Cooper-Standard Automotive in Auburn is talking with union officials about ways to help "offset the downturn" in the economy, the company's vice president of communications, Sharon Wenzel, said Thursday.
The company is asking for temporary pay cuts, a one-year freeze on pensions and a temporary vacation pay freeze, said Todd Chester, president of United Steel Workers of America Local 634L, which represents hourly employees at Cooper-Standard.
Chester and other union officials traveled to Cooper-Standard's headquarters in Novi, Mich., Monday and Tuesday to discuss actions. Chester said management at headquarters was "very gracious and never threatened to close our plant."
"They're asking for a six-month, 10-percent pay cut," said Chester, who added that the average salary of hourly workers is $17 per hour.
Currently, approximately 180 hourly workers are employed at the Auburn facility, although Chester said it normally functions with about 330 employees.
Cooper-Standard is negotiating for a temporary pension freeze, which Chester said, would last for one year. Company employees receive at least $41 per month as part of a defined pension plan. Monthly pension contributions are determined by multiplying years of service by $41. During the year that the pension would be frozen, no one would accumulate seniority, he said. Cooper-Standard employees do not contribute to the pension, and they have a 401(k) retirement plan.
Cooper-Standard also is asking the union to consider a temporary vacation pay freeze. Typically, the company pays an employee's vacation in advance pay by the end of January for the entire year. The amount of vacation time an employee receives depends on years of service, but typically employees receive between one and six weeks.
"This isn't just an issue for Auburn," said Chester, who added that Cooper-Standard's facility in Bowling Green, Ohio, is addressing the same issue.
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