LORDSTOWN - About 4,600 hourly workers at the General Motors complex here will be receiving $250 bonuses with their Dec. 7 paycheck, rewards for reaching specific quality performance goals.
The bonus, negotiated as part of the 2011 labor contract, will go to all eligible members of the United Auto Workers nationwide, UAW Local 1112 President Glenn Johnson said Thursday.
The goals, established by UAW leadership and GM management, are based on a series of matrices companywide, including profitability and production issues monitored throughout the year.
''Profits are up, sales are up and we've got 16 cars on the Recommended Buy list on Consumer Reports," Johnson said. "It's a way to reward members for doing good quality work."
UAW Local 1714 President Dave Green also cited the Lordstown-built Chevy Cruze's first-ever listing on the coveted Consumer Reports' recommended buy list.
''The quality has gotten much better. It started out good, and it's only improved,'' Green said. ''Our team members have really been doing a good job on building a good car.''
In a joint letter to UAW members nationwide, UAW vice president Joe Ashton and vice president of GM Labor Relations Cathy Clegg said the company achieved its highest ever company-wide score on the 2012 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study.
''When it comes to quality performance, we don't win until our customers tell us we do. That's why customer survey results are so important. In the 2012 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study, each of our four brands earned segment awards helping GM achieve its best-ever company score compared to the industry average,'' they wrote in the letter.