By Ted Evanoff; The Indianapolis Star ~ Aug 28, 2010

The future of General Motors' Indianapolis stamping plant will be aired again Sunday when an Illinois businessman repeats his request for workers to accept pay cuts if he takes over the big factory.

Justin Norman will explain his contract proposal in an information session he scheduled for autoworkers and their families at Lucas Oil Stadium, said Maurice "Mo" Davison, United Auto Workers Region 3 director in Indianapolis.

Sunday's meeting would mark the entrepreneur's latest effort to get autoworkers to pressure their union leaders to let them vote on a concession contract. It's described as a measure that could save the plant, one of the city's largest taxpayers.

GM executives three years ago scheduled the shutdown of the 2.1-million-square-foot metal plant in 2011 if no buyer appeared. This spring, JD Norman Industries of Addison, Ill., agreed to take over the factory if UAW Local 23 accepted a new contract that pares payroll costs. This would include a lower base wage of $15.50 per hour, down from $29 per hour.

Sunday's meeting comes two weeks after Local 23 leaders declined to schedule a vote on the concession proposal, citing a May referendum in which the plant workers blocked negotiations with the proposed buyer.

Davison, the Region 3 director who represents the UAW's Detroit headquarters, favored a concession package to keep the plant open. His action led the union's Detroit office to bypass Local 23 and bargain directly for concessions with Norman Industries.

It was that concession proposal that Local 23 officers refused to consider in mid-August. Shortly after, Norman himself responded with an Indianapolis news conference.

Norman urged workers to pressure Local 23 into scheduling a vote. He said he thought many workers would accept the measure if they understood the proposal, but he said they had not been fully informed about the details.

Gregory Clark, Local 23 bargaining chairman, could not be reached for comment Friday. Earlier, he said many autoworkers are reluctant to accept a new contract. After the Indianapolis plant closes, he said, they expect GM will recall them to its other plants under a longstanding transfer agreement in place with the UAW.

Davison said Norman apparently believes many Indianapolis autoworkers want to vote on the concession contract. Davison said Friday that Norman told him he had received numerous phone calls and e-mails from stamping plant workers.

"He said he's just gotten bombarded by e-mails," Davison said. "They want to vote on it."

Call Star reporter Ted Evanoff at (317) 444-6019