In a rare move, General Motors is delaying production by just a tiny bit of its popular and highly profitable pickups made at Flint Assembly plant so that employees can watch the Detroit Lions NFC Championship game Sunday night.
GM will start its third shift at Flint Assembly an hour late Sunday night, GM spokesman Kevin Kelly confirmed to the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday.
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Earlier in the day, some Flint workers had posted the news on social media. In the post, GM wrote: “We recognize the Detroit Lions playing in an NFC Championship game as a rare, unique opportunity that warrants this temporary schedule adjustment to allow employees to enjoy the game and to make it to work on time.”
Flint is the only plant in Michigan that GM runs a third shift on a Sunday. One person on Redditt reacted to it by writing: “In my 13+ years at GM I’ve never seen a postponement to start the week … even 2 feet of snow wouldn’t do it lol. This is for the city! Go Lions!”
GM builds its heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups at Flint, where many among the nearly 5,000 people in the workforce have been sporting Honolulu Blue and silver attire all week, UAW Local 598 Shop Chairman Eric Welter told the Free Press.
“It’s Lions gear everywhere and everyone’s pretty excited,” Welter said. “It’s a time in Michigan that hasn’t ever occurred before and I’m expecting many employers to do what they can to support that. We were probably early, but I’d imagine everyone else will do something to accommodate it.”
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Ford Motor Co. did not immediately provide a comment on whether it has any plants that may need shift adjustments for the game.
Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson sent the Free Press the following statement in an email: “Stellantis is proud of our hometown team, the Detroit Lions, and all of the excitement their victories to date have generated for the City. While we celebrate that success and root for another win against the San Francisco 49ers, Stellantis will run normal production schedules on Sunday to meet the expectations of our customers and dealers.”
Stellantis, which makes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram brands, runs the following plants on Sunday: Sterling Heights Assembly, Detroit Assembly Complex — Jefferson, Detroit Assembly Complex — Mack and Windsor, Tinson said.
Welter said about 1,500 people work third shift at Flint, which GM typically runs for nine hours. It starts the general assembly line at 10 p.m. But the Lions versus the San Francisco 49ers game starts at 6:30 p.m. this Sunday, so GM will run an 8-hour shift. While the workforce does lose an hour of pay, Welter said no one is complaining.
“They don’t want to work it anyhow, so no one is complaining about losing the hour’s pay,” Welter said. “It’s not an hour of their regular 40 hours, it’s their overtime, so they’ll make it up somewhere else.”
He noted that GM has delayed a shift start in the past for some Super Bowls. GM’s Kelly said GM has adjusted shifts for University of Michigan versus Michigan State University football games, too, at GM’s two Lansing factories.
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“We know this is a rare moment in Detroit sports history and we want our team to savor the moment, while still assuring we’re providing our customers and dealers with the trucks they need,” Kelly said.
Welter said his membership is “real happy” about the shift adjustment.
“They were asking me to do something up to it because they want to watch the game, but still make it to work and if it’s a buzzer-beater, they wanted to see the end of the game, but not miss work,” Welter said. “GM recognizes that this hasn’t happened in so long that people are likely not to come to work and that gives them a bigger problem.”
Kelly said it would be hypothetical to say what would happen if the game goes into overtime, but for now, “We’re sticking with the hour delay.”
Free Press staff writer Jared Ramsey contributed to this report.
Contact Jamie L. LaReau: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
