IAM Local 698 and 475 (District 60) members from Michigan are getting ready to negotiate with Cummins, Inc., for a new collective bargaining agreement in April. The unit consists of 160 members who work out of five plants in Dearborn, Grand Rapids, Mt. Clemens, New Hudson, and Saginaw, Michigan.
Several of the six-person negotiating team members recently traveled to the IAM’s Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, Md. The team covered committee responsibilities and ground rules, developing a bargaining calendar, bargaining surveys, research for negotiations, power analysis, contract & proposal costing, drafting contract language, presenting proposals, membership communication, and membership mobilization strategies.
Watch the video report here.
“The team has worked extremely hard for the upcoming negotiations, and I’m very proud of their work,” said IAM Automotive Director Craig Hughes. “We are fully prepared to fight for what our membership deserves.”
Local 698 member Dustin Bennett, one of the negotiations team members, worked on contract proposals and sat through simulated negotiations.
“Everyone on the team is looking towards negotiations,” said Bennett. “We’re very prepared and looking to get the best collective bargaining contract for the membership.”