Aurora – John and Barbara Feliciano never expected to be on strike Tuesday afternoon.
But there they were, less than a month before they are supposed to close on a home they are building in Aurora, walking a picket line in front of a General Motors parts-distribution plant and waving green-and-white signs at every passing motorist.
“I hope it isn’t long,” Barbara Feliciano, a member of United Auto Workers Local 431, said on the second day of the nationwide strike against GM.
In Detroit, talks resumed Tuesday after bargainers ended a marathon 36-hour session Monday evening, GM spokesman Dan Flores said.
The two sides sought to craft a deal that slashes labor costs while safeguarding the jobs of 73,000 employees represented by the UAW.
The Felicianos, employees at the plant off Interstate 70 and E-470, left New Jersey a year ago. John worked at a GM plant there for 27 years, and Barbara for eight, when it shut down two years ago, they said.
In 2006, they sold their house, packed up their belongings and brought their four sons to Colorado.
“We transferred all the way out here because we figured our jobs were secure,” John Feliciano said. “We never thought that they’d go on strike.”
But on Monday morning, they learned from a newspaper article that a strike had been called.
“I called her in the room. I said, ‘Hey, this is a national strike. We’re all out of work,”‘ he said.
It hit home, literally. With their Oct. 12 closing date looming, they are hoping for a breakthrough on negotiations.
“I’m not angry about it,” John Feliciano said about the timing of the strike. “Everybody’s got to do what they’ve got to do.”
He was among seven employees picketing Tuesday afternoon. Members of other unions, including the Teamsters, stopped by to lend support.
Just one motorist gave a thumbs-down.
Union members receive $200 per week and basic medical care from the UAW’s strike fund while on strike.
Paul Tomlin, also a plant worker, said the work stoppage caught him off guard too.
“Most everyone thought that rational minds would prevail on both sides. Some people wanted to be a little more greedy,” he said of the company.
Tom Wickham, spokesman for GM in Detroit, said he could not talk. The company said in a statement it is committed to working with the UAW to come to a solution together.
Wickham said the Colorado parts-distribution facility employs 82 people – 68 hourly workers represented by the UAW and 14 salaried employees who have all been told to report to work.
They “are doing their best to handle customer orders and shipments,” he said.
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-954-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
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What’s new: On the second day of a walkout by 73,000 UAW members at GM facilities, parts supplier Delphi laid off employees, while GM idled 3,000 workers at a plant in Canada.
At issue: GM wants the UAW to agree to take over retiree health care costs, while the union wants GM to promise future investment and products in U.S. plants.
