandemic.
We want to recognize our fallen members and offer our condolences to their families.
These are challenging times, but we will get through this together. Please support your loved ones, your union family, and your communities during this crisis.
Please report any cases to the President’s Office through the Health and Safety Department attention:
Brett Fox, BFOX@UAW.net.
Andrew Comai, ACOMAI @UAW.net.
Thank you.
In Solidarity,
Rory
Statement of UAW Vice President Terry Dittes Director of the UAW GM Department on Efforts to Produce Ventilators During the Nationwide Coronavirus Pandemic
DETROIT -- “We are happy to work with GM during this pandemic for the health and safety and good of our Nation as we collaborate towards the production of ventilators. The UAW has a proud history of stepping up in times of national emergency.