Hundreds of workers on strike at Lear Corp. plant

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Hundreds of workers on strike at Lear Corp. plant
Posted: Saturday, September 13, 2014 1:33 pm
Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Hundreds of workers protesting what some are calling fast-food-like wages walked off the job Saturday at a Lear Corp. plant in northwest Indiana that makes automotive seats, beginning a strike that could affect a major Ford assembly plant in Chicago.

The plant, about 28 miles southeast of Chicago in Hammond, employs 760 workers making seats for the Explorer and Taurus models produced at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant. The Ford plant could be vulnerable to any serious supply chain disruption because it operates on a just-in-time basis, meaning it receives parts sometimes just hours before installing them in vehicles rather than warehousing them on site.

Saturday's strike shut down the Lear plant, according to a statement from the United Auto Workers. All the plant's workers walked off the job after two months of contract negotiations. About 200 workers wearing jackets and scarves or caps to ward off the chilly Midwest breeze were walking the picket line Saturday, said UAW Local 2335 Vice President Hanif Hassan, who has worked at the plant for 12 years.

The Associated Press left a phone message Saturday seeking comment from a Lear spokesman.