The walkout could lead to work stoppages at the General Motors Corp. Lansing Delta Township assembly plant and other area part suppliers if GM runs out of its supply of Alliance products.
The Alliance plant, with fewer than 100 workers, makes parts for the Lansing Delta Township facility that makes the fast-selling Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia crossover vehicles. Alliance's human resource manager, Paul Perkins, said workers walked out around 9 p.m.
"We will continue to bargain in good faith," he said.
A union official representing workers at the plant couldn't be reached for comment late Tuesday evening.
Hourly workers are represented by United Auto Workers Local 724. The workers had been trying to secure their first labor contract with the company. Alliance Interiors opened for business shortly before the Delta Township plant went into operation in late 2006.
Members of other UAW locals in the Lansing area were picketing in solidarity with Alliance workers as the strike began, said Chris (Tiny) Sherwood, president of UAW Local 652, which represents workers at the GM Lansing Grand River assembly plant that makes three Cadillac models.
Sherwood said the strike at Alliance will have a domino effect on the area's auto industry. A lack of parts made at Alliance will halt operations at the Delta Township assembly plant, he said.
"I'm assuming right now that they (GM Lansing Delta Township) are being shut down," Sherwood said.
And if that plant is idled, it will also affect workers at other suppliers that send parts to the assembly plant. Those companies include Ryder Logistics, Android Industries and Plastech, all located in Delta Township.
GM's Lansing Delta Township plant is also facing its own strike deadline. Workers there could walk out as early as 10 a.m. Thursday if progress isn't made toward a new local agreement. GM workers received a new national contract in October, but management and labor at the assembly plant haven't yet agreed on a local contract that would cover issues such as safety and working conditions.
GM officials couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday night.
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Another supplier strike.
